Some Questions

[jmagg]

I have a 18x33 above ground pool that was given to me last year. This is my first year opening it. I had an algae problem which left me with lots of white floaters that seem to have made the water cloudy. It is blue but cloudy. I have used 3 bottles of clarifier over the last 2 weeks. 2 were the strong concentrated kind. No avail. I am running an automatic cleaner on the bottom. I have had the water tested and It is a bit low on the stabilizer and I cannot seem to keep the chlorine levels up. I have 2 tablet floaters and I have been using the walmart Super shock and swim bags. We have been getting alot of rain.

Is this likely a filtering problem, stabilizer problem, or not enough clairifier problem?

When I swam in this pool at my parents house it seemed that the skimmer was sucking water in alot more than it has been for me. Where should the water line be in relation to the skimmer. The sand filter is fresh, the pump looks aged and is noisy.

Any suggestions?

[polyvue]

I have a 18x33 above ground pool that was given to me last year. This is my first year opening it. I had an algae problem which left me with lots of white floaters that seem to have made the water cloudy. It is blue but cloudy. I have used 3 bottles of clarifier over the last 2 weeks. 2 were the strong concentrated kind. No avail. I am running an automatic cleaner on the bottom. I have had the water tested and It is a bit low on the stabilizer and I cannot seem to keep the chlorine levels up. I have 2 tablet floaters and I have been using the walmart Super shock and swim bags. We have been getting alot of rain.

Is this likely a filtering problem, stabilizer problem, or not enough clairifier problem?

When I swam in this pool at my parents house it seemed that the skimmer was sucking water in alot more than it has been for me. Where should the water line be in relation to the skimmer. The sand filter is fresh, the pump looks aged and is noisy.

It's possible you have several problems (algae, diagnosing the noisy pump, filter media) but I would focus first on pool chemistry. Invest in a good test kit (such as the Taylor Complete (FAS-DPD Chlorine) available for less than $50 here) and post back numbers for

pH

Free Chlorine (FC)

Combine Chlorine (CC)

Total Chlorine (TC)

Total Alkalinity (TA)

Calcium Hardness (CH)

Cyanuric Acid (CYA or stabilizer)

Clarifiers and flocculents aren't going to kill algae, of course, and they may not be needed at all. I would proceed with the assumption that there is still some live algae in the pool and go from there. Using liquid chlorine (not powdered shock) gives you the best chance to clear the pool.

You want to know the CYA level exactly and begin dosing the pool with liquid chlorine or bleach until the algae is killed. This process is explained in some detail here. It's possible to clear the pool without the test kit but it is a whole lot easier (and faster) to do it yourself.

[PaulR]

What were the numbers from the test results? Stabilizer ought to be in the 30-50 range. If it's low, you could be losing a lot of your chlorine to sunlight. I'm also curious about the other parameters (ph, alkalinity, hardness).

But, from the description, the most likely problem is that you did not completely kill off the algae. You put some chlorine in, it gets used up killing some of the algae, the rest of the algae starts growing again, you have no chlorine left in the pool and the dead algae clouds the water. You need to keep after the chlorine, multiple times a day if you can, until it's holding overnight.

--paulr

[jmagg]

I did a Drop Out and Vacuumed to waste. What a difference. I could see the bottom of the pool! Problem was the dead algae wasn't filtering out.