Green Cloudy Pool

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You have to add it all at once. The liner is safe as long as you don't go massively above the shock level based on y our CYA level. You have to get ahead of the organics. Adding chlorine slowly (over hours) just teases the algae and doesn't get ahead of killing it.

If Pool Math says you need six gallons to get to shock level, add six gallons. Add it slowly in front of a return and brush under where you added it when you are done to mix it well and make sure not is pooling on the bottom where you added it.

Two things consume chlorine organics and UV. But, you have to keep it as close to shock as possible to get ahead of the algae. Again, an algae colony can double in size in a few hours. So, if you don't keep it at shock level during the day you are growing algae during the day and killing it at night. You will never win this way.
 
Just to be clear, PoolMath is saying I need to add roughly 1.5 gallons to get to shock level (i.e. 2.5 ppm to 12 ppm). When I do this, the FC level only goes up about 4 ppm. So, I continue this cycle adding a little less bleach each time, still adding the amount to get to 12 ppm. By the way, I am using 12.5% liquid soldium hypochlorite which adds 6.5 ppm to my pool, for each gallon.

Is it safe to target 20-25 ppm, so that I may be able to actually achieve 12 ppm with one dose? I hope I am making sense.
 
When ammonia an chlorine battle each other they are both eliminated very quickly. But it's not a one for one thing. If you really want the messy details behind it do a search for ammonia threads with chem geek as the author.

I wouldn't target that high. If your goal is 12 I might shoot for 15 or so, add and test as often as possible. Once the ammonia is gone the FC will jump up quickly and the CC should start dropping.

Pool Owner Patience is needed when dealing with ammonia. Ther "quick solution" of Green to Clean got you in this boat, but there is still no quick magic to get you out.
 
Thanks for the support on this. I really do appreciate it.

I am going to follow the process that Texas posted earlier in this thread (copied below) which starts with testing every 10 minutes until the FC will start holding. I will send an update on how it goes.

Treatment for Ammonia:
1. Begin a SLAM and dose FC up to SLAM level. Do not add additional CYA at this point.
2. Retest FC at 10-minute intervals.
a. If FC loss is greater than 50%, add FC to bring back up to SLAM level and continue retesting FC @ 10-minute intervals.
b. IF FC loss is 50% or less, add FC to bring back up to SLAM level. Go to Step 3.
3. If CYA is below 30 ppm, add enough CYA to bring level up to 30 ppm.
4. Continue SLAM as directed in the SLAM article until the SLAM Criteria of Done are met. Test as directed in the SLAM article - no longer need to test FC at 10 minute increments at this point.
As you can see, you'll need lots of bleach on-hand to fix what the pool guy apparaently did to you, but it can be done. Follow those steps to the letter, then you can press-on with your exsting SLAM. Good luck.

 
tim5055 said:
When ammonia an chlorine battle each other they are both eliminated very quickly. But it's not a one for one thing. If you really want the messy details behind it do a search for ammonia threads with chem geek as the author.
Click to expand...

Chlorine and ammonia react with each other VERY quickly (in under a minute with CYA in the water) to form monochloramine. This is how the Coral Seas Green to Clean and Yellow Out products work. Monochloramine is not moderated in its strength by CYA so in high CYA pools this is a workaround to kill algae, but it doesn't address the fundamental problem of high CYA (that's not your situation anyway). Monochloramine shows up as Combined Chlorine (CC) so when you add an ammonia-based product to a chlorine pool the FC drops and the CC rises by roughly the same amount.

Chlorine more slowly oxidizes monochloramine. In a pool with CYA it takes roughly 4-6 hours at normal levels though it depends on your FC/CYA level so at SLAM levels it should be substantially faster, perhaps 45 minutes if you have good circulation and maintain the FC level. So you just raise the FC and keep adding chlorine to maintain it and you will find the FC eventually holding or at least dropping at a normal rate such as from sunlight. The chlorine oxidizes monochloramine mostly to nitrogen gas and some nitrate. The amount of chlorine needed is somewhat less than the amount of CC, but you need not add the full amount at once and instead just maintain an FC level.
 

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Chuck, you can certainly do an OCLT if you like, but just remember not to confuse passing the 3 SLAM criteria for what you did earlier today (every 10 minutes). The intense 10-min testing you did earlier was specifically to resolve any ammonia in the water from G&C. To pass the SLAM you must ensure:
1. Water is clear
2. You do not lose any more than 1ppm of FC overnight (that's the OCLT)
3. CC (Combined Chlorine) is <.5
Just wanted to make sure you understood that. Glad your numbers are holding better now.
 
Right. Makes sense. I consider what I did today as an intense SLAM to get rid of the ammonia, but now we are keeping up with the regular SLAM! I will definitely test all three criteria. I figured the OCLT would be good to test, as one of the criteria. Hopefully, we maintain a CC of less than 0.5 along the way tonight. Right now, the water is not clear.
 
As some of the others have said here before, 90% of the SLAM (progress) seems obvious and almost too easy, it's the last 10% that seems to drag-on forever. But be patient and you'll know for sure one morning when you wake-up and that water is clear like glass.
 
Here is the latest data. Any idea why the FC would jump up that high, in the last couple of tests?

CYA = 30
Shock level = 12 ppm

9/3 1:10pm - FC = 1.0, CC = 3.0 (Added 2 gallons of 12.5% bleach)
9/3 1:30pm - FC = 2.5, CC = 9.0 (Added 2 gallons of 12.5% bleach)
9/3 2:10pm - FC = 4.5, CC = 11.0 (Added 1 gallon of 12.5% bleach)
9/3 2:45 pm - FC = 14.0, CC = 1.0
9/3 3:00 pm - FC = 12.0, CC = 1.5
9/3 3:30 pm - FC = 13.5, CC = 0.5
9/3 4:15 pm - FC = 10.5, CC = 1.5 (Added 0.5 gallons of 12.5% bleach)
9/3 5:00 pm - FC = 11.5, CC = 2.5 (Added 0.25 gallons of 12.5% bleach)
9/3 5:40 pm - FC = 19.0, CC = 1.0
9/3 6:30 pm - FC = 18.5, CC = 3.0
9/3 7:00 pm - FC = 17.5, CC = 3.0
9/3 7:40 pm - FC = 17.5, CC = 1.5
9/3 8:40 pm - FC = 17.5, CC = 3.0
9/3 9:40 pm - FC = 19.5, CC = 2.5
 
Perhaps the FC is testing higher because it is starting to hold better. From 5:00 to 5:40, that was a good spike just with a 1/4 gallon. Regardless, simply adjust your bleach additions accordingly to maintain or hoover right around your SLAM level. No need to let it get too high. It doesn't make the SLAM go any faster really, and you don't need to waste bleach. Good tracking, testing, and monitoring. :goodjob: That's exactly what it takes. Keep-up the good work.
 
Yeah, according to PoolMath with our volume, each gallon raises the FC level by 6.5 ppm. From 5:00 to 5:40 we were targeting 13 ppm (11.5 + 1.625 1/4 gallon). Somehow, it jumped way up to 19 ppm. We will let it float back down, and then keep targeting our shock level, which is 12 ppm.
 
For some strange reason, the high FC level is not going down. In fact, it went back up. I updated the data in the previous post. I guess we will leave it for tonight, since it is well above 12 ppm. It is very odd. I am hoping to let it come down in the morning, and then maintain 12 ppm. Sound right?
 

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