How soon should algae be visibly turning whitish after shok?

[queenofmyswamp]

I followed advice of pool calculator to raise to shock level according to my pool size and CYA levels, and added about 2X to 3X the number of bleach bottles called for by the calculator (I hope that isn't too much of a good thing, but I want this to end soon). That was several hours ago. Chlorine level is still very high, but (using my flashlight) it does not appear to be changing the color of the water. Am I being too impatient? I don't want all that bleach to be for nothing, but if I should not expect to see results yet, I will relax a little. Plus, the flashlight makes it difficult to really tell for sure.

Thanks,

Erin - whose children are going hungry and without clean clothes as their mother stands by the poolside for hours on end wishing away the algae....

 

[MJCP]

Until a better answer comes

I'm sure it depends on many factors, but
when I opened my pool (green swamp) it took about 2 full days of shock, then watch the clorine (in my case Bromine) levels then add more bleach - according to the system.
But I recently returned home and found a swamp again ( solar cover on, rainy hot days)
This time after the shock the water changed color in about 2 hours.
I say changed color because it first went from green swamp to grey swamp - live algae to dead algae)
under a flashlight it might just appear green ---
Took a lot of filtering, and vaccuming to finish the process.

I would feed the Kids and go to bed - see what it looks like tomorrow
It sure sounds like you shocked it enough

 

[queenofmyswamp]

Thanks for the response MJCP.

Now my new concern is this: I was using the Pool Calculator to determine the neede level to shock which I read to say I need a chlorine reading of 21 to shock, but now I came across the chlorine/CYA chart that says I need about a 31 level of chlorine. Ahhhhhh! Which is right?

 

[MJCP]

My experience

I only offer this since no one else is answering yet - They will have better answers for you soon
My pool is different since I use Bromine

It seems that the important thing is knowing that the CYA causes a need for more chlorine than a pool store test would recommend. The success stories on here all point to the accuracy of the Pool Calculator. I know my mistake last year was "scareing" my pool instead of SHOCKING my pool. Now that I Shock it properly I am having much more success.

What were your test readings after adding the chlorine and before -
If you leave your test readings someone will give you very specific guidance

 

[Casey]

Erin,

There is no magic bullet to clear the pool, just lots of bleach. It didn't take a day for it to swamp over and it's not going to take a day to clear up either.

POP.

Pool Owner Patience.

It's the worst of it's kind.

You need to check your numbers and post them. Did you get a test kit? Sorry, I can't remember...

Keep the FC at 15-20ppm.

It's gonna take a week or so.

How bout this... Can ya take a pic? We like pics.

It'll clear up.

Also, was it covered over the off season? If not, a cover would really, like really save you this head ache next year.

I cover mine but when I had the old pool up for the last winter, I didn't cover it and it was black. I mean BLACK!

 

[JasonLion]

Queenofmyswamp, It is best to keep all of your posts about cleaning up your pool together if you possibly can. It is impossible to answer this question without referring back to the original thread. The forum software makes it difficult to move several posts at once, and the conversation about Matt isn't part of your original question, so I am going to answer your question here, but in the future please keep everything together. Thanks JasonLion

Shocking the pool means aiming for a specific FC shock level, not a specific amount of chlorine. Chlorine is added over and over again until the desired FC level is achieved. This is important in order to protect the liner and any metal parts in contact with the water. If the FC level goes up too high you could bleach the liner and cause corrosion of metal parts. You want to add enough chlorine to bring the FC level up to shock level, give it an hour to kill algae, test to see how much of it got used up, and then bring the FC level back up to shock level. This process is repeated as many times as required until the FC level remains the same overnight. Once the FC level remains the same overnight you know that all the algae is dead.

Ideally you want to test and add chlorine every hour. You need to test and add chlorine at least twice a day to kill algae, but the more often you test and add chlorine the faster everything will get cleaned up. The beginning is the most important time to add chlorine every hour. If you can test and add chlorine every hour for a couple of hours you will get ahead of the algae and be well on your way to killing it.

The last I heard your CYA level was 80. At a CYA level of 80 I recommend a shock level of 21, Chem Geek's chart recommends a shock level of 31, and Ben's Best Guess Chart recommends 20. Technical aside: Chem Geek is basing his chart directly on the HOCl concentration in the water. I have adjusted The Pool Calculator recommendations down from that number based on Ben's real world experience and my theories of how high CYA levels buffer large amounts of chlorine and thus allow somewhat lower HOCl concentrations to be effective against algae.

By my calculations, given a CYA of 80, your liner won't have any significant damage after a day or two at levels up to about 50 and metal parts are safe up to somewhat higher levels, but those levels should be avoided if at all possible. With plaster pools levels around 50 are fine, and levels up to the 80s for a day or two don't normally cause any problems. It is worth noting that there isn't really an exact level at which the liner and metal parts are completely safe. Even normal shock levels will fade a liner and corrode metal parts very slowly over time and higher than normal shock levels will speed up that process.

 

[queenofmyswamp]

Thanks. I took a sample in today to the pool store for testing. After the ladies gained consciousness again from the chlorine blast, they tested it and said seems fine but my chlorine level was too high to measure. ) They said maybe I am backwashing too much, which is a very real possibility. I am new to the sand filter thing. When I mentioned putting some DE in the sand filter, they shuddered and said I might plug it??? I thought I had read that it was a good idea? Anyway, they sold me some "filter aid" (which is probably just DE) and I am trying that along with some phosphate remover, which tested at 500.

It seems a little less green this afternoon, I think, but it might be a mirage - not sure...

 

[Titanium]

queen,

they sold me some "filter aid" (which is probably just DE) and I am trying that along with some phosphate remover, which tested at 500.

Please stop buying this kind of "goop" from the pool store. It is a waste of money.

You should not be adding anything to your pool unless you completely understand WHY you are adding it to the pool.

Titanium

 

[Casey]

It maybe clearing from the high dose of chlorine you added too.

Do you have a test kit? Even a drop test from Wally World would be good enough til it clears and you can also save the money from all that *goop* and put it towards a good kit once your pool clears...

All you need is bleach right now.

 

[queenofmyswamp]

I am so excited to report back! Left for a softball game tonight at 5pm and pool looked slightly better but still very green and opaque. I did notice, however, lots of "stuff" floating in the water - tiny green particles, but tons and tons of them. So, returned home at 8:00 and screamed with joy to be able to see the bottom of the pool and lots of sediment at the bottom of the pool. I noticed when I read the "filter aid" container that is is also a flocculant, so I am guessing that that helped drop the dead algae to the bottom of the pool. I am working on vacuuming to waste and the Ranger is working out there now.

2 questions: 1)what do you recommend to help the filter catch the tiny particles? I vacuumed the stuff off the bottom and the return water to the pool was nasty dirty when I did that, so I switched to waste. That still tells me that it is not catching tiny stuff.
2) where do I go from here to get sparkling water? (after I get the sediment cleaned up) I have not added any more chlorine since last night and it is still very, very high. I think I might have gotten a little carried away with the bleach. Oops.


Thank you so much for the help this far. There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel for our pool being clear and I am so happy!!!!!!

 

[MJCP]

give it some time without the filter circulating it and stirring it up.
POP - I finally cleared after letting it settle to the bottom.
The GREEN still concerns me, you may not be done with the shock cycle.
Use the method that Jason already mentioned until the green is gone