Green won't go away no matter what I do

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kdubya815

kdubya815

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May 30, 2009
130
Columbia, TN
Hey yall! It's been a very long time since I have posted anything here, since my pool has been perfect for years. However, I am now running into a problem, so I knew exactly where to come. I replaced my liner last year, everything was perfect. However, I became very ill in the fall so I wasn't able to close down properly. I finally was able to start working on my pool again late April. I have been slamming since then, but I still have very green water. I know my CYA got too high since I couldn't find bleach anywhere and I had to use the dreaded "shock" packs - dichlor. I have drained, replaced, and drained and replaced a lot. My CYA is down to 60. I would like to get to 40. I drained and replaced last night again so I am hoping I got down to at least 50. I started being able to buy bleach again about 3 weeks ago, so I have only been using 7.5% bleach for a while now. My FC was 28 last night, and I even added some more bleach to get up to mustard algae shock levels in case that's what I was dealing with. There was literally no change in my water at all. I have vacuumed to waste several times, I have scooped out all leaves at the bottom and I am certain there is nothing left down there. I am at the point of wanting to drain and refill. Since my liner is only a year old, can I still do this without damaging it? I was thinking of putting the shop vac suction on it like they did when it was installed when I begin refilling it. Thoughts? I haven't tested this morning, but all levels (except a pretty high FC) are in range as of last night.
 
Thanks for taking a look. I went ahead and tested FC when I went to take the pic. It is at 24.5, so that definitely indicates that the chlorine was hard at work last night. When I went to bed FC was around 40.
 

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We can look for iron in various ways. Sometimes it's a stain that is removed by a Vitamin C tablet, sometimes it's a paper cartridge that is stained orange (but you use sand), and sometimes a pool store iron test will confirm. Just seemed very odd that with all the water you've exchanged to lower the CYA that the water is so green. Sometimes even city water sources see a spike in iron levels. Iron will certainly precipitate and show itself when the FC is elevated - and your FC has certainly been elevated for a while now. It's odd that you are not seeing any changes if it's just algae.

At this point it may be good to step-back see a full set of water test results. Can you post them please? Also confirm which test kit you are using. Before we chase our tail between metals or algae, let's see what the full set of water test results show us. If you added anything else to the water since last year when you were sick, anything from the pool store other than bags of shock or bleach, let us know.
 
Thanks for all the help! I ran a full test panel - I have the TFP test kit from Dave. Just replenished all the reagents, so they are very fresh.

FC - 24.5
CC - 0.5 (barely turned pink)
CH - 180 (vinyl liner so not too worried)
Alk - 330 - the drops from the new reagents are really small, wondering if I need to stick a needle in the hole.
Ph - 7.8 (I like mine to be around 7.2, but I know it can read a little high with a high chlorine reading)
CYA - 50 (yay!)

I have not put anything in the water except the dichlor "shock" and bleach.
 
Good test results posting. So at this point we have to go back to algae and treat for that first. Even if there is iron in the water (don't really know yet), you have to remove the algae first. So I would continue to perform the SLAM Process in its entirety. Pay special attention to all the details, and if you have anything in the pool that can be removed like steps or a ladder, definitely remove it. Don't manipulate the size of the TA bottle, just wipe it gently each time which should help. The TA can always be adjusted later after the SLAM. Once you pass all 3 SLAM criteria, we can see if there is any transparent (crystal clear) green to address which would be related to iron. For now, maintain the FC of 20. No need to go higher. Consistency is key.
 

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kdubya815 said:
the drops from the new reagents are really small, wondering if I need to stick a needle in the hole.
Click to expand...
NO! the reagent bottle orifices are set just right. I wouldn't modify the dropper tips. And as @JoeSelf suggests... wipe the tip between drops to remove the static ... It can make a huge difference. I've noticed the same effect in my testing too.
 
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Thanks for all your replies! I will continue to SLAM.

As far as the new TA reagent, when I turn the bottle over to put in a drop, a small stream comes out. I have to be very careful when tilting the bottle to make sure more than one drop doesn't come out
But the drops are super small compared to what it was with the last bottle. I did not wipe the tip each time (I knew better...I was just rushing since I am actually working lol). It just doesn't behave the way I am used to and I have been using the TF-100 kit for several years.
 
Hey! Yes, make sure you wipe the tip of the R-0009 with a damp paper towel between each drop with a new bottle. This effect will go away. You can try popping off the tip of any of your one ounce bottles, rinse well, and snap back on another tf-100 one ounce bottle.
I order those tips in bulk quantity and use the same ones for all one ounce bottles. So, you would likely see it in all one ounce bottles.
 
Thanks for all the help! I have not messed with the tip at all. Unfortunately I don't have the old bottle, trash day was yesterday! I will do what @OTP suggested and switch out the tip with another bottle and see what result I get. Thanks again!
 
Hey y’all. I have continues to SLAM consistently with absolutely no results. I know a floc will not kill algae, but should I consider it to vacuum out as much of it as I can so slamming may be more effective? Grasping for anything right now...
 
Doesn't algae turn cloudy, or whitish if the bleach has killed it. You might not be slamming with enough chlorine......but I digress. he main point I wanted to make, is that when we had a very contaminated pool for a couple of spring openings, we needed a little diatomacous earth added to the sand filter to increase the filtering ability. It required frequent backwashing, and re-adding the DE. That really hepled speed up the process. Keep at it. It can be frustrating, but its not brain surgery, you'll get it.
 

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