Water Problem With Above Ground Pool

by Frank
(Fortville, IN)

Your site was my angel in disguise, on leveling and site prep, four inches higher, followed all suggestions and purchased 3 tons of packing sand and went to work, started to fill the pool and was 3/4 inch off, started to worry but got to half way and was 1/2 inch off, kept going and at skimmer level was perfect, but then it fell apart for me, I shocked the pool and within 10 Min it turned green, now what do I do?

Hi Frank

There are several things you can do, but the most important is to let the filter run. Let the filter run until your water is clear. You could then shock the water again.

If you have not yet used stabilizer I would do that, it prevents the sun from removing all the chlorine as fast as you put it in.

You might also take a water sample in to a local pool store, but be careful; their job is to sell chemicals. So not everything they recommend is really what you need, in a lot of cases. The biggest thing is to let that filter run. Keep it cleaned out and let it run, that will keep your water clean.

Pool Water Cloudy

by Curry
(Harpers Ferry WV)

I have cloudy pool water and can't get it to clear up. I have put in PH-UP, stabilizer, chlorine and it has still been cloudy for 2 weeks. Please let me know what I am doing wrong. I have tested it and it says that the PH is very low, the Alkaline is Low. Chlorine is ok.

Let me know how I can clear this up so we can use our pool before summer is over.

Hi Curry

If it were my pool I would add a couple bags of vinyl shock treatment and run the filter non stop until the pool cleared up.

One of the reasons for cloudy water is just not running the filter enough. Some filters need to be run 24/7 in order to do a good job. Other filters can run less hours but the one thing that is the same for all above ground pool filter systems is this, the hotter it gets the more the filter needs to run.

Any time you have water clarity issues run the filter nonstop until it is cleared up. After that increase the number of hours per day the system runs. If the problem comes back, do the same thing, and again, run the filter more hours. You will soon find out how many hours per day your system needs to run.

Swimming Pool Vacation Problems

by Mary K
(KS)

I just returned from a one week vacation of which I left my husband in charge of my 24 x 52 AGP--but I got algae! I've always had crystal clear-clean water since pool was installed in May '11--he says he did run the pump throughout the week for several hours per day--and occasionally, he cleaned the skimmer basket; I do believe him:).

So it's hard for me to believe I would get algae that FAST if these things were done--he never swept it, but my pool has been so clean when I'm here, I only had to sweep it about 2 times per week--I also used the Aquabug maybe once per week. He also put a 3" chlorine tab in one time.

Tonight I checked the levels, the chlorine was just fine, course the PH was way too high---I have my Aquabug going now and I swept it--but sweeping it just stirs the green stuff in the bottom!! Aquabug is doing a good job. I also put in PHminus granules.

I have acid liquid I bought at the pool store, but I'm kind of scared to use it. I don't have any other products on hand and it's too late to go to store. Any other ideas? How long does it take to clear up? I assume it's not safe to swim in it till it's totally clear? I sure wanted to swim today.

Hi Mary

It sounds like your husband did everything you asked him to. My guess is the problem was not running the filter enough. The hotter it gets the more hours per day it needs to run. It is not uncommon for some filters to run 24/7 during the hottest months of the year.

Another tip for prepping the pool for a vacation is you shock the pool. Use a bag or two of vinyl shock, let your filter run 24 hours, and you should be good to go for a week. Upon your return do the same thing.

Anytime you have water clarity problems let the filter run non stop. It may take a few days but let it run. Algae can be a little tough to get rid of because it will blow through most filters. You are best off vacuuming to waist and not letting the stuff go through your filter.

I'm sure hubby feels bad, so don't be to hard on him, just do things a little different next time you leave home.

Filling Pool With Fire Hydrant

by Carrie
(Minnesota)

This site is fabulous. You have helped my husband and myself tremendously!!

How fast do you recommend filling a AGP 24 round? We thought we would use the city fire hydrant. Would this be to fast?

Hi Carrie

I have filled pools by just about every possible means. House water, well water, water trucks, canal water and the fire hose. My buddy in Hawaii is filling his pool with rain water. Although it rains every morning, that seems awfully slow to me.

You need to do the first few inches with a hose. You are setting the liner, smoothing it out and setting the coping, rods and top rails. You don't want the water coming in too fast, you have many things to deal with during this period.

We have had many customer want to use water trucks. We make sure they understand beforehand that we only want a small amount of water in the pool before we will have to shut them down while we finish the pool. The drivers have always been happy to comply and it has never been a problem. When the water is a few inches from the sidewall we shut if off and set the liner and finish the pool.

My experiences with the fire hose have not been so good, only because the water came out rusty. It was only a few times, years ago, but they were all the same. I wondered when I left how many days it would take to clear the water before they could swim and if it was worth it.

If you can get a few inches of water in the pool first, and make sure you are getting clean water out of the hose, you are OK using the fire hydrant. I've been told the hose just needed more flushing before putting it in the pool. If that's the case you might be fine.

Be sure to designate a sober hose holder. The water comes out fast and the hose cannot just be laid in the pool, it needs to be held tight to the top rail. You don't want your liner ruined before it is even full.

I am glad you find my site useful, I work hard on it. Thanks.