algae and too low ph

[CarlD]

You need to read up on our BBB system--Bleach, Borax and Baking Soda. Your pool is small so bleach is the easiest way to get your chlorine up. Your algaecide, unless it's Polyquat (Poly something-something 60% and nothing else) is worse than useless. Borax is the cheapest and yet the best way to raise your pH. 20 Mule Team Borax from the supermarket. But without a full set of test results I can only guess what you need to do.

But what you really need is two things: 1) Knowledge, which is free and is freely available her and at our sister site, PoolSolutions.com, where you can read and learn to care for your pools. and 2) A proper test kit. We recommend the Taylor K-2006 or K-2006C kits (same but the C has more chemical--"reagents"). For a cheaper, stop-gap alternative, WalMart sells the HTH 6-way drop test kit, which is pretty good. Guess strips are not recommended.

[Watermom]

The K2006 kit that Carl suggested can not be found locally but you can get it through this link:> http://pool9.net/tk/

What kind of shock have you been using --- cal-hypo or dichlor? Have you been using trichlor pucks? Both dichlor and trichlor have CYA in them. They are also both very acidic and will drive your pH down. I have a hunch that your CYA level is high and you aren't running high enough chlorine levels to keep the algae at bay. We see that scenario frequently here on the forum. You can read more about the CYA and chlorine connection here:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/

Get a kit and post current readings. Also, tell us exactly what all you have put in your pool meaning ingredients and not just product names like 'algaecide' and 'shock.'

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