Slight green cloudy tint to water

Jump to latest Follow Reply
O

okpool

0
Jun 25, 2012
8
I had a major algae problem and transformed my “green swamp” into almost clear water. It still has a slight sea green tint to it. My chlorine levels are within range. As is the PH and alkalinity. My method to turning it from green to almost clean consists of 2lbs. Yellow Out algae killer/ 2lbs chlorine. After 12 hours another 2lbs., then after 12 hours 5lbs of alum, let it settle out overnight, vac that to waste. Ran the pump for 8 hours last night and on into the early morning hours. I’m completely stumped and I’ve dumped a lot of money and time into this pool this season.

Approximately 10K gallons of water
Temps have been topping 100 degrees lately
Blue Haven pools 175 series cartridge filter

If my filters have gone bad, will the filter just be clear? I clean them about 5 times a day and they have visible green algae wash out of them.

I’ve read so many articles lately on this subject and can’t get a solid method to clear it up. I’m on the way to the pool store to have them test the water, in case my testing kit is severely dated. These guys have also been running me in circles as far as this chemical and that chemical which add up to big money. They told me to use “Ultra water clarifier”, that didn’t do a Dang thing.

I’m turning to the experts around here to hopefully point me in the right direction before I pull my hair out and drain my wallet. :grrrr:
 
:wave: Welcome :wave:

Step 1: Order yourself one of the recommended test kits (see my signature). What do you currently have?
Step 2: Read and re-read Pool School (button are upper right)
Step 3: Preform the shock PROCESS (not a couple random additons of chems) as described in Pool School
Step 4: Use the $ you saved on pool chems to buy beverages to consume while enjoying your pool

Feel free to ask questions as they come up, but do some reading to learn the facts first.

If you learn to understand you pool, you will no longer be at the mercy of the pool store!!!
 
If you follow the advice on this site, you'll never be a servant to a pool store again. :) Seriously, I completely, whole heartedly recommend without hesitation this site. You'll be more knowledgeable about what you put in your pool and you'll save enough money to buy the kids all the floaties they'll ever want.
 
Sometime it seems "too simple" to follow the directions here...but THEY WORK better than the the "help" at 99% of the pool stores.

Sure, you may need 6 bottles of bleach and a box of borax in a single weekend (an example, not a recommendation for your pool) but it will be better and cheaper than the $40 clarifier and $50 wallet-emptying "stuff" they recommend to lower your "who-hah" instead of dealing with the issue... getting rid of algae and clearing up the water. Get the test-kit, add the bleach, test again, read pool school until you understand it.

As to your filters, they should be getting darker and dirty with the stuff from the pool. If you can, run your pumps 24 hours a day until your water is clear. If you pressures go up, that mean you have trapped enough junk in your filter and it's time to swap another one in. If you have two filters, you can swap one in and clean the dirty one while the other is being used.
 
techguy said:
Sometime it seems "too simple" to follow the directions here...but THEY WORK...
Click to expand...

I definitely second the above comment.

I've learned to never underestimate the power of simplicity. Used to work with an automotive engineer at the testing facilities of a major auto mfr. The most common question he was asked was, "What is the most common cause of engine failure?" His answer: Dirt! Plain old every day dirt. Baffled him to no end how people wanted to make it more complicated than that.

Similar concept applies to pools. Adequate chlorination, filtering, along with skimming/vacuuming/brushing to keep debris out of the pool will prevent virtually all problems.
 
I went to the local, let me empty my wallet pool store yesterday. I just had them test my water and I bought a new test kit made by Taylor. It’s the full test kit or deluxe model. I didn’t buy anything besides the test kit.

They told me the ph was really low and that’s why the water wasn’t taking the chlorine. So, I said that’s sodium carbonate, he said bicarb which I knew was wrong. As soon as he cleared up his information he suggested soda ash. I said I already had a product that was 100% sodium carbonate and of course he tried discredit the product I was going to use. When I asked if I could use bleach as chlorine, he gave me this look of “are you stupid”. I told him it was the same chemical makeup just choked down a bit from chlorine. Again he said, I wouldn’t use that and besides that bleach is really expensive and in the same breath trying to sell me some bs power powder that cost $4.59 for one small 1lb bag. I already had some of that Crud from a previous trip to the pool store so, I went ahead and used it.

Here were their recommendations: 7lbs of sodium carbonate to bring the ph back up and 2lbs of pow pow as they call it. I even added an extra 1lb. to be on the safe side. Low and behold, I tested the water this morning and the ph is exactly where it was previous to the sodium carb and the chlorine level is non existent. So, the bs line of “this will clear it right up” didn’t work at all.

So, I’m going to go buy some bleach at it’s “expensive” price and see if I can shock it death. But, before doing so, I need to bring the PH back up. I guess I’ll try Borax even though what I have is sodium carbonate, I’m so fed up with this thing.

Oh and pool school, I have that bookmarked on my browser.
 
Welcome! You have come to the right place. You have been suckered by your pool store.

1) Stop going to the pool store. Don't put anything you bought from them into your pool until you know what you are doing.
2) Since you seem to have so much money to blow :-D , order a TF-100 test kit from http://www.tftestkits.net. It will arrive at your house in a few days.
3) Read Pool School. And then read it again.
4) Get familiar with poolcalculator.com

This site is called Trouble Free Pool for a reason. It is not a misnomer. Your pool is EASY to manage if you spend just a little time reading Pool School.

There are tens of thousands of subscribers to this site. The biggest complaint people have around here are the blinding reflections from the sun off their crystal clear pools.

Ask questions!

Good Luck!
 
I have called my dad to come take a look at my pool. He has 20+ years of experience. Everything I’ve read here, he agrees with. He told me to disregard everything the pool store told me and likely my pool looks the way it does because they’re running me in circles with this chemical and that chemical which is throwing everything off. His exact words regarding our local pool store was, “those guys couldn’t find their butt with both hands”. I have a grasp on this now after reading pool school (thank you).

Thank you for all your advice, it is much appreciated!

Oh and part of my problem seems to be that my filters are bad.
 
okpool,

In addition to reading pool school, read others post just like your own in the just getting started section. I posted my own thread back in early April when I was opening a pool alone for the first time. My dad and mom both had them and both fell victim to the pool stores. I decided to seek additional information prior to opening and I am so glad I did. Anyhow, you can learn from others experiences and build confidence that as you read through the posts and see their updates just how effective the process to pool clarity can be! There is an amazing feeling to know you control the pool :)
 
Unfortunately, I am guessing the test kit you bought dues not include the most important test ... The FAS-DPD chlorine test.

It is very rare to find it locally. Can you return the test and order a recommended one ?

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone ;)
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I have pinpointed my problem. Stabilizer. In my many trips to the pool store they never said anything about stabilizer. Just well, you need this chemical and that and go ahead and empty your wallet here. I won’t be going back to the that pool store ever. A bunch of kids in there that don’t know what they’re talking about except what some book told them.

I put stabilizer in last night, shocked it and ran the pump all night. The free chlorine level is the same now at 9:45am as it was last night at midnight. :cool:

I read pool school and that’s the first I had heard of stabilizer or cyanuratic acid. Although the crooked pool store we will call them “meslies” tested my water and never mentioned that my water had no stabilizer in it. Just that I needed to bring the PH up and tried to sell me soda ash and chlorine. I now understand the job of stabilizer and understand why my water was losing all its chlorine at day break. I’m on my way to clear water and swimming which will be nice as it’s 109 degrees here in Oklahoma. :twisted:
 
jblizzle said:
Unfortunately, I am guessing the test kit you bought dues not include the most important test ... The FAS-DPD chlorine test.

It is very rare to find it locally. Can you return the test and order a recommended one ?
Click to expand...

Fortunately, my dad has that test kit and he brought it over last night. $75 for a test kit, maybe next season when I haven’t drained my wallet on unneeded chemicals.
 
okpool said:
I have pinpointed my problem. Stabilizer. In my many trips to the pool store they never said anything about stabilizer. Just well, you need this chemical and that and go ahead and empty your wallet here. I won’t be going back to the that pool store ever. A bunch of kids in there that don’t know what they’re talking about except what some book told them.
Click to expand...

It is a liberating feeling to be confident in what to do next instead of going to hear someone else tell you what to do next. I rarely even have to test my pool anymore. I KNOW how much cl loss I have each day. I KNOW how much to add to keep it at its level. I check before and after the weekend when usage is significant. Buy liquid chlorine when its on sale, and I keep some borax, MA, and Baking soda on hand. I have yet to add anything other than cl to the pool since I added borates 5 weeks ago.

I go through about $5 a week in cl, and have to add a couple of inches of water to replace splashout and evaporation :) You will soon know that feeling!
 
Don't forget, if the full TF100 is out of reach financially, you can get this for $26 and have the FAS-DPD test you need to manage your chlorine.

206.JPG

http://tftestkits.net/FAS-DPD-Chlorine-CC-s-test-p47.html
 
TA=160ppm
PH=7.2

Alkalinity will not effect the cloudiness of the water?

High was in reference to the suggested TA level between 80-120ppm. So, my 160 would be higher than suggested. Why you’d need to know my exact number, I’m not sure.

I don’t have the FAS kit anymore. My dad also has a pool and needed it for that. He came by yesterday and picked it up.

I guess I’ll buy another test kit. I’ve sunk so much money in this pool this season. :grrrr:
 
okpool said:
Why you’d need to know my exact number, I’m not sure.
Click to expand...

Because that helps us help you. Which is the only thing we are trying to do.

Here's the deal - forget TA, forget PH - they are both close enough and will do nothing to clear your pool at this point.

Right now all you need is chlorine. There is a FC/CYA chart in pool school that will give you a target FC level for your CYA level. Bring it up to the appropriate shock level and keep it there until the pool clears. In order to clear the pool you have to use enough chlorine to kill everything and the filter working properly to filter it out. That's it. nothing more.

If at anytime you'd like to give the exact numbers for

FC
TC
PH
TA
CH
CYA

We'd be happy to help. Good luck
 
Pool is clear now. Thanks for the help. Now to get my alkalinity and Ph in range is the next goal. Although my skin hasn't fallen off or anything so I'm really not too concerned with it. Pool cleared up after keeping chlorine levels high and vaccing to filter, watching pressure and cleaning filter when need be. I'm enjoying now so that's good.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply