Please Help! Pool still green.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
M

Mike Claffy

0
Sep 1, 2011
35
Split from Please Help! Pool levels perfect, pool still green. Zea3

Hey folks me to! I've had algae for 18 days now. 13,000 gal in-ground gunnite with black marbalite (sp?) inside coat.

Over that 18 day time frame, I have added 2 gal of 11% pool store shock; 1 gal 8% grocery store chlorine; all liquids added in front of returns; 12 oz of granular dry chlorine cast evenly over surface and I have kept pump running constantly. Have used 3 oz each on 2 different times of Clarifier ( Don't shoot me, I didn't buy it, I borrowed it from a fellow pool owner who isn't on TFPs) (yet!).....

Still cloudy and much of time green haze!

K1000 Taylor basic test strip numbers: CL>7 PH=7.3-7.4 ..........

TF100 (big Taylor test kit) numbers FAC~15 CC= 0.8, TC= 15, TA=110, CH=? added 30 drops of reagent and still clear! CYA=70 ....

Pool store test numbers: TDS=640 Phosphates=300 copper= 0.3 Iron= 0.2

Some Borax in water; but not "fully Boraxed"

Oh, I should have put this at the top, I have 7 year old Geo sand/Geolite? in filter. Normal pressure had been 11 to 11.5 before this problem developed 7 weeks ago; I opened Hayward filter top and "stirred around the top 4 inches of media, it was very loose i.e. "not caked", but even now I can't get pressure below 13.5 to 14, no matter how much I backwash and rinse.

The only next step I can think of, (please don't shoot me for taking this way out) is algaecide and flock and then emptying Geocrap and going to full sand which I had used for 30 years in my previous pool set up with absolutely no problems like this!

Any thoughts?
 
Last edited:
Well Mike, the first thing that jumps-out at me is that based on your CYA of 70, you are nowhere close to maintaining the required FC to kill the algae. You need to be at an FC of 28 - at all times. I suggest placing your trust in that TF-100. Don't bother with pool store tests, strips, or any miracle products. They will only disrupt your progress and/or cause more problems. Regular bleach will the way to SLAM, but you have to be at the proper level. Keep it as FC 28 and "maintain". :)
 
OK; but are you saying FC should be 28 as related to CL of 6-8 on a test strip. I know CL on the test strip does not measure FC, but 28 seems so so high!

Any comments on the filter pressure values i.e. higher now than earlier in the season; 11.5 pounds then, versus 13.5 pounds now

What about comments on Zeo sand as the filter medium. One store tells me Zeo sand traps so much smaller sized particles, that it "fills up" and wears out after 4 to 6 years! Where as regular sand get more completly "flushed/cleaned" during the back wash process!
 
AS TS suggests above, your problem has nothing to do with filtration. You need to SLAM your pool. There is an article in Pool School that must be followed perfectly and your pool will clear and it won't take 18 days.

I am reading between the lines and hear you as convinced your filter is at fault.....it is not.

You will see some progress as soon as you resign yourself to the SLAM and, Yes, it will take 28 ppm FC.

Your comment on CL (chlorine?) on the test strip is confusing. Why are you getting 6-8 ppm
 
You just need to SLAM. All that chlorine you've added was just a love tap. You need a knockout punch. And after the algae gets knocked down you kick it again and again and again so it can't get back up because it's all dead.

2 gallons 10% = 15; I jug store bleach is 6; the dry powder added no more than 6 depending on what it was. That's only 27 FC. That's barely the first dose for a SLAM. You'll need that much again over the next two or three doses in the same 24 hour period and lesser amounts but still a lot until it's eradicated 100%.

Think:
tfp-jugs.jpg


Here's some stories from folks who have cleared pools successfully. Just do what they did.
 
Re: "2 gallons 10% = 15; I jug store bleach is 6; the dry powder added no more than 6 depending on what it was. That's only 27 FC. That's barely the first dose for a SLAM."

Still pool is not clear but looks better.
Hmm, are you saying (in longhand) that 2 gallons of 10% liquid Chlorine into an 11,000 gal pool raises CL levels by "15" ppm?

If visited some of your charts (although maybe haven't found them all)! Is there a table/chart that shows me for every gallon of x% strength of liquid CL one adds, the CL level is raised by y% per 10,000 gal of pool water. (Then I would need go to the table of " if your CYA level is this amount you need to maintain the CL ppm at this level. (I found that table!)

Oh, and just now after poking around, I found the Pool Math table/chart/calculator!!!!
 
Last edited:
Sorry to take so long to reply...No I wasn't "measuring" 6 to 8 ppm. I was measuring "dark yellow" using the "quicky K-1000" tester; and 28 to 35 ppm on the TA-100 set up. I was trying to ask if the value of "28" you were saying it would take to eradicate the algae, was on the same scale of ppm (units) as one would get on the K-1000 in a pool with back to normal levels of CL after the SLAM process was over with. Hmm, does that make sense to either of us? :>}
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
ha ha. Too much thinking for me on this hot day Mike. :) Simply put though, just stick to the Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart and you can't go wrong. If you tested your CYA correctly, then bump it against this chart and use the corresponding SLAM/Shock FC level. Stick to your TF-100! Maintain that FC and you will be on your way. Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply