Question:
We just bought a house with an above ground pool that hasn’t been used in 3-4 years. It is full of brown water. It has hundreds of tadpoles and baby frogs. I would like to clean it without draining it if possible. This is our 1st pool so we really have no idea where to begin! Thanks
Answer:
Get as much of the debris and living organisms out manualy. Also get the pump and filter operational so that you are filtering the water to clear as well as dispersing any chemicals that are added. The next step will be to balance the water in the following order 1. hardness 2. total alkalinity 3. pH. Hardness may be fine right out of the tap (200 ppm + needed), and do not fill with soft water. Alkalinity and pH may also be good, test and adjust as necessary. There should be treatment charts available on the packaging or in the test strip package. The amounts for the various chemicals vary according to the particular chemical and concentration. They are not all the same. Once the balance is acheived, you would need to add a metal removing agent if there is any metal typically present in your source water before you add chlorine as once you add chlorine, the metals may oxidize causing cloudy water and staining. The brown coloration you are descibing may be metal. Then you are ready to add chlorine, following the dosage chart provided on the chemicals you received. It might not be a bad idea to shock once the pool is balanced. Again, test and balance to make sure you have acheived the proper levels. Run the pump with all chemical additions, unless otherwise directed on the packaging. You can also search of pool calculators online where you can enter your test results and get a generic prescription to help with specific dosages.