How long does it take for your pool to clear?

[rtpatter]

I opened my pool last Thursday to find a giant green mess underneath the loop loc cover. Algea and pollen everywhere. I basically just started pounding away with bleach along with a couple of tabs in the skimmer. I vaccumed a few times and have scrubbed the walls. The progress over the first 2 days was pretty good it went from dark green to blue and I could start to see the main drain. However after about two days it has leveled off and does not appear to be clearing anymore. I remember when I did the switch from Bauqa it only took about six days to have crystal clear water. I have tested the water and keep the FC around 10 - 15 my PH is at 7.2 and the CYA level is currently around 20 so I figure its ok to continue to use the combination of Bleach and tabs for the moment. The sand was changed in the middle of last year and I used bleach succesfully for the last few months before I closed. I'm wondering if something happened over the winter that affected my filter. How can I tell if the filter is working properly? The pressure does steadily rise after I backwash so I assume it working correctly. I'll post some pictures later to better illustrate but should I just continue to hammer away with bleach or do I have another problem?

[JohnT]

I think you need to stay at it. Have you vacuumed yet? Could be leaves and goo on the bottom. Also need to brush the bottom and walls to allow the chlorine to get to all of the algae. As to the filter, you should see crud in the backwash water. A sightglass is nice for this.

[Poconos]

Likewise it sounds like you just have to keep whacking away. One thing that may be a problem to remove is the pollen. Here is a link to one of my posts about adding a little DE to sand filters.
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...ht=%28ajs-1%29
Another suggestion that aids the brushing process, which I think is a PITA especially trying to get to all the nooks and crannys. If you can do it, jury rig the vacuum hose and brush to the pressure side after the filter. Once you vacuum the best you can then use this to blow dust, algae, and whatever else you didn't get with the brush. Puts out quite a stream of water and stirs up stuff so it gets in suspension where the skimmer and filter can catch it and chlorine has a better chance of doing its job. I have the valving to let me shut off the returns and feed a pipe to which the hose is attached. You can probably find the right PVC sizes to mate with the hose end. You'll be surprised what this rig stirs up.
Al

[rtpatter]

Not a bad idea I may try hooking up the vaccum hose to the Polaris outlet and the turning on the booster pump. That should give me quite a bit of pressure for underwater scrubbing.

[kaybinster]

I always wonder why some people have these problems. I have had my pool for about 9 years and never (am I just lucky?) have had any problems. I typically take the cover off the pool, drain the antifreeze out of the lines, start the pump and filter, shock the pool, turn the heater on and then go swimming. When I open the pool it is always crystal clear the way it was when I close it in the fall. Is this a function of my cover? I have a FOXX pool that has a vinyl cover much like a liner. There is a track above the liner and it locks into that just the way the liner does. It covers the pool so it is fairly airtight and nothing gets in it over the winter.

[bethsg]

I have just opened my pool for the 3rd time, and while the water isn't crystal clear, its just a bit dirty, I can still see the bottom clearly, and within a couple of hours of the bleach dump, and throwing my barracuda in... it's perfect. A day or 2 of adjusting this and that with my store bought chems... and I flip on my SWC and I am ready to go...
I think one thing I learned on this forum was to close late and open early. I don't close my pool until mid Nov (Balto MD area) and I open in mid april. As I am closing in NOV... I keep walking the pool making sure there isn't a speck of crap in the water before the mesh cover goes on.... sure some stuff will manage to make it through, but no big chunks. The idea at this point is the water has cooled down enough, along with the air to not let things fester.
THis year I am helping a friend switch to a SWC, since they literally spend a thousand bucks on chems per season. They tell me when they open their pool it's always a green mess... I am afraid of the challenge... but they never open before Mothers day, and they close in early SEPT... and I think that is their problem.

[leejp]

I'm on my 2nd season with a pool and while I've had some algae growth along the liner surface each year, it's swimmable chemistry-wise in a couple of days. I do have to wait a month for the water to warm up though..

Since I've been reading this forum, I've become the "pool expert" amongst friends/acquintances. We know a couple who bought a house with a pool and have done NOTHING for the years they've had the house (2 seasons as well). The cover's been on and it's an absolute mess.

Given that it's a fairly large IG pool... Do I drain, clean up (how?) and refill (could be costly given the water rates around here) or attack with mega doses of bleach and backwash the filter multiple times?

[CarlD]

Do the last.

Since the algae is sticking to the liner, be sure to brush the pool everyday while fighting the mess. That's a big chunk of your problem. Vacuum everyday to waste--yeah, you lose water, but it's still LOTS cheaper than draining and refilling.

Be sure to keep your FC high--check it 3x a day, morning, when you get home from work, bedtime, and add bleach as needed. Your FC should be at least 15ppm (assuming 30ppm of CYA or more) all the time--aim for it.

Remember Carl's Rule of Thumb: 1 gallon of 5.25% bleach adds 5.25ppm to 10,000 gallons. 1 gallon of 6% adds 6ppm to 10,000 gallons. For 20,000 gallons, you need 2 gallons to get the same raise.

If this gets you confused, download MWSmith2's bleach calculator program and just plug in what you need, and how many gallons your pool is. It's free and it works! (and it won't infect your PC...)

[kevincad]

I opened my pool last Thursday to find a giant green mess underneath the loop loc cover. Algea and pollen everywhere. I basically just started pounding away with bleach along with a couple of tabs in the skimmer. I vaccumed a few times and have scrubbed the walls. The progress over the first 2 days was pretty good it went from dark green to blue and I could start to see the main drain. However after about two days it has leveled off and does not appear to be clearing anymore. I remember when I did the switch from Bauqa it only took about six days to have crystal clear water. I have tested the water and keep the FC around 10 - 15 my PH is at 7.2 and the CYA level is currently around 20 so I figure its ok to continue to use the combination of Bleach and tabs for the moment. The sand was changed in the middle of last year and I used bleach succesfully for the last few months before I closed. I'm wondering if something happened over the winter that affected my filter. How can I tell if the filter is working properly? The pressure does steadily rise after I backwash so I assume it working correctly. I'll post some pictures later to better illustrate but should I just continue to hammer away with bleach or do I have another problem?

Mine doesn't take any time to clear! When I close my pool for the winter, I before I put the cover on, and unhook the lines (ag), I make sure that my CC is near zero, then make sure that the FC is at least 5. I clean the pool real well, making sure there is NO debris in it, then cover it. When I open it, it's crystal clear. Third year this has worked for me, anyway.