Acquired AG Pool with house we purchased in April - Stubborn Green Pool

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Dbustamante00

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Jul 31, 2015
49
Windham, NH
So glad I found this forum. Never worked a pool before, nor has my husband. Purchased a house in April that came with an above ground pool. When looking at the house we both decided we were going to get rid of it. My husband asked if he could have a go at it with the chemicals left behind by the previous owners. Next thing I know, we have spent $300 in chemicals and I'm now handling the pool. My husband just didn't have the time to keep on it. So I've come to learn that the pool store has no idea what to have us do to get the green out and is just telling us to buy chemicals that in the end do nothing to clear our pool. My husband hit the pool hard with shock and what was left of algaecide from the previous owners, it did turn the pool a cloudy white I think he said, but then he let it go a few days and it's back to green and has been ever since. I went to the pool store and followed their steps after having them test our water, and I even changed the sand in the filter. Nothing has changed. They had my up the PH with Soda Ash, then dump 2 lbs of Green to Clean in the pool followed 5 mins later by 3 lbs of Powder Plus Shock, 12 hours later hit it again with 3 lbs of Powder Plus, and 12 hours later one last time with 3 lbs of Powder Plus. Pool is still the same shade of green. I went back to the pool store today to have it tested and according to them my levels are all OK and they are now telling me to use Copper Algaecide because that's Alternative 2 to getting rid of Algae. I walked out with nothing because I feel like we are dumping money into this guessing game of killing algae. They also told me to not vacuum or scrub the pool since the green to clean does all that for you. I attached pics of the pool and gear. I would like to try and use up what I already have for chemicals to get this pool clear…any suggestions? I have (8) 1 lbs bags of Power Powder Plus Shock, 2 bottles of Ultra Bright Clarifier and Hardness Plus. Any recommendations would so very appreciated!

Thanks!

Danielle

Here are the levels as of today:
FAC: 2 ppm
TAC: 2
CH: 210 ppm
CYA: 80 ppm
TA: 80 ppm
PH: 7.4
Copper: 0
Iron: 0
TDS: 700
Pho: 0
 

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Welcome. First recommendation: PITCH THAT STUFF YA' HAVE LEFT! By your own admission, NONE of it has helped a bit. If ya' wanna get some swim time in quickly, I'd drain that puppy half way down and refill rather than deal with that much nasty water. See our SLAM process in Pool School and use liquid bleach. You're gonna need one of our recommended test kits there too, TF-100 for me. STOP the algaecide madness.
 
I went to the local pool store to get a test kit thinking it would test everything needed, but then realized after doing the test it doesn't go past 5 for the FC reading and I need to get it to 30 according to the Pool Math. I was hoping to tackle this over this weekend and ordering a test kit will take several days for it to arrive.
 
YOu can get a head start by draining half your pool to start with.

Once you have drained it and filled it back up add a jug of...............bleach! Yeah bleach like from Walmart. Their Greater Value brand-unscented,plain bleach.

Go ahead and order your full test kit.

If you want to use/keep your little test kit you can use it to make sure your FC is at least at 5 ppm. At least that is better than nothing.

HUGS! We can/will help you clear that pool and save you oh so much money!

Kim
 
Does the tf-100 test kit measure copper in the water? I went to a different Leslie pools to buy a replacement piece fir the return into the pool (fell off into the pool and can't find it). Had them test my water in the meantime. The guy told me I have a lot of copper in my water and previously this was at zero based on test results from the other store I had been going to. Obviously not trusting either store and purchasing my own kit. Just want to make sure I'll have a way to confirm copper levels in water. Thanks!
 
the difference in test levels between the two stores is just one more reason to stay away from them. there is a separate test for copper that you can buy, but until you get the water cleaned up, let's not worry about that.

also, while you wait for your kit, make sure you are brushing all over the pool. and removing any debris that may be on the bottom. even though you can't see it, if you use a pool leaf rake you might find stuff down there. like the missing return part. :)

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BTW Welcome to TFP. Your pool doesn't look too bad. Mine was BLACK. There were science experiments going on in there too. I swear there were.
 
Once your FC is above 10 most tests go a little wonky. So as long as you are below that, and the numbers need adjusting. You should be good to do that. Usually they say not to worry about anything except pH. Want it at 7.2 before starting the slam. If you leave TA where it is for now then you won't have to worry about it til after the SLAM is completed.

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Don't forget, with your CYA of 30 your SLAM FC should be maintained at 12ppm.
 

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So I've been SLAMing the pool for what feels like forever. The pool is clear, almost. Can see bottom and have been vacuuming and scrubbing but cc remains at 1 and fc keeps dropping over night. What could I be doing wrong? Pool had not been open by previous owners for at least 5 years according to neighbors. Now they I can see the bottom of the liner its faded and bleached out in some spots as well as stained with what looks kinda rusty in color. I'll take pics and post. Advice? Should I give up and stop wasting valuable time on this pool that is in bad shape?
 
Why stop just because the liner is a bit ugly? The pool can still be clean and fun to swim in. Once you know you can keep it in good condition, you could always consider a liner replacement in future years, if the appearance can't be improved.

The fact that you can see the liner defects just proves that you are succeeding in cleaning up the water:)
 
singingpond said:
Why stop just because the liner is a bit ugly? The pool can still be clean and fun to swim in. Once you know you can keep it in good condition, you could always consider a liner replacement in future years, if the appearance can't be improved.

The fact that you can see the liner defects just proves that you are succeeding in cleaning up the water:)
Click to expand...

Thanks! Do you think I'm testing my CYA level wrong. How long should I wait for it to mix before adding it to the test tube looking for the black dot to disappear?
 
Take a look in this useful thread
Extended Test Kit Directions

and scroll down to the part about the CYA test. The lighting is quite important - best is to stand outdoors, back to the sun, with the viewing tube approximately at waist level. You can also practice by pouring the mixture from the viewing tube back into mixing bottle, and then dripping it into the viewing tube again - that way you can check your reading a couple of times without using up more reagent.
 
My suggestion is this: Get the 50ppm standard solution from TFTestkits.net
Use it as directed to create a 'known' 50ppm tester solution
Fill test vial to 50 line and walk around your yard, house, garage or wherever, looking for the dot to disappear. Then dump the tube back into the little bottle and test again in that same spot. When you can get a good repeatable test with the 50ppm, then you know where you need to be to test your pool water.
I call it, "Calibrating the tester" My idea is that you should try to find a place that's repeatable, and that isn't dependent on the sun, because what if it's night when you need to test? Or maybe it's cloudy for days?

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For interesting 'reading' google turbidity test. Click on images. There are a lot of visual forms of turbidity testing. Not so many electronic ones. Maybe there is an opportunity for an inventive person...

Heck, I just did the same thing for 'cyanuric acid test' WOW I think I saw like 1 or two electronic testers...
 
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