Had algea bloom, pool guy got rid of the green and promptly quit. Got the chem back to perfect, except my cyanuric acid is 100 just on the high side
Pool is mostly clear but won't quite get crystal.
Been going to Leslie's and tried clear aid
Just tried an oxidizing shock
Going to add water over time to lower cyanuric acid instead of draining

Anyone have any tips to get this thing back to crystal?

I had an algae bloom so bad after the heavy rains, I couldn't see the bottom. After shock and algae treatment, they had me put in a product called Pool First Aid, which removes cloudiness. Worked like a charm.

use sodium tetraborate ( sp) BORAX. Takes a LOT to begin with BUT I've been using it for years now and have completely run out of chlorine and only have had a few algae spots. It is the hidden pool miracle that most pool supply houses don't want you to know about. My chemical bills have gone to damn near nada. You still have to keep the pool chlorine levels at the necessary levels BUT for those occasions where the equipment may fail or your out your pool will NOT turn green.

Some houses sell borate products that are quite pricey BUT all you need is store bought 20 Mule Team Borax, save about 40%.
Look it up.

Thanks for the information. I just did some research, and this sounds like a great time and $$$ saving tip. I've got 18,000 gallons and no clue what my metal levels are, so I'm going to wait for a free Saturday or Sunday to start the process...

you should check out troublefreepool, instead of going to the pool stores. following their advice always got mine back to perfect.

I will second using borates. The pool looks great and the water feels great.

I'm about to pick up 50 gallons of boric acid granules here for about $78, very comparable price to ordering from Duda.
http://www.industrialchemco.com/contact.html

Sorry to hear that mate, I'm sure they'd be glad to sell you more!

The water looked crystal clear this morning

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If you use 20 Mule Team borax or a similar product be sure and read up on how to do it or you could get in a bind with your total alkilinty and pH. This method is a pain in the arse.

A much easier way to apply borates to a pool is with boric acid granules. Use the calculator on Troublefreepool.com and just pour the boric acid in. You can get the granules at https://www.dudadiesel.com/search.php?query=boric+%2Bgranular.

Borates do do wonders though.

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I have found that a good rule of thumb is a gallon of acid for every 4 boxes of 20 Mule Team. I usually just pick up 4 boxes at HEB about once a month ( during summer) and dump it in along with a gallon of acid. I check the pH a few days later and fine tune.
Once you get the initial hundred pounds or so in the pool its not a big deal.
I will look into the boric acid thing, might be easier.

The price is pretty much a wash when you compare the 2 methods. It's definitely easier to pick up 1 50lb bag (or have it shipped) vs messing with boxes of borax and bottles of acid.

Trouble Free Pool has saved our pool for almost no cost.

If you want to add borates with borax + muriatic acid, check this thread out http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/4655-So-you-want-to-add-borates-to-your-pool-Why-and-How

How do you guys test borates? I just finished shocking my pool like crazy and the chemistry is really good right now and it looks great, but I want to add borates. The Taylor kit I have doesn't show, and I've heard the LaMotte ones are solid but thought I'd ask.

I already have a handful of borax, so I may just get a couple gallons of muriatic acid and do it by hand, but may check out the boric acid as well.

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The price is pretty much a wash when you compare the 2 methods. It's definitely easier to pick up 1 50lb bag (or have it shipped) vs messing with boxes of borax and bottles of acid.

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Best part is you do NOT have to continue to march down to the pool store and buy overpriced chemicals. Most pool stores don't even offer borates since they know that it will severely hurt their chemical business.
I seldom even go into a pool store anymore. Occasional water test since they are very accurate and I use their tests as a season starting point but thats it.

I ordered these, ~$15 shipped seems to be the going price.

http://www.loveyourhottub.com/lamotte-insta-test-borate/

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Trouble Free Pool has saved our pool for almost no cost.

If you want to add borates with borax + muriatic acid, check this thread out http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/4655-So-you-want-to-add-borates-to-your-pool-Why-and-How

How do you guys test borates? I just finished shocking my pool like crazy and the chemistry is really good right now and it looks great, but I want to add borates. The Taylor kit I have doesn't show, and I've heard the LaMotte ones are solid but thought I'd ask.

I already have a handful of borax, so I may just get a couple gallons of muriatic acid and do it by hand, but may check out the boric acid as well.

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I have not found a good home method to test borates. The test strips I ordered are not very good.
In Houston TEXSUN Pools will test for borates but they are the only ones I have found.

Thanks for the link on the strips - all the places I kept finding yesterday came out to about $25 after shipping, which seemed absurd. Just ordered some of those and will probably try and get this done next week.

Got the strips yesterday, ppm tested right at about 50 which is what I expected. We haven't had a lick of algae try to come back as of yet, the chlorine smell is gone, and the water just feels better...me and the rib took a dip in our birthday suits last night and it sure felt nice.

Update...still zero algae present, even in the corners of the steps where it always used to start, regardless of what the FC was. And no more chlorine smell!

I'm about to go for borates
Need to order strips and hit up Wally mart

Our pool had the texsun version of borates in it when we bought the house 3 years ago

I stupidly stopped them last year.....

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Our pool had the texsun version of borates in it when we bought the house 3 years ago

I stupidly stopped them last year.....

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If you look at the msds info on their basic borate product you will see that it is 100% sodium tetraborate.....exactly the same as 20 Mule Team Borax. The sales folks will tell you that there's is "purer" or has a special pukey in it.... BS..... Just buy Borax and save about 30%

Yea I stopped doing it simply because I jer saying this is going to be the year we replaster but then we keep putting it off. I didn't want to spend money on the chemicals then just drain it.

I'll look into the buying some borax and start it up.....last time I had the water tested they said my borates were still "ok"

My only worry is the new Great Dane we got loves to jump on the step and drink from the pool. He occasionally drinks from the giant water dish.

I know the borates can be bad for dogs if they drink large quantities

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Update...still zero algae present, even in the corners of the steps where it always used to start, regardless of what the FC was. And no more chlorine smell!

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Another update...my pool brush is getting lonely from lack of use. Still crystal clear with no algae. Only load my chlorinator with 4 pucks.

What do you have your chlorinator set on? Mine has a setting that goes to 5. I am about to add Boric Acid to my pool and wondered how much it would reduce the need for chlorine. I currently have mine set on the highest setting.

Good info in this thread. Thanks.

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What do you have your chlorinator set on? Mine has a setting that goes to 5. I am about to add Boric Acid to my pool and wondered how much it would reduce the need for chlorine. I currently have mine set on the highest setting.

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Hey...it was set at about 4 but the knob is kind of screwed up / stripped out or something, so it's hard to tell if it's really where it's supposed to be. It is plumbed to the top of the chlorinator and has a good steady stream coming through it. I've been out of pucks for a few days and still haven't seen a spec of algae since the boric acid went in a month ago. I'm tempted to see how long that will last without reloading.