slimy, gelatinous strings of goo ruin a good dip.........

[heyred52]

52" X 24' above ground Vogue Pool (10 years old)
Hayward Power Flo LX (new last summer)

I have only ever used granulated chlorine in the pool the last two years (very expensive....)

Opened 4 days ago
No leaves but slimy jelly-fish-like algae left over from last summer
Dark green

Put 10# granular chlorine in 3 days ago. Pool quickly turned light, slightly cloudy blue

Added 1.5 gallons bleach yesterday at dusk, jelly fish congealing into blobs and floating into filter basket but still on bottom and sides of pool (but it looks different from initial look)

Added another 1.5 gallons bleach early this morning

Got a HtH 6-way test kit (will order Taylor next paycheck...) and did testing this morning. As you can imagine:

Chlorine off the charts (red)
Ph 6.8
Alkaline was red (should have been green.....)
Cyanuric test couldn't be measured

Thanks! Love this site. I've been reading and reading---but I am still unsure where or what to do. All help appreciated.

[PoolDoc]

Can you take pictures of this, and send them to me at poolforum@gmail.com? Or post them on Picasa or Photobucket or something? You are describing something I've never seen.

Also, it's much easier to answer your questions, when we have the details about your pool in one place. We often 'waste' the first few posts back and forth collecting information. So, please complete our new Pool Chart form -- it takes about 30 seconds, but will save much more than that.

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results

Your pool holds about 13,500 gallons, so your PF=9, so a gallon of bleach will add about 4.5 ppm of chlorine. You might want to add 3 gallons of bleach (~15 ppm) in the late evening, rather than splitting it up. That way, all the bleach will be able to work on the 'goo', instead of losing some of it to sunlight.

[heyred52]

I actually found your site because of a posting by "Starfish", Cloudy pool/white stringy(snotty) stuff? (July 2011).

His discription is exactly what I am experiencing. I am unable to send a picture, but this sounds like the same stuff.

I vaccuumed this morning and will put the 3 gallons of bleach in tonight after sunset. More later. And thanks so much----I always feel very much alone and amateurish when it comes to the pool.....

[Watermom]

This forum will be a great resource for you. Keep us posted how it is going. We'll be here to help!

[heyred52]

added 3 gallons bleach at dusk last night.
took readings this morning: chlorine levels very high and Ph below 6.8

98% of the jellyfish-goo is gone and the water is crystal clear (a miracle after all my efforts/$$$$ last year!---THANK YOU!!!)

I have BBB ready await further instruction!

[BigDave]

6.8 is probably the lowest reading on your pH color comparator. I'd bring it up by adding a box of borax slowly in the skimmer with the pump running. Let it mix for a couple hours and read it again.

[Watermom]

Glad its much improved. Keep at it with the high chlorine levels. Order the good kit. Just saying that the cl is high doesn't really give you enough information. Also, as Dave mentioned, get the pH up above 7.0. Anywhere between 7.2-7.8 is fine. Don't wait days to do it. Add some Borax, let it circulate a few hours, retest, redose, repeat.

[waterbear]

with pH reading 6.8 or below and a pool that big (about 13k gallons) I would put in TWO boxes of borax right away, and keep monitoring pH every two hours and if still below 7.0 add another two boxes.
The fact that your TA was red initially instead of green indicates a pH that is probably below 4.0!
The low pH can damage your liner!
Once you get your pH above 7.0 post another set of test results!

[PoolDoc]

98% of the jellyfish-goo is gone and the water is crystal clear (a miracle after all my efforts/$$$$ last year!---THANK YOU!!!)

Don't stop, till it's 110% gone -- leave a little, and it will come back.

Consider adding 60 ppm of borates to your pool. This costs about $60 - 70 per 10K gallons, but makes your pool somewhat resistant to algae and such, and lasts till the water is replaced.