Intex pool green/cloudy - help please!

Hi! I need your help please!

I have a 48 inch by 18 foot Intex pool. I know the filter is inadequate. I also use a device called a Slimebag to further filter the water - I love it! It attaches to the hose that filters the water back into the pool and you can really see what the filter misses! But I'm a newbie and didn't know that my ph would need attn. with all the rain and heat....

We've had hot weather and alot of rain the last week, my pool is turning green/yellow and cloudy. My readings at the pool store yesterday (Monday) were:

tot. chlorine 0.9
Free chloringe 0
PH 6.2
total alkalinity 48
CYA not tested by themTotal Hardness 110

At the pool store yesterday, they had me add a box of BP100 which raises the PH (did it at 4 p.m.)

Then they had me add 1 lb. of chlorine granules and 1/4 bottle (about 8 oz.) of algicide. I ran the filter from 5-midnight after that.

Began running the filter again at 8 a.m. today. Tested my levels with my test kit at 11 a.m. Very upset at these levels! Please help me fix this, feels like I wasted a DAY!!

Now my chlorine is at 0.6, PH at 6.8 my kit doesn't test much else.

Can you please tell me what to do next or what else you need from me?

Does time of day matter when adding chlorine? It is 100+ and humid here today in Chicago area.

Please tell me how much of what to use (bleach, borax, etc.) and in which order, what time of day to do it. Do you have a bleach calculator that goes by feet/inches or wondering how I can convert too.

I sincerely appreciate your help!


Thanks,
Mary

For some reason these Intex pools of this size are now coming with smaller pumps/filters. You can go onto intex pool site and buy parts. http://www.intexstore.com/. We are using our larger pump from previous model and bought new hose attachments and it seems to keep the pool cleaner. Not sure why they decided to go with smaller pump for these big pools. The larger pump is the 633 series, it really does work a lot better than the one that comes with the pool.

Do you have a testkit? You need to test your levels. Test your levels, then adjust your pH with some 20 MULE Team Borax. I wouldn't add too much. Add a little and check, maybe 1/4 of box or so then test. Should be between 7.2 and 7.8 It is best to add chlorine towards the evening so it doesn't burn off. Only use bleach and not anything else to get the chlorine up......I'm sure others will pipe in...

Use 20 mule team Borax to raise your pH, it's cheaper and is the same as what they sold you. We can help you clear up the water, but we need to know the CYA level in order to know to what level you need to shock. You can use plain, unscented bleach to clear up the pool, but we need the CYA level first.

If possible, it's better to add the chlorine after the sun is off the pool to keep the sun from consuming any of it, leaving the most possible to work on your water. HOwever, when trying to clear up a green pool, you're going to have to raise your Chlorine to shock level and keep it there by testing and adding more 2-3 times (or as often as you can) daily.

Janet