Green Swamp in new IG pool

[Jennica]

Hi! My sister's brand new pool is a green swamp because the builder told her that someone would come and balance the water but they never did.

I took a reading with my K2006:

FC 0
PH Off the charts high
TA 150
CH 225
CYA 0

It is an IG with vinyl liner. Don't know the gallons but it is 16 x 33 rectangular shaped and goes from 3 1/2 ft to 6 ft deep.

Do we start with the SLAM process first or start by getting the PH down?

Since there is no CYA in the pool is it ok to use the bags of shock? Or should we just go the Stabilizer/Bleach route?

The water is thick and green. I'll post a pic later if I can cuz I know you guys love them.

Thanks!

 

[pwrstrk]

Get the PH down to 7.2. before starting the SLAM process.

I like to use just stabilize for the CYA because I know for sure how much I'm adding. Shoot for 30 ppm for the SLAM process. Then bleach for chlorine. IMO. Others will say different.

 

[Jennica]

Ok, will do. Thanks!

 

[pwrstrk]

Your going to need to figure out the pool volume.

 

[jblizzle]

I would put the pool around 19k gallons.

I would suggest:
1. Get 30ppm of CYA in the water
2. Adjust the pH down to around 7.2
3. SLAM it

 

[Jennica]

Yeah, the PC said 19K and change, was gonna round it up to 20K to be on the safe side.

Thanks, guys! Will post results.

 

[pwrstrk]

Yes keep us posted with pic's if possible !!

 

[Jennica]

So we added the MA and will test PH in the morning.

FC 12
CC 1
PH ?
TA 150
CH 225
CYA 30
In two hours the FC hasn't gone down at all. Is that normal?

 

[linen]

If you can test ph one hour after you added the MA and recalculate and redose. Repeat this until the ph is down to 7.2. It is likely her ph is still high.

Generally we say ph is not valid when the FC is above 10 ppm, but if you are using the taylor ph test, it probably is okay testing at 12 ppm FC.

 

[Jennica]

Thanks, Linen. Does the PH being high hinder the chlorine killing the algae?

 

[linen]

Thanks, Linen. Does the PH being high hinder the chlorine killing the algae?

If ph is really high (or really low) it can. But with cya in the water, chlorine effectiveness at higher ph (<9) is not a big factor. The main reason we suggest a lower starting ph is to protect against the effects of the temporary boost in ph that will occur while SLAMing due to high FC levels maintained. This temporary higher ph could have the potential to cause calcium scaling or cloudiness depending on the other water parameters. It can also cause metal staining if their is sufficient metal in the water.

 

[Jennica]

Gotcha. Thanks again!

 

[Jennica]

Success! After 24 hours and just a few doses the PH is in range and the water is cloudy, but blue.

She's going to keep up the SLAM process until she passes the OCLT. BBB strikes again!

The pics are from last night and this morning. It's even clearer and bluer now.

My sister thanks you!!!!

 

[pwrstrk]

Very nice job !!

Make sure she pass's all three tests before she stops.

 

[Jennica]

Will do. :-D

 

[Jennica]

She's getting to the end of the process and I think she will pass the OCLT tonight. The water is still pretty cloudy. I know that's dead algae but was wondering about how long that should take to clear? She has been running the filter non-stop.

 

[jblizzle]

Keep at SLAM level until the water clears.
What kind of filter?

 

[Jennica]

Oh, ok. I know the criteria are less than 1 ppm FC loss and .5 CC or less, but I wasn't sure if clear water meant clear of green or clear as in not cloudy. Thanks!

It's a cartridge filter.

 

[linen]

Clear as in clear to the bottom, no-cloudy.

With a cart filter, it most likely will need to be cleaned often. We recommend cleaning when the filter pressure goes up 25% from the clean filter pressure. What is the clean filter pressure?

 

[Jennica]

I believe the clean pressure is 12. It also has an arrow that will point to "Clean or Dirty" as the pressure goes up. I will tell her to check the gauge.