Multiple Pool Problems

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I would say things are still growing in there and you need to get your FC up to at least 28ppm per the CYA chart and hold it there until you hold FC overnight (with no rain interference) Test as often as possible and add bleach to get back up to shock level.

Also grab another 6 pack of POP when you restock your bleach supply. :-D
 
So glad I got that 6 pack of POP yesterday when I restocked my bleach. Unfortunately, both are just about gone and the water still has that greenish color. Here are my actions since my last post:

1. 14 July 8 PM: FC 14.5, CC <0.5
2. 15 July 5 AM: Did overnight FC drop test. FC 15, CC <0.5. Water still greenish.
3. 15 July 5:30 AM: Vacuum to waste dead algae on pool bottom.
3. 15 July 6:30 AM: Per the Pool Calculator I added 6 bottles (576 oz) 6% bleach.
4. 15 July 8:20 AM: Tested water. FC 24, CC <0.5. Water still greenish.
5. 15 July 9 AM: Per the Pool Calculator I added 2 bottles (192 oz) bleach.
6. 15 July 12:00 PM: Retested water. FC 22.5 CC <0.5. Water still greenish.
7. 15 July 12:30 PM: Per the Pool Calculator I added 3 (288 oz) bleach.

Aside from restocking my bleach and POP supply what other actions must I take to get this water to clear? Wife and daughter have suggested I go to the pool supply place and have water tested. Going there don't thrill me.
 
rocky said:
So glad I got that 6 pack of POP yesterday when I restocked my bleach. Unfortunately, both are just about gone and the water still has that greenish color. Here are my actions since my last post:

1. 14 July 8 PM: FC 14.5, CC <0.5
Did you add bleach after this test?

2. 15 July 5 AM: Did overnight FC drop test. FC 15, CC <0.5. Water still greenish.

3. 15 July 5:30 AM: Vacuum to waste dead algae on pool bottom.
3. 15 July 6:30 AM: Per the Pool Calculator I added 6 bottles (576 oz) 6% bleach.
4. 15 July 8:20 AM: Tested water. FC 24, CC <0.5. Water still greenish.
5. 15 July 9 AM: Per the Pool Calculator I added 2 bottles (192 oz) bleach.
6. 15 July 12:00 PM: Retested water. FC 22.5 CC <0.5. Water still greenish.
7. 15 July 12:30 PM: Per the Pool Calculator I added 3 (288 oz) bleach.

Aside from restocking my bleach and POP supply what other actions must I take to get this water to clear? Wife and daughter have suggested I go to the pool supply place and have water tested. Going there don't thrill me.
Click to expand...

A daytime loss when your FC is this high is to be expected. What's not clear to me is did you add bleach last night and see a significant drop with this morning's test?
 
No, I did not add anything to the pool water last night.

I had to go to the doctor office and the pool supply place was less than a mile away. I let them analyze the same water sample I had tested at 12:30 PM. Their readings were: TC 10, FC 10, pH 7.3, TA 100, CH 175, CYA 90, and Phosphate 100. Their comment was a chlorine lock due to the high CYA and recommended replacing some of the pool water.

At this point I am in limbo awaiting your recommendation.
 
You definitely need to keep your FC up to shock level by checking it as often as possible and adding bleach as needed per the bleach calc.
Also run your pump 24/7 if possible and backwash when needed.
This is an on going process, not something that will clear itself over night.

I had a battle myself this season and it took over a week to get my sparkly pool back, but it is well worth the effort.
Just pay attention to the pros and they will guide you to a crystal clear pool in no time.



Chlorine lock..... :shock: :lol:
 
Solving this problem in a week would have been great. I have been battling it since 26 June. Now lets get back to the test results from my testing and the comments from the pool supply people. What is chlorine lock? As you look at my overnight FC numbers, last night 14.5 and this morning 15, this tells me the organics are dead. frustratedpoolmom said only sunshine and organics will reduce the chlorine level in the pool. That being the case, why hasn't the water started clearing. Instead it remains a greenish color. I have been following the pool calculator numbers and always adding at least the recommended amount of bleach. Do I remove pool water to lower the CYA to get in a more manageable range? I have poured 21 bottles of bleach in the pool since mid-day yesterday and can't see any improvement.

As you probably can tell my POP is running low.
 
rocky said:
Solving this problem in a week would have been great. I have been battling it since 26 June. Now lets get back to the test results from my testing and the comments from the pool supply people. What is chlorine lock? As you look at my overnight FC numbers, last night 14.5 and this morning 15, this tells me the organics are dead. frustratedpoolmom said only sunshine and organics will reduce the chlorine level in the pool. That being the case, why hasn't the water started clearing. Instead it remains a greenish color. I have been following the pool calculator numbers and always adding at least the recommended amount of bleach. Do I remove pool water to lower the CYA to get in a more manageable range? I have poured 21 bottles of bleach in the pool since mid-day yesterday and can't see any improvement.

As you probably can tell my POP is running low.
Click to expand...

Chlorine lock is a catchy pool store phrase designed to scare customers into buying their products.

IF you tested correctly, you had no overnight loss which means no live organics. But I don't see how the FC could have gone UP if you didn't add any bleach, which has to mean a testing error.

Make sure you are not adding multiple drops at once. Count each one individually, so that you aren't losing count.

Is it a clear, transparent green? I can't help but wonder if the water color is partly from the Nature 2.

Yes, your CYA is high. Over the weekend, you posted it at 65, which is manageable, but high. Now you show 85 - which is too high. Your shock level would be 30-35 at this point...

You have only had your test kit and been able to test/shock correctly for less than a week - so you need some more pop - I know you've been at this awhile but mistakes have been made, now you have to deal with the side effects of that.

You will likely have better results if you do drain some water out and replace with fresh. This would be a good idea anyway - so you can get some of the N2 water out also.

Once you get the CYA level down, you will have a lower shock level and not use as much bleach, I suspect you will make better progress.

I would drain down about 1/3 and refill with fresh water, recirculate, retest and repeat a partial drain, if necessary.

Hang in there.... :wink:
 
Here is my attempt to describe the water color. It is not as dark as an opaque green. It could be a transparent green. However, in the shallow end, 3 feet, I cannot see the pool bottom. On the top step there is a very dark green sediment. Water depth on top of this step is 1 inch (normally higher).
The readings as of 8 PM today:
FC 19.5
CC <0.5 - When I added the R-0003 the testing water became very very slightly pink. 1 drop of R-0871 and the solution was clear.
I did not measure any other parameter.
I will go out now and do vacuum to waste and then a partial drain. I will refill to the normal water level. Should I make any water measurements tomorrow morning or should I plan to repeat the partial drain process? When I do resume testing the water what parameters should I test?

One last question. Is the pool safe for the kids to use?
 
Don't bother testing this a.m., I would say repeat a partial drain and refill this morning...recirculate, and retest the CYA... repeat a partial drain if necessary.

When the CYA level is where you want it, retest PH/TA and adjust if necessary, then resume shocking based on your description of the water - and I'd say, no it's not a good idea for the kids to swim yet.

Your CC was .5.
 
Do you have many metals in water? We had this problem because we had hard water (house is on a water softner~we have well water), we ended up having to put some kind of stain remover stuff in it, the water within 10 minutes was completely clear and no longer green at all...poof...gone (and this is a 54,000 gallon pool..)! Our chlorine was high and the whole time we thought it was algae, but it wasn't the case. So since the chlorine has been dropped to right levels, we have had crystal clear water! Just a thought!
 

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Major changes occurred since my last post. There were a couple of lesson learned.
1. I started about 8:30 PM doing a partial drain via a vacuum to waste. About 9 PM the water level was below the skimmer intake.
2. Switched to doing the partial drain via the waste only through the drains in the pool bottom. Around 9:30 PM we had a major wind storm come through. I turned off the pump and headed inside.
3. Sometime during the night the electricity went off for about 3 hours. Sometime after it came back on the automatic timer turned on the pool pump. After this the partial drain was in the process of becoming a full drain.
4. I got up at 5 AM and heard the pool pump on. That's bad. Went out to the pool and there was only about 1 inch of water in the shallow end. I immediately turned off the circuit breaker for the pump. I think I had pumped out about 15,000 gallons of ugly green water.
5. After 2 hours of cleaning I finally started doing a refill. Lesson # 1 - Always turn off the pump circuit breaker when leaving the work area.
6. Rain in the rain gauge measured 1.1 inches. More rain in forecast. After I get through with the refill I will vacuum to waste the sediment on the pool bottom. Then check the CYA. The next action is predicated by the CYA measured.
7. Oh yeah, the other lesson learned - keep plenty of POP handy.
 
Cheater!!!!!!!

Oops... thats what I did also, although mine was on purpose. :-D

Well your CYA should be low enough now. Now to refill and get the pump running when water level is high enough and retest and add whatever will be needed, I would start off at shock level, just to kill off anything that may be left over or coming in from the new water, and you should be good to go.
 
Here's another update:

Rocky and I had a little phone chat while he was ordering some refills. (the algae issue still exists) We're really gonna' bash the algae and get his pool crystal clear by doing the following..........

Tonight, while his pool is filling, he's gonna put in two small jugs of clorox. (The water level is currently too low to get a valid test). That will bring him up somewhere around 15-20 for the evening.

Then, tomorrow AM he's gonna test for FC and add enough to return to 20ppm. He will test and add three times daily as his pool fills.

Obviously, his CYA will continue to dilute as the pool fills and I think he'll be down around 25ppm when it's full.

20ppm FC should be a good number to really get after the algae, especially as his refill nears completion. He is gonna' run the pump 24/7, backwash when he sees a 6-8psi pressure rise and brush as frequently as practicable

Once his pool is clear, we'll do the overnite FC loss test, A CYA test and a CC's test as well as pH and TA. That should get him back up in perfect condition.

Meanwhile, the focus is on testing and reboosting the FC until his pool is crystal clear. I'll bet he'll be very close in just a few days.....any takers?? :lol: :lol:
 
You probably saw the plan proposed yesterday by "Duraleigh". Well here is my latest glitch. I am out of the reagent R-0871. My reorder was shipped today. If it don't get here in the afternoon mail tomorrow then my testing for FC is at a halt. Tonight I had enough reagent to measure then add enough bleach to get the FC to about 24 ppm. Any recommendation on determining how much bleach I need to be adding? The pool water is milky gray in the shallow end but still has a greenish tint to it in the deep end. The water is starting to become clear from the wall out to about a foot. I really don't want to do the CYA test till I am sure the algae is dead.
 
Rocky,

It's the weekend....your refills won't ship 'til Monday....you should have them Wednesday.

Meanwhile, what was your FC reading before you added chlorine last night and how much chlorine did you add?

Secondly, do you see any noticeable change in your water this morning?
 
Pool water color varies from light to dark blue. Light in the shallow end. All the visible green is gone. My last FC test was at 10 PM last evening. All my reagent R-0871 is gone. The FC was 17 ppm. I made the switch to the larger 182 ounce jug. Last evening at 10:30 I added 364 ounces of bleach. This morning at 6 AM I added 728 ounces of bleach. At 4 PM today 182 ounces of bleach was added. Tonight at 8 PM I added 182 ounces of bleach.

Tomorrow morning between 6 & 7 AM I will add more bleach. At this time I don't know how much to add. If I get a reply to this post by that time, then I will probably add the recommended amount. If I don't get any recommendations then I'll probably add 364 ounces (2 jugs). My normal early morning routine calls for brushing the pool walls and bottom. After that I will add the bleach.

Since I will be getting my reagents at mid-week, I need some recommendations regarding 1) what to add 2) how much to add, 3) and when to add for the next 4 days.
 
If your pool is full tomorrow, add 1 jug of bleach in the AM and then do a CYA test......I want to make sure your CYA is at least 20.

Post that test and wait 'til you get a reply before you add any more bleach. Also tell us if you see any improvement in the pool when you report the CYA test.

If your pool is not full, hold off on the CYA test until it's full but post and tell us it's not full and we'll figure a plan B.

Do you have any distilled water?
 

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