really cloudy water

[tarak]

went to walmart yesterday and they did not have the hth 6 way test kit, seemed to be sold out of them all except strips, so I'm stuck with what I have for now....I will go back again in the morning and pick up the bleach, distilled water, and borax, could you please specify the exact amount I should get and how much I should put in the pool at a time? I want to do it properly. thank you!!
also about the pump and filter, the original pump we got with the pool last year was a smaller one and failed working it was under warranty and they had to replace, this is the one they gave us, they said that it's the one they are using now.
and as for the current color of the water it is blue, no more green and no more algae, I'm not even getting the dead algae floating around anymore, I do believe I have killed it all off

[PoolDoc]

Maybe, 6 gallons of PLAIN 8% bleach; 2 boxes of borax, and 1 gallon of distilled water. Try to find a 2-way OTO/phenol red drops kit, too.

Till you get things worked out, adding 1/2 gallon of bleach each evening should 'keep' your pool.

[tarak]

what is the borax and distilled water for?

[PoolDoc]

Borax increases your pH without screwing up other things -- if you have low pH, you want to fix that ASAP since it can tear up your pool.

Distilled water is for pH testing (and later, CYA testing, if you have high CYA). Phenol red pH tests only work up to 5 ppm of chlorine (10 ppm with the Taylor kits), but you can dilute pool water with distilled, lowering the chlorine, but not changing the pH much.

[tarak]

ok I went to 2 walmarts and both are sold out of the HTH 6 way all they had were the 3 way, which I already have, I picked up the borax and the bleach came home and tested the water my ph is reading 6.8 or below, BR is 0.4 CL is 0.2
The water is very blue but still very cloudy, I know I need to add the borax to bring up the ph but how much do I add? AND do I add it directly to the water or do I mix with fresh water then add to pool? also do I add the 1/2 gallon of bleach at the same time or do I wait awhile then add?
I've already backwashed 3 times today, and it's been 48 hrs since I have added anything to my pool water.
it's been a pretty beautiful sunny hot day here in Tn so I know I need to wait a bit while the sun goes down some before I add anything.
thank you so much for all your help so far!!!

[Pappy]

OK. Try the DE. It is about $11 for 10 lbs in the Dallas Tx area. That much will last you - on your current pool - for about 60 years (OK, maybe not really 60, but really MANY years), and it doesn't ever go bad.

[PoolDoc]

The DE is a good idea, but watch the pool return, where water re-enters the pool. If you see DE being sprayed out into your pool, your filter probably needs more sand.

[tarak]

ok headed out to get DE let's hope my always understocked walmart has it, tested water an hr and half ago and ph was at a 7.6 and CL was a lil higher than ideal
water still cloudy and not being able to see the bottom I backwashed and it didn't look to bad from what I could see.
quick question.....if/when I find DE do I mix it with anything or add straight to skimmer? do I remove skimmer basket? sorry that was 2

[Pappy]

If you put about 1/4 cup of DE into the skimmer and it doesn't shoot out of the returns, you know your filter is working, and will eventually get the pool cleaned up. The DE will help your filter work better, but you'll have to backwash more often. I always add a little DE to my skimmer after I backwash. Also, if the water is clear enough that you can see the bottom, it's fine to go swimming. Dead algae is harmless to people and keeping it stirred up helps get it into the filter. Just be sure you can't loose sight of someone in the cloudy water.

Pappy

[tarak]

no we cannot see the bottom at all