mess after vacation

[Fiveattripp]

We have a 23,500 gal in ground vinyl pool, Chlorine
WOW...its been two weeks now and I still don't have it fixed. I left the pump on low while we were gone for a week and it was a mess when we returned...cloudy, yellowish, couldn't see bottom in 8' end, chlorine dropped to 0. We got a good bit of rain and I guess the water was pretty warm too. Anyway....After shocking it was still quite a mess. Chlorine level is good now, but I am fighting with the PH and Alkalinity. The alkalinity was at 200...after aerating with the jets for 2 weeks it is down to 150. During that 2 weeks I added 32 oz of algae treatment because it looks like there might be algae in the water, though there is none on the walls. The PH was up so I have gradually been adding acid to bring it down. It was 7.8 today and I added about a pint of acid. I will check it again in a while. All that being said....I have a PH of 7.8 and Alkalinity of 150. I can see the bottom, but it is still cloudy and the color is not pretty blue like it should be. Any help appreciated.

[Watermom]

We will need a full set of current water testing results to be able to help. Test strips don't count. Hopefully you have a Taylor K2006 kit (the one we think everyone should have). If not, you should do yourself a favor and get one. You won't be able to find it locally but can get it through this link:> http://pool9.net/tk/

Don't add any more algae treatment. Typically, they hurt more than they help.

What kind of filter do you have?

[Fiveattripp]

I just have the generic test kit from home depot. I guess I need to order the other. We have a sand filter...triton II. I'm good as long as it's pretty, but when it isn't it drives me CRAZY! I didn't know that about the algae treatment...how do you get rid of it if you have it?

[Watermom]

Nothing you can really do about the algaecide.

What all can your kit test? Is it an OTO/Phenol Red kit (yellow and red drops)?

[Fiveattripp]

Chlorine, yellow; PH, red; blue for alkalinity, clear for counting drops acid demand; and a bottle for chlorine neutralizer

[Watermom]

We really need to know your CYA level. How much chlorine is needed in a pool is based on that reading. (More about the CYA/Chlorine relationship can be found here:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/ )If you can order the kit I mentioned above, it will help you clear it up much more easily and also make normal routine maintenance easier as well.

In the meantime, try and keep your chlorine at around 15ppm. (In reality, 15ppm may not actually be high enough to kill the algae and clear it up but without knowing your CYA, it is as high as I can recommend for now.) Your OTO kit won't read chlorine levels that high but you can use the chart at this link to get approximate readings of off the scale colors:> http://pool9.net/oto-chart/

In a pool this size, each of the 121-oz jugs of Walmart's generic 8.25% bleach will add about 3 ppm of chlorine. Each evening when you test, add enough bleach to get the chlorine back up to around 15ppm.

Run the pump while you are trying to clear this up and backwash the filter as needed.