My pool looks like a swamp

[vanman2501]

I have an above ground pool. It is 24' round and has 52" walls water level about 48". It holds around 18000 gallons of water if my calculations are correct.
I have a sand filter.
I have been using bleach and super shock.
I use baking soda and borax.
My readings are
FC 15 now it's much much higher
ph 7.5
TA 90
cya 50

[aylad]

With a CYA of 50, you want to maintain your chlorine between 15 and 20 ppm for "shock" level. If you let it yo-yo up and down, it will take a much longer time to clear than if you consistently have it at or above 15, so testing and adding extra chlorine to bump it back up several times a day will help you get through this faster. Your TA and pH are good for right now. Take a look at your "super shock" ingredients--is it dichlor or cal-hypo? If it's dichlor, then I would stop using it for shocking and use bleach instead (keeping in mind that "shock" is something you do TO your pool, not what you do it WITH) so that your CYA doesn't rise anymore. There are certain situations in which higher CYA is beneficial but on the average, you need to keep it between 20-40 ppm because the higher the CYA gets, the higher baseline chlorine level you need to maintain to compensate and keep your pool algae-free. With a CYA of 50, you already are going to have to maintain at least 3 ppm chlorine at all times, and the higher your CYA gets, the higher that chlorine minimum goes as well.

If you'll keep it shocked, and keep your pump running, the pool WILL clear--just be patient and try to remember that it didn't get that way overnight, so fixing the problem takes time too. Before long it'll be crystal!

Janet

[Watermom]

A few questions for you:

What ingredient is in your super shock?
How often are you testing and adding chlorine?

Your numbers look good. If you are maintaining that high of a chlorine level and not letting it drift down before you shock it back up, it is gonna kill algae. If you let it yo-yo up and down, it isn't gonna work and that is why many people can't get rid of algae.

TA, PH, and CYA levels are good.
Re-post with answers to the questions, and we'll go from there.

[vanman2501]

I don't know what the ingredients in the shock was I bought two bottles to see if it would help but I used it and tossed out the containers. I went back to bleach since then. I have been testing and shocking it once a day. The chlorine seems to be holding well. I was surprised at that since in the past I always had trouble holding shock level when I had a bad algae problem. I just checked it and it looks the same as it did 6 weeks ago. I will be going out to do my nightly duty of vacuuming and shocking. I have to go out of town so it's on it's on for a few days. I will put a couple of chlorine tablets in the floater and open it all the way to hopefully hold the chlorine level until I return.

vanman2501

[Watermom]

You really need to test at least twice a day to see how much the chlorine is dropping between bleach additions. When you are testing each day, what chlorine reading are you getting before you add bleach? Are you running the pump 24/7? Is there any debris on the bottom that you can scoop out? If so, that will speed up this process.

[vanman2501]

The lowest my chlorine has gone is 10 but most of the time it was around 15. I don't know what is at the bottom since I can only see down maybe an inch or so. I have gotten some leaves out from vacuuming but not a lot.

vanman2501

[Watermom]

If you can consistently keep it around 15, it will clear. Try and take a net and see if you can scoop any debris out. It would be great if you could get someone to add some bleach twice a day, but if not, then just hit it hard when you return. It really is important to hit it at least twice a day with bleach. It will clear if you can maintain this sustained high cl level.

Have you taken a look at the thread right above this one called "Skeptical that Bleach will Kill Algae?" If not, take a look. The pictures are pretty awesome.

[terpanther]

My pool looked like a swamp when I opened it this year too. The cover leaked and it was full of pollen. I scooped tons of it off the bottom and it stained the water and looked like an algae problem, but has filtered out after tons of vacuuming and filtering.

[AnnaK]

I have an above ground pool. It is 24' round and has 52" walls water level about 48". It holds around 18000 gallons of water if my calculations are correct.

I get 13,500 gallons. Not meaning to split hairs but when you get to the point of fine tuning the water balance, the difference in volume will make a difference in the amounts you add.

[Watermom]

You may have to get DE at a pool store. I'm not sure if places like Lowe's or Home Depot sell it in their pool supply section or not. It is added in the skimmer. Buy the smallest container of it that you can find which may be around 10 lbs. But, I wouldn't add the DE just yet. Since your water is still green, you've still got algae to kill and will most likely be backwashing frequently and will just end up throwing the DE out with the backwash. Kill the algae and then if your filter is having trouble filtering out everything, then that is the time to try adding a little DE.