Green pool

[Soupysweetie]

I live in Clear Lake, Wi. Our pool was put up and filled 3 weeks ago when temps were in the 70's most days but usually colder. Now it's in the 80's most days with a few 90% days. This is our first year with a salt water system so we are new at this. When setting it all up I called tech support for our Intex SWS to ask what cyanuric acid was and if we need to use it, they said no so we didn't. We added the recommended 300lbs. of salt. We did everything according to the instructions. Four days ago the pool turned green. The day after a thunderstorm and temps in the 90's with high humidity. Well once the pool turned green I started doing research online and we ran the boost cycle for 24 hours and it was still green. We added 3lbs of cyanuric acid, and another bag of salt because the low salt light came on. After the first boost cycle was done we vacuumed the bottom of the pool being careful not to stir it up while doing it and replaced the water lost during this. WE replaced the pump filter and ran the boost cycle a second time. At this point the water was still a light green. We put the robot in and let it run for an hour. No change. We ran the boost cycle again last night and my husband added another 40lb. bag of salt this morning because the low salt light was on again. I only had test strips that came with the sws so I went today and bought some that test for everything accept CC. These are the results:
TH= between 400-1000
FC= 0
PH = 8.4
TA = 240
CYA = 30-50
salt = 3030 ppm
I am at a loss as to why there is no FC? The SWS has been running non stop for three days. If someone could tell me what to do and it what order it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

 

[woodyp]

Welcome to TFP! Your CYA is too low--should be 60 to 80 range. This helps protect your chlorine from being burned off too fast. You should raise your FC level to 4 or 5 until your SWG can catch up and MAINTAIN it using plain bleach. Your PH needs to be lowered pronto by using muriatic acid into the mid 7 range. Browse through pool school a few times and consider ordering one of the test kits we recommend. It may be time to SLAM it if it doesn't recover quickly by a normal addition of bleach. See the pool calculator there as well.

 

[Butterfly]

Welcome to the forum

Don't increase the CYA level until you have completed the SLAM process!

Sounds like the pool has algae and the SWG can't get ahead of it, so you need to SLAM the pool. Directions in Pool School.

You really need a better test kit, one that includes an FAS/DPD test. See Recommended Test Kits in Pool School.

First thing, lower the pH to about 7.2 and get a better test result for the CYA, as it is the determining factor for the shock level.

We don't recommend you use the boost/superchlorinate cycle because the SWG cannot reach levels necessary for SLAMing the pool and it will shorten the cell life.

 

[Soupysweetie]

I just went out to check the pool and took some water out to look at it and it is clear. The green(a little brownish too) stuff is on the bottom of the pool so we are going to try to vacuum it out without stirring it up too much. About adjusting the CYA, how much more do I add to get it to the 70 to 80 range? Initially we put in 3lbs.

 

[jblizzle]

Do not add any CYA until you confirm there is nothing in the water by Performing the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. A little water in a glass is generally always look clear and is not a good test to prove there is nothing in the water. You really need one of the Recommended Test Kits to do this properly. If you fail, then you need to follow the SLAM Process.

Check out poolcalculator.com as that will allow you to calculate how much of which chemicals are needed to acheive a desired result.

Read Pool School to learn about the chemistry. Start here:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[duraleigh]

The green(a little brownish too) stuff is on the bottom of the pool so we are going to try to vacuum it out without stirring it up too much.

That won't do much of anything to help you get rid of algae. Your trying to tiptoe around an algae laden pool that is going to require a lot of chlorine to clear it up. You need to SLAM the pool....the vacuum will do little if anything until you get chlorine in there.

 

[Soupysweetie]

How do I figure out how much bleach to add to slam this pool? My test results today are as follows:
FC=0
PH=7.5
TA=180
CYA=50
salt=3280

 

[jblizzle]

Read Pool School: pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock and use the poolcalculator.com to calculate how much bleach is needed to acheive the required shock level.

Hint: For a CYA of 50ppm, shock level is a FC of 20ppm ... use that as your target in the calculator to learn it will take 362 oz of 8.25% bleach = three 121oz jugs.

Then you need to retest the FC in an hour and readjust.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

You need to know precisely what chlorine is doing during the Slam process. [slam:1kdn5iuy][/slam:1kdn5iuy]

At this point you need a good kit. What you have can work if you add to it but the most cost effective option is a tf-100 (see pool school recommended kits). It is well worth every penny.


pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison

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[Soupysweetie]

First i would like to thank everyone for their help so far. I took my tests this morning and here are the results. This is after slamming the pool yesterday.
TA=1000
FC=3
PH=7.5
TA=120
CYA=50
My question is this, the pool water looks a little cloudy. It's clear if you take a large glass of it out and look through it but when you are looking down on the pool it appears a little cloudy.(by that I mean it's not sparkly clear)
Should I just wait a few days, testing everyday, to see if it clears up? I was wondering if we should vacuum the bottom of the pool? Theres is not and debri to speak of on the bottom.

 

[duraleigh]

Sorry, but you did not complete the SLAM process.

SLAM:
Measure the FC level
Add enough chlorine to bring FC up to shock level (or a little higher)
Repeat steps 1 and 2 as frequently as practical, but not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day, until:

CC is 0.5 or lower;
You pass an OCLT (ie overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less);
And the water is clear.

Chlorine additions should be frequent, especially at the beginning. Algae and other organic debris will consume chlorine very rapidly at first. As things progress, you will lose less chlorine each cycle and can add more less frequently.
Brush the entire pool once a day
Backwash or clean the filter as needed

 

[Soupysweetie]

I just want to say thank you to everyone for your help. Our pool is sparkling clean and has been now since we slammed it. Everyone is enjoying it especially on these hot days. This is a great site, informative and everyone is very helpful and friendly!

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

I just want to say thank you to everyone for your help. Our pool is sparkling clean and has been now since we slammed it. Everyone is enjoying it especially on these hot days. This is a great site, informative and everyone is very helpful and friendly!

Stories like yours are why we help. Congratulations!

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