Cloudy Water / Bleach??

[momthreekids]

We have a small above ground vinyl pool, less than 1000 gal (I think). Cloudy water! My chlorine level is nil, my alk level is at 40 or less and my ph is more like 6.5 - 6.7. I have tried shocking the water and pre dissolve the shock crystals, but still no noticible difference. I have also tried letting some of the water out of the pool and replacing it, hoping it would help with the hardness level that is between 750 -1000, but still no difference.

My question is, should I use straight bleach to increase my levels or continue with the shocking crystals??

Thanks!!!

[momthreekids]

I also have another piece of information. In the past seasons we have had terrible trouble with alge. This season I've been very diligent in keeping the pool covered while not in use.

I wondered if the water was getting too HOT with the cover on? Would that have something to do with the chlorine not retaining its strength??

Thanks!!!

[Backglass]

Whether or not you should switch to bleach depends on your CYA (stabilizer) level. Do you know what it is? You can either buy a test kit or take a sample to your local pool store to find out.

[momthreekids]

The stabilizer level was nil too. So, I went ahead and added less than a gallon of bleach.

This morning the water was clear, the chlorine level was around 3, wonderfully acceptable and I added stabilizer this afternoon.

Yea!!!!!

Thanks!

[Backglass]

Congrats! Chlorine is your friend (in proper amounts). You need to get some stabilizer in your pool however or you will be adding bleach constantly. Sunlight degrades chlorine fast, and CYA (Stabilizer) acts as a "Chlorine Sunscreen" to help it stay around longer. 20-30ppm is optimal.

[chem geek]

It's ironic that having no stabilizer or too much stabilizer (without enough chlorine) cause the same problem: algae growth. With no or very little stabilizer, the chlorine gets broken down from the UV rays from sunlight very quickly (with no CYA, half of the chlorine can get broken down in a half hour). With too much CYA, the same amount of chlorine will be less effective so too much CYA without enough chlorine lets algae grow.

It's like the Goldilocks story with porridge: this one's too cold...this one's too hot...this one's just right!