Green water, lots of readings

[aplotkin2]

I purchased a home with a pool last year toward the end of the swimming season. It is a gunite pool, with I believe around 25,000 gallons. We tried, somewhat successfully to get it up and running then. It was a complete swamp when we got it, there were grass clippings in the water, leaves, and it had been shut down for probably around two weeks during the heat of the summer. I brushed algae the entire season from the sides and bottom. So now on to this year. I'm trying to get an early start on getting it ready. There was still plenty of algae in it after I shocked it, so I went to the local pool store. He said it was more than mustard algae because I couldn't keep my chlorine levels high enough. I'm using an inline chlorinator that I keep full, and it is working. My initial readings (from local shop) were:
1.Total chlorine-.1
2.Free chlorine-0
3.ph-6.4
4.Total alkalinity-40
5.Calcium hardness-200

So on 4-9 we added (in order) 20 lbs Alkalinity Plus (sodium hydrogen carbonate), then 3 lbs 5 oz ph Plus (sodium carbonate), then 2 lbs Mustard Eliminator (sodium bromide), then 20 lbs Turbo Shock (sodium hypochlorite). My levels on 4-10 at 9:30AM were (taken with test strips first and then a drop solution from Home Depot):
1. Total Chlorine-10
2. Alkalinity-80
3.ph-6.8
4.Hardness-450

The algae seemed to die, and I brushed daily, sometimes twice a day.
On 4-11 @ 8:15PM readings were almost identical to 4-10 readings.
On 4-12 @ 12:00PM
1.Chlorine-6.8
2.Alkalinity-40
3.ph-6.4
4.Hardness-350.

We did have a rain the night of the 11th.
Pool was still green, actually got more green after initial treatment, so I went back to local store today and got the following readings:
1.-Chlorine-6.8
2.Free chlorine-5.9
3.ph-6.4
4.Alkalinity-40
5.Hardness-350

They suggested that the pool probably has metals in it so we treated it with two bottles of Metal Control (64oz?)(unknown ingredient) around 12:00PM. I tested the water again tonight 4-12, 8:00Pm and here is what I got:
1.Chlorine-.6
2.Alkalinity-80
3.ph-6.2
4.Hardness-200-250ish

I'm guessing that the Metal Control killed my chlorine levels? Problem is the pool water is still green and doesn't seem to be clearing up. I'm running the pump 24/7, and I have a robotic vacuum that I am running to make sure nothing is under the water that I can't see.

Sorry for the very long post, but I'm trying to provide as much info as I can hoping we can narrow down the problem. Any help is appreciated. I'll go back to local shop for another test/advice within the next day or so, but hopefully someone on here can point me in the right direction instead. Thanks for any help!

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

First thing you need to raise the PH up to something reasonable. You should never allow the PH to go below 7.2 and if you are using a tablet feeder you really should be keeping both PH and TA significantly higher then they are now.

Second, you need to know your CYA level. And just generally you would do a lot better if you had your own test kit. I suspect that your CYA level is way too high, but there is no way of telling without a test result.

 

[pwrstrk]

Welcome

X2 what Jason said. Check out the pool school and read the shocking process. It's a process not a product.

With the proper test kit and the help of people hear you'll get it fixed.


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[aplotkin2]

Thanks for the super fast response. I plan on getting one of the better test kits soon. Right now I am using the 5 solution kit from Home Depot and the test strips as a secondary source. It seems fairly accurate, but I know I could do better. I haven't done enough research on how to test the CYA as of yet. I had to edit the post because I accidently left out the ph increaser that I put in. I put it (ph Plus 3 lbs 5 oz) in on the 9th, and I still have a little bit of it left over, probably around 1.5 pounds. I don't think it would hurt to put it in there, but I wanted advice before I started messing around with it any more.

 

[pwrstrk]

Since you found this site do yourself a favor and sit down with your favorite beverage and read pool school. You'll soon realize you don't need all those chem's.


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[aplotkin2]

I am going to order the Taylor K-2006, but obviously it will take a while to get here. Is there any way to test the CYA in the meantime, or anything that I should do while I wait, other than read in the pool school, which is a good plan to start with by the way!?

 

[jblizzle]

If you order from tftestkits.net, you will have the kit sooner than you think.

I do have to recommend getting the TF-100 ... and maybe the XL version. Since you are going to have to go through the shock process, you may run out of the reagents in the K-2006. The TF-100 is a better value anyway.

 

[Dalandlord]

Welcome to the forum Aplotkin2,

You need to run from wherever you are going for pool advice. The test results look unreliable to me, and it never crossed their mind to test for Cya is CRAZY to me. They could call it stablizer or conditioner or whatever. It to forget about it and tell you maybe it's metals I'd never go back. You need to order a test kit more than anyone who ever showed up here.

My preference would be the TFT-100 and as long as you have been having trouble I would order the XL just because you are going use a lot of the chlorine test chemicals to get it right. I also use the speedstir because I am too lazy to do all that swirling when I don't have to.

I have seen you posted again when I previewed mine post. If you order it from TFTestkits it won't take that long. You could go to a better pool store and ask them to test your stablizer or "CYA" but they are going to sell you a bunch of stuff you don't need. You are going to need a little patience and perseverence to get the pool in shape so you might as well order the kit, spend the couple of days reading pool school, twice, and everytime you pass a Walmart or Sam's pick up a few large bottles of bleach. I'm thinking 20 gallons would be a good start to have on hand when you do your first test and get started.

When you get finished you will know what it takes to keep your pool in shape.

 

[duraleigh]

one of principles we try to adhere to is we don't suggest mix and match of advice. You'd be better off EITHER going with your pool store's advice OR with ours. Trying to do both wastes your time, often gives you confusing results, makes it VERY difficult to help, and usually doesn't help your pool.

 

[aplotkin2]

I keep thinking about this (I'll obsess over it until I get it right, just my nature) pool. It seems like high CYA is the most likely suspect, but I won't know that until I get my test kit in. In the meantime, I have other questions though. First, my chlorine levels were holding pretty high for several days after I did the shock. They did drop after I got a heavy rain, but still remained high. When I put the Metal Control in, the chlorine levels bottomed out. I go back to this because now I'm wondering how long that stuff is going to stay in the pool. Even after I get the test kit in, I could be just dumping in liquid chlorine and having it neutralized. I also need to raise the pH levels again. I think this needs to happen before I start trying to raise the chlorine levels also, because the low pH will also negate the effect of the chlorine also. So with all that in mind, should I add the 1.5 lbs of pH increaser I have now to lower the acidity of the pool? I also have (in laundry room) about 6 lbs of Borax that I could use. Which, if either, would you recommend? As for the CYA, from what I can tell, the only way to decrease that is to do a large water change. Should that be my starting point since it would also get out a lot of the Metal Control? I know you guys think I should wait until I get my test kit in, but I feel like there is bound to be something that I can do in the meantime. Thanks.

 

[duraleigh]

They suggested that the pool probably has metals

That doesn't sound like a good enough conclusion that you ever needed the metal control in the first place. BBB is about teaching testing accuracy and knowing what to do with the test results. I see no advantage to take any action on the "guesswork" of others. Wait 'til your kit gets in, and then post some accurate test results and we can get you started.

Over the years, pool stores have proven to be an unreliable source for testing and even advice. You will ALWAYS do a better job at testing and managing your pool if you learn what's posted in Pool School and eliminate the guesswork.

PS - rainwater has VERY LITTLE affect on your pool water chemistry unless your decking is sloped incorrectly and the rain drains INTO your pool instead of away from it.