Need advice on cloudy Intex Pool . . . but I don't want a K2006

[EllenF]

I did the chlorine again. I'd say it's higher than 10. It's a mustard color. I would think this would seem about right given that I'd shocked it 3 days ago?
The link you gave me is hard to decipher holding it to a computer screen but I'd say it's between 9 and 13.
I also mixed the pool water with distilled and did the ph again and this read 7.2
The liquid shock just says sodium hypochlorite 12.5 and inert ing 87.5. I have more of that and I also do have walmart bleach. With those numbers should I add more?
It's raining today so I can't tell if it is clearer than this morning.
Having spent $25 on the HTH Drop kit, I can't justify spending at least another $50 on the one you like. If I end up going with a permanent pool in the future I'd invest in it, but right now I'm at the point where I've spent so much time on this Intex pool I'd rather take it down than throw much more money at it.

Thanks and let me know if I should add anything!

[Watermom]

To clear the pool, you need to keep it at shock level which with a CYA reading of 50 would be 15ppm. So, yes, you need to add more. It's ok to use up the 12.5% first. I gave you reference amounts in the previous post so you can figure out doses to add whenever you test to get back to 15ppm.

Another and less expensive option instead of the full K2006 kit is to just buy the add-on kit called the K1515. That would give you the test that your kit is missing which allows you to be able to measure chlorine levels past 5. It is also available through that same link posted above. It will make it a whole lot easier to manage your pool if you can test levels more accurately.

Keep an eye on your pH. You are ok at 7.2 but if it goes any lower, you should bump it up a little by using some of the Borax. Add about a half a cup at a time and then several hours later, retest and redose until you get it where you want it. Anywhere between 7-8 is ok with the mid 7s usually best for most pools.

[PoolDoc]

Having spent $25 on the HTH Drop kit, I can't justify spending at least another $50 on the one you like. If I end up going with a permanent pool in the future I'd invest in it, but right now I'm at the point where I've spent so much time on this Intex pool I'd rather take it down than throw much more money at it.

Lots of people reach this point in their thinking, without recognizing the error most are making. The problem is, you will almost certainly continue to 'throw money' at your pool, without a K2006. I don't want to overstate this; having a K2006 will NOT fix your pool. Rather it will make it POSSIBLE for you to fix your pool.

If you are serious about draining the pool . . . that is certainly the cheapest option. Otherwise, you need accurate testing.

There's another point to consider. As more and more PF users have inexpensive pools, we're running into resistance from those users to the idea of buying an 'expensive' kit. Instead -- without really thinking about it -- they end up asking us to continue to spend time with them GUESSING at the best thing to do with their pool. They often combine these actions with intermittent trips to the pool store, where they get 'free' water tests that have ALWAYS been designed to sell more chemicals. The result is that their pool situation becomes more and more confused and complex, as they partially follow our directions, but mix in the occasional doses of over-priced pool store voodoo chemicals that will "fix everything" (NOT!).

I'm going to have to talk to my moderators and the Support Team, but I think it's time to tell small pool owners that it's unfair to us, and to other forum users, to monopolize our time this way. Instead, I think it may be time to offer 3 options:

1. Get a K2006 + adequate filtration AND stop using pool store 'free' testing, or dumping in pool store 'goop'

OR

2. Drain and refill, and then follow the Super Simple Recipe (http://pool9.net/ssr/ which does not require the K2006.

OR

3. Actually drain and abandon your pool.

Anything else simply wastes your money, and both your time, and ours.

Best wishes.

[EllenF]

Wow, Ben, what a warm welcome to the pool world you've given me.
I'm new to all this and came here for some advice, which Watermom gave me. I was and am appreciative of her.
How exactly did I waste your time when you didn't respond to any of my posts? Watermom did a great job educating me on the basics, but since I'm just a small resistant little pool owner I won't bother you all any more.

[PoolDoc]

Your choice, of course.

I handled it badly, and should have checked with my mods, etc first.

I can certainly see how my response came across as rude -- I have tendency to 'think out loud' at times, and that's what I was doing. But the simple fact remains that, if you have problems with a small pool, the 3 options I gave you are really the ones you have -- not because I'm being mean or rude, but just because those are the facts.

Test it accurately -- and then fix it -OR- drain and refill it and then use the SSR (which avoids some of the need to test -OR- give it up.

Of course, there's a 4th option the pool chemicals companies hope you'll take, and that's to keep buying useless pool chemicals OR using bad test methods (strips or pool dealers) so they can keep selling you stuff, as the problems continue.

Sorry I didn't say it better. Good luck.

[Watermom]

Ellen, if you are able to buy the K1515 kit I mentioned above, that will give you the ability to test accurately and we will be able to help you clear your pool up. Let us know.

[CarlD]

My first pool was an Intex donut, 15' diameter, 15 years ago we used for three years.
I went thru many of the same problems you did...wasting money on "How To Tame The Pool Monster" and other useless, expensive industry advice. I put in the wrong chemicals, the wrong algaecide, but nothing worked.

Then, in the 2nd season, I found the Pool Forum. I was one of the first members to have an Intex anything, and Ben knew little about it and was highly skeptical I'd be able to make it work with the as-yet-unamed BBB system in a 3500 gallon fish bowl with a lousy undersized cartridge filter. But I bought the equivalent of the K-2006, and it was the best investment I ever made! My water troubles with the Intex were over, and after the 3rd season I built my current pool and managing it was easy.

But here is the thing: We can only give you our best advice. You can take it or not take it, because it is your pool, not ours. We hope you will take it because most of our members are able to enjoy their pools with minimum effort and expense because our advice is the simplest, most logical, and effective you can get.

[EllenF]

Thank you all. I DO understand that you can only give me your advice and can't read my total chlorine without the K2006. I never asked you to find a way around it or guess. What I just didn't appreciate was a moderator coming down hard on me (or changing the name of the thread). This pool has been a good intro to the whole process. I especially never knew that places like Leslie's were like when I'd take my car to Jiffy Lube for an oil change and they'd try to flush my radiator for $300.

[JimK]

My first pool was an Intex donut, 15' diameter, 15 years ago we used for three years.
I went thru many of the same problems you did...wasting money on "How To Tame The Pool Monster" and other useless, expensive industry advice. I put in the wrong chemicals, the wrong algaecide, but nothing worked.

Then, in the 2nd season, I found the Pool Forum. I was one of the first members to have an Intex anything, and Ben knew little about it and was highly skeptical I'd be able to make it work with the as-yet-unamed BBB system in a 3500 gallon fish bowl with a lousy undersized cartridge filter. But I bought the equivalent of the K-2006, and it was the best investment I ever made! My water troubles with the Intex were over, and after the 3rd season I built my current pool and managing it was easy.

But here is the thing: We can only give you our best advice. You can take it or not take it, because it is your pool, not ours. We hope you will take it because most of our members are able to enjoy their pools with minimum effort and expense because our advice is the simplest, most logical, and effective you can get.

+1!