Help! Big Time!

[PoolKid]

This is the worst situation i have ever gotten my self into with the pool,

FK ill see what i can do about the kit, i dont know when ill be able to get it.

[aylad]

Again, you don't have to wait for the kit, if you'll just take a sample of pool water to a local pool store and have them test it for you. Just don't buy anything on the list of chemicals they will try to sell you.;

Janet

[PoolKid]

What do i do? Just walk in and ask them for a free test? I know they give a free test but my pool store known to screw people up when they walk in.

[aylad]

Walk in the door with a sample of pool water, and tell them that you need to have it tested. Let them test it, then when they start trying to sell you a bunch of stuff, tell them you have some of it at home but will be back to get the rest. Walk out with the printout, and post your numbers here. Somebody will be able to help you.

Janet

[Ohm_Boy]

You do need to get started. I would suggest the following.

First, grab a sample of your water and set it aside.
Then get a couple of gallons of bleach (not perfumed... just regular bleach) - check the label to make sure it's 6% or 5.25% sodium hypochlorite. Some low-end brands are 2 or 3%... avoid them.
Walk around the pool and pour the bleach into the pool as you walk. This will help distribute it more evenly. If you can run your pump, run it.

Now take your water sample to a pool store, and ask them if they can test your water. They will happily test it for you. While they are testing, see if they have a small DPD-based 5-way or so test kit that can test for chlorine, pH, TA, and maybe CYA. That should get you going.

With the test done, they will give you the results and tell you that you need chlorine, shock, stabilizer, ph-up or ph-down or ph-sideways, probably some clarifier, algaecide, and maybe a couple of other things. They may even be having an end-of-season sale and boy, will they have a deal for you.

Thank them for the test and recommendations, tell them that you have to check with your spouse before you buy anything, or that you have a cousin with a pool and you want to mooch all of his chemicals first, or something. Buy the test kit, take the results printout, and head home.
Post your results here.

[PoolKid]

Okay i will,Ohm_Boy

The only test kit my pool store has is OTO/pH Test Kit. Will that be alright? and than i got some test strips left over. that test like 7 way or w.e


Im working on getting the Other Test kit.

[Ohm_Boy]

I feel that anything that can give you even a rough idea of your conditions is better than just guessing with nothing. It's sort of an emergency deal - you do what you can do right now.

You said you have an 18x4, which is likely an Intex Easy-Set. These guys are pretty close to 18 feet in diameter at the base, and taper in something like 10 inches or a foot near the top. The waterline is about 30-something inches above the floor. I measured it once, and although I don't recall the exact dimensions, I did calculate it to be right at 6000 gallons.
One gallon of 6% bleach is 0.06 gallon of actual sodium hypochlorite. In 6000 gallons, 0.06 gallons is a ratio of 6000:0.06, or 600,000:6 or 100,000:1 or 1,000,000 to 10. That's 10 parts chlorine per million parts of water. Easiest pool math you'll ever run up on.

Two gallons of bleach will put 20 ppm into the pool. That will START killing the nasties in the pool. The nasties will fight back and consume the free chlorine in the process. You will need to keep the chlorine level high to outgun and outlast the algae and bacteria and bugs and lions and tigers and bears. Oh my. This (and loss from sunlight/UV exposure) is why you need to check your chlorine levels so that you can keep it high. You could need a few gallons for the next few days.

Oh yeah... you may want a couple of filter cartridges too. Once the algae starts dying, it'll start gunking the filter. You can rinse it off with a good stiff spray from a garden hose every couple of days to keep it going, but it'll eventually clog.