starting up after winter

[costo]

I did not cover my pool this winter and did not maintain the water either. Its pretty green but not sure what lies at the bottom. Wondering if it would be easier if i just drained the water and started fresh or if i could clean the water without emptying my pocketbook. Thanks for any help you can give me.


Intex ultra frame round agp 20x48 (holds ~9400 gallons based on calculations which im not sure are accurate)
intex krystal clear 635t 1500gph

[PoolDoc]

If you can drain and refill for less than $120, it may be a good idea.

The alternative is to
1. kill the algae
2. raise the chlorine and stabilizer to a point where the chlorine will 'hold' for several days
3. turn the pump off and let it settle. (a floc may help)
4. vacuum to waste via siphon.

If you're interested, I'm going to be putting page on how to do this -- I think there's going to be a LOT of need for that this season. But draining and refilling is definitely easier.

[costo]

Thank you! I will be looking for the page. Another question you might be able to answer I still have the original pump/filter system that came with the pool. Do you have any suggestions as to upgrading. Saltwater system??....bigger filter/pump system??? once again, thank you!!

[PoolDoc]

The bigger pump/filter system DEFINITELY works better.

We haven't heard enough feedback on the salt system to really have a good idea.

[costo]

Ok, so here is what i have done. I tested the water right off the bat without adding anything. I still have a simple ph and chlorine tester from walmart(thinking i will break down and buy the taylor testing kit this year). Chlorine was not registering(it measures up to 5-10) and ph was off the charts, bright pink but didnt look like it would be much above the 8.2 mark (it measures up to 8.2). I ran the pump for about a day without adding anything then added 2 bottles of liquid chlorinator ~10% last night. I checked it this morning(with my cheapo kit) and the chlorine was above the 5-10 mark as well as the ph which looked about the same color as it had when i first tested it. THe water is no longer green but cloudy. I took a water sample to my local ace store and got results from them but some of the values they couldnt get readings. I listed the printout info below. I had my water tested there last year and didnt have trouble with readings, although my ph was fine and cya had a reading so i knew how to adjust it. I didnt worry about the hardness reading cause i didnt think i should. Last year was my first year to put the pool up also. Thanks again for any advice you can give me.

total alkalinity: 0ppm
ph: ERR HI, result is high
calcium hardness: 82ppm
cyanuric acid: ph correction error
free chlorine: 6.3

said to retest ph after alkalinity as been properly adjusted
cyanuric acid level is error

[sunlove]

Did your walmart have any 6-way test kits in stock? Some stores do (mine did) and it's a heck of a lot better than relying on the pool store.

[PoolDoc]

Ok, if you're going for a clean up in place (no draining), do this:
KILL the ALGAE
1. Add plain 6% bleach each evening, as needed to keep your OTO kit in the DARK yellow / orange range.
2. Take the cartridge OUT of the filter. Order new cartridges, if you have none.
3. Test your pH BEFORE adding more chlorine, when OTO level is medium yellow to clear. If your pH is above 8.0, add ~1/4 gallon of muriatic acid at a time. (see link in my signature)
4. After the pool turns cloudy gray or blue, BRUSH the pool completely, to stir up any algae on the bottom. But, add bleach just BEFORE brushing. If the pool turns green after brushing, add another 2 gallons of bleach.
5. Continue till the pool is cloudy blue or gray even after brushing.

REMOVE the ALGAE
You have two options here: you can vacuum to waste, using a siphon. To do so, you'll need a vac head, pole, and hose that will reach from the center of the pool to the ground outside the pool. OR, you can filter it out. The Intex filter cartridges do NOT work well for this. I just spent an hour on the phone with Unicel's national product manager, and he assures me their cartridges should work much better than the OEM ones, AND that two cartridges should last all season. (Intex says to discard their cartridges every two weeks!) To use the filter method, you need (2) new Intex cartridges, a covered 5 gallon bucket or trash can, and some TSP.

Here's the process:
1. Install new cartridge
2. Remove when flow drops; install 2nd cartridge
3. Hose off the dirty cartridge
4. Mix 3 gallons of water with 2 cups of TSP. Add 1/8 cup of bleach.
5. Put the dirty cartridge in the mix, and cover.
6. When flow begins to drop, remove cartridge from soak, and hose off.
7. Place cartridge in bucket fill with fresh water for 15 minutes (you don't want TSP in your pool!)
8. Remove and rinse again. Install rinsed cartridge in filter.
9. Hose off dirty cartridge, and restart process.

Here are the products you need:

1lb Savogran 10621 Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) @ Amazon
Unicel C-4607 Replacement Filter Cartridge (Easy Set Size A or C) @ Amazon

You should be able to get TSP locally at Ace Hardware or Lowes, if you prefer. Often it will be in the paint section. However, if you try to buy the Unicel cartridges elsewhere, be very, very careful. Some imported cartridges are being sold as Unicel replacements, but the descriptions are being written very deceptively.

[costo]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I do have a few questions in regard to your post.
You mentioned to remove the cartridge. Do I leave it out for the algae killing process?
What is TSP and what does it do?
Do I need to use it each time I hose off my cartidges after the algae removal process or just for this process?

[PoolDoc]

+ Yes, leave it out while killing algae. It's not going to live algae well, and it will stop up and interfere with circulation.
+ TSP = tri-sodium phosphate, an industrial detergent (no suds) good at removing pool goo from filters.
+ Yes, rotate the filters. You can save the solution, and use it multiple times. So long as you only put a little bleach in the mix, you can leave the dirty filter in the mix, till you're ready to finish cleaning it and using it to replace the cartridge that in the filter. You might want to get something like a Rubbermaid Brute trash can and lid, and simply leave if filled with cleaning mix and cartridge all season. The link goes to Amazon, but it will probably be cheaper if you can find it locally, especially since you have to buy the lid separately.

[costo]

Thank you so much for your prompt replies. You have been very helpful. Hopefully this is my last question of the day. I have a hth 6 way kit from walmart but have run out of the cya testing. Do you know of a refill for that? Im assuming I dont need to test until I get this algae problem rid of but I thought I should get it ordered so I will have it on hand. Thanks again!