Newby Intex Pool Owner Needs Advise

[Witmer5712]

I am living in Panama and purchased an Intex pool at a local store. Problem is there are no pool stores here to test water, give advise or even provide chemicals. I have found a few items at a local hardware store, but most people here get their chemicals at a local "chemist" shop.

I found a testing kit and found a supply of bromide tablets. I have been using baking soda from the grocery store to increase the alkalinity. After about 2 months the pool got the mustard algae, so I found a small amount of HTH shock at the local hardware store. The pool was pretty awful so I added one pack of HTH shock. Ran the filter for 24/7 for 2 days, nothing happened. So I added another 1pd bag of shock. Finally after 4 days the pool began to look normal but now the pool is cloudy and I don't know what to do next. Please Help!

Other factors are that we are in the rainy season, not much sun, lots of rain.

Free Chlorine is still around 4.5, so still high
PH 7.2
Alkalinity 80
Hardness 100
CYA 30-50

[PoolDoc]

Regrettably, our ability to help pool owners outside the US or Canada is very, very limited. Chemical and test kit availability is very different outside the US, than it is here.

If you can find PLAIN brand name bleach (Clorox?), you may want to use that to shock. Tell us your pool dimensions, and the % sodium hypochlorite on the local bleach available to you, and we can help with doses.

The SS recipe page has a LOT of information for Intex owners; you'll just have to check and see what's available to you via Amazon. The link is in my blue signature block below.

[Witmer5712]

Okay, our pool is a round Intex 16' X 48". So we have roughly 5000 gallons of water.

I used the HTH shock which is calcium hypocholorite. I know that this product tends to make the water cloudy after use. First I added 1 package which is double dose for my pool size, ran the filter 24/7 for 2 days. Nothing happened. So I added another package and ran pump again. After about 4 days water was getting better, clearing up. After 7 days Chorine levels reached normal as well as PH and alkalinity. CYA was between 3-50. However the pool never got clear. Now the pool is getting a greenish tinge to it and it is getting more cloudy.
Any suggestions? Shoud I shock again?

If so can I switch to bleach for shocking even if I have used the calcium hypochlorite recently?

[PoolDoc]

One of the primary reasons we recommend bleach so often, is that it can ALWAYS be used on a chlorinated or brominated pool, which allows us to recommend it even when the owner doesn't know all the details yet (or when we don't trust the owner's information!).