High pH, green water

[Newpool2014]

Hi, I am new to this site. I've read through a few threads and I'm not quite sure what my problem is this summer with my pool. We just had it installed towards the end of summer in 2014. My first two summers I had a Crystal Clear Pool. The majority of this summer it has been cloudy green, and after spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars at the pool store, I'm at my wit's end. It all started the first week of July, the Water started to get cloudy and then we woke up one morning and it was Green. We have treated for algae with the stuff recommended by the pool store, brushed the walls, brushed the floor, I'm not convinced it's algae. My pH has been high and my total alkalinity low the entire season and it won't budge with the pool store chemicals. I take a sample every few days, add the alkalinity increaser and the pH decreaser and I don't seem to get anywhere. I've added over 40 pounds of lo n' slo over the summer and the lowest my pH has been is 7.9 and that was only on 1 test. All the others have been 8-8.3. We have a 24 foot above ground, 15,000 gal, vinyl liner pool. Could the constant high pH be the cause of the green water? I did get it back to clear in the beginning of August after dumping extra pH decreaser in, that's when the pH went down to 7.9. But it's back to green with pH 8.3 and TA 95. Oh, and my chlorine stays really high, like 7-12 just with a stick in the skimmer, no shock.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Vickery]

Welcome to TFP! Rather than just reading a few threads, Read "Pool School" at the banner on the top right of this page. You have just learned the first lesson of pool ownership: pool store people are usually clueless about caring for pools! Would you ask the bagger at the grocery store how to prepare a meal? After reading through Pool School a few times you will learn that A: you have algae. and B: Muriatic acid will quickly fix high ph. You will also learn C: You MUST have a good test kit to do your own testing because pool store testing is at best bogus. Then D: This forum is full of helpful people who will give you the best advice possible - just pay attention and stay OUT of pool $tores. My advice is to order the TF100XL w/ speed stirrer immediately:TFTestkits.net. You can also order the Taylor kit described in:Pool School - Test Kits Compared from Amazon. HINT: The TF100 is the better deal. That's your Homework for now.

 

[lightingguy]

Welcome to TFP!

We hear this kind of thing all the time. We can totally get you on the right track - but we'll need accurate test results to truly help.

A couple things to start while you are studying :

1) Ph decreaser and TA increaser are counteracting each other. Here we keep our TA on the lower end of the scale as it helps slow down PH rise.

2) Your CYA levels have built up over the first 2 seasons and you are now fighting a difficult game with chlorine. You'll never kill all the algae if you don't know what your CYA level is.

Honestly - it's as simple as that.

A full set of chemistry results will confirm the above. We don't trust pool store or test strip results (they are inaccurate enough of the time to make them impossible to use over the internet).

 

[Newpool2014]

Thank you. I'll order the test kit as soon as I can. I went back to the pool store today to have them test the water again...I didn't buy anything though. I know you say their results aren't accurate, but here's what they gave me...
CYA 128
TC and FC both 15
pH 7.7 (lowest it's been all year)
TA 107
Adjusted alkalinity 69
Total hardness 219
Copper 0.7
Iron 0.2
They want me to flocc. I truly don't have time for that. We just opened a restaurant this week and I'll be occupied 7 days a week for a while now.
Thanks again!

 

[Vickery]

Flocc THEM - NOT your pool. Your metals are not helping the green, or rather, not helping it go away, metal testing being one of the few things pool $tores are good for. Your CYA is out of control, as expected. That will require a partial water fill. But don't start until you get your test kit to confirm the readings, no point in doing something twice. Your ph is fine for now but you will need to add bleach -or chlorinating liquid - from Wal-Mart, a big box store or a good hardware store - every day. Your chlorine/CYA ratio:Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart is borderline since you are off the chart. Use Pool Math:http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html once you have your test kit to determine what you need and how often. Lot's of help here, you'll be fine.