Persistent algae

[LSHerrera]

I have a very green and cloudy pool. I have been going to the pool store 3 times a week for about a month now and have spent far too much money on chemicals that have done absolutely nothing. I have a pool guy who say the flow and filtration are good and just keeps adding more shock. I’m so over the pool at this point and need help. I have 20,000 concrete pool with a cartridge filter. It is chlorinated and 8 feet deep at one end. Thanks for any help. I’m at a loss and feel so helpless.

[PoolDoc]

There is no magic wand; there are no 'trouble free pools'.

That said, there is a process that will fix things.

The simplest and quickest thing is to do all the following:

• Start adding a 25 ppm dose of bleach EVERY evening till it turns blue. With 8% PLAIN Walmart bleach, that would be about 6 gallons. With a concrete pool, 'overdoses' of chlorine won't hurt.
• Meanwhile, order a K2006 test kit (testkit link in my signature) and test BOTH your fill water AND your pool water. Pay particular attention to your cyanuric acid level.
• Post your filter make / model and let me find you a Unicel or other high-grade replacement cartridge. (If yours actually is good, then you can rotate them!)
• Do NOT pressure wash your cartridge: it destroys them!

Here are some other things you need to know:

• Managing pool chemistry requires a METHOD and not just CHEMICALS. You can NOT buy a 'PRODUCT' that will solve your problems; you MUST find and follow an effective METHOD.
• If you have well water, it sux to be you. Successfully managing well water filled pools is often not possible for typical pool owners.
• It would be hard to underestimate how little MANY "pool guys" know about pool chemistry. It is not a well paid job, and there is usually no effective training program. It is much more likely that YOU can learn to 'do it right' than that your 'guy' can. There are exceptions to everything, but around the country most pool guys are VERY ignorant.

If you are able to follow these instructions, I may have a better long term option for you.