Quote Originally Posted by At wits end View Post
I'm over $1,000 into this between MetalFree, Metal Remover, Alum and water.
Wow! That's one of the worst cases of being 'pool-stored' I've heard of. I'm sorry!

OK. There's no easy way out of this. The "baby blue" means alum, not algae. You might still have some algae in the cracks and crannies, but not in the water.

So. Do this:

1. Call around, and get a price to drain and refill your pool, and open your filter and remove the Fiber Clear and top 2" of sand. The filter work will probably need to be done regardless. (If you did the sand yourself, you can get the Fiber Clear out yourself, too.)

2. Tell me what "Metal Remover" is -- what company, and the EXACT brand name. If it's HEDP based, and you've added much . . . you'll probably need to drain.

3. For now, maintain an adequate chlorine level using bleach and OTO -- if the OTO turns dark yellow, you're good to go.

4. Was the sand you put in the filter labeled as "filter sand"?

5. I talked with customer support at Natural Chemistry. Their "Metal Free" is just citric acid, so if there's chlorine in the pool, there's no citric acid left, since chlorine rapidly destroys citric acid.

6. The next step depends on the cost of draining and refilling; how long you're willing to wait for a clear pool, and whether you've added a lot of HEDP. If you haven't added HEDP (if "Metal Remover" isn't HEPD), or have added only a little . . . you can eventually clear the water up. But, if you've added a major overdose of HEDP . . . you'll need to drain and refill.

7. The reason you have to have a professional drain and refill for you, is that the liner is stretched into place using a vacuum (like a super shop-vac), and then held in place by the water. If you take the water out, the liner will contract, but because it's old, will tear when you try to refill. Also, if there's water in the ground -- it can accumulate under the liner, and cause problems. If you are on hillside, this won't be an issue, but if you are on level ground, it will be. You're only about 100 miles south of me, and the ground is too wet here to allow safe draining of a liner pool in a low flat area.

Sorry for all the problems.