Having problems getting my pool blue. A month ago it was blue but really foggy. I went on vacation and it rained alot. When I got back it was green. Been shocking the **** out of it and it won't change from nasty green. I bought a new filter and pump. Catridge filter and 1.5hp pump. My water test is

Cya 131
total chlorine 7.5
free chlorine 7.5
Total alkalinity 99
total hardness 290
PH 7

I was told to add 15lbs of alkalinity ^ and 1.5 qts of scale inhibitor and to not shock for 5 days.
I ran my pump for 24 hrs a day for 3 days now since adding new chemicals and is still dark green

I was told on a different forum that its algea and to keep the chlorine level at atleast 25 ppm to kill it. Been 3 days of that and noooo luck

Been running pump for 24 hours a day, no luck.

Any help or suggestions? Makes me want to give up. I'm using the trouble free test kit to test with. Thanks

My friend, if those test result are close to accurate, your CYA is too high. With CYA at 130, shocking is next to impossible.

Getting your own test kit should be the first step, then confirm CYA is over 100, followed by a partial drain and fill to reduce CYA and then completing the shock process.

Hate to say this, but you have been pool stored. Alkalinity increaser is nothing more than baking soda and scale inhibitor is usless in trying to clear a pool

Here are a few articles to get you started, but you should invest some time and read through pool school (button on upper right of this page)

pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison

pool-school/defeating_algae

turning-your-green-swamp-back-into-a-sparkling-oasis-t4147.html

edit...oops Missed you were using the TF100 already...how did you measure alkalinity at 99 and CYA at 131 using to TF 100 The kit only measures those values to within 10ppm.

With a CYA of 131, your minimum shock level is going to be quite high. The CYA/Chlorine chart in Pool School (button top right) lists the highest value CYA at 100 with a shock level of 39... you are nowhere near that. Your pool will remain green until a proper shcoking is done. Pool School contains all the information you need.

If your cya is that high, the only reasonable option I see is draining and replacing about 70% of your water. That would get you down to an acceptable cya level of around a 40 cya. It would be much easier to shock and maintain at this level. The links provided in the above posts are a great place to start. These great people here will not steer you wrong, but you MUST follow their advice to take control of your pool back.

The test provided is from the pool store when I went to see what they said. I use the trouble free kit for my own use. In the pool store test it says ideal cya is 30-200. So that is way off i guess?

Ok just started to drain the pool. Do I really need to drain 70%?

If you drain the 70% like suggested your shock level will be much lower so it will be much easier to kill the present algae and to keep it away from here on out. You could do less, but will mean more chlorine used during shock process and you will have to keep your chlorine levels at a higher level all the time to keep the algae away.

That's all assuming the test result they gave you for the cya is correct.

Did you perform your own cya test with your TF-100?.. That might give you a better understanding about what your cya level really is. But I wouldn't hesistate to say that it must be really high if 25ppm of chlorine isn't working. Personally, I wouldn't use anything except bleach or liquid chlorine for your shock process because it won't add anything to your water like the granular shock products do (namely more cya).

Yes, their recommendation of 30-200 is way off, more like 30-50. I like to keep mine between 40-50 and my chlorine level at about 5 ppm. That way if I ever need to shock, it is at a manageable level. Thankfully I never have had to shock (except upon opening)

So does cya just keep getting higher, year after year of people using the chlorine tabs/pucks until finally it ends up like mine? I just did a cya test with the tf kit it said in between 80-90

Should I assumed the TF kit is right and not the pool store? and if thats the case, how much water should I drain? Thanks for all the responses btw

Always trust your own results. The pool store is known for being wrong instead of right.

That's exactly how it works. And as the CYA level rises it holds more and more of the chlorine in reserve - that's why it gets so hard to shock the pool at those levels.

Definitely trust your results. If you drain 50% that should knock your CYA down to 45 or so which is good. You'll also be draining off 1/2 of the organics in the pool so you will need that much less chlorine to kill it all off.

Ok, Thanks for the response.

Pool school is important. Read it, and then read it again. Also pay particular attention to the shocking and the algae information.

After you're done draining and refilling (yes, the best choice for you) check the CYA with your TF100. This test can be poured back in and re-tested, it should be actually. Do it a few times and take the average of them all. The result will determine what level you need to raise chlorine to and maintain while you're shocking.

Refer to www.poolcalculator.com, enter your pool's test results in the now column, your desired levels in the target column and it will tell you what and how much to add. At the bottom, your minimum/max/shock levels will change depending on what CYA you enter in the now column. Refer to this whenever you have a question about quantities. It is an incredible tool. Set the goals for TFP, and your volume in the top left field.

Shocking the pool means maintaining shock levels, it means you'll have to test it frequently (hourly at first) and add bleach to raise it back to shock level. It's a process, and will take time to complete. It'll be much easier to do now that you've drained, good choice :~}

Oh, btw... no more pucks/tablets (trichlor), use liquid chlorine/bleach only from now on. Save the trichlor for vacation.

You'll be very pleased when you're all done with this.

Drained the pool and filled it up again. Got the cya down to 50. Been shocking for 2 days now but its been absolutely pouring rain out both days. Have yet to see any results? Still dark green. Is this rain a problem?

What FC level are you raising to? Shocking for two days, would mean literally checking your water every few hours to ensure FC is above shock level. That said, it can take well over 1 week to clear a green pool.

Hope it clears soon

Are you testing hourly and redosing your chlorine levels back up to your shock value (around 20, I believe)? The more aggressive you are with it the faster it will clear. The rain should not affect it, if anything it should help maintain your levels unless there is a bunch of deris blowing in your pool. We have had torrential rains here for the past 3 days, where I've actually had to drain the pool down a couple of times and my water is still as clear as can be.

It can take severaal days or maybe even a week or longer to clear the water, it just depends on how agressive you are with it. Don't give up, just keep at it. Go back and re-read pool school, and read the topics posted on people clearing there green swamps, if they can do it, you can too!

You need to keep the chlorine level up, never below shock level. So as you add chlorine, go a few ppm extra so that in an hour you are not below the minimum.

You also need to clear any debris from the pool, the floor, the skimmers. You may need a leaf rake that attaches to a pole to scoop up leaves and branches that have blown into the pool. It takes a LOT of chlorine to obliterate a branch!

Keeping it over 20 is what im doing. Yesterday, I checked every couple hours. Today I did before and after work. Nothing I can do while I'm at work. I was hoping it would atleast go down to maybe a light green. Any progress would be nice lol

Can I actually shock too much? If i was to put extra in before work to keep it higher while I'm gone?