Most critical is to get the PH up above 7.0 ASAP. Add a couple of boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax (laundry aisle at Walmart) at a time slowly into the skimmer, while the pump is running, breaking up any clumps. Wait a couple hours, retest the pH and redose until you get the pH between 7.2-7.8. Once the pH starts to move, you may want smaller doses of Borax. You also need to raise the alk. Add 4 lb. doses of baking soda at a time. Over the next few days, continue adding baking soda until you get the alk somewhere between 80-120. (By the way, it is ok to add bleach, borax and baking soda within minutes of each other.)

In this big of a pool, it is going to take a lot of bleach. Every gallon (4 quarts) of 6% bleach will add about 1.3ppm of chlorine. You need to shock the pool back up to about 12ppm. Go ahead and add 8 gallons slowly in front of a return jet. Test as many times per day as you can -- at least two -- and more often than that is even better and will clear the pool that much faster. Each time, add enough to get back to 12ppm. When you get to where you can go from sundown one evening til sunup the next morning without losing more than 1ppm of cl, then you can let the cl drift down and keep it between 3-6ppm all the time. While you are clearing it, run the pump 24/7 and backwash the filter as needed. Lots of bleach! Scoop out as much debris as you can.


At that time, you'll want to add some CYA. Sometimes it is labeled as stabilizer or conditioner. Check the ingredients and if it says cyanuric or isocyanuric acid, it is the right stuff. Add about 6 lbs. slowly to the skimmer. Run the pump 24/7 for the next 4 days while it is dissolving in the filter. Don't test for it for a week and then when you do retest, post the reading so we can help you decide if you need to tweak it any. Until that week passes and you get a CYA reading, you'll probably have to add bleach at least twice per day. Each time, take the cl up to about 6. After a week, you should be able to test and dose in the evenings only.

If your pool store sells liquid chlorine in 10 or 12.5% concentration of sodium hypochlorite, use that if the price is good. It will save you from having to buy so many jugs of bleach. Let us know if you find any and what the strength is and we can calculate dosages for you. Another option since your CYA is also low is to use dichlor shock instead of bleach for awhile. It will add CYA as well as chlorine. If you use it, you won't want to add any CYA separately. But, you'll need to keep an eye on the CYA level and when it gets somewhere around 40-50, quit using it and switch to either bleach or liquid pool store chlorine. One other thing, dichlor is acidic, so get the pH raised before you start shocking the pool and monitor the pH. PH CANNOT be checked accurately when the cl is over about 10ppm -- assuming you are using the K-2006. With other kits, it can't be tested accurately when the cl is over 5ppm.

Good for you for getting the good kit. That is going to make this a lot easier. I know this is a lot to absorb. Hope this helps. Come back with further questions and keep us posted with your progress.