Having Trouble Cleaning a Pool..

[PoolDoc]

OK. The pump strainer basket, and the main drain cover. Don't think I'd offer to swim down to get that, either.

Dead algae is brown, so that's probably a good thing. Continuing to keep the chlorine high is the right thing to do, especially if you have piles of algae. Otherwise, the pile will consume the chlorine when you brush up the algae, and leave you with a pool no chlorine and lots of live algae -- NOT a good thing.

Just FYI: when you have layers of algae like you describe, the total consumption of chlorine, before you finish, can be enormous. So, don't be surprised.

[BoredOne]

Ok my mspaint skills not that great.. =) However I do have pictures to better give an idea of the setup I have..

A link to the page that has 6 images..

http://imageshack.us/g/689/20110912184709.jpg/

Pump = Flotec AT251001-01 1HP
Filter = Sta-rite Posi-flo II PTM70
Chlorine Feeder = Hayward 4.2 cl110/100?
Current Pool Status = Still cleaning out dead algae, bluish grey? Fairly Cloudy, can see second step and slight shadow on the floor of the shallow end..

[BoredOne]

Alright I've gotten to the point that I can see fairly well in the deep end.. As I've been able to nearly see the drain.. However its still fairly cloudy what steps should I take to clear this up? Also I seem to be gaining a fair bit of sand.. I don't know if this is from the bottom of the pool or if a line broke. Cause I also seem to be losing a bit of water, tho I thought that might also be because of when I clean out the filter I drain the water out of it to clean that up a bit..

[PoolDoc]

Sorry -- too many "maybe's" in there for me to offer any suggestions.

You can always vacuum up the sand, and see if it reappears. If it does -- and if you have a sand filter -- then your filter needs some repairs.

[BoredOne]

No I have a cartridge filter.. For now lets focus on clearing up this pool.. How to go about that? I can see fairly well to the bottom of the deep end however its just not crystal clear..

[PoolDoc]

It's a function of time, filtration, and vacuuming.

You should think about clearing it AFTER you are pretty sure all the algae is dead. ALL the algae.

The key ingredient here is P.O.P. -- pool owner patience, or sometimes, pool owner persistence.

If you get impatient or in a hurry, and go buy some "floc" or other pool store chemicals, you can *sometimes* speed things up. But, there's some skill involved -- doing the right thing, the right way, at the right time -- and also some luck, because different 'blends' of muck react differently with various types of floc. Experienced pool service guys can usually be successful with this stuff, particularly when they've gotten used to working successfully with a particular product. But what happens, more often than now, when pool OWNERS use that stuff is that they make it worse, not better.

And, it's possible to make it MUCH worse. Many clarifiers actually work in reverse, suspending guck rather than sinking it, or making fine particles harder to filter rather than easier, if you misuse them.

[BoredOne]

It's a function of time, filtration, and vacuuming.

You should think about clearing it AFTER you are pretty sure all the algae is dead. ALL the algae.

The key ingredient here is P.O.P. -- pool owner patience, or sometimes, pool owner persistence.

If you get impatient or in a hurry, and go buy some "floc" or other pool store chemicals, you can *sometimes* speed things up. But, there's some skill involved -- doing the right thing, the right way, at the right time -- and also some luck, because different 'blends' of muck react differently with various types of floc. Experienced pool service guys can usually be successful with this stuff, particularly when they've gotten used to working successfully with a particular product. But what happens, more often than now, when pool OWNERS use that stuff is that they make it worse, not better.

And, it's possible to make it MUCH worse. Many clarifiers actually work in reverse, suspending guck rather than sinking it, or making fine particles harder to filter rather than easier, if you misuse them.

Well much to my surprise this morning I wasn't really feeling great so I left the pool alone, later in the evening I went out to check on it while there was still some day light left and the pool was actually fairly crystal clear.. I can see all the grime that is kinda stuck to the floor of the deep end and can see perfectly that the drain does in fact have a grate thingy on it.. Also pulled out a screw driver that I guess the previous owners through in..

However while testing my levels I seem to be having troubles determining the correct levels on this chemical test..

The Chlorine looks like its 3.0 Tho my mother thinks its at 5.0.. As for the PH this image doesn't really do it to much justice as I thought it was 7.6 while it looks like in the picture a 7.8 Suppose I can do an acid test on that and compare.. However for the Chlorine how can I be more sure? Its been slowly degrading over the few days as I havn't added more chlorine in, tho I'm thinking about doing another shock..



As for the pool it looks better than this, I think it looks a little cloudy because I spent the night vacuuming it so small dust might have popped up..