SLAMing but pool is getting greener and cloudier

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Two things that I'll add are be patient and take some pictures.

It took about 3-4 days of constant Shock levels for me to start seeing much improvement in the water color/quality. But I also took pictures every day, about the same time/same sun exposure. Although it was difficult to see any change in the day-to-day look, I was able to see a difference when looking at Day 1 vs. Day 3-4. (Even if you don't post any pictures to this site, they will be helpful for you to review.)

Stick with it and keep adding the chlorine - it WILL clear up.
 
I went to the pool store this afternoon to buy some DE. The clerk was as baffled as me as to why it keeps getting greener with such high chlorine. Surprisingly, she didn't try to sell me anything except the DE. She did tell me that I shouldn't let my pool stay at that high of a chlorine level for much longer. She said that I should bring it down to 5. I've read where you say that the shock level shouldn't hurt the pool but it makes me nervous to have it this high for very long. It's currently at 17.5... so I think that I'm good for the night with the CYA at 40. The only suggestion that the clerk had was to put some DE in now. I put in 2 cups at about 6 p.m. and have been watching the pressure. It went up 4 in 3 hours. So, I'll probably backwash before I go to bed. Suggestions??? Advice??? Right now, filling it in with dirt looks good. ;)

Here's an attempt to attach the photo from today: IMG_0005_2.jpg The one from yesterday keeps saying "upload failed"
 
Replies in red.
francescl said:
I went to the pool store this afternoon to buy some DE. The clerk was as baffled as me as to why it keeps getting greener with such high chlorine. Surprisingly, she didn't try to sell me anything except the DE. She did tell me that I shouldn't let my pool stay at that high of a chlorine level for much longer. She said that I should bring it down to 5. This piece of advice is terribly outdated and comes from the days before CYA was discovered. CYA buffers how harsh the FC is. I've read where you say that the shock level shouldn't hurt the pool but it makes me nervous to have it this high for very long. It's currently at 17.5... so I think that I'm good for the night with the CYA at 40. The only suggestion that the clerk had was to put some DE in now. I put in 2 cups at about 6 p.m. and have been watching the pressure. It went up 4 in 3 hours. So, I'll probably backwash before I go to bed. Definitely backwash before going to bed. At this point of SLAM, the pressure will rise very quickly when DE is added to a sand filter. Generally we recommend its use towards the end of SLAM, rather than the beginning. Suggestions??? Advice??? Right now, filling it in with dirt looks good. ;)

Here's an attempt to attach the photo from today: View attachment 31347 The one from yesterday keeps saying "upload failed" Please follow this tutorial for instructions on how to post photos.
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Abigail has responded to your pool store trip, but I will just add that you are trying to mix pool store advice and TFPC advice. It won't work!

Most employees of pool stores are ignorant of the relationship between CYA and FC. They have been trained keep FC 1 - 3, anything more is dangerous. It's not. Most everyone here can attest to that. Due to my high CYA my normal FC now is 8 - 9 and has been as high as 17 with me swimming.
 
I was planning on continuing the SLAM and keeping my FC up. I hope you can understand my frustration that my pool is getting a lot greener (as evidenced by the photos) instead of improving even though I've kept my FC above 16 for over 2 days and have been brushing every few hours.

Re: Mixing advice... I actually was surprised that the clerk didn't try to sell me anything besides what I came in for. I was concerned that part of the reason it was not improving was because my filter wasn't filtering properly. Over the past few days of SLAMing, the pressure did not rise. So, adding the DE and seeing it finally rising gave me some hope. It's a lot easier to be patient when you see a modicum of improvement as opposed to things getting worse. I've been reading many posts the past few days but haven't seen any where the pool gets greener instead of improving. Like I said in an earlier post, please bear with me. I'm new to this and right now things aren't looking very promising.

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MBG75 said:
Are you measuring cya with the black dot slightly visible or completely gone?
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I'm doing both because I wasn't sure .... slightly visible at 45. Gone at 40.
 
Sounds like you got a really tough algae bloom going there. I'd take the ladders out of the pool and wipe them down with a 50% solution of water and bleach. Leave them out until SLAM is over. Do you have any pool lights? I'd suggest pulling them out and cleaning them too. Brush anywhere you think algae might be hiding. Keep SLAM levels up. What is your PH? Adjusting that at this point will help also. Keep Battling! You will win this! Good luck!
 

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CC this morning was zero. Yes, this is my first year with TFP and liquid bleach. Don't think it's metal because of cloudiness and seeing green "dust" when I brush.

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And I can't get the ladder and lights out to clean. I'll have to wait til I can get my pool handyman over and considering that it's the holiday weekend, that won't be til next week.
 
Kind of hard to tell the ph reading because of high chlorine but I think it's about 7.5 based on it being 7.8 and adding 8 lbs. of dry acid before starting the SLAM process. Pool store came up with that reading also after neutralizing chlorine.

I realize that it's not a quick cure but I'm discouraged by the fact that it has gotten worse instead of better. Maybe it's fortunate that it is a holiday weekend because everyplace is closed and I have no option but to stick with it.
 
francescl said:
Yes, this is my first year with TFP and liquid bleach.

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And I can't get the ladder and lights out to clean. I'll have to wait til I can get my pool handyman over and considering that it's the holiday weekend, that won't be til next week.
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The only reason I ask if its your first year is because last year I took over a pool mid summer to take care of. At the start of the season, Sustain Summer Shield was put in the pool. This product acted like CYA, but you couldn't test for it. I added CYA, and during my SLAM had to increase my CL dosage to counteract the two products acting together. Some of the experts here really didn't know all that much about what the stuff was, but it was Sustain's version of CYA if you will. It says the life of this stuff was 150 days. If I am to believe the company, then it is finally out of my pool at the start of this year.

Was just curios if something was added at the start of the pool season to your pool that was similar to that product that could be messing with you...

Keep us updated please.... The experts here will get you through it....
 
I think my pool guy only put in cal hypo, alkalinity increaser, algaecide and pucks in the chlorinater (I quit using pucks when my cya got up to 40) when he opened the pool. It's a good question. I'll ask him when I call him Monday to see if he can help me take out the ladder and lights.
 

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