Quote Originally Posted by NCMOMTO3
This is my first year opening our pool, I took a sample to the pool store and this is what the results are
temp 78
saturation idx -1
TDS not tested
CYA 5
Tot. chlorine 0
Free chlorine 0
PH 7.4
Tot. alkalinity 87
Adj total alkalinity 85
Total hardness 36
copper 0
iron 0.1
cloudy none
staining none
quat not tested
green algae none
black algae none
mustard algae no
slime/mold no

This is what they told me to do
raise the alkalinity .. add 6 pounds of balance back over surface
wait 2 hours
add 5 pounds shock slowly thru the skimmer
when the water is clean clear and blue add 4 pounds of stabalizer slowly thru the skimmer
Dont backwash for 48 hours

Now what do you all suggest I do?

Thanks so much!!!!!
First, never trust their advice again....Seriously. Your T/A is FINE--you don't need to raise it--suggested range is 80-125. Their "Balance Pak" is a very expensive BioGard brand of ....BAKING SODA! That's right, Arm&Hammer is the same stuff but FAR cheaper. Even if you needed it you could buy it a lot cheaper at the supermarket.

2nd: You need to get some chlorine into your pool ASAP. If your water is clean and clear, you'll need to get it to about 3ppm. For that, add 2 quarts of Ultra bleach (generic is better than Chlorox) for every 10,000 gallons of water you have in your pool--so if you have 15,000 gallons, add 3 quarts (it comes in 3 quart jugs). By "Ultra" bleach I mean the stuff that says 6%. Regular is 5.25%. If you put in a bit more it's not a problem. So if your pool is 13,800 gallons, don't worry about 3 quarts being too much. If all you can get is regular bleach, add 2 1/2 quarts per 10,000 gallons.

If your water is green or algae laden, you'll need a lot more. For that I cannot "guestimate"--we'll need to know the volume of your pool--and whether it's vinyl or not.

3rd. You need CYA in your pool too, or your chlorine will get eaten up. This is called CYA or Cyanuric Acid, or Stabilizer, or Chlorine Stabilizer, or conditioner. Look at the label and figure out how much, for the gallons in your pool, you'll need to get the CYA level to 30ppm (30-50ppm is what we usually recommend). You have to get CYA from the pool store or the pool dept. at WalMart, KMart, Home-Depot, etc.
Now, whatever amount they recommend to get your pool to 30ppm, use 1/4 to 1/2 that amount. If you put it in your skimmer, do not turn off your pump or backwash for a week, and do not expect to measure CYA for that long. You can also put it in an old stocking--check the forum on that.

For the moment, that's enough. Go to PoolSolutions.com and start reading...read ALL the tips and all the areas you can get to.

I would also consider taking a water sample to another pool store.

4th: Get a decent test kit so you don't need the pool store. They range from the $15 WalMart HTH 5-way kit to to Ben's PS-234. Don't use test strips, they aren't accurate. In the meantime, at least get an OTO/pH test kit--they run about $7.