Nobody knows! Help Is it phosphates, water to hard.......

[meme2]

ok I'm back, water test I used OTO drops for chlorine 1.0-1.5, phenol red for PH with was 8. I also have a 6 way test strip kit hardness 500, chlorine low, free chlorine ideal, ph high 7.8, total alkalinity high 160, stabilizer ok 50.
I will text you the pictures of the pool, pump and simple salt system.
You asked about the budget, well don't want to spend and arm and leg but want to do what I need to do. Question, did I mess the pool up by mixing different chemicals? Not me but getting different pool people to test water and suggest stuff. Only asking.
I don't have anything to test for phosphates. we have had to add water the last couple of days due to hot weather and all the vacuuming. Yes we have well water thats softened with water softener. I don't know about the manganese and sulfur, I would say a little bit of iron but I don't have iron built up in anything toilet or sink. I can by pass the softner and run straight well water. I have never had any staining with the ionizer (maybe it didn't work?).
The pool today was the best its been blue and clear. We have vacuumed 4 times on waste.
ok hope I have given you all the information you needed and Im gonna send the pictures now.
I have gotten the Walmart pool chlorine and ph down and also gotten the borax. oh ionizer is unplugged!

[PoolDoc]

OK. Let's cautiously assume the test values you have are fairly close to accurate.

1. With a CYA = 50, your chlorine needs to be higher. Start adding 1/2 gallon doses in the evening of the 10% bleach. Back off a bit once your chlorine level starts holding above 3 ppm.

2. Your pH is too high, especially with calcium levels that may exceed 500 ppm. We'll need to lower those . . . but that's for later. Use 1/4 bottle (~1.3 lbs) doses of the dry acid or "pH down" from Walmart. Add 1 dose each evening till your pH is 7.6 or a little lower. Do NOT let the acid and bleach mix. You can add the acid to the skimmer; do NOT add the bleach to the skimmer! Best option? Get a bucket, fill it 3/4 with pool water, add the acid to the bucket, stir with a plastic stick or spoon till dissolved, then pour into the pool!

3. Avoid filling if you can. but if you need to fill, add a dose of bleach and then begin adding water SLOWLY through the skimmer.

4. Go ahead and order [/B] the K-2006 test kit from Amazon.

5. Order an extra cartridge filter for your pool filter.

6. Let's postpone looking at phosphates till later UNLESS you have, or expect, algae problems. Right now, the (possibly) high calcium level may well interfere with phosphate control efforts. We need trustworthy test results for the K2006 before taking other steps.

7. I got pictures of everything EXCEPT the "Shimmer" label and EPA Est. numbers on that label.

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Regarding causes . . .

It appears to me, that your current problems resulted from the overdose of calcium, followed by attempts to clean up the calcium carbonate cloud that (inevitably!) resulted. Whoever is responsible for that 50# dose of calcium chloride triggered the problem. Whoever gave you the floc, made it worse.

. . . but I am NOT absolutely certain.

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+ 10% Pool bleach (to chlorinate, without side-effects)
+ 5lb bottle of pH Down (to LOWER pH)
+ 20 Mule Team Borax (to RAISE ph, without side-effects)
+ K-2006 test kit from Amazon

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[PoolDoc]

Got your "Shimmer" pics; thanks. Unfortunately, couldn't ID the materials used to dilute the cal hypo, except for the borax.

Lemme know when you have test results, or if you have any acute problem pop up. Keep swimming as long as the pH is between 7 and 8, the chlorine > 2 ppm, and the water clear.

[meme2]

ok have ordered the K-2006 from Amazon. I did PH down last night and the chlorine level was 3. Didn't have time this morning but will test tonight. I haven't used any borax yet, was I suppose too?

[PoolDoc]

I haven't used any borax yet, was I suppose too?

Borax RAISES pH, so no, not needed at present. Just keep on with the daily doses of pH Down, till your pH reaches 7.6 or lower. And keep dosing with chlorine. Once you get the kit, and have a set of results, post them. But as long as the pH is below 7.6, and the chlorine is > 2 ppm, and the water is clear . . . you should be fine, for now.

By the way, you might want to take a look at these videos on using the K-2006: http://pool9.net/tk-guide/ . I think most people find the kit easier, if they've seen it done, before doing it themselves.

[meme2]

ok, did the test. That was intense. here is the results:
4ppm free chlorine
4ppm combine chlorine
7.4 ph
110ppm alkalinity
400ppm calcium hardness
and cyanic acid didn't even register.
I did watch the video several times before I did the test to make sure it was done properly.
The pool is beautiful right now, but I do have a add chlorine every other day to make it register.
ok I will wait to hear from you. Thanks!!

[PoolDoc]

The way the K-2006 works, your results really are:

4 ppm free chlorine (FC)
4 ppm total chlorine (TC)
7.4 pH
110 ppm alkalinity (Alk)
400 ppm calcium hardness (CH)
0 ppm cyanuric acid (CYA)

TC - FC = CC (combined chlorine), or in your case, 4 - 4 = 0 CC, which is good.

Your chlorine, pH, and alkalinity are fine.

The low cyanuric acid will make managing the pool harder than needed. The high calcium is NOT a problem UNLESS you have a heater, a salt water chlorine generator (SWCG) OR let your pH get high. It does mean you do NOT want to use chlorine in the form of cal hypo (calcium hypochlorite), since that adds even MORE calcium.

What I'd recommend at this point is:

Get some bagged dichlor (55% chlorine, 50% stabilizer). If you have access to a Sams Club, their box with 24 x 1# bags of dichlor is the best price and material. Otherwise, you'll need to order from Amazon. Currently (July 2018), this is the best option -- and nearly as cheap as Sams Club -- but you can check this one, and this one, too. Be sure to note that the last option is 12#, not 24#. The good thing about the bagged dichlor is that it seems to keep OK till the next year -- unlike every OTHER form of chlorine.

Each bag of dichlor will add 5.5 ppm of chlorine, and 5 ppm of stabilizer to your pool. You can use a bag instead of bleach each evening. Once you've added 6 - 8 bags, you should have a decent CYA level, and your chlorine consumption will drop.

Basically, it looks like you are ready for a routine:

1. Add chlorine with pool bleach (1/2 gallon dose), normally, but use dichlor (1 bag dose) if your stabilizer is low.
2. RAISE your pH, if it gets to 7.2, using 20 Mule Team borax (1 box per dose).
3. LOWER your pH, if it gets to 7.8, using dry acid (pH Plus, etc) (2 cups per dose).
4. Do NOT use ANYTHING else, unless you REALLY need to do so . . . and you probably don't!

If you haven't gotten one already, I would recommend that you get the HTH 6-way kit in addition to the K2006. You can get it from from Amazon or sometimes from Walmart . The OTO/phenol red kit is much faster and easier to use than the K2006 . . . and is good enough for everyday use AFTER you've established a routine with the K-2006. The alkalinity and CYA test in the HTH are the SAME as the one in the K-2006.

Also, if you haven't gotten a spare cartridge, I would recommend that you do so. Filtration is very, VERY important, and it is easier to keep a clean cartridge in the filter, if you can swap them out, and soak the old one before washing it.

Other than that, it sounds like you are close to having everything under things in control.

It IS possible that you'll have problems with mustard algae, later in the season. In some pools, it can grow, even when everything is correct. There is a fairly easy way to resolve this, but it involves learning some more stuff. And there's no reason to worry about it yet, since mustard algae is NOT a problem on all pools.

Good luck!