New to the pool forum and fighting with an above ground pool that came with our home

[Watermom]

Hi and welcome to the PoolForum!

First thing is that we are going to need some actual numbers taken with a drops-based kit. Test strips are know as 'guess-strips' around here for a reason. And, having a pool store tell you that numbers are perfect doesn't really help either. We have lots of "perfect numbers" that we hear about on the forum that are far from it.

It is best to have your own kit so you can test reliably and not have to depend on a pool store. The test kit that we think is by far the best is the Taylor K2006 or 2006C (better buy). Not available locally but you can get it through this link that takes you to Amazon: http://pool9.net/tk/

But, in the meantime, go to Walmart and see if they have the HTH 6-Way drops-based kit (no test strips!) and get that. If they don't, get an OTO/Phenol Red kit (yellow and red drops) instead. Use it to test and then post your numbers. Also while you are at WallyWorld, get several jugs of their generic 8.25% bleach and a couple of boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax (laundry aisle) and a jug of distilled water.

Please also list exactly what all you have put in your pool, meaning ingredients and not just product names like 'floc' or 'clarifier.' Sometimes adding more stuff does nothing more than make a bigger problem to clean up.

One thing that may be hindering your ability to filter well is that your pump is pretty big for your pool and filter. In the case of pool pumps, bigger is NOT better. What actually happens is that instead of filtering, it forces debris through the sand field and back into the pool.

Something you might want to do is test your filter to make sure it is working properly. Buy the smallest bag of DE that you can find. Throw a handful into the skimmer while the pump is running and watch the returns. If you see white powder shooting back into the pool, you know your filter is not functioning properly. If it doesn't, then the DE can actually help your sand filter do a better job of catching stuff. More info about that here:> http://pool9.net/de-test/

Re-post with requested info. Also, tell us the source of your fill water (well or city water). Then, somebody here can try and help you get this cleared up.

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[LisaMarie]

Thanks for getting back to me! We do have a 5 way drop kit too (not 6 way). I will have to look into the ones you recommend when we return wed from a mini vacation.
We do use both when testing the pool though as I didn't know which one was better.

The drop kit has the chlorine off the chart (above 5)
PH is between 7.2-7.6.
Alkalinity takes 9 drops with our kit which is off the chart provided by the kit. The test strip reads alkalinity between 80-120
Hardness and stabilization we cannot test with this drop kit but the strips read hardness of 200 and CYA of 30-50.

Tests at both stores confirm the numbers above. We get a print out from a test machine (not that that means much, but between 2 stores and 2 test kits we match numbers which was why I was figuring they were real).

As for the stuff we've used in the pool. The floc and clarifier were used many weeks ago at the beginning of this mess and I no longer have the containers. The Shock we originally used - same thing. Container thrown away, but it was a gallon liquid shock purchased from the pool shop. We added 4 gallons. This did jack the free and total chlorine but didn't help clear it. We let the pool sit circulating for a while to see if it would eventually clear up. When it didn't we added 4 more gallons of the same shock. This time the free and total chlorine went up overnight but free chlorine was gone by the morning. We made the mistake of going to the pool store (they all think you are a bottomless pit of money) and they told us to add saf-t-shock. and oxidizing agent (chlorine free shock) to get the other shock working. Didn't work. They also told us to add stabilizer as ours was reading a bit low at the time (25). We then used a granular Ultra shock which says it contains clarifier, and a water softener (which has helped our hardness numbers). It says it has 56% Calcium Hypochlorite in it. We have added 3 lbs which raised both chlorine levels and held them pretty good for a few days. As the numbers started to fall again, it was at that point that we decided to change the sand in the filter thinking that with all the stuff we had pushed through it in the beginning we may have done some damage to it - too much back washing, channeling, etc.

Since the new sand we added more shock (the Ultra) to try to keep it up high and the filter has continued to run.

As for the DE through the filter. We actually have some and tried it with the old sand. It didn't do anything to help clear, but I also did not note if it came right back out the return. I wasn't looking for it. We can definitely try that again though and check it out! FYI - the pool has been vacuumed AGAIN and my husband found more debris on the bottom so I"m sure that wasn't helping. As for filling the pool, we use city water.

[LisaMarie]

We tried the DE last night and hardly any at all if anything came out the return. Very hard to tell because the pool is that cloudy. With that said, this pump and filter was purchased from a friend of ours who successfully ran a 24ft pool with this size pump and filter for a few years so if it was too big wouldn't he have had issues as well? His pool was perfect.

[BigDave]

Are you willing to drain and refill the pool? It may be cheaper and certainly quicker than trying to clear the pool of this unknown "hobo-soup" of pool store chemicals. Was the pool clear when first filled?

If you're going to refill, what does the inside of the toilet tanks look like?(presuming it's the same city water source)

@Watermom: Sorry for the simul-post, glad we're pretty much on the same page.

[LisaMarie]

Refill 21000 gallons of water....We've done that math already to figure out our water bill and way to expensive!

As for it being clear when filled. It was already full when we bought the house but had been covered for 3 yrs. We drained it down to about a foot deep and cleaned the debris and refilled. It was never clear even when refilled because we were battling against the long closure time with no chemicals in it.

[PoolDoc]

Just a couple of quick notes;

1. Your filter is too small for a 21k gallon pool. It will keep your pool fairly clear when everything's OK, but clean up will be VERY slow. The Waterway spherical tank design just makes things worse.

2. Your pump is WAY too big for that filter, and will force dead algae and such THROUGH the sand. It will also cause you blow sand out of the filter on every backwash. There's a good chance you are missing a bunch of sand.

3. You need to check make / model numbers on the pump and filter so I can confirm what I told you, above. => http://pool9.net/pf-equip-form/

4. If you purchase this filter, and install it BESIDE your existing filter, you'll be able to clean your pool much more rapidly:

Hayward Star-Clear Plus Pool Cartridge Filter

5. If you have a 2-speed pump, it will be easier to correct the problems.