Adding algaecide turned water green

[lalapool]

Hello,

I had some yellow algae on the side of the walls. I bought the Pooltime algaecide and poured it in and the next day the water turned light green. The blue color is gone.

I called the company and they say I might have used too much of the product. I followed the instructions. It says if you have algae pour 13.5 ounce for 10K pool. Mine is about 20K so I doubled that. Not sure what is the solution.

Has anyone faced this situation? Any ideas how to get my blue water back?

Thanks

 

[Isaac-1]

Many cheap algaecides contain copper which can turn your water, your hair green and stain your pool. The MSDS for this product shows that it is indeed 3.3% copper. You can treat this problem with routine additions of metal sequesterant or solve it with water replacement.


Ike

p.s. this is exactly the reason we warn people against using algaecides, particularly the cheap ones

see Pool School - Metals in the Water and Metal Stains

 

[lalapool]

Thanks, it looks like the metal issue. I will try adding sequestrant and see.

Do you know any good brand?

 

[Isaac-1]

Jack's magic is often suggested around here, but I have no first hand experience with it

 

[pooldv]

There are some suggestions in the article Isaac-1 linked.

This is how we kill algae, SLAM Process

 

[jeffchap]

Chlorine is what your pool needs, not algaecide. Please read the link that pooldv posted.

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Once thing about algaecide is that it doesn't kill algae, it only helps to prevent it and as you're finding out it can have some undesirable side effects.
We tend to stay away from algaecides and just maintain the proper FC level with bleach to keep algae from starting.

 

[lalapool]

Thanks everyone for your advise. I was not sure which way to go, treat metal problem or just add chlorine. Ended up calling a professional. He cleaned the filter and dumped a gallon of liquid chlorine. It was like magic, within an hour the pool started looking better. It is lot better today.

Lesson learned for me: 1. Stay away from algaecide. 2. Watch your hand while pouring anything into the pool.

 

[lightingguy]

Sounds like you got lucky with your pool professional !

1 gallon of liquid chlorine isn't going to fix your algae problem. Do your professional happen to test your water and give you the numbers?

 

[lalapool]

He just checked for chlorine and ph levels. Asked me to add some acid to reduce the PH.

I did not have that much algae to begin with. Had some yellow algae on the walls, minimal. Adding too much algaecide caused the problem.

I am not out of the woods completely. I would have to maintain proper chemical levels. Chlorine in particular.

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Welcome to TFP Paulbest

The primary remedy for the green pool water is chlorine. We don't recommend "shock" as it usually refers to products that not only contain chlorine but also a dose of CYA (stabilizer). The CYA builds up and can cause problems down the road.

To clear a pool we advise people SLAM their pool until they pass three conditions rather than just tossing in bags of shock. Pool School - How To

 

[lalapool]

It is week 3 since I had the problem. It is getting lot better but still highly dependent on chlorine. Chlorine loss is rapid. I have been treating it with liquid chlorine and the store recommended to "shock" as it contains 70% chlorine vs 20% in liquid chlorine. I poured two bags today and ran the motor for 12 hours and the water is blue now. But not sure whether it will hold up.

I keep reading about vacuuming the pool. How do I do that? There is already an automatic vacuum running at the bottom of the pool whenever the motor runs. Wouldn't that do the job?

Another thing is backwashing. Not sure how that works. I have Pentair type filter that has a rod at the bottom. If I move it back then the water will come out of the drain. Is that what backwashing is? If that is what I need to do how long should I run it to complete the backwash?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Isaac-1]

All the dry chlorine products contain something that you probably don't want to be adding to your water if you live in California with water restrictions. This is either CYA for Dichlor or Trichlor which can only be effectively removed through water replacement, or Calcium in Calcium-Hypochlorite, Calcium is particularly problematic for your region due to the often already high levels of Calcium in fill water in the western US, which is then concentrated in the pools through evaporation.

 

[lalapool]

Yeah, you are right about the extra stuff in the dry chlorine. I already have high CYA and calcium. I am planning to replace half the water in couple of months. Waiting for the temperature to come down before I start that.