What am I doing wrong?

[Triciab007]

Okay, this morning the pool is blue, cloudy. Chlorine is deep orange, i know i was told not to check ph, but it shows 7.8, cya is 55. Whats next? Today is Day 2, i give 2 gallons this evening, brushing in between doses. Rinsing filters 3x a day. Anything else i'm missing? What do I need to prepare for once i get the okay to let Cl levels go down? Should I purchase an algaecide to add for preventative measures? Thanks again! Never thought this pool would turn blue again!
Tricia

[aylad]

No need for algaecides--you just need to keep the chlorine at appropriate levels for your CYA. With a CYA of 55, that means keeping it in the 5-10 ppm range at all times. Letting it get below 5 ppm for any length of time will give the algae a chance to come back. And as you can see, it's much easier to keep the levels up than it is to clean up the mess if you don't

[Triciab007]

Okay! Sounds great! And its fine to swim with it that high?

[PoolDoc]

Yes! Dermatologists prescribe "bleach baths" for even pediatric patients at levels 10x higher than that (and effectively, more like 100x higher, because the bleach bath water has no stabilizer)!

[aylad]

LOL, a common practice for us Southerners who live in the country is warm baths with a cup of bleach following any excursion into wooded or high grass/weed areas in order to kill off chiggers and release seed ticks. I don't know if you can even measure chlorine levels that high, but I promise that it exceeds 10 ppm!!

[Triciab007]

. So, from today on, i am to let my chlorine drop to 10 ppm, adjust ph back to 7.6, and continue sweeping and brushing till the cloudiness clears up?

[PoolDoc]

. So, from today on, i am to let my chlorine drop to 10 ppm, adjust ph back to 7.6, and continue sweeping and brushing till the cloudiness clears up?

Yes.

a common practice for us Southerners who live in the country is warm baths with a cup of bleach following any excursion into wooded or high grass/weed areas in order to kill off chiggers and release seed ticks.)

Well, I'm Southern, and WAY too familiar with ticks, but I hadn't heard that. We WILL be trying that!

BTW, a cup of bleach in a 40 gallon tub is about 100 ppm!

[Triciab007]

Okay, still blue and cloudy here. Chlorine is 10+, but more yellow than orange... Which i plan on maintaing, however ph has dropped now to 7.2, i'd ideally like it to be a little higher for flex room... How much borax should i add, and do i add it to the skimmer, or directly in pool?