what problem do i tackle first!

I have several issues to battle with my pool and i need to know what to address first so i can effectively clear my pool. i have an inground, sand filter, 21,000 gallon vinyl liner pool. haven't been able to get a good test kit yet, so having to use the strips to test for cya, which is 20. have been using bens chart to get the chlorine levels suggested to fight the green and it has worked. it still has a green and dingy tint to the water and the deep end is cloudy, but i can see the bottom. when i opened, the pool had brown stains and i have checked and absorbic acid will bring the stains off. i use well water to fill my pool so i know i am putting iron back in the pool as i am having to add water because i am vacuuming to waste. so what address first...i know i need to use the absorbic acid method for the stains, i need to continue high levels of chlorine to clear the green and i need to use the metal out to get rid of the metals in the pool...but what do i tackle first??? please help advise me. thanks!

I would first fight the algae, get them all killed and the debris filtered out. Give some thought to using skimmer socks for the fine particles. As long as you vacuum to waste and/or frequently backwash there's no point in bringing the CYA to the desired goal of 50 ppm, so that can be set back for now. And, since your fill water contains iron and you're refilling frequently because of the vacuuming to waste, and are introducing more iron in the process, that, too, should be put on hold until the water is fully sanitized.

Once you're done with the shock process and your water is clear you can work on the stains and the iron and add an appropriate amount of CYA.

The very first thing I would do though is to get a good FAS-DPD test kit such as the Taylor K2006.

the green is 100% better today, still a little cloudy in the deep end. chlorine is almost non existent and ph is 6.8 and stablizer 20. i do want to do the absorbic acid treatment and i need to use the metal out due to the vacuuming to waste and having to add well water...what do i do next? do i begin the absorbic acid, then metal out or vice versa and then begin to increase the stablizer and balance the water....or what do i add more bleach now or what should i do next?? would appreciate your help and guidance in the steps to take next. thank you!!!

Keep going with the high chlorine until your algae problem is completely cleared up...once you add the metal sequestrant you're not going to be able to bring your chlorine up high enough to fight the problem, so that that done first--water should be clear, blue, not cloudy. Keep running your filter 24/7 until the cloudy clears. I would go ahead and add Borax so that you can bring your pH up a little, but mbar recommends no more than 7.2. However, 6.8 is low enough to be acidic and cause damage to a liner, so if it's a liner pool I would go ahead and address that. AFter that, I would put stabilizer in a tube sock and hang it in front of a return, so backwashing won't wash it out of the pool before it dissolves. THis will take a few days to dissolve, but you want stabilizer in the water to protect your chlorine once you get the other problems taken care of. In the meantime, I'll see if I can get Marie (mbar) to offer her advice on this thread since she's the stains/metals guru around here.

Hang in there!
Janet

thank you very much! I will do just as you said. i will let you know how things are going so you can help advise me and keep me on the right track. thanks again!!

Jan -- I already asked Marie to take a look and she is going to.

i finally got my water tested at a pool store and the cya shows 0, chlorine is 1.0 everything else was okay except hardness and they said i need to add 30 lbs of balance pak 300, which im not going to do unless you tell me otherwise. i have a vinyl liner. i am going to add the balance pak 100 to increase the cya. the pool store says to add 9 lbs...i have 21,000 gallons of water. is this the correct amount? also you all instructed me to put the stablizer in front of the jets in tube socks, should i still do this, or do i need to add in the skimmer since my reading is a lot lower than i thought? please let me know what to do. thank you

Are these the BioGuard Balancers you have?

The Balance Pak 100 adjusts total alkalinity according to their Website, it won't increase the CYA. The Balance Pak 300 is a hardness increaser and since you have a vinyl liner you don't need that.

Did they sell you Stabilizer 100? That's the product you'd need to raise CYA. The suggested amount of 9 pounds is close enough to raise your CYA from 0 ppm to 50 ppm but it has to be stabilizer, not the Balance Pak 100.

If you have the analysis sheet right there would you mind typing in the test results?

sorry Anna..i got that confused. i meant to say Stablizer 100 to raise the cya and that is bioguard product. i don't have the sheet...i forgot it at the pool store, called them on my way home and asked them to fax it to me as they were getting ready to close and i didn't have time to go back...well they did fax it, but it was blank sheets! i do remember them saying i need 9 lbs of cya, which i did buy Stablizer 100. i didn't buy anything else. i remembered it saying on here that you don't need to add hardness for a vinyl liner. my testing of the clorine tonight shows zero so i have added bleach again. do i need to raise to 50 by adding 9 lbs? and do i just put it all in front of the jets? thanks for helping me.

Please don't put it in all at once. It's best to be conservative when adding CYA and some other things. It's much easier to add more later than to take some out if you overshoot.

A CYA of 50 ppm is a good number to work with for most pools and the 9 pounds will get you close enough to it, either up or down a little but not enough so it would matter.

Put 3 or 4 cups worth in an old tube sock, knot the top or tie it off with a zip tie. You then fasten this in front of a return so the water hits it when the pump is running, or you can put it in the skimmer basket but it has to be done in such a way that it doesn't plug the hole and impede suction back to the pump.

CYA can be pretty slow to dissolve so this might take a couple of days.

What does the product container say about adding it? Does it say anything about pre-dissolving in a bucket of water? That's another method which works really well—but not all stabilizer products can be pre-dissolved.

it says to slowly add thru skimmer or broadcast in the pool. i have put about about 2 cups in by skimmer and i may have 5 or 6 cups in the sock and placed in front of the jets...is that too much? do i need to take some out? thanks anna!

You don't need to take any out of the sock, you're fine.

What kind of filter do you have? If you've posted that already I've missed it. Please refresh my memory: sand, DE, cartridge?

its a sand filter

Okay, thanks.

The stabilizer you added via the skimmer is going to get hung up in the sand filter until it has dissolved. This may take a day or two, depending on the stabilizer. The flaked product seems to dissolve quicker than granular stabilizer.

Do not backwash for a while or you'll just wash it all out of the sand.

Have you given some thought to buying a FAS-DPD test kit so you can do your own testing and don't have to rely on the pool store? Pool stores aren't always entirely reliable with their water testing.

How does your water look today? Still cloudy?

I'm signing off for the day, I'll check back in tomorrow.

the pool is clear, blue. cloudiness is all gone. checked the cya this morning and it is still low. the chlorine is still holding this morning, but it is very sunny today so im sure it will be non existent before the day is out. i tried buying a kit at the pool store yesterday, but they had none so i am going to have to order one. you had suggested the taylor k-2006. do you have any suggestions as to the best place to buy as i will have to order that online. also, should i wait until the cya is better before trying to use the absoric acid to get rid of the brown stains? thanks again. you have been so helpful!

Great news on the clear, blue water! That's what we're all shooting for.

As to the Taylor test kit K-2006 I like www.amantoind.com for online shopping. The direct link to the K-2006 and K-2006C is <http://www.amatoind.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=k2006&x=0&y=0> ; the 2006C has more reagent than the 2006. I like Amato because they ship very quickly and have refills available in different quantities.

You said the chlorine is still holding this morning. What is the FC and CC level, do you know?

Has the CYA in the tube sock dissolved yet?

My personal approach is 'one thing at a time'. I'd get the CYA project finished before tackling the stains and the iron in the water.

i will order that test kit today! using test strips only the results are at 3:00pm est, TC 1, FC 1, PH 7.2, TA not quite 120 color on the strip but close and cya is still showing 0. i had put about 5-6 cups in the sock and most of that has now disolved. i only have the sock in front of 1 jet, do i need to put any in front of another one or just continue with this one. and how much more should i add? thanks again. you are such a big help!!!!

Having it in front of one return is fine, or you can split it up and put it in front of all you have. Your choice.

The 9 pounds of stabilizer come out to approximately 18 cups. Make sure you're keeping track of how much you're putting in. Give it at least 24 hours after the first batch is fully dissolved before testing; we want to be sure we've had at least one complete turnover of water.

Test strips really aren't very reliable and I'm hesitant to comment on your numbers. Will you have a chance to get a sample tested at the pool store tomorrow?

Keep in mind that the stabilizer can take several days, even up to a week, to dissolve and register in the pool water, so I wouldn't even test for it for at least another 4-5 days. Also, because it takes so long to show up, DON'T add anymore until then, because it's much easier to add more later than have to drain and refill because you overshot it!

Janet