How much liquid shock do you dump in for start up in a very green pool?

Answer 1

I have had great success with just liquid chlorine, 12.5% strength, with the additional aid of a product called Yellow Treat or Yellow Out by United Chemical located in California. But first you MUST CLEAN THE FILTER. You will get nowhere if your filter is dirty. You may have to clean or backwash the filter a number of times throughout the process of removing the algae. If this is a plaster pool (not vinyl) - depending upon the size of the pool - you will need about 4 gal. of liq. chlorine at 12.5% ~ if the chlorine is labeled with a lower strength you will need up to twice as much to do the same job. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE YELLOW OUT or whatever product you end up using. By not doing as directed as per manufacturer's instructions you are just wasting your money on algaecides. Run the pump and filter for 24 hrs minimum until the water is crystal clear. This could take 2 to 3 days or more. Brush the pool walls, floor and other surfaces at least 2 to 3 times per day in order for the chemicals to work properly backwashing the filter as needed. Maintain the chlorine levels at 5 to 10 ppm throughout the cleaning process ~ if necessary ~ add more chlorine. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PACKAGE OF ALGAECIDE!!!!!!!!! When you are satisfied that all the algae is gone ~ backwash the filter again being sure to add new D E with each backwash ~ assuming that you have a D. E. Filter.

Maintain the water clarity thru the summer with adequate and consistent chlorine, pH and Alkalinity levels. The more you use the pool ~ sometimes called bather load ~ the more you need to check those chemical levels ---- minimum check is one to 3 times per week. In addition to chemicals, you will not be able to maintain water clarity with chemicals alone ~ it takes added filtration to do the job properly. In other words, thru the summer or warm weather you will most likely have to run the pump/filter up to as many as 14 - 15 hrs per day. In order to find out what it takes to keep your pool clear - you can start with the 12 - 14 hr. run time - if that is keeping your pool water clear - you may cut back the run time in 1 hr. increments but I would not go less than an 8 to 10 hr run time. If, in fact you have cut back that run time and the water starts to get cloudy then boost the run time UP by 1 hr. at a time until you achieve clarity. That then is the run time for your particular circumstances. k