Fighting algae for the 3rd time!

[PoolDoc]

1. Serious gallon calculation error:

24 round AG pool, 54" walls, 3.9' water depth:
12*12 (diam) *3.14 (pi) * 3.9 ft of water * 7.46 gallons/cft = 13,155 gal

2. Do NOT worry about alkalinity . . . till everything else is fixed.

3. Add one box of borax daily -- slowly, to the skimmer, with the pump running -- till the pH is > 7.2

4. Add (4) gallons of plain 8.% household bleach EACH evening. Brush the pool after.

5. Once all algae is dead, drop back to 1 - 2 gallons each evening.

6. If you have a 2 speed pump, run on LO. If you have a valve downstream of the pump, thottle it, till flow has slowed by 1/2. (AG sand pool filters are usually too small for the pumps. Pushing dead algae THROUGH the filter seems to break it up into particles too fine to filter.

7. After all algae is dead, do the DE test on your sand filter: read http://pool9.net/de-test/ (Links is not live yet -- but it will be by the time your algae is dead.)

8. Order a K2006 test kit (kit links in my signature) -- you WILL need one.

9. Do NOT add any more floc or other mystery chemicals.


Comments: Tell your pool guy, "Thanks!". He saved your liner for you!

Questions:
1. What is the make / model of filter and pump. (Model of pump, NOT motor, is usually on the wet end of the pump.)

2. What is the brand and product name of the floc used?

3. How are you testing?

[Olugly]

1. Thanks! I got the volume off a online calculator.
2. Ok
3,4,5. Ok. I'll see if I can find borax around here.
6. It's a one speed pump but I do have valves before/ after the pump/filter.
7. What exactly is a DE test of the filter? I read the sticky but not sure what DE is.

I'll have to get the rest if the pump/flock info tomorrow.
Hth 5 way test kit, but having water tested weekly at pool store

[Watermom]

You can buy 20 Mule Team Borax in the laundry aisle at Walmart.

Diatomaceous earth is a powder made from the fossilized skeletons of tiny aquatic organisms called diatoms. It is used as the filter media in DE filters (among other uses). You can get it from a pool store and possibly from a home improvement store although I am not certain about that.

Your 5-Way kit only allows you to measure chlorine levels up to 5ppm. The kit we recommend (Taylor K-2006 or 2006C) will read chlorine readings up to 50ppm. So, having this kit makes it a lot easier to clean up a pool since it is necessary to keep elevated chlorine levels while you do so. We have found through the years that pool stores typically don't always give accurate testing results.

[Olugly]

Update. I haven't thought about getting the filter info but the ph is 7.8 and I just added the 4 gallons of bleach.

[Olugly]

I got more time to post now. After a few hours of adding everything yesterday here were the numbers using the new recommended test kit. Chlorine was around 6, ph 7.4, alky was 100. Retested this morning, chlorine was 0, ph 7.1 alky 80. Added more borax and 4 more gallons off Clorox and brushed again

[BigDave]

Did you perform the CYA test? What's the result?

[Olugly]

Update. I go out and test pool. All numbers are good.. Water is blue, much clearer! I'm still looking for somewhere that sells DE to help filter the smaller things (I can see the bottom but It's not clear enough to see the liner patten) but I'll drop down to the 2 gal of Clorox today.