Intro and first question

[NREAGAN]

Thanks so much for your reply, i have 6 gallons here so ill add tonight. A few other questions that i thought of were, 1-Could the chlorine level be too high, what would happen? 2- Could my sand and 3- filter not be working properly? ( ive tried adding some DE to it) 3- should i put in algaecide? and 4- could it be iron or something in my water, it is a shade of green that i've never seen before and like i mentioned earlier, i have never kept so much chlorine in the pool in all the years i've lived here. Thanks again for getting back to me so quickly
Natalie

[PoolDoc]

#1 - High chlorine is hard on swimwear, but usually not people. A facility I serviced once accidentally maintained a kiddie pool -- filled with infants daily -- at 50+ ppm for 3 days and ZERO complaints! But for more details, read the Best Guess page.

#2 - Sand usually fails only by not being there, which happens when the pump is too big for the filter, and sand gets blown out during backwash.

#3 - If your sand is there, your filter is probably working. If you added DE, and it didn't blow back into the pool, your filter is working.

#4 - Iron can be green -- but ONLY if you added in a soluble form. This typically only happens when filling from a well OR from old, old water lines made of cast or ductile iron. Rain water, even in hurricanes, is iron free.

[NREAGAN]

Ok i have put in 7 gallons of bleach last night and today put in another 7 bottles of store bleach they are not a full gallon ...i figured it couldn't hurt. Pool is still soooo green. i am not even seeing any change when i pour in the chlorine. I have the kit from leslies but its manufactured by taylor...i think comparable to the one you sell? i couldn't find distilled water ( maybe bc of the huricane ) but is purified water the same? I do notice the algae on the steps and when i poured the bleach in it went away for a bit but is now back. I brushed and vacumed again today.
the most recent results are:

FC well over 5...it is a very deep purple color
CC i dont see it changing but not 100%
Ph is 7.8 maybe a touch higher
CYA is 90
Alk is i think a 80 but it didn't turn red like usual it was almost a orangey pink...
I have a vinyl liner...did you still need calcium?

Also, is the splash less bleach ok to use? ( i didn't, but we got some)
Again, i appreciate any insight.

[PoolDoc]

No splash-less bleach! Just the plain 6% no-scent no-additive stuff, please! (For your pool's sake)

And . . .
"Do this:
#1 - Go get a cheap OTO / phenol red testkit; you'll need it for testing till the K2006 arrives. It will allow you to test higher levels than 'guess-strips' or other kits."

Guess strips really, really don't count. Please.

Then, test the chlorine with the OTO, and the pH with the distilled dilution.

[BigDave]

Purified water is not the same as distilled especially for this use. ( I could be wrong on this - Ben is clearly the authority)
You're going to have some CC when fighting algae - don't worry about it.
Ben doesn't sell the kits but has taken the legwork out of sourcing them by recommending Amato Ind. through Amazon. Get the Taylor K-2006 as soon as you can (if you can) I find it MUCH eaisier to use / read.
Is the concentration listed on the bleach bottles? if not, presume it's less than 6%.
Don't use any special goo bleach - it just adds junk to the water you'll have to fix later.

[CarlD]

IF you have the Leslies "Total Pool Care DPD Test Kit" service test kit made by Taylor, it is the K-2005 Taylor kit in a Leslies box (I have one because I wanted to see what it was--and it was on sale). If so, as Ben says, you only need the K-1515 Taylor kit to make it the equivalent of the K-2006, and it's much cheaper that way.

You'll still need the OTO kit Ben told you to get, but even so you'll be saving money AND having all the same functions as the K-2006.

The K-1515 is a single test: the FAS-DPD chlorine test that is the gold standard for testing chlorine levels. The DPD test is NOT the same thing.

The K-1515 should be about $20, but the full K-2006 is $50 to $70 (the Leslies re-badged version is the "Chlorine FAS-DPD Service Test Kit" for $71, which is pricey, but it IS the K-2006 in a Leslies box, if you cannot get it elsewhere)

Carl

[NREAGAN]

OK...Got it now. Thank you both. With having four kids here along with their friends everyday they are sucking the smarts outta me...I'll get both kits and distilled water and let you kow how it goes.

I think i know the answer but still no algaecide? and i thought algae was "stuck" to the surfaces of the pool this really dissapates if you touch it...just curious. I definately have never had it this bad.

Thanks again,
Natalie

[PoolDoc]

What's called 'mustard algae' commonly behaves as you describe . . . and is quite chlorine resistant.

But, on vinyl or other slick surface pools, it's pretty easy to get rid of with high chlorine AND brushing.

[aylad]

I think i know the answer but still no algaecide?

No algaecide--there's only one here we recommend, and it's Polyquat 60--but it's a much better preventative than it is at killing existing algae. All other algaecides are only going to make your pool worse, not better. Just chlorine--and lots of it!

Janet