First Time Pool Owners to a Grimmy Pool

[aylad]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!!

In order to clear up your pool, you're going to need a reliable way to test. I STRONGLY encourage you to get a K-2006 test kit, which can be bought several places online, but at a really good price at the Amazon link in my signature. If not that, at least go to WalMart and see if they have the ht 6-way drop-based kit, which is very similar, and sells for around $20. It will include an OTO kit (red and yellow drops for pH and chlorine). Test all of your levels, especially pH and chlorine levels, and report them back here. While you're at WalMart, buy several gallons of plain, unscented, generic bleach (no fragrances or additives). Add 1 gallon for each 10K gallons of pool water in the evening. Test for chlorine again the next evening, and add enough to keep the test in the dark yellow range. This should be done with pump and filter running, and it will help if you can brush the pool daily. In the meantime, we can help you work out a plan to clear it up.

Take a look at your ingredient list on the "shock" that you used, and tell us if it is dichloro....something, or cal-hypo.

[lacreager]

Now when I took my sample water into the pool store yesterday, they tested it and gave me a print-out. Here are the readings on it if that helps.

Saturation Idx: -1.7
TDS: 150
CYA: Not Tested
Tot. Chlorine: 0
Free Chlorine: 0
pH: 6.5
Tot. Alkalinity: 65
Adj. Total Alk.: 65
Tot. Hardness: 88

[PoolDoc]

Hi Laurie (or Laurie Ann? dunno if you're FROM the South, or just moved here);

Anyhow:

1. Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) testkit at Walmart or BETTER, an HTH 6-way kit.
2. Buy 6 boxes of 20 Mule Team borax (Walmart detergent section) and add them 2 at a time, slowly to the skimmer, with the pump on. Wait 4 hours; test pH; repeat if pH still below 7.2.
3. Buy 16 gal of PLAIN 6% household bleach. Add 4 gallons immediately.
4. Test chlorine 4 hours later. Repeat till chlorine is dark yellow / orange OR you are out of bleach.
5. Order K-2006 (test kit info page link in my signature)
6. Read the labels of your pump and filter and post make / model info (or photograph them and send photos to poolforum@gmail.com)

We'll work out next steps after we hear from you.