HELP---How to maintain the chemicals in an above ground pool

[tara225]

We have an 18-foot, 48-inch high round above ground pool. I'm pretty sure my husband said it holds 6,000 gallons of water (I hope that's right). Last year we had trouble keeping the water from getting green and cloudy. The main chemical we used was chlorine. When the water got bad, we'd throw in a few shock treatments. We never had any acid or other types of chemicals. I ended up having to drain the pool 3 times last year because it was just easier to start over especially when we were having people over. We have a test kit but it didn't seem to help us that much last year. I was told that the PH was the most important thing in maintaining a clear and beautiful pool and that if you could get it dialed into that perfect range, you'd have little to no problems. My husband seems to think putting only chlorine in is the answer but I know that we have to be more like a chemist by maintaining all of the chemicals and keeping them in a perfect range. Could someone help me understand what each chemical does and how it is used for various problems? Also, what is the best range that we should try to maintain on the tester? We just don't know when to add what to our pool and the more people we talk to and more articles we read, we have noticed that there are a lot of different opinions out there. Thanks so much!!!

[chem geek]

Start by reading Pool School to learn about the terms, what each product does, what you need to know and do, etc. You can read the article on Defeating Algae in the Pool School as well.

To prevent algae growth, one can do so with chlorine alone, but needs to have a Free Chlorine (FC) level relative to their Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level. You probably need to get yourself a proper test kit, either the Taylor K-2006 or the TF-100 with the latter kit having more volume of reagents so is less expensive per test.