Dead algae and cloudy water

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Teresa 22

0
May 10, 2014
5
Brooklyn, New York
Hi,
I opened my pool yesterday and the water was clear but loaded with dead algae. I skimmed out a lot of it, brushed the walls and then shocked with liquid chlorine. Ran the filter for 10 hours. Woke up this morning and the water is completely cloudy, can see maybe a foot down. I tested water (only have ph and chlorine kit). The chlorine was in the normal range but ph very very high. I ran filter 10 more hours, changed and cleaned cartridges many times but I am still skimming up algae and seems cloudier .
I have 2 questions, should I shock again and what do I do abut the high PH level? Also, I still haven't vacuumed because I thought it would just clog it up, should I vacuum anyway?
Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated. I never had any problems opening pool before.
Teresa
 
Sorry your pool opening did not go as planned. The first thing I recommend is investing in a recommended test kit such as the TF 100 or Taylor K 2006. Sounds like you are going to need to perform a SLAM, but cannot do it without a recommended test kit. You get a little more bang for your buck with the TF 100.

That does your PH test say your PH is?

- - - Updated - - -

We need to know
FC
CC
PH
TA
CH
CYA
To best guide you. Have you read the ABC'sof pool water chemistry in Pool School?
 
Pool store tests and strip tests are very inaccurate and recommendations based on those test results is also inaccurate and can lead to more problems.

It is safe to swim when your PH is between 7.2 and 7.8, your chlorine is below shock level for your CYA level on the Chlorine CYA Chart and the water is clear.

The fastest way to clear up your pool is to follow this process, SLAMing Your Pool.
 
Welcome! I just wanted to add that the other reason you need a proper test kit is because the TFT and Taylor 2006 are the only ones that will read you FC at the high shock/Slam leaves.

If you order from TFTkits, you could ask that it be overnighted, and you might have a chance of getting clear by the weekend, depending on your parameters.

We can't even safely give you a ballpark shock/slam level to aim for in the interim because we don't know your CYA level, and that "defines" what your accurate shock/Slam level is. We dont want you to bleach out your liner by just blindly adding chlorine to slam levels.

I realize hindsight is 20/20, but next year if you open a little earlier, you not only have more time to get the pool into shape, you also could open clean and clear and not even have to shock/slam. So you'll more than get your money's wrth to get te kit now and follow the TFP methods!

Cheers to clear ;)
 
Hi Teresa, I would definitely add some Aquaperl filter media to your cartridge filter via the skimmer to increase the effectiveness of your cartridge filter. Most dead algae is so tiny that it scoots right past those cartridge filters and doesn't really get removed from the pool water first trip through the filter. Adding a filter media like Aquaperl or Fiberclear coats the cartridges harmlessly and will catch that dead algae. Be sure not to use Diatomaceous Earth as it will ruin your cartridges.

Best of luck,
 
Adding some filter aid is all well and good, but is not fixing the root of the problem which is not maintaining enough chlorine in the pool.

If you want to take control of your pool, you MUST invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits, just like was recommended to you last May when you were here and in the first responses you just got.

It might be too late for you to have a sparkling pool by this coming weekend by following our methods. Although I am sure the pool store would be more than happy to sell you magic in a bottle that may or more likely may not work.
 
Your chemistry is not correct. Being able to test your water with precision and then knowing what to do to get it cleaned up is the first step. Without those test results, no one can tell you, with certainty, where to begin.

I would not suggest a filter "helper" of ANY brand. Sand, DE, and Cartridge filters are all capable of giving you a perfectly clear pool. Before that can happen, though, your chemistry has to be correct.
 

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I had opened/slammed a couple weeks ago, got water to clear (wasn't bad and not sure if I had algae). I had the solar cover on most of the time since. Pulled it off Sunday, clear water... until I brushed. Immediately turned to light green tint. Kept pump running on high (so far 48 hrs), and it's much clearer. Jets were down to a trickle. My filter went from 20 to 25psi in 2 days; backwashed, back to 20. Getting clearer now. My CC has always been below .5 and FC always steady 4.5-5.5. So pretty sure it's all dead algae. Just keep your filter fairly clean and keep the pump running (and make sure you have chemistry right). My CYA is 35-40. Turned pump to low, but still plan on running it 24/7 for a while.
 
duraleigh said:
Your chemistry is not correct. Being able to test your water with precision and then knowing what to do to get it cleaned up is the first step. Without those test results, no one can tell you, with certainty, where to begin.

I would not suggest a filter "helper" of ANY brand. Sand, DE, and Cartridge filters are all capable of giving you a perfectly clear pool. Before that can happen, though, your chemistry has to be correct.
Click to expand...

While chemistry is important, it is a fact that all three of those filter types will provide different levels of clarity. The original poster specified that the algae was already dead, so taking the post at face value they can clear up the pool by increasing the effectiveness of the cartridge filter (which we still have no idea what size/quality/condition of the cartridges.) All that to say, dead algae will "blow by" a freshly cleaned standard name brand cartridge filter, (even manufacturers state this) although as the filter starts to clog it will filter better. This of course takes extra run time. With adding of perlite you can cut the filtration time down considerably, expecially if you need to do multiple filter cleans to remove all the dead algae.

Respectfully,
 
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