Will this work?

[HOF-City]

Hello everyone. I moved into my place last September and and had someone come out to close our pool in October.
It is a 29,000 gallon, vinyl lined pool. It has a Purex Triton Tagelus sand filter, model #TA-60/60D. The pump is a Hayward super pump, model #C48K2N143.

When it was closed the water was clear. We had someone from our local pool store come out to open it on April 30th. When we did, the water was very green.
We swept all the debris to waste, and they added a

• 32oz bottle of algaecide
• 2lbs of BioGuard Maintain Burnout granular chlorine shock.

I was told to keep the pool clean and add a couple 1lb bags of shock each evening. I did that for 3 days and noticed the pool turned seafoam green and got very cloudy. The pool would get very foamy on the surface every time I shocked it.

I ordered a Taylor K-2006 test kit and did my best at testing the water. The PH seemed to be below the 7.0 minimum and the Alkalinity seemed to be between 85-90 with FC at .4 and CC at 1.8.

I figured I needed to get those numbers in line, so I added some Alkalinity increaser followed by PH increaser a couple hours later. I also noticed that my steps were quickly becoming a rusty type of color. I started reading online a little bit about why, and thought maybe it was metals. I found a bottle of Metal Free that the previous owner left, so I added it to the pool.
The next day I took a sample to the pool store and they came up with the following numbers.

• Temp=72,
• Saturation Index= -.1,
• TDS=1000,
• Total Chlorine=4.2,
• Free Chlorine=3,
• PH=7.4,
• Alkalinity=98,
• Total Hardness=316.

They told me that my pool had copper in it, and that copper and shock react and cause the water to look cloudy and green.
They had me add a

• 32oz bottle of staintrine,
• 12 lbs of Balance Pak 100.

They said to wait 3 days, then add 9lbs of burnout shock. I am scheduled to add the shock on Thursday.

Sorry for such a long post, but i just want to know if you all think this sounds like the best route to take. Thanks a ton.

[PoolDoc]

Sorry for such a long post, but i just want to know if you all think this sounds like the best route to take.

No. As we say here, you have been 'pool-stored' (sorta like punk'd, but more $$$'s)

They told me that my pool had copper in it, and that copper and shock react and cause the water to look cloudy and green.

Well, that's the most ignorant pool store quote I've heard in a while . . . and we hear some doozies here! The good new is, you now know that your pool store guy is either (a) a liar or (b) almost completely ignorant about pool chemistry. Even a BioGuard trained pool store guy would know better than that! (Copper can make water blue-green, but not cloudy. Cloudy green is algae, more than 90% of the time.)

OK, since April 30 you've added:
- 1 qt of algaecide (with copper?)
- 2 lbs of Burn-out
- 6+ lbs of unspecified 'shock'
- 'some' Alkalinity Increaser (baking soda)
- bottle of Metal Free (either EDTA or citric acid, depending on how old it was)
- 1 qt Staintrine (HEDP, unknown %)
- 10 lbs of Balance Pak 100 (baking soda, again!)

And, you have 9lbs of Burn-out, unused. Is that correct? What is the EXACT ingredient listed on that "Burn Out" - BioGuard has had a bunch of different "Burn Outs"

Your pool is cloudy, greenish, and periodically foamy, with rusty orange deposits or stains on the steps. Correct?

What is your CYA level, per the K-2006?

Meanwhile, do this:

1. Do NOT take any more chemical advice, or buy any more chemicals from that store!
2. Do NOT add the Burn Out, till we've worked out what it is.
3. Go to Walmart and get 16 gallons of PLAIN 6% bleach, 4 boxes of 20 Mule Team borax and a cheap OTO/phenol red test kit. (Don't want you to use up your K2006 unnecessarily)
4. Go to Lowes, Home Depot or wherever, and get 2 gallons of muriatic acid.
5. Test your CYA and pH levels, and tell me what they are.
6. Run your pump 24/7
7. Brush your steps!
8. Add 2 gallons of bleach to the deep end of your pool each EVENING.
9. Tell me if you have access to a Sams Club. If you do, and have a chance ask them if they are carrying PoolBrand pool chemicals.
10. If your pH is above 7.2, add muriatic acid in approx 1/2 gallon doses (do not MEASURE, just use 'about' 1/2 of the bottle). Wait 4 hour and retest. Continue till pH is below 7.2, but do NOT over do it. (read the muriatic acid how to page, linked in my signature!)
11. Do not add ANY other chemicals, till you've re-posted here.
12. Check and see if there is ANYTHING besides pipe and pump, between your skimmer and your filter. (Ionizer, chlorinator, valves, gadgets, anything at all!)
13. Report everything here: pH, CYA levels; pool water appearance; step appearence; Sams access; and so on.

[HOF-City]

Thanks for the reply!!
-Yes, I have 9lbs of burnout left. The active ingredient is calcium hypochlorite-57.8%, and "other" is 42.2% not specific though.
-Pool is still cloudy "blue-green" I can see about 4'-5' deep. Not foamy anymore, but haven't shocked in 2 days
-Pump is running, will clean steps and get the products you recommend tonight.
-Nothing connected between pump and filter
-No access to Sam's Club
Also, I have a different pool store in walking distance from my house. Can I trust their testing method, or should I still pick up a OTO test kit? They use "PINPOINT" Computerized Water Analysis.
-Temp= 75
-PH= 7.0
-Alkalinity= 90
-CYA= 40
Thank you!!

Correction-my pool is 22,500 gallons not 29,000

[PoolDoc]

Unfortunately, the ONLY way we've found for you to tell if you can trust a pool store's testing is by getting a K-2006, and then seeing if they match. If they do, you can probably trust them -- but most don't. Of course, once you have a K2006, you don't NEED the pool store!

You *do* need the OTO kit, ASAP.

OK, you still need the bleach, the acid, and the borax.

If you are SURE you have nothing between the skimmer and the filter, except pipes and pump, instead of the bleach, do this:
1. Do not do this if you've just backwashed the filter.
2. Get a box of borax and a bag of shock open and ready next to the skimmer.
3. Make sure the skimmer basket is clean.
4. Add about 1/4 box of borax via the skimmer.
5. Add 1 lb of the cal hypo blend shock via the skimmer
6. Follow with another 1/4 box of borax

Do this EACH evening, but skip that days dose if the filter was backwashed that day. What you are doing is building up some calcium on the sand that will tend to 'catch' the metals in your pool water.

Test the chlorine in the AM with the OTO kit, and add 1 gallon of bleach to the pool, if the chlorine level is below 3.0

[HOF-City]

Ok. I got all the stuff you recommended last night except for the OTO kit. I will get that today. I tested with the k-2006 this morning and Chlorine was at 1. I added a gallon of bleach per your instruction, and will add Borax and hypo this evening. Thanks.

[PoolDoc]

sounds good.

[HOF-City]

I got to reading in some other threads and noticed that it's recommended to keep your pool at shock level until you can keep from losing 1ppm chlorine from evening until morning. Considering my chlorine went from 3 to 1 overnight, and now (6:15pm) its at .4, should I be doing this?

[PoolDoc]

If you dose with cal hypo, as instructed above, that will take care of it. Just make sure your chlorine doesn't get below 2.0 ppm

[HOF-City]

Added the cal hypo and borax. Waited a couple hours then tested. My FC is under 1 and CC is 3. You said to make sure Chlorine stays above 2. Should I keep adding? Pool is looking the same. Steps have remained clean thus far after scrubbing, basically just green-blue color and cloudy.

[PoolDoc]

Yeah. You probably don't want FC + CC > 10 ppm. But, until you reach that, yeah, keep adding chlorine.