Algae in my AGP

[Jellybean]

Hi

Forum virgin ... not been on here before and am now a damsel in distress.

I have a 58,000 litre AGP in the ground measuring 10 x 505 - should be a luxury but for two years has been a thorn in my side.

We have only for a short (and I mean short) period of time experience crystal clear water. Despite employing the services of a pool guy (who has cost us heaps of cash) we still can't maintain our pool.

We've tried everything and I mean everything ... we have a creepy crawly, a manual cleaner, started initially with a cartridge filter - have now upgraded to a sand filter. We have a pool blanket (another disaster - another story).

We now have a green pool. So despite a previous horror story with a pool shop, I decided to revisit (a different) pool shop. One that was recommended. The water sample was tested with the following results:

Total dissolved Solids 1550.0
Cyanuric Acid 55.0
Iron -1.0
Free Copper -1.0
Free Chlorine 1.1
Total Chlorine 1.1
PH 7.5
Total Alkalinity 90.0
Calcium Hardness -1.0
Phosphate 0.0

The recommended action was to superchlorinate the pool.

However, following my conversation with the pool shop assistant (about the green colour of my pool) she recommended an Algaecide. So off I went home with Algaecide in possession (a litre bottle).

The pool shop recommended the following:

Back wash the pool - which I did
Deposit 500ml of the algaecide into the pool - which I did
Deposit 500ml of the water clarify (they sold me) into the pool at the same time - which I did
Leave the filter running for 24 hours then vacum residue.

The filter has now been running for 20 hours and the pool is no better ! Am I missing something?

I wrote down the instructions in the shop so that I wouldn't get it wrong but I did notice on the Algaecide bottle that it states use the whole litre for our size pool, leave the filter off for 3 hours and then vaccum to waste.

Could someone please help me ... I'm seconds away from having the pool filled in !

PS I live in Australia and currently experiencing temperatures in excess of 35 degrees (which obviously doesn't help!)

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Hi, and welcome to TFP!

Others will be along to help shortly, but there are a couple things I will point out. First, read in Pool School about defeating algae. http://www.troublefreepool.com/category/pool-school/defeating_algae If you have a green pool, you have algae. The methods there will work.
Secondly, get a good test kit. See my signature for a suggestion, or you may be able to get Taylor K2006 locally. Stop relying on the pool store people, They are in the business of selling you things, and usually have little knowledge!
Third, you need to get your chlorine up. 1.1 is in no way enough when you have a CYA level of 55. Skip the algaecide, and get some bleach or other chlorinating liquid into your pool pronto. You should NEVER get below 5ppm. 7 is your target, and to shock you need 24. Look at this chart http://www.troublefreepool.com/category/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shockfor info.

Read as much in Pool School as you can!! Take a deep breath. It is really easy to get things under control!

 

[Jellybean]

Thank you sooooooooooo much for your reply and so quickly too.

I am as I said a complete novice. I spent most of yesterday browsing through the site but I am in panic mode and all that aside, I don't have a clue what most of the abbreviations are that are discussed in the posts. So again, I spent yesterday trying to find out what they meant !

The pool is starting to get a little smelly this morning too so I'm off to follow your advice and get that chlorine level up.

thanks again

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Pool School http://www.troublefreepool.com/category/pool-school/ will help you with a lot of things. you can find common abbreviations here http://www.troublefreepool.com/category/pool-school/swimming_pool_definitions_abbreviations

 

[TizMe]

Welcome to the site Jellybean

As Mermaid has said read and digest as much as you can in our pool school section of the forum. You should as suggested get yourself a reliable test kit and stop depending on the pool stores for water testing.

You need to get your chlorine up to shock levels as Mermaid says and keep it there until one of the following are met

1) You have a FC loss of less than 1 ppm during the night time hours
2) Your CC is .0 - .05 ppm
3) Your water is crystal clear

Fighting algae may take several days. You need lots of patience !!

When you go to the store to get LOTS of bleach and you think you have enough ..... put some more in your shopping cart.
You need to check your chlorine levels in the evening after the sun goes down and again in the morning before it comes up and gets on the pool.

Brush your pool every day as much as possible and backwash the filter. If you have any further questions or something isnt clear post it here in this same forum and we will answer your questions.

If your able to ... post pictures of your pool so others may follow its progress. There is no better testimony than pictures !!

Good luck !!

 

[chem geek]

If the measurements of 1.0 ppm copper and 0 ppb (presumably) phosphates are accurate, then your green water may be from the copper and not algae. However, the numbers are very suspect since Calcium Hardness (CH) isn't going to be 1.0 -- more likely it's 100 ppm or something like that. Does the water look more like a clear green? If so, then it's more likely copper. If it got dull or cloudy first and now looks more like a cloudy green, then it's more likely to be algae. If you measure your Free Chlorine (FC) loss overnight, then that can also help you distinguish -- with algae in the pool, the chlorine will get used up noticeably even at night.

At any rate, getting the chlorine level up would be wise as 1 ppm FC with 55 ppm Cyanuric Acid (CYA) is far too little chlorine, even if algae were not present. As was noted by others, following the instructions in the Pool School on defeating algae is your best bet.

Richard

 

[Jellybean]

Thank you to everyone for all your replies. Since superchlorinating my pool, (about 24 hours ago) and having vacumed to waste on two occasions, my pool has recovered 90 %.

I feel confident now that in a few days it will be crystal clear ... Thanks again.

 

[MikeInTN]

Jellybean,

Good to hear you're on your way to getting your pool cleared up. However, if you don't maintain it, you'll be back to a green swamp before you know it, especially with summertime temps and sun. I know we all sound like we're beating a dead horse about getting a good test kit, but it's the only sure way of you taking control of your water, and once you get your water balanced, keeping your pool crystal clear becomes very easy and pretty inexpensive, as well. It'll be the best investment in your pool that you will make, and once you're confident in doing your own testing and maintenance, you'll hardly ever have to step back in a pool store again.

Mike