Need SOOOO much help!

[waterbear]

FC means Free Chlorine, that's chlorine that is availabe to act as a sanitizer. The type of test kit you describe sounds like it uses OTO as the reagent and gives you a yellow color to compare. It only will test total chlorine which is a combination of free chlorine and combined chlorine (CC). Get yourself a good drop based test kit that will test:
FC Free Chlorine
TC Total Chlorine
(by subtracting the FC reading from the TC reading you will get your combinded chlorine (CC) which ideally should be 0)
pH
ALK Total Alkalinity
CH Calcium Hardness (only important if your pool is plaster, you have a heater, or have VERY hard or soft fill water)
CYA Cyanuric Acid, also known as stabilizer or conditioner. This acts as a 'sunscreen' for your chlorine and helps protect it from degredation by UV rays in sunlight. It is a two edged sword, however, and too high a level can cause all sorts of problems with algae and will require running your FC at higher levels to compensate.

I would HIGHLY recommend Ben's kit that is sold on the sister website http://www.poolsolutions.com but there are kits from other companies that will work. Walmart even sells a 5 way drop based kit for about $15 dollars but it will only measure total chlorine. You want to look for a kit that uses the DPD chlorine test (color change is pint to red), or even better , the FAS-DPS chlorine test (a titration test that is extremely accurate) instead of one that uses OTO (color change is yellow)
DO NOT USE TEST STRIPS since they will not give you the accuracy you need to successfully balance your water and monitor your chlorine levels.

Once you get your kit post (in the water treatment section of the forum) your:
pool size in gallons
pool finish (plaster, fiberglass, vinyl)
FC
TC
pH
ALK
CH
CYA
and you will find that you will get the help you need to get your pool clear and sparkling in a very short time!

[Watermom]

We really need some numbers to be able to offer advice. I wouldn't blindly start adding a bunch of stuff until you know what your levels are. Think about buying the test kit that Ben sells at the sister site to this one poolsolutions.com. But, in the meantime, try and get a kit that will measure FC, TC (total chlorine), alk, ph and cya if you can. (A drops based kit, not test strips.) Then, post your numbers here and someone can better advise you.

Watermom

[lorettasweet]

We really need some numbers to be able to offer advice. I wouldn't blindly start adding a bunch of stuff until you know what your levels are. Think about buying the test kit that Ben sells at the sister site to this one poolsolutions.com. But, in the meantime, try and get a kit that will measure FC, TC (total chlorine), alk, ph and cya if you can. (A drops based kit, not test strips.) Then, post your numbers here and someone can better advise you.

Watermom

Great, I will try to find one in the morning and test and post. I really want to learn how to properly get it clear and keep it clear. I had a miserable time last summer with it.

[lorettasweet]

FC means Free Chlorine, that's chlorine that is availabe to act as a sanitizer. The type of test kit you describe sounds like it uses OTO as the reagent and gives you a yellow color to compare. It only will test total chlorine which is a combination of free chlorine and combined chlorine (CC). Get yourself a good drop based test kit that will test:
FC Free Chlorine
TC Total Chlorine
(by subtracting the FC reading from the TC reading you will get your combinded chlorine (CC) which ideally should be 0)
pH
ALK Total Alkalinity
CH Calcium Hardness (only important if your pool is plaster, you have a heater, or have VERY hard or soft fill water)
CYA Cyanuric Acid, also known as stabilizer or conditioner. This acts as a 'sunscreen' for your chlorine and helps protect it from degredation by UV rays in sunlight. It is a two edged sword, however, and too high a level can cause all sorts of problems with algae and will require running your FC at higher levels to compensate.

I would HIGHLY recommend Ben's kit that is sold on the sister website http://www.poolsolutions.com but there are kits from other companies that will work. Walmart even sells a 5 way drop based kit for about $15 dollars but it will only measure total chlorine. You want to look for a kit that uses the DPD chlorine test (color change is pint to red), or even better , the FAS-DPS chlorine test (a titration test that is extremely accurate) instead of one that uses OTO (color change is yellow)
DO NOT USE TEST STRIPS since they will not give you the accuracy you need to successfully balance your water and monitor your chlorine levels.

Once you get your kit post (in the water treatment section of the forum) your:
pool size in gallons
pool finish (plaster, fiberglass, vinyl)
FC
TC
pH
ALK
CH
CYA
and you will find that you will get the help you need to get your pool clear and sparkling in a very short time!

You guys are great! I really really appreciate your help. Hopefully I'll post numbers tomorrow.

[lorettasweet]

Well, none of the pool places in town have the type of test kit you guys are talking about. I haven't tried WalMart yet. But I did find one of the pool places that offered for us to bring in some water from the pool and they will analize it and tell us what we need to do. So I'll probably try that in the morning, if they give me the results of the test I'll post them and you guys can see what they tell me. If I can't find the test kit at walmart I'll order the one online tonight.

[Poconos]

Just a word of warning. Do let the poolstore do the tests but ignore any advice they give, especially when they try and sell you a bunch of stuff. Keep your wallet and credit cards hidden.
Al

[CarlD]

Just a word of warning. Do let the poolstore do the tests but ignore any advice they give, especially when they try and sell you a bunch of stuff. Keep your wallet and credit cards hidden.
Al

You betcha. You don't wanna get "Pool Stored!" Get the results, tell 'em you'll be back when you've analyzed them with some friends (that's us! ). I'd be friendly, but firm--you may WELL need to go back to them for things like CYA (stabilizer), fittings, PolyQuat, test reagent chemicals.

If for some reason you want tri-chlor pucks or Cal-Hypo (and there are good reasons to use these products from time to time--just not all the time), you'll be back at the pool store.

[lorettasweet]

OK my new friends. I finally got to the pool store with my sample, here's the results that they printed for me. You guys let me know what I should do now.

Free Chlorine: .2PPM
Total Chlorine: .2PPM
Combined Chlorine: .0PPM
PH: 7.7
Hardness: 70 ppm
Alkalinity: 19 ppm
Cyanuric Acid: 5 ppm

We have a 27 foot round above ground pool. 52 or 54" deep I can't remember for sure.

These results were taken about a week after we poured 10 bags of shock in the pool and the filters been running since. The shock turned the soupy green water into cloudy bluish water and that's is where it is now. Haven't added any chemicals other than the shock.

Soooo, now what?

[waterbear]

OK my new friends. I finally got to the pool store with my sample, here's the results that they printed for me. You guys let me know what I should do now.

Free Chlorine: .2PPM
Total Chlorine: .2PPM
Combined Chlorine: .0PPM
PH: 7.7
Hardness: 70 ppm
Alkalinity: 19 ppm
Cyanuric Acid: 5 ppm

We have a 27 foot round above ground pool. 52 or 54" deep I can't remember for sure.

These results were taken about a week after we poured 10 bags of shock in the pool and the filters been running since. The shock turned the soupy green water into cloudy bluish water and that's is where it is now. Haven't added any chemicals other than the shock.

Soooo, now what?

First step is to get a good test kit. If none of the pool stores carry one then order Ben's or go online and get a Taylor K-2006 (Ben's is a better deal for the money!) OR see if walmart has the $15 5 way drop kit (will get you started until the kit you ordered from Ben arrives but it will not test Free chlorine....only Total!) Cloudy blusih water sounds like water with mostly dead algae. IMHO, I would put bleach in the pool and get it back to shock level (with 5ppm CYA that would be 10PPM free chlorine), keep it there, , filter 24/7, and vacumn to waste until the water is clear (but I have been know to be a bit obsessive ), then let the free chlorine drop to 3 ppm and keep it there, get your CYA up to about 30 ppm, and then bring your ALK up to 80-120 ppm with baking soda. Keep your chlorine at 3 ppm throughout. When the Alk has stabilized at 80-120 get your pH to somewhere between 7.2-7.8 (lower end probably a bit better) by adding SMALL amounts of either acid (dry or muriatic) to lower it or Borax to raise it and waiting 24 hours (wait at least 4 or 5!) retesting and making small adjustments until the pH is in range. General consensus is that you don't have to worry about calcium with a vinyl pool! You are then good to go! (swimming that is)

[CarlD]

OK my new friends. I finally got to the pool store with my sample, here's the results that they printed for me. You guys let me know what I should do now.

Free Chlorine: .2PPM
Total Chlorine: .2PPM
Combined Chlorine: .0PPM
PH: 7.7
Hardness: 70 ppm
Alkalinity: 19 ppm
Cyanuric Acid: 5 ppm

We have a 27 foot round above ground pool. 52 or 54" deep I can't remember for sure.
...
Soooo, now what?

Loretta:
Youve gotten ALL kinds of advice, but I have to take issue with a lot of it. I NEVER advocate dumping tons of baking soda in at once. Your pool is 17,000 gallons so I would NEVER add more than a one pound box of baking soda at any time--EVER! It's always easy to add another pound of baking soda to raise total alkalinity but it's a royal pain in the patoot to lower it. You want it to be 80- 125 normally but with a vinyl pool I prefer 100-180ppm.

Your Chlorine is low--if your water is clear than one gallon of regular bleach should raise it to 3ppm. But if you have algae, you'll need to add 3 1/2 gallons to raise it to 10ppm. That is based on a CYA of 5ppm.

Your pH is FINE at 7.7--maybe a tad higher than I like but I wouldn't mess with it. Period.

Your CYA is low. You'll need to add some (stabilizer). Figure out from the directions how much you think you'll need to get the pool to 30-40ppm of CYA and add ONE QUARTER of that amount and wait a week. Test CYA again and if it's low, add that same 1/4 amount again and wait another week. CYA, like Total Alkalinity, is easy to raise but an ever bigger pain to lower--you must drain off water. So it's always better to try to NEVER go over your target.

Ignore hardness unless it approachs 500ppm. You CAN use Cal-Hypo for chlorine.

But the advice about test kits? Absolutely! There's another alternative that's also very good. If there's a Leslie's, near you, they may have the FAS-DPD test kit under their own label (made by Taylor). It's about $20. They also have a nice drop test kit, also made by Taylor, for $40 or $45--You use the FAS-DPD kit for chlorine rather than the one in the other kit.

But Ben's kit is the nicest of them and easiest to use.

With your current numbers you can safely use Tri-Chlor pucks or Di-chlor powder--but if you do so, don't add extra CYA--they will do it for you. Just make sure the pucks don't have copper in them.