Need some advice on green pool

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akaedge

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Jul 13, 2012
10
Hi I am new here but have reading through topics and pool school for a few weeks now and I am having a hard time with my pool now. We just bought a house with a pool and it was awesome for the first month and a half and now we are having constant problems with algae. I'm pretty sure I know what to do after all my reading but wanted some reassurance. The CYA levels in the pool are just over 100(I tested a few weeks ago and it was 100 but since have added some powdered shock so it's probably a little higher I would think). I let the FC levels get too low "0" at some point several weeks ago, bought some powdered shock and added it. The FC levels have been low since. 2 weeks ago I noticed the water wasn't very clear. I added like 2 gallons of bleach cause the chlorine was low again.(I only had test strips at the time) When I took it to Leslie's the woman told me everything was fine but CYA was really high(which I already knew) and she advised me to drain part of the pool and to change the sand in the filter since it had been at least 5 years since the sand was replaced. So here's what I am planning on doing:
1. Draining the pool about halfway to get CYA down and then re-shocking it until it's clear
2. getting the sand replaced on Friday
Once these 2 things are done I can better keep track of FC levels and be saving a lot on chlorine.
I was wondering if I should go ahead and drain the whole pool and start over, or just do what I had planned on doing in the first place. This is my dilemma. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Oh and the green only showed up after we were gone for 3 days and not keeping up chlorine and filtering 24/7 like I had been doing. I don't think we ever got rid of the algae in the first place :/
 
You have got to make lowering that CYA a priority. Most tests stop at 100, so you are likely far over 100. Adding any more powdered shock or tablets is going to continue to make matters worse.

You do not need to change your sand. Ignore that.

Drain your pool halfway, refill, test CYA. If you are still over 50, do it again based on the calculations you get from http://poolcalculator.com

Don't drain the whole pool, that can cause your pool to float and can destroy it.

Once you get your CYA in check, you can start the shock process as outlined in Pool School. DO NOT use any "powdered shock product". Your CYA will come right back up.
 
Ok so the sand is fine? How do you know? How long does it typically last? The last owner didn't replace it and he lived there 5 years. I have heard 3-5 years and 5-7 years. Of course the psi reading is only at 18. I made an appointment to get it done for Friday. I get so many different views so it's hard to know. As far as the test kit I got the FAS-DPD something that was like $30 and it tests TC,FC(only up to 5ppm), alkalininty, ph. But according to CYA chart chlorine needs to be around 39 ppm for shock levels. How can I test that high? I feel like I'm going in circles to get it where it needs to be. And a lot of money spent on chlorine. I started shocking Sunday night scrubbed it yesterday and added just over a gallon more bleach. I've since decided to give up and try draining some water before spending anymore on bleach. It's soo frustrating :/
 
Welcome to TFP.

How old was the sand when they put it in the filter? How about a few million years old! :) A few years in a fliter isn't going to hurt it.

There are a couple of reasons to change the sand but unless it's calcified or you're converting from Baq there's not much reason to change it.

The chlorine test you got isn't the FAS-DPD if it'll only read up to 5 ppm. It's most likely the DPD. Does it use powder (R-0870) and drops (R-0871)? It will be a lot less frustrating once you get the correct chlorine test kit. You can buy just the FAS-DPD test or just the reagents if you prefer. You won't get the little scoop or the test vial if you buy just the reagents though.
 
For an example, I recently changed my sand - only because the filter itself broke. Both were installed in 1981.

You are doing the right thing by draining water first.

Then, to measure high FC, you need the FAS-DPD. You can get the single test here:
http://tftestkits.net/FAS-DPD-Chlorine- ... t-p47.html

Don't get frustrated, just stay here and follow the advice offered. You'll be sparkly clean before you know it.
 
Thanks for all the great advice. I just finished ordering the kit to test the chlorine levels. This should help tremendously once I get my CYA levels in check. I'm also going to cancel the sand replacement. I hadn't noticed any problems before the algae took over, so it's probably good. I'll let you know how it goes. I'd love to be able to swim this weekend. Fingers crossed.
 
Thanks for all the advice given. I finally after a week passed all the tests and then it rained so it's clear and dirty now. :? But at least clear of algae. I proved my man wrong... I love it when that happens. It felt so good to be in our pool again after a couple of long weeks. Thanks TFP
 
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