Zeolite Filter and the green pool.

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R

rickondrums

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LifeTime Supporter
Sep 30, 2014
9
San Diego
Hi! I have a 33,000 gal pool with two 2 hp pumps for pool, spa, and overspill. I purchased an E5 Zeolite filter with 300 lbs of Zeolite a year ago. I backwash a lot. I have room to add a second stage filter such as a Zeolite Antibacterial Cartridge, light or whatever. I would like to clean up the persistant algae and cloudy water. I run a Dophin Supreme M4 several times a day and brush the pool. We have a pool guy. The pool goes green easily in the San Diego heat. Any ideas? Thanks!
 
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Since this is your first post, welcome to TFP!

To put it bluntly, green pools are not a filtration problem, they are a chemical problem. There is algae living in your pool and you don't have enough active chlorine to kill it faster than it grows. Even in the San Diego heat a properly chlorinated pool will not go green.

Are you planning to take over chemical maintenance from the pool guy and do it yourself? Honestly a recurring green pool tells me that he is not doing his job anyway so it may be a good idea for you to take it over. If you want to do that I can tell you that following TFPC methods will help you get it cleared up and keep it looking incredibly clear even if in middle of a heat wave without adding any extra filters or UV or anything like that. So before we go in to the details, is this something you want to pursue?
 
Welcome! :wave:

Ideas? How about not-so-wild speculation based on reading thousands of threads here? You have inadequate free chlorine for your stabilizer. It's virtually guaranteed that your pool has been fed a steady diet of trichlor pucks. The chlorine in the pucks gets used up killing bacteria and algae and oxidizing sweat and snot and dead skin and leaves that fall in the water. The stabilizer part of the pucks just stays there and builds and builds. Eventually, you end up with too much stabilizer and not enough unbound chlorine and algae takes hold and it grows and grows and consumes the chlorine from the pucks almost instantly to the point where you have no chlorine and you get visible algae.

The solution is to 1) Fire the pool guy. You're already brushing and you have an automatic vacuum. All that's left for him is the chemistry. And that's the easy part. Once the pool is cleared, two minutes a day, tops.
2) Invest the money you save by firing the pool guy on a proper test kit. Don't rush over to Leslies and ask for a K-2006 FAS-DPD kit. They probably won't have it, but they will sell you a K-2005 DPD test kit and assure you that's the same. It's not. For what you'll be doing next, the best option is a TF100 with XL option.
3) Get reliable numbers. And then, most likely, agonize over draining and replacing half or three-fourths of the pool water to lower CYA to something useful.
4) Commence the SLAM process.

Plenty of people have done it. Just do what they did. Recovering my old inspirational links - Page 2
 
On 8/3/15, I went down to a small pool supply store with water for testing. The numbers so far are 0 FC, 7.8 PH, 90 TA, TDS 1500, Conditioner 50. He then insisted I buy a puck dispenser and put 6 pucks in for the pool, a few more pucks in the spillway trench dispenser, and a few more in the Spa dispenser that is in line by the pumps, The products are pictured here with the instructions to stock the dispensers, put in 5 bags of sodium dichloro at night, and 1/2 can of sodium bromide. I stocked the dispensers because there is no chlorine in the pool, but request your advice before I put in the sodium dichloro and bromide. I guess I knee jerked because the test kit won't arrive for a week. Thanks, image.jpg
 
Don't add them. Richard already gave you the link to the SLAM process, that is our recommendation.

None of these products will help long term. Take the pucks out my use liquid chlorine only. Your CYA is shurly too high and as Richard explained, the tabs just make it go higher.
 
Hi, Rick,

Well, you've hit a snag. What we teach will simply not work with poos store advice and chemicals.

You'll have to decide on one place or the other.....you end up in the befuddled middle if you listen to both.

I will say this....everything in the pictures is bad for your situation.

If you decide to nix the pool store and wait for your test kit, put 1 small jug of Clorox in your pool everyday until you kit gets in. Then test and post your numbers
 
tim5055 said:
Don't add them. Richard already gave you the link to the SLAM process, that is our recommendation.

None of these products will help long term. Take the pucks out my use liquid chlorine only. Your CYA is shurly too high and as Richard explained, the tabs just make it go higher.
Click to expand...
+1

Just to reiterate, your CYA is high enough based on the pool store's guess. That dichlor + tricolor pucks are going to push it up farther, fast. At 50ppm your SLAM FC level is 20ppm, if it gets up to 70ppm your SLAM level is now 28ppm, or a 70% increase in needed FC levels.

Return all of them for a refund then go buy lots of bleach!

Be sure to read up on how to do a proper SLAM.

Dom
 
Listen to these guys. It's amazing how you can take control of your pool and keep it sparkling with the BBB method. I too, was a pool store junky till I found TFP.
It's really easy once you get a handle on it and it won't take that long. I found TFP this past spring and I am amazed how much better my pool looks and STAYS while just doing the simple stuff like checking PH and FC daily or at least every other day during the hot months. I see a super clear and sparkly infinity edge pool in your future...Awesome view :cool:
 
Oh man, I know you are desperate and totally understand given such a beautiful pool is such an ugly shade of green. But if you do what they are telling you it might possibly work in the short run but it is going to really mess things up long term. Adding the amount of pucks and dichlor they suggest will greatly increase your CYA, causing some overstabilization issues. There are only two ways to reduce CYA in SoCal: water change or RO treatment. One you know is highly frowned upon, the other is really expensive. Real good advice you were given there. I won't even go in to what Yellow Treat will do, but know that adding bromide can really mess with a chlorine pool.

You said it yourself, it was a small pool supply store. Small store means small margins. Small margins means making sure everybody that comes in leaves with as many chemicals as possible. Not that the chain stores are any better. Bottom line, if you follow their advice you might get things cleared up for now, but it will not last and you will either be back here or back in the pool store (credit card in hand) in a couple of weeks. If you wait for the test kit to arrive, run the tests, and get a proper SLAM going then you will get it cleared and with proper care will stay that way. It is up to you which way to go but I would really love to see a picture of that pool after you complete a proper SLAM on it. That is, if the shimmer doesn't blind you first...

While you are waiting on the kit there are a few things you can do. Pull all of the pucks out, every last one. If you can return the dichlor and yellow treat then do so. Since the pucks are opened you can keep those and use them in the future if you need a small CYA boost or will be away for a few days. While you are waiting you can find yourself a source of liquid chlorine. If you can find 10% or 12.5% liquid chlorine at either a pool store or hardware store that will most likely be your best value. Otherwise plain unscented liquid bleach is the way to go. While you are waiting you can begin adding 1-2 gallons of liquid chlorine a day which will add as much or more chlorine as those pucks were without the added CYA. This will keep things in check until you can get some reliable test results in your hands and really get things going.
 

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Thanks everyone! I agree with your approach, especially after more reading in the forum. Pucks out, chlorine beach in. Hoping to avoid a big water change. Question: Your opinion on water treatment trucks with reverse osmosis gear to conserve water changes if needed?
 
rickondrums said:
Question: Your opinion on water treatment trucks with reverse osmosis gear to conserve water changes if needed?
Click to expand...
Like Dave said, a bit pricey but will use less water than dumping and replacing. Hopefully the test results you got from the pool store are accurate (long shot but even a blind squirrel...) and you won't have to do either.
 
My test kit arrived today! The last two days I added 1 gallon of Clorox regular bleach a day. If I did my first tests correctly, the results are: TC 1, CC .4 - the color went clear but the water remained cloudy, PH 8.2, TA 500, CH 1000, CYA 50. Using the Pool Math Calc it appears I need to do a big water change. Shall I continue to slam the pool and re test hoping for improvement? I have pebble tech. How do I list my pool gear under profile? Thanks!
 
You can add your pool equipment in your signature section, it is under the "settings" link on the upper right.

So your CYA is fine, so very glad you didn't add the dichlor or twenty pucks they suggested. Your TA reading is quite high, have you recently added a bunch of baking soda? Try running the test again but wipe the tip with a soft cloth before each drop, sometimes a very new bottle has a static charge on the tip that causes the drops to be too small, as per this: Testing TA with TF-100 If your TA really is that high then it will take some work to keep your pH in check until it comes down. Stock up on several gallons of muriatic acid.

So your CH, that is rather high yes. Have you had any problems with scaling on your water line? Judging by Richard320 dealing with high CH is a way of life in that part of the country. If you aren't dealing with any calcium related problems then you can work with it and replace some water as you can. If you ever see rain in the forecast then try to route a downspout towards the pool to collect some of that sweet sweet CH free water. You will want to keep your pH down to prevent scaling issues.

So if you are not dealing with CH problems then SLAM away. Get your pH down to 7.2, bring your FC up to 20 and follow the instruction in Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain. You will be well on your way to a clear pool!
 
This pool will be great. Keep your filter running, brush several times a day, and make your FC stay above 20. You can either test frequently and keep adding several times throughout the day, or, if you can't be home to do that, and nobody wants to go swimming, aim for over 20. During the first few days the chlorine drops rapidly from killing the algae, and that way it will never fall below 20.

When the algae starts to die your pump PSI can go up quickly, so keep an eye on that and backwash or clean it, usually when the PSI is 25% more than normal.

when you're all done, really take some time in the calculator to see what balance might work best for your high Calcium. With a high TA, your pH will likely keep rising quickly, and high pH and high Calcium will put you in danger of scaling. Some of the additional salt you get from using liquid chlorine will help. But once it's free from algae, and you are adding the proper amount of FC each day to keep the algae away, you can work day by day on the TA and pH.
 
image.jpg Hi TFP Friends: Here is a pic of calcium build up above the water line. According to TFP Pool Math, I will need to add some muratic acid anyway, so I was considering brushing it on this area around the pool to break it down but never mind, my eyes are more important. Over the last week I have slowly put in a lot of Clorox Bleach to slam the green pool. It is beginning to clear but the water may remain mirky for a while due to my Zeolite filter. I have backwashed several times, trying to keep my media clean which provided a bit of a water change. Learning how to use my TFP test kit 8/12/15: CH 875, CL 2-4, PH 7.8, FC 20, CC .05, TA 70, CYA 28. Since my CH is so high, I'm wondering how to proceed. Really trying not to drain the pool in the California drought. Is there a product or remedy besides reverse osmosis? Thanks!
 
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you can keep your pH closer to 7.2 to fight scale. I've had CH in the 600-800 range for over a year. but the lower the pH is, the faster it will rise, so in doing these acids additions you will need to keep an eye on the TA, which will get lower and lower. 40-50 is ok with TA.

Also, if you are SLAMming, your FC should be 12 (CYA of 30), not .20. Is there a chance that was a typo? And the CYA test is generally read by 10s. If it's not 20, round up to 30. If it's not certainly 30, round up to 40. Better to overshoot the FC by a few ppm than underestimate.

edit: grocery stores will sometimes have acid that is only 14%. I've found those fumes to be manageable. I would certainly test on a non-obvious spot first though, make sure you aren't permanently etching or something
 
What lab test? You posted test results from your own test, why are you getting it tested elsewhere?

Also "slowly putting in clorox to SLAM" does not make sense. SLAM means bringing your FC to SLAM level (which is based on your CYA, which you said was 50 and are now saying it is 28, which is it?) and Maintaining it there until you pass the 3 criteria listed in the instructions I posted: Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain
 
I did the test myself today with the TF-100 XL kit I purchased through TFP. CYA came down during the last week to around 30 on this test. I added muriatic acid and will test again tomorrow. It's nice to see things clearing up.Thanks!:cool:
 

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