Green pool....help!!!

[TFortune]

I am a new pool owner. We bought a house this past winter that has a pool and we have been trying to get it swimmable for about the past month. We had a pool company come out and open the pool (take out plugs, get pump working, ect), but now we are trying to get the pool from green to blue. The pool is about a 30,000 gallon in ground pool with a vinyl liner. It is also a saltwater pool, so it has a SWG. The pump/filer is a Pentair labeled FNS Plus....I think it is a cartridge filter. I am at the point where I just don't know what to do anymore. I have researched every night on how to get the pool clear and have tried it, but my pool is still not clear. I have started adding chlorine to it in the evening and morning, as well as brushing the sides, vacuuming, and then backwashing the pump/filter. It seems like when I add chlorine the pool goes from light green to a cloudy blue, but as soon as I start brushing and vacuuming it becomes all murky again and then goes back to a greenish color. Our SWG has not been running fully yet either, as it seems like we do not have enough salt (even though we have added 5 40lb bags and 7 50 lb bags). I have also used the powder shock many times, as well as liquid....now realizing that it was probably a waste as I did not do it in a short time period, but did it in days or a week span. But, as stated, I am now (since last night) adding liquid chlorine in the evening and morning, along with brushing and vacuuming during the day. Here are my pool levels, except for CYA as I don't seem to have a test for that:

FC = 1
PH = 7.5
Alkalinity = 150
Salt = 950

I would love any help please! Our weather is finally getting warm and we are ready to swim....but our pool is not.

Thanks!

 

[scott.MI]

Welcome! There are many threads on here of people turning their green or cloudy swamps into sparking clean pools. They all get the same advice.

You will need a test kit, a good one that includes the CYA and FAS-DPD chlorine test. The go to around here is the TF-100. I suggest you get it ordered asap. I think there is a site that is best to order from when living on the west coast, you can get it faster.

Getting it clean is the same for every pool....get accurate readings and SLAM. Without a CYA reading there's not much else do advise you on.

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Found the site for West coast ordering...

For those who are on the West Coast, there is another option. Sometimes it is faster than getting it from TFTK if you are in the West.

http://www.poolsupplyworld.com/TFTestkits-TF-100-TFTestkit-FAS-DPD-Test-Kit/TF-100.htm

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In the meantime, do lots of reading in the pool school section at the top....


http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/3913-Turning-Your-Green-Swamp-Back-into-a-Sparkling-Oasis

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl

Here's someone that just cleared up their 22,000 gallon green pool...It might give you an idea what your going to be doing. He doesn't actually start shocking (SLAMing) until page 5, everything before that is draining, refilling and asjusting PH. http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/76382-Green-pool-I-m-losing-faith-in-the-fight!!

 

[BoDarville]

Welcome to TFP!

You will definitely need a test kit that can test for CYA. It is absolutely critical to know what that number is in order to properly dose your pool with chlorine. This relationship is explained here: ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry and a reference chart is available here: Chlorine CYA Chart.

 

[scott.MI]

It seems like when I add chlorine the pool goes from light green to a cloudy blue, but as soon as I start brushing and vacuuming it becomes all murky again and then goes back to a greenish color. Our SWG has not been running fully yet either, as it seems like we do not have enough salt (even though we have added 5 40lb bags and 7 50 lb bags). I have also used the powder shock many times,

Additional comments on the bold text...

Turning murky when you start brushing may be a sign of debris in the bottom. If that's the case you should get it either scooped out, and or vacuum to waste if possible. You want as little debris as possible in the pool, it will make your SLAM go faster, and cheaper.

Do not even bother runnng the SWG at all until your SLAM is all done. Your just adding extra stress on the cells and it's really not gonna produce enough to help you much.

Do you have the bags or containers the power shock was in, it could be helpful to know what the active ingredient in it was. 1 type will raise your calcium levels, the other will raise you CYA.

 

[TFortune]

I am glad that I have not been running the SWG yet...I have only turned it on to see what it is reading. Should I not add anymore salt then? I have just been adding regular liquid bleach. Although the other week I did add HTH super shock...not sure about active ingredients, I threw the bags away.

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I have like 4 different test kits in my pool house, but it seems like none of them test for CYA. I assume that bottle to test for CYA will say that on it? There are many different bottles in the test kits, but none of them say for CYA.

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Thanks for the info! I will get a test kit that tests for CYA.

 

[scott.MI]

HTH Super Shock N Swim looks like Calcium hyperchlorite, so with your vinyl liner it may not be an issue...at least it wasn't something to raise your CYA.

If they are Taylor test kits, it would be R-0013, but guess i'm not really sure what else they say on the bottles. CYA does stand for cyanuric acid if you see that on anything.

If they are test kits from walmart, likely HTH brand...I don't know if any, or which of their kits test for CYA or what the bottles say.


Just to get it out of the way now, If you get a new test kit, the pool house may not be a good place for it (Of course I don't know what your pool house is like but....they last the longest being stored in dark, cool, environments not prone to high/low temps or frequent temp swings. Like inside the house in a closet

 

[TFortune]

They are a variety of test kits...some HTH...not sure what the others are. I will look for R-0013. That might be in there....I was looking for a bottle that said Cyanuric Acid. Thanks for the heads up on storing. My pool house is dark, but probably does have temp swings as it is an out building that is not temperature controlled.

 

[duraleigh]

I am a really big believer in indoor testing. Sitting at the kitchen table with a generous styrofoam cup of pool water, I can drink my morning coffee and perform the tests leisurely and comfortably. Then storing the kit nearby is easy and gives me a greqat lifespan on my chemistry.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like you have been too casual about testing in general (???). It really is the "jumping off" point for our ability to help you by remote control. You have to give us a current, precise starting point so we can help.

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Here is the test kit that's recommended http://tftestkits.net/splash-page.html Then you can toss the other ones. I just bought mine and I too had three different ones to toss out.

It would also be nice if you added your pool info to your signature. You have it in the first post but when helping figure out what to add it's nice not to have to keep going back to the first post to reference.
See : http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/115-read-before-you-post

I do my testing in the basement where I keep the kit dark and cool. Kitchen table could be dangerous as I'd be testing the coffee and drinking the pool