GREEN POOL FOR THREE WEEKS!!!

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TulsaMary

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Jul 7, 2011
28
As stated above, my pool has been green for three weeks....
This is my second year of owning a pool so i am still learning. My first year I had a problem with green, after shocking it like crazy it never changed until I changed the sand. Reason being I believe is because of the large cotton wood tree above the pool that sheds its cotton during the month of June, thus clogging up my filter.

This year however would be different, I bought the skimmer shields and changed them out literately three times a day. Things were going great until the twenty-fifth of June. The ugly green pea soup was back. So like the average consumer I hopped down to the pool store and spent my hard earned money...

6/25 First recommendation- 1lb of high power powder shock
[*]Still green
6/27 Fiber clear, soda ash to raise ph, green to clean, 3lbs power powder
[*] Even uglier green
6/29 5lbs powder plus, First Aid for pools
[*]Lightened up after shock but went back to green
6/30 Algae Control, 1lb powder plus
[*]lightened up but still light green and cloudy
7/3 Took sample to the store, they said everything was okay wait a few more days...
7/5 Went kayaking from sun up to sun down, never was able to look at pool....
7/6 Back to ugly green.... Ran to the pool store again......
3lbs fresh and clear, 2 quarts algae control, 1 lb super shock, 20 oz of phos free....

My readings yesterday
FC-0
TAC-.5
PH- 7.4
TA- 100
CH- 400
CYA- 90

I called this morning and asked should I see a difference, they now say maybe I should change my sand again... pressure is great in pool, it's also free of debris... the sand I replaced it with last year was brown and not real fine... I think it may have come from lowes...
 
Welcome to TFP!

Much of what the pool store gave you either was a waste of money or actually made your problem worse.

With 0ppm chlorine and high CYA, you are guaranteed to have algae. You need to maintain a good chlorine level 24/7 during the entire swimming season. When you have algae, you need to maintain shock level 24/7, even if it means testing and adding chlorine once an hour. With 90ppm CYA, according to the Chlorine CYA Chart your chlorine should never be allowed to drop below 7ppm, and while you have algae you should never let it drop below 35ppm. If you let it drop for even a few hours you risk letting the algae get restarted.

Here are two articles that will get you on the right track: Defeating Algae

Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis
 
Your sand is NOT your problem. I suggest you drain half of your pool to get the CYA to a level that's managable and then you need to shock your pool. Shocking is a process that will take some time, not some bag of something you can throw in your pool and hope it magically clears up.

You need to order a good test kit (see my sig) and then start reading Pool School. You then need to go out and buy about 20 large jugs of bleach.
 
TulsaMary said:
So I have been reading lots on this site. The calculator said that I needed to drain 56% of my pool to lower the CYA... Sand is fine tho? Cool.
Click to expand...

Your sand should be fine. If draining that much water at once is an issue, you can deal with it at around 60-70ppm CYA. It's just that high chlorine level required to beat algae that hurts you when the CYA is high.
 
56% sounds about right.

I'd get the test kit from tftestkits.net ASAP. You won't be able to proceed through the shock process without a proper kit.

Keep reading and learning. Following the advice on this site will keep your pool water in tip top shape, and keep you from making those expensive pool store trips.
 
I think the first thing you should do is forget most of what you have learned about taking care of your pool. Start over from scratch and read as much as you can here in the Pool School section. High chlorine levels kill algae and sanitize your pool. CYA is needed to help the chlorine be efficient in the sunlight, however when the CYA levels reach what you have, it can actually lower the efficiency of the chlorine, thus requiring a great deal more just to maintain a pool. Right now, with an algae bloom, you must put in a far greater amount of chlorine to kill the algae. CYA does not go away by itself, that is why a partial drain is recommended. The method prescribed here will clear your pool, but it will take some time and large amounts of chlorine (most of us use household bleach).

A good test kit is critical, as the common variety will not measure chlorine at the high levels necessary to kill the algae and clear your pool. When you arm yourself with a proper kit and the information in Pool School, along with the guidance of TFP, you will have control of your pool and not be reliant on buying unnecessary chemicals from the pool store.

Good luck to you. :)
 

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You could take an equal amount of pool water and distilled water, mix those together, run the drop based test, and multiply the readings by two. This will let you read up to 10 ppm. 3 parts distilled water and one part pool water will allow you to read up to 20ppm, but the results will not be nearly as precise.
 
Okay, I drained the pool until 1:30 this morning and then refilled... I had everything tested, all good... CYA is now at 50... Still waiting for a good tester but I plan on kicking this algae's butt today... I have to test by using the old 3 to 1 ratio as mentioned above so I am just going to keep it high... The pool store guy tried to sell me allum....I got the heck outta there.... It is greenish and cloudy still but hopefully not for much longer...
 
TulsaMary said:
Okay, I drained the pool until 1:30 this morning and then refilled... I had everything tested, all good... CYA is now at 50... Still waiting for a good tester but I plan on kicking this algae's butt today... I have to test by using the old 3 to 1 ratio as mentioned above so I am just going to keep it high... The pool store guy tried to sell me allum....I t got the heck outta there.... It is greenish and cloudy still but hopefully not for much longer...
Click to expand...
What were the test results, not all good. What were the numerical values for fc,cc,tc, ph, tA, ch, cya? Those will help to give an idea as to what's going on with your water and provide advice.
 
So at what FC level is it okay to swim? My niece is having a party tomorrow here... When should i start to see results? I am staying on top of it every hour.... Checking the FC level. Readings this morning, never mind the FC level I have it at around 20 using the old test kit I have...
FC-5
TAC-5
PH- 7.4
TA- 110
CH- They didn't test this, and i didn't catch it until I returned home...
CYA- 50
 

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