Need SOOOO much help!

[waterbear]

Basically you are on the right track. Bring your FC up to shock levels (this depends on the CYA levels in your pool) and keep it there until the algae is gone and vacumn to waste to get rid of the dead algae that will settle out. (make sure your pH is in proper range since chlorine is more effective at lower pH).
If you post the numbers for your water people can give more exact advice.

[lorettasweet]

What's FC?

I have a crappy test kit for PH and CL. Just shows the colors and you match them up to the levels on the sides of the beekers or whatever. I tested and both were off the charts. Should I add PH balancer now? Or wait until the shock kills out some of the algea?

[waterbear]

FC means Free Chlorine, that's chlorine that is availabe to act as a sanitizer. The type of test kit you describe sounds like it uses OTO as the reagent and gives you a yellow color to compare. It only will test total chlorine which is a combination of free chlorine and combined chlorine (CC). Get yourself a good drop based test kit that will test:
FC Free Chlorine
TC Total Chlorine
(by subtracting the FC reading from the TC reading you will get your combinded chlorine (CC) which ideally should be 0)
pH
ALK Total Alkalinity
CH Calcium Hardness (only important if your pool is plaster, you have a heater, or have VERY hard or soft fill water)
CYA Cyanuric Acid, also known as stabilizer or conditioner. This acts as a 'sunscreen' for your chlorine and helps protect it from degredation by UV rays in sunlight. It is a two edged sword, however, and too high a level can cause all sorts of problems with algae and will require running your FC at higher levels to compensate.

I would HIGHLY recommend Ben's kit that is sold on the sister website http://www.poolsolutions.com but there are kits from other companies that will work. Walmart even sells a 5 way drop based kit for about $15 dollars but it will only measure total chlorine. You want to look for a kit that uses the DPD chlorine test (color change is pint to red), or even better , the FAS-DPS chlorine test (a titration test that is extremely accurate) instead of one that uses OTO (color change is yellow)
DO NOT USE TEST STRIPS since they will not give you the accuracy you need to successfully balance your water and monitor your chlorine levels.

Once you get your kit post (in the water treatment section of the forum) your:
pool size in gallons
pool finish (plaster, fiberglass, vinyl)
FC
TC
pH
ALK
CH
CYA
and you will find that you will get the help you need to get your pool clear and sparkling in a very short time!

[Watermom]

We really need some numbers to be able to offer advice. I wouldn't blindly start adding a bunch of stuff until you know what your levels are. Think about buying the test kit that Ben sells at the sister site to this one poolsolutions.com. But, in the meantime, try and get a kit that will measure FC, TC (total chlorine), alk, ph and cya if you can. (A drops based kit, not test strips.) Then, post your numbers here and someone can better advise you.

Watermom

[lorettasweet]

We really need some numbers to be able to offer advice. I wouldn't blindly start adding a bunch of stuff until you know what your levels are. Think about buying the test kit that Ben sells at the sister site to this one poolsolutions.com. But, in the meantime, try and get a kit that will measure FC, TC (total chlorine), alk, ph and cya if you can. (A drops based kit, not test strips.) Then, post your numbers here and someone can better advise you.

Watermom

Great, I will try to find one in the morning and test and post. I really want to learn how to properly get it clear and keep it clear. I had a miserable time last summer with it.

[lorettasweet]

FC means Free Chlorine, that's chlorine that is availabe to act as a sanitizer. The type of test kit you describe sounds like it uses OTO as the reagent and gives you a yellow color to compare. It only will test total chlorine which is a combination of free chlorine and combined chlorine (CC). Get yourself a good drop based test kit that will test:
FC Free Chlorine
TC Total Chlorine
(by subtracting the FC reading from the TC reading you will get your combinded chlorine (CC) which ideally should be 0)
pH
ALK Total Alkalinity
CH Calcium Hardness (only important if your pool is plaster, you have a heater, or have VERY hard or soft fill water)
CYA Cyanuric Acid, also known as stabilizer or conditioner. This acts as a 'sunscreen' for your chlorine and helps protect it from degredation by UV rays in sunlight. It is a two edged sword, however, and too high a level can cause all sorts of problems with algae and will require running your FC at higher levels to compensate.

I would HIGHLY recommend Ben's kit that is sold on the sister website http://www.poolsolutions.com but there are kits from other companies that will work. Walmart even sells a 5 way drop based kit for about $15 dollars but it will only measure total chlorine. You want to look for a kit that uses the DPD chlorine test (color change is pint to red), or even better , the FAS-DPS chlorine test (a titration test that is extremely accurate) instead of one that uses OTO (color change is yellow)
DO NOT USE TEST STRIPS since they will not give you the accuracy you need to successfully balance your water and monitor your chlorine levels.

Once you get your kit post (in the water treatment section of the forum) your:
pool size in gallons
pool finish (plaster, fiberglass, vinyl)
FC
TC
pH
ALK
CH
CYA
and you will find that you will get the help you need to get your pool clear and sparkling in a very short time!

You guys are great! I really really appreciate your help. Hopefully I'll post numbers tomorrow.

[lorettasweet]

Well, none of the pool places in town have the type of test kit you guys are talking about. I haven't tried WalMart yet. But I did find one of the pool places that offered for us to bring in some water from the pool and they will analize it and tell us what we need to do. So I'll probably try that in the morning, if they give me the results of the test I'll post them and you guys can see what they tell me. If I can't find the test kit at walmart I'll order the one online tonight.

[Poconos]

Just a word of warning. Do let the poolstore do the tests but ignore any advice they give, especially when they try and sell you a bunch of stuff. Keep your wallet and credit cards hidden.
Al

[CarlD]

Just a word of warning. Do let the poolstore do the tests but ignore any advice they give, especially when they try and sell you a bunch of stuff. Keep your wallet and credit cards hidden.
Al

You betcha. You don't wanna get "Pool Stored!" Get the results, tell 'em you'll be back when you've analyzed them with some friends (that's us! ). I'd be friendly, but firm--you may WELL need to go back to them for things like CYA (stabilizer), fittings, PolyQuat, test reagent chemicals.

If for some reason you want tri-chlor pucks or Cal-Hypo (and there are good reasons to use these products from time to time--just not all the time), you'll be back at the pool store.