New pool with green water

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tutu.smith

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Jul 26, 2014
12
Davisburg, MI
Hello, I am new to this forum. Just got an Intex Easy set pool 18'x48'' above ground for grandkids. Started filling on Sunday, July 13 with well water as we are in the country. There was a leak around the filter so had to contact the company for a part. continued filling for a couple days so we would not burn up the pump on the well. Did not add any chlorine or start filter till Thursday, July 17 when the water seemed to be getting cloudy and green. Hubby was working on getting a plug out to the pool area. Added liquid chlorine, stabilizer, and acid re pool store recommendation. Water did not clear up. Have been working on getting the water levels correct, but were out of town for a week for a funeral. Had my daughter add chlorine while we were gone. Filter has been running 24/7. levels today, 7/26 are
ph 8.4 FC 3 TA 240 Stabilizer (which I think is CYA?) 100

Went to the Pool Math calculator and for 5,500 gallons added 3 cups 3 oz. 12% liquid chlorine and 3 cups muratic acid 31.45%.

Filter is running. Any suggestions? I am hoping to be able to let them swim sometime soon!!

Thanks for any help. Tutu.smith:confused:
 
Hi, welcome to TFP! If your stabilizer is really 100 it is much too high. What are you using to test the water? When I put your results into PoolMath I get different results. Your daily target is 8-13 for FC with a CYA of 100, however you need to complete the SLAM process to clear your pool. Your FC level for a slam is 39, so you would need a lot more liquid chlorine to reach and maintain that level. I would recommend you drain and refill about 70% of the pool to get rid of the excess CYA, then start balancing the chemicals.

Do you know if your well water has iron in it?
 
Your CYA should be 30-50 ,, at 100 it would be difficult to keep enough chlorine in there to keep the pool sanitary. Only way to cure that would be to drain water out and refill. If you're going to do that better to do it now before you spend money on bleach and other chemicals to treat the water only to throw it away.
Draining at least 50% of the water and up to 70% would be the first step AFTER getting your CYA tested again. Would like to see if they come up with 100 again. 100 is the upper limit of the test so if they do come up with 100 again you should ask them to do a dilution test. They take half your water and half distilled water and retest and then just double the reading. It's how to read something over 100. I'm guessing your using a pool store for your water testing and CYA is what they get wrong the most often.
 
kiss4afrog said:
Your CYA should be 30-50 ,, at 100 it would be difficult to keep enough chlorine in there to keep the pool sanitary. Only way to cure that would be to drain water out and refill. If you're going to do that better to do it now before you spend money on bleach and other chemicals to treat the water only to throw it away.
Draining at least 50% of the water and up to 70% would be the first step AFTER getting your CYA tested again. Would like to see if they come up with 100 again. 100 is the upper limit of the test so if they do come up with 100 again you should ask them to do a dilution test. They take half your water and half distilled water and retest and then just double the reading. It's how to read something over 100. I'm guessing your using a pool store for your water testing and CYA is what they get wrong the most often.
Click to expand...

Just retested about 5 hours later. ph8.4 FC 5 TA 180 CYA closer in color to 30-50 using AquaChek Test Strips that came with maintenance kit. Should I get a different test kit? Hoping to get this right without having to drain and refill water.
 
Hoping to get this done without having to drain water but maybe wishful thinking. I think water has iron, as we have a water softener using salt for household water. Just retested using AquaChek test strip. ph 8.4 FC 5 TA 180 CYA closer to 30-50 color on strip. Would it be wise to get different test strips?
Trying to figure out how to sign with all the details but was checking for responses. Thanks!!
 
Neighbor suggests using HTH Natural Clarifier from Walmart once a week. Not sure if this will help with clearing up the green color??? Also, can I use the solar cover while I am getting the water cleared up? Would vaccuuming or brushing help?

Tutu.smith
 
tutu, Welcome to TFP.

I would highly suggest you not listen to the pool store or your neighbors and go with what TFP teaches. You will have to be willing to learn the TFPC way. Order a TF100 test kit as it is the best kit on the market. You can find the link to order in my signature.

I am providing you with these helpful links:

ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool
Chlorine CYA Chart
Test Kit Comparison

I would not drain the pool until you order the kit and can get us reliable test results. The faster you order, the quicker you will have it and we can move along. Read the links and ask questions while you're waiting for the kit. :cool:
 
IF you figure the CYA is within reason the next step would be to bring the pH down with muriatic acid and then do a SLAM.
http://www.menards.com/main/paint/c.../sunnyside-muriatic-acid/p-1479906-c-5651.htm

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

The clarifier won't help you. You need a FAS-DPD test kit and just proper maintenance and you'll have sparkly blue sanitary water fit for a king (or Queen).
TF-100 http://tftestkits.net/splash-page.html
K-2006 http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Complete-FAS-DPD-Water-K-2006/dp/B0002IXIIG
I recommend getting the Taylor Speedystir no matter which kit you get. The TF-100 has it as an accessory on the web page and it's also sold by itself on amazon and ebay.
 
Last edited:
Where are my manners . . . Welcome to the forum :wave:

When you get your kit it's nice they have show and tell on youtube to help you with some of the tests: https://www.youtube.com/user/tf100testkit?feature=results_main

I recommend getting the Speedstir too. Once you start testing and doing the swirl with one hand trying to mix the chemical with the drops you are adding with the other hand and counting you'll realize how handy it is. Show and tell again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_EJknrPjYE&list=UUNFkPFCkt9Y_YYNAeLtUr1g
TFTestkits sells it http://tftestkits.net/SpeedStir-Magnetic-Stirrer-p56.html , it's also on Amazon and Ebay if you decide later it might be nice to have.

Thanks for adding the pool info ;)
 

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tutu.smith said:
Neighbor suggests using HTH Natural Clarifier from Walmart once a week. Not sure if this will help with clearing up the green color??? Also, can I use the solar cover while I am getting the water cleared up? Would vaccuuming or brushing help?

Tutu.smith
Click to expand...
If your well water contains metals clarifier will not help. Take a sample of well water to a pool store and ask them to test for metals.
 
Hello again, Test kit and stirrer arrived. Just did all the tests with grandson. We were pretending to be scientists, just visited the Cranbrook Science Center yesterday. they are hoping to be able to swim very soon!

Results varied depending on which method of testing. I am thinking the strip is less accurate than the swirl method?

strip ph 8.4 FC 5 TA 200 Stabilizer 100

test kit results FC 7 CC 1 TC 8 CH 200 TA 270 CYA 25-30

daily test with red and yellow stuff ph 8.2 TC 5 Br 10


It seems from the chart in the daily test (blue) kit, I need to add 9.6 oz Muratic acid. Not sure how to read the chlorine % chart?

Any advice? I need to hook up the printer so I can print out some of the charts. Starting to understand some of the info, but I am not really a science person.

Also, anyone know about hooking up the pool vaccuum that comes with the maintenance kit? It seems to not fit anywhere and all the videos on youtube are for different pools or different filters. Pool store guy says he has something that hooks up to garden hose and swirls the debris around. My husband was not very clear in describing what exactly it does. Cost is around $35. Not willing to spend unless I know it is good to have. Should I just go ahead and get a better filter? Which one? Salt or sand??

Lastly, do all the levels have to be perfect before I let the kids go in for a swim? Which level is most important? They are chomping at the bit, even though we are having fall like weather.

Thanks for any and all advice!!!
 
Welcome tutu.smith!
Please take the advice of those here on the forum and just smile at your neighbors and say thank you. You don't need clarifier. Your water will be crystal clear if you follow the advice here. I've been there. Stains, algae swamp and all. TFP's method works!

Joan
 
Trying to use the pool math calculator. How do you test borate? Did I miss a test? What is SWG? Is it best to add the chemicals at night? One video said shock at dusk? Can I put solar cover on after adding chemicals? How long should I keep filter running? It is on all the time right now/
 
Don't worry about borate. It's something extra that you can consider AFTER you get the pool clean and you are swimming and relaxing. Borate is a separate test that you need to order test strips for. http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/4655-So-you-want-to-add-borates-to-your-pool-Why-and-How
Borate test strips : http://tftestkits.net/Borates-Test-Strips-p29.html

You need to drop the pH down to 7.2 with muriatic acid using pool math. You have a 8.2 level which is the highest it goes so it might even be higher. Need to let it mix for 30 minutes and retest.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl

In Michigan a CYA of 30 might be OK and it's better to have it that low for the SLAM. How is the water clarity presently, can you see the bottom ??

- - - Updated - - -

SWG is a Salt Water chlorine Generator. It turns salt into chlorine. You will hear people talk about a "Salt Pool", that is what they are talking about.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/127-salt-water-chlorine-generators-swg

Run filter 24/7 until you have a clean pool and you've passed the three tests for SLAM.

Best to wait about an hour after adding chlorine before putting the solar cover on as it gives the bleach time to disperse and won't effect the cover.

Strips are less accurate than the drop tests.

Br is for bromine and you don't have or need bromine.
 
"It seems from the chart in the daily test (blue) kit, I need to add 9.6 oz Muratic acid."

Everything should be done from Pool Math for calculating additions to the pool - > http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html
For muriatic acid we need to know the strength of your acid to help you figure out how much to add.

With a CYA of 30 the table shows http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock to SLAM your pool you would need to maintain FC at 12ppm.
Once the SLAM is complete and the pool is clean and sparkly you would want to use a daily FC of 4 and never get below 2ppm if you remain at a CYA level of 30. If you look in the chart the FC is dependent on your CYA level and as the CYA level rises so does the FC level to maintain a clean sanitary pool.

Bleach will be the same way. To figure out how much to add you need to post what it's strength is as it varies depending on who's brand and what you purchased. DO NOT get "scented" or "splash-less" as it's been reported to possibly foam up. If it says "concentrated" that just means they put a bit stronger bleach (8%?) in a smaller bottle and that's ok to use. Average bleach is 6% in a gallon jug but liquid pool shock (bleach) can be 12.5% so you need to read the label.
 
Started shocking at 8pm. got ph to 7.2. FC shock level is 12. Tested at 12 for next three hours. This Am tested at 7:00AM. Did 25 ml test for more accuracy. 49 drops means 9.8 FC. Added bleach. Water is still cloudy and light green. Can see bottom this AM.
 

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