You need to get a good set of test results taken with a drop-based kit. Test strips are notoriously unreliable, and are not nearly accurate enough to clean up a mess. In a normal pool a CYA of 75, you need to shock the pool up to 20 ppm and hold it there by testing and adding more chlorine as necessary to maintain that 20 ppm until the algae is dead and your filter can get it all out. However, in a pool with a high metal content, taking your chlorine up that high will probably precipitate out the iron, causing staining in the pool. Normally we would recommend that you use a dose of HEDP to keep the metals in solution in the water, and a Culator pack in the skimmer to absorb and remove the metals, but that's a lengthy process. So....let me ask Pooldoc to check in on this thread and see if he can offer a useable suggestion.

In the meantime, please take a few seconds and enter your pool info in this chart--it will help us help you better, without wasting a lot of back-and-forth posting trying to get needed info about your pool.

Pool Chart Entry Form


Welcome to the forum!