Somebody please tell me this is worth it....

[Manslick]

I'm about to pull my hair out trying to turn this pool from a swamp to something our family can enjoy before fall gets here.... It's such a slow process as I wait for my test kit to get here. I want to see some glimmer of hope that it will get better.

I'm being a drama llama today, but I lost my both leaf eater bag and a part of my vacuum head in the abyss today so forgive me as I have moment of pool owner remorse.

I would love to hear a few success stories from former swamp owners. How long did it take for your algae to go away as well as the cloud that lingered behind???

From your sig, you have the same story as I do. In 95 I bought a house with a pool similar to yours. The owners were in a hurry to get down to Florida so the pool became an afterthought. We looked at the house in April and moved in June. The pool went from a glittering April diamond to a June black hole. I remember my nephew diving in and coming up with branches and leaves.
I called the previous owner who came by for a look see. I was a nervous wreck but he was so calm. He tested the water and said the PH was low. He recommend I take a sample to Leslie's and follow their instructions. In a very short time the pool was back to it's crystal clear glory. It took a lot of vacuuming and back flushing but it did come back.
So don't despair it will get better.
Nothing with pools happens quickly.

[JenLM]

Thanks everybody! I could only find 10% chlorine at Lowes so we stuck with the 6 % chlorine until we find the other.

We can finally see the bottom of the shallow end of the pool. Yippeee! We may get to swim this year afterall!

[TonyPH12345]

JenLM: Sometimes the higher concentrations can be a good value; not for me.

I have a wal-mart on the corner that sells 1.5 Gallons of bleach for $2.00. I think it's 6%, but I know it's no less than 5%.
Lowe's, across the street from Wal-mart, occasionally sells 1 Gallon of 10% LC for $4.99, which given the concentration, is actually more expensive than Wal-Mart bleach.
So I've found that, in my case, though I have to carry more bottles, plain ol' generic store-brand 5-6% laundry bleach is just the best value.
The 5Gal 12% carboys that CarlD mentions are available in my area, but they're miles away. And $4.00 per gallon for gas adds to the equation. And they're heavy, too, at 40 pounds each...
A definite intangible upside to the carboys is that they're re-used. My 1.5 Gallon plastic jugs spend 3 minutes in my car, get dumped in, then a pool water rinse, then into the recycle bin.