Murky pool, tadpoles, and an inexperienced owner!

[Watermom]

Sorry. For some reason, I didn't see your post til now.

How much bleach did you add at one time?
Do you have readings from this evening?
How does the water look now?

[JV1980]

You were right, I checked this afternoon and my ppm had gone way down. I just added another 5 jugs of bleach and think I finally got it. Reading was a very very dark yellow (off the charts for my test kit).

Also added some baking soda to try to increase the alk.

Pool water is yellowish brown. Still can't see to the bottom but looks better/lighter. I suspect there are still a ton of leaves on the bottom that I didn't scoop and couldn't see.

Pump is running now and I'll test again in a few hrs to make sure my reading wasn't misleadingly high since I had just added the bleach.

I think I have cleared my local walmart of their entire bleach supply!

[Watermom]

http://pool9.net/oto-chart/

When you test chlorine again in a bit, go ahead and add more bleach to get back up to shock level. The more consistently you can keep the chlorine high, the faster it will clear.

If you think you still have debris on the bottom of the pool, try and scoop it out if you can. Otherwise, part of your bleach is going to be wasted on the organics in the pool instead of fighting the algae.

[JV1980]

Just tested. Level after a few hrs is still high. North of 13ppm I'd guess. I'll try to scoop more leaves but it's really a guessing game as to where they are since I still can't see to the bottom. Thx for all your help. I'll report back tomorrow. Probably should buy some more bleach huh?!?
.

[PoolDoc]

. . . membership updated.

[JV1980]

Hi watermom,
here's the latest:
Color of pool is a light brown, but still cloudy. i can't yet see to the bottom.
As of yesterday evening, #'s were:
Cl - 4ppm (added 2 jugs of bleach after taking reading. By morning, # was 5ppm)
pH - 7.8ppm (and I really havent added much borox since my initial effort a week ago)
Alk - 130 ppm

I've been running (and cleaning) the filter literally around the clock. Running it overnight and during the day while I'm at work. Is this the right thing to do?

Cl levels are still hard to stabalize, but getting better. Since I cannot see to the bottom yet, I'm still playing the guessing game trying to eliminate leaves. I think i have most of them, but there must still be some.

Explanation for the brown water? how can i start to get the color right? or do i just need to be patient?

Tx watermom, again for all the help. I feel I'm making progress, albeit slow. My daughter's bday party is in 3 weeks... think I'll have a pool for kids to use!?

-jeff

[Watermom]

The limit on your test kit's ability to read chlorine is 5ppm. So, is it really 5 or higher. Use this link and tell me what you think it is?
http://pool9.net/oto-chart/

How consistently are you maintaining shock level? It has to be consistent or it will take forever to clear up.

Yes, run the pump 24/7 while you are working to clear it.

Why don't you do yourself a favor. Buy the Taylor K2006 or 2006C kit. It will make this clean up a lot faster and easier. http://pool9.net/tk/

Do you fill from a well or city water?