Help! Big Time!

[PoolKid]

I don't know what to do!

I have a above ground pool, about 5 weeks ago, my pump broke, and i left the pool with out a cover on and i stoped putting chlorine in it and now i just got a new pump thats comming friday, the water is all green, bugs everywhere,

What should i do since its septmeber?

Should i try to clean the pool, if so how?

Should i leave it alone and wait for spring, if so do i need to put a cover on cause i dont have a cover.

I cant take the pool down.

[Phillbo]

Add a bunch of bleach to start getting it back in shape would be my thought.


Why did you stop chlorinating when the pump broke?

[PoolKid]

I am just stupied, What do you mean bleach? The one you buy from the store for your wash? just pour that in? will it bleach the liner? dose the filter need to be running when i do that?

Any other suggestions?

[ChuckD]

Heh, kinda new here, aren't ya Kid?
This forum's all about using normal, unscented bleach (or other forms of chlorine) and avoiding the dreaded pool stores.
Check out the 'stickies' at the top of this discussion. Everything you need to know. You'll save Big Bucks and I promise the best looking pool.

If I were you, I'd clean it up, balance the chems as advised here and cover it.

Welcome and don't be afraid to ask questions (and read the stickies).

Chuck

[PoolKid]

Hey ChuckD,

Thanks for the advice, :P

The only problem is cleaning it up i don't know how to, I am not very handy at pool stuff lol

Im going to check stickys now.

But if you can explain in detail what i need to get and where and how to put it in, that would be great.

Edited Part:

Also Do i need to have the filter to do anything? Cause that wont be here till friday.

The pools Green but not so green that you cant see the bottom.


The Stuff that i have left is this:

A whole Bunch of Chlorine tabs

Aqua Chem algaecide liquid

and a half a bag of shock,

LOLLLLLLLLL! thats all i have?!!?@!?@!

[ChuckD]

First you need a test kit that will give you results for high levels of chlorine (up to 25 or so) since that's how you'll clean up the algae. The FAS-DPD test is the best. It's included in Ben's great test kit, but I hesitate to recommend it right now. He's having some trouble getting them out. No test strips allowed tho. They aren't reliable.

Get a decent kit and get your circulation going, read, read, read and give us some numbers, then we can talk about what you need to do. Also we need to know what kind/size is your pool and what kind of filter.

C.

[PoolKid]

My Pools Not a big pool, Its above ground, and is just 18 ft by 4 ft

My filter pumps about 2000 gals,

It's not that big, thats why i dont really want to spend so much $$ on a test kit for a small pool like that.

As you said test strips are unreliable, but thats only what i have now, and it reads nothing when i stuck it in,

[ChuckD]

My Pools Not a big pool, Its above ground, and is just 18 ft by 4 ft

My filter pumps about 2000 gals,

It's not that big, thats why i dont really want to spend so much $$ on a test kit for a small pool like that.

As you said test strips are unreliable, but thats only what i have now, and it reads nothing when i stuck it in,

There are pools here much smaller than yours. A test kit is key to keeping your water clean and clear, consider it an investment. And if you can't provide accurate numbers, there isn't a whole lot anyone can do to help, eh?

You've got the same concerns as someone with a 50K inground, just on a smaller scale.

Some suggestions (from Leslie's Pools who I'm not endorsing, no connection to them, just for reference):

- FAS-DPD test kit (you'll use this a lot) #18546
- http://www.poolsupplies.com has a kit called a "7 Way" (#107770) for $20 that looks like it'll pick up the other stuff you need to test for.

In order to get ***istance here you'll need to be able to provide levels for free chlorine, combined chlorimines, pH, total alkalinity and cyanuric acid (CYA). Also important is knowing if your filter is a sand, cartridge or diatomaceous earth (DE) medium.

Last thing I would strongly suggest: once you start this process, and if you're getting help here, don't veer off and start adding stuff based on a pool store's advice (or other 'helpful' types). I've seen many who come here to get advice, they're sent away to do one thing and they come back and said something like 'so my neighbor two doors down said I should add 20 pounds of ACME PeeClear so I did, or worse (and this really happens) they say they stopped at a local Pool store and returned with $150 chemicals and dumped them in. We advocate a very simple, cheap, healthy process that doesn't have much to do with the profits of pool stores and it's really important not to deviate from it.

So, that said, once you get your pump and filter up and running, and barring any unforseen issues, you should have clear water in 3 to 5 days. Personally, I wouldn't do anything with the pool until you can get the filter working. IMO, circulation goes hand in hand with dosing it with chemicals.

Also, don't know where you are but it sounds like you're getting ready to close for the winter. I still think it's worth it to go thru the process for a month or so to get to know it. Then when spring comes around you'll have a leg up on how it works and the learning curve will be easier.

HTH,

Chuck

[PoolKid]

Hey Chuck, Thanks for all the info.

Is there any place i can get that filter, in the NC salisbury area?

I have a pool suppy store buy the only water kit they got is BioGuard OTO/pH Test Kit.

Would that be good enought to test my pool with?

Thanks again

[Simmons99]

The OTO test kit only tests chlorine levels up to 5ppm (or worse sometimes 3ppm). The best is the one that Chuck listed with the link to the Internet site. If you cannot wait - yes you can get the OTO kit, but you will need to also purchase DISTILLED water (from the grocery store)

When you test - you will take one part pool water with 3 parts DISTILLED water - then test - then multiply your results by 4. THIS IS NOT THE MOST ACCURATE WAY - but it might get you by until you can get a FAS-DPD test kit like Chuck listed.