Green swamp at opening

WhitB08

Bronze Supporter
Apr 1, 2016
158
Murfreesboro, TN
Pool Size
24000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Hello everyone!! For the first time in seven seasons, our pool turned into a green swamp before opening. I am a little intimidated about this process. I’ve read the articles and brushed up on everything. I just tested my water and the results are:
FC 0
PH - not on the chart. A hot pink/magenta color. I’m guessing this is High? Or is it possibly somehow in accurate? I did let the water come to room temperature before testing.
TA 40 * never had a rating like this even at opening. It usually stays right at 60
CH 50 * admittedly, I usually don’t test this because I have a vinyl pool and it was always within the normal range
CYA- The dot does disappear at 30, but I’m very surprised to have any CYA

before testing I was assuming I would prob only have to adjust my pH before starting the slam process. Should I assume that it is high and start dosing to bring it down? Do I need to address the TA before slamming? My CH is at the very bottom of the acceptable level. Should I address that at all before slamming? any other important factors to consider when opening a pool that is a stinky swamp? Once I address the levels as advised, I plan to run the pump nonstop, brush several times a day and initially check my FC levels every 30 minutes.

One other question, I use the Taylor K – 2006 kit. Every season, they regents for the free Corine and see why a run out so quickly. I hate to buy an entirely new test with so much remaining. Do you all buy larger quantities of just those test regents that are used more often or does anybody have a good method or suggestion to test often without continually buying new kits?

As always, thank you for any input!
 
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Did you run the pump for a good 24 hours and brush the pool really well before taking your test water sample?

TFTestkits.net sells refills for your test kit. They are still on sale until the end of March.
 
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I did not. We’re still working on starting it up. Unfortunately for some reason the pool guy that closed it used a different cap on one return that is impossible to get off. My husband is at the hardware store getting some giant pliers or wrench or something like that to try and get it off. Hopefully we’ll get it started soon.
 
OK -- wait until you have really circulated the pool water before taking a sample to test. You likely have some stratified water from rain and thus the data can be skewed.
 
+1. I messed with mine recently and took samples at 3 levels.


Surface: 0 FC / 0 salt
Elbow deep: 2 FC / 1200 salt
Bottom (7.5 ft) 6 FC / 3000 salt.

It needs a good mixing.
 
Okay, The pump has been running at full speed for almost 4 hours, I’ve done a lot of brushing and the robotic pool cleaner has been running and I just retested. The pH is still hot pink but a little bit closer to the 8.0 color scale now.
It also appears that I have a CYA level of 40. is there a chance this test is going to be inaccurate because the water is so dark and dingy?
 
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Did you run the pump for a good 24 hours and brush the pool really well before taking your test water sample?

TFTestkits.net sells refills for your test kit. They are still on sale until the end of March.
I ordered the refill. Thanks for letting me know!
 
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It also appears that I have a CYA level of 40. is there a chance this test is going to be inaccurate because the water is so dark and dingy?
Nope. We are able to test swamps for CYA all the time. :)

Over 8, the PH test will look the same. It might be a 8.4 or a 9.4. Dose 8.2 to 7.6 per poolmath. Mix for 20 mins and retest. Repat as necessary until it's a 7. Then adjust to 7.2 and SLAM away.

If the CYA stays a 40, slam target is 16 FC and you'll want to maintain the 16 many times the first couple of days. Testing/adding every 2 to 3 hours is best.
 
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Nope. We are able to test swamps for CYA all the time. :)

Over 8, the PH test will look the same. It might be a 8.4 or a 9.4. Dose 8.2 to 7.6 per poolmath. Mix for 20 mins and retest. Repat as necessary until it's a 7. Then adjust to 7.2 and SLAM away.

If the CYA stays a 40, slam target is 16 FC and you'll want to maintain the 16 many times the first couple of days. Testing/adding every 2 to 3 hours is best.
I’ve already started on the Ph! I’m really hoping my CYA test is accurate so that I’m working off the correct slam target. Bleach prices are insane. I’m hoping I’ll be able to start slamming first thing in the morning.
And, I’m so glad you posted that 16 FC is my target. I was looking at the old pool math chart for the shock level, which is lower. I remembered to look at the CYA/FC chart. 😬
 
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Take some dingy green pool water add add it to the CYA tube and look at the dot. If the dot doesn’t look really clear or if you can see some cloudiness to the water in the tube, then run some of the pool water through a a few layers of coffee filter and see if the cloudiness improves.

Usually only really black, algae infested swamp water adds enough turbidity to throw off the CYA test. But there’s no harm in running the pool water through a coffee filter first to make sure any suspended solids are removed. There are tricks to one can do to really filter the water before testing but a coffee filter should be good enough.
 
Take some dingy green pool water add add it to the CYA tube and look at the dot. If the dot doesn’t look really clear or if you can see some cloudiness to the water in the tube, then run some of the pool water through a a few layers of coffee filter and see if the cloudiness improves.

Usually only really black, algae infested swamp water adds enough turbidity to throw off the CYA test. But there’s no harm in running the pool water through a coffee filter first to make sure any suspended solids are removed. There are tricks to one can do to really filter the water before testing but a coffee filter should be good enough.
I’ll try that later. Thanks!
 
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This morning is not starting out as I had hoped. 😩 despite appropriately dosing down with acid, my pH is still off the test chart. I never do the acid demand test, but I tried that this morning to see if maybe I could get a more accurate idea of what my pH actually is, and it required five drops. The test kit says to refer to the table, but I must have lost it. I worried something was going on with my test, so I just took it to the pool store when they opened this morning. He confirmed that my pH was still as high as theirs is able to read, 8.6. I am now out of Muriatic acid and just bought some dry acid from them and just finished adding 3 pounds. Hopefully I’ll be able to start slamming soon. Also I am continually getting a CYA result of 40 after letting the water come to 70 degrees, but his test says it is 20. I suppose I just need to work off of my numbers to have a safe buffer?
 
Please trust your testing. Do not use pool stores for testing.
The dry acid is a very poor idea in a pool, especially with a SWCG. Use muriatic acid.
 
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Please trust your testing. Do not use pool stores for testing.
The dry acid is a very poor idea in a pool, especially with a SWCG. Use muriatic acid.
I always do. 👍🏻 I just wanted to confirm my test kit wasn’t inaccurate because it’s from last season while I wait on my refill to come in. I did the dry acid in a pinch because I’m now out of muriatic and that’s all they had.
 
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Yikes, good to know. I have an older liner and a brand new swg. Hopefully this one time won’t be too harmful.

It should be fine. Just avoid dry acid on the future. You can get MA from almost any hardware store. I would rather pay more for 15% MA (half strength stuff) than use dry acid.
 
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Finally got my Ph lowered yesterday and started slamming. I’m already seeing quite a bit of improvement, but man I got nothing else done all day and night. So much chlorine and so much brushing! 😅 I was back at it at 6:30 AM. From start yesterday to this morning’s dose, I have already gone through just shy of 10, 128 ounce 10% jugs to keep my FC at 16.

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