New pool owner - blue cloudy water - can't see bottom

[Guest]

We just had a pool installed last week - fiberglass, 16x33, 14,000 gallons. We used our well to fill the pool. We had the water tested at a local pool store who said it was fine to use. They said the ph was low and there was some iron/copper but it was easily fixable. The pool dealer we bought the pool from gave us some type of pool magik (jacks?) and said add it to the water, run the pum for 24 hrs. then shock pool with 1 lb. bag of shock. (Pool filled with water Friday night 5/16, on Saturday 5/17 water green.) In a moment of panick I went to pool store who told me to add 5 gallons of liquid chlorine, pool magnet and algaecide. But the pool dealers told us never to use liquid chlorine, so I didn't. (This was a Saturday and our dealer was closed, otherwise I would have just called them - they advised us to stay away from pool stores because they're in the business of selling chemicals - no kidding, I was $120.00 poorer after that!) I did add the pool magnet and algaecide, but not the liquid chlorine. The next day (Sunday) I put in the 1 lb bag of shock and as it hit the water, it immediately went from green to gray!

Last Monday I called the pool dealer who calmed me down and said to get the ph level up and add some clarifier. The pool GRADUALLY started to clear - it's now blue but still can't see the bottom. I repeated the clarifier 2 days later. Yesterday (Friday) I called the pool dealer again and told them of my dilemma. She said although they strongly advise against it, she suggested I add one gallon of liquid chlorine but then changed her mind and said to try the 1 lb bag of shock again first.

Last night (Friday) I added the 1 lb bag of shock and the pool became very cloudy again (and two people were swimming in it which may have contributed to the cloudiness). Needless to say, this morning I added another dose of clarifier... We have no clue what we're doing and I'm having a terrible time reading the test strips. I can't match the colors to save my life. I presently using Aqua-Chek test strips and also bought cheapo strips at Walmart, but ordered the Aqua-Chek digital reader which will hopefully arrive soon! Anyway, to the best of my ability it looks like the numbers are as follows:
Aqua-Chek test:
PH: 7.2-7.8
Free chlorine: 0
Total Alk: 100?
Stab: 0?

WALMART TEST:
Total Hardness - 0
Free chlorine: 0
PH: 7.2?
Total Alk: 80?
CYA: 0

I will be contacting the dealer on Tuesday - they've been VERY nice and helpful. But since this is the weekend again and I'm getting nervous, I'm looking for help/opinions. Will this water ever clear? Since this is fiberglass and water can never be drained, did we make a huge mistake with the well water? Or do I just need to relax and be patient?

Please help!!! Thank you!!!!!

[muss08]

Since there is iron or copper in your pool you need to keep your pH 7.2-7.4 and use a metal sequestering agent (which is probably what the jacks or magnet was). If your pH gets to 7.8 or higher you COULD experience some staining (iron- black/brown stains, copper-green) but the sequestering agent should protect you to some point. Personally, I would return the digital reader and get a Taylor K 2006. It is a liquid test kit and is very accurate and reliable. Digital testers are great until they need to be calibrated which is a pain to do and often you wont even realize the readings are off until it is too late. This is just personal opinion. Do you know what the active ingredient in the shock is? Cal-hypo, dichlor, trichlor, etc.? The cloudiness is probably the chlorine killing the organic debris in the pool and you shouldnt worry to much about it. If your strips are accurate then your pH and TA are fine. You need to add more shock to your pool because your FC is 0. That is not good. Without a complete, accurate listing of your chemistry readings it is difficult to point you in the right direction but one thing is for certain- you need chlorine! You need a test kit that test for- Free Chlorine, Total or Combined Chlorine, pH, Total Alkalinity (this is a buffer that helps your pools pH resist large swings up or down), Calcium Hardness (not total hardness- calcium hardness tells you how soft/hard you water is should be around 100ppm), and Cyanuric Acid (also called stabalizer- helps stabalize the chlorine so it lasts longer in sunlight-30-50ppm). Get me a complete listing of your chemistry and I will be able to assist more. Any other questions feel free to ask.