Treating my greenish pool: encouragement please!

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LauleaHere&There

LauleaHere&There

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LifeTime Supporter
Aug 2, 2010
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Rural Moloka'i, Hawai'i
We had the solar blanket on for a couple of weeks because of cooler temps and high trade winds. Uncovered it to find jade-colored water. (first time ever) So I followed instructions, tested, added Clorox, kept testing, adding, filtering, brushing, backwashing. Backwash water seems to be the same opacity as the pool water. Not sure how much I'm gaining with the backwash. (pressure gauge is busted, and won't be replaced until I get to the mainland next month)

CYA=60
FC between 25 and 16, depending on where I am in the testing cycle.
After two days, I'm still losing FC overnight. Water is milky, despite constant filtering.

Am I on the right track?
 
With CYA at 60 your shock target is around 24 and try your best not to let it drop down below that. the filter should be running 24/7 and unless your return flow falls off too much, you can hold off on backwashing so much. Sand filters then to be a bit more efficient at filtering out algae the dirtier they get.
 
According to your CYA level----24 is your shock value for FC. You're going to have to KEEP it at that level until it's all dead. Drops down to 16 is where your problem is. I'd assume that the cya of 60 is probably a bit undervalued and go a little higher on the shock level for FC. Try and maintain it at 28- 30 for some "margin of error". Keep filter running constantly and backwash frequently as you have been and you'll get there.
 
Backwashing is a good idea when the filter is too dirty. Asuming the filter has good flow, too frequent backwashing with a sand filter will lengthen the time it takes to filter out algae. Hate to say this but sand filters do the worst job of filtering dead algae, but the dirtir they get, the finer particles it will capture. This is one of the reasons adding a little DE to "dirty" the filter can help speed up clearing.
 
Am I on the right track?
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Holding your FC a little higher may or may not help speed things up but it darn sure wont hurt anything. Now is the time for patience. It usually takes me about 4-6 days to clear my pool. (not that mine ever gets green.....I'm just sayin' it PROBABLY would take me 4-6 days :oops: :oops: :oops: )
 
When you are dealing with a total green swamp you want to get everything in place and make sure you have some time available to deal with it correctly. When you are fighting a brand new algae outbreak you can save a lot if time if you catch it quickly and get as much chlorine in right away as you can, even if that means not being totally prepared. Other than that, the basic procedure is the same.
 

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My son cleared a green 30K+ gal inground pool for some friends. He maintained shock level, brushed and backwashed daily. The water turned dark blue in 2 days, but it took over a week before the sand filter could clear the water enough to see the main drain. It took another week before the water looked normal. He added a little DE powder to the sand filter and within a few days the water regained it's former sparkle. :lol:

Spring pool cleanups can be a good source of income for broke college students. :mrgreen:
 
Not meaning to be smart, but as long as it takes! Sometimes it takes a little while after it's clear, sometimes it's finished before it's clear and sometimes it takes a little longer after it's clear to stop losing FC overnight. Keep it at shock level as often as you can.
 
It is going to take a little bit longer than average because of the warmer water temps, but
hang in there you are about half way there at this point.

The water should have turned from a dark green to a dark blue.
Next it will turn blue/grey.
The blue/grey should be getting lighter each day.
You should be seeing white/grey particles suspended in the water. This is dead algae. Once all the algae is dead it still takes some time for the filter to remove all the dead algae from the water.
Free Chlorine loss of 5 ppm overnight means you still have some stubborn algae remaining in the water. Keep your water at shock level....You will win the battle !

You may have a day or two about half way in when it appears nothing has changed and you are certain something is wrong.
This is probably where you are at this point.
Give it a few more days and you will be surprised as you wake to a much clearer pool. :goodjob:
 
BamaRambler and poolschoolgrad, Thank you! That is just what I needed to hear. The Spouse is doubting my mad pool skillz and starting to complain about all the gallons (tuh, only 8 so far) of Clorox I'm bringing home.

Things will be a little more complicated until my refill of R-0871 arrives. But duraleigh has already shipped, so it should be about 3 days. I have 2 or maybe 3 tests worth left.
 
Your mad pool skillz are fine, the family just needs a little POP. Pool Owner Patience. :mrgreen:

With limited R-0871 allowing fewer tests, a rough guess of
3 quarts per day at this stage should be enough to restore the chlorine from 15 up to 25+ in a 3500 gal pool.
To make the most out of the little R0871 that remains, dilute the pool water sample with 1/2 tap water and double your results.
Your results will not be as accurate, but will be close enough at this point. 10 ml sample size is accurate enough for now as well.

Hang in there :goodjob:
 
LauleaHere&There said:
BamaRambler and poolschoolgrad, Thank you! That is just what I needed to hear. The Spouse is doubting my mad pool skillz and starting to complain about all the gallons (tuh, only 8 so far) of Clorox I'm bringing home.

Things will be a little more complicated until my refill of R-0871 arrives. But duraleigh has already shipped, so it should be about 3 days. I have 2 or maybe 3 tests worth left.
Click to expand...


price bleach against pool store supplies for "shock"! :mrgreen:
 

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