Killed green algae - Need help to balance chemicals

[lasa4]

I have an above ground pool, 18' round 4' deep. I killed the green algae with a shock that included algaecide. the green went away over night, but now I'm left with a cloudy pool. I bought a tester kit and the recommended chemicals. I increased the alkalinity which increased the ph. Then I had to use ph minus because the alkalinity was too high but the ph was normal. Now the ph is too low. Alkalinity looks normal. No chlorine. Hardness looks normal although it was low though prior to adding the ph minus. Stabilizer is low.

I've been told to balance in the following order: alkalinity, ph, hardness, stabilizer, chlorine, shock.

Now that the ph is too low, I assume I add ph up but will that increase the alkalinity again?

[MEDI-MATT]

I'm not an expert, but many years of pool ownership and trial and error has led me to believe the following:

Order to balance is... Alkalinity, PH, Hardness, Chlorine, Stabilizer. No need to balance or add shock unless necessary. Shock is essentially high dose chlorine which helps to destroy any bacteria or algae that may be growing in the pool... so add it as directed on the label for preventative maintenence and if there is an algae issue. Also, the stabilizer is used to prevent the chlorine level from dropping more rapidly due to the sun (it burns off chlorine at quite a high rate) so, to add it before you have the appropriate chlorine level is unnecessary. I would also wait to add it until you have killed the algae and have clear water.

The cloudy water is most likely due to the dead algae, which can be a difficult task in itself to clear. If the pump isn't creating too much of a current in the water, it should settle to the bottom of the pool and you can then vacum it out (directly to waste if possible cause the particles are sometimes small enough to flow thrugh the filter and back into the pool). This will cost you a few inches of pool water, but it is the best way to rid yourself of the issue. If this isn't possible, then you can use a binding agent to bind the particles together allowing your filter to do most of the work... this can cause your filter to get quite gummy and will need to be cleaned multiple times. You could also use flucs (spelling?) which will bind all particles together and settle to the bottom, allowing you to vacum them out.

Either way, you can count on cloudy water for the next 3 to 7 days... Make sure your chlorine level is kept on the high side of normal or you can find yourself right back where you started.

Adding PH up should not raise the alkalinity. Adding alkalinity to the pool will not raise the PH either, but it will allow the test strip to show the actual level of the PH (at least that's how I understand it anyway).

Hope my limited knowlege can help.