Algae

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samtmathew

0
Jun 8, 2016
5
Hillsborough/NJ
The pool had algae when I opened it in last week of May. After 2 weeks, it turned blue and cloudy. Testing water with the pool company almost daily, I noticed even after putting shock, free chlorine level was always around 0. They recommended to not add any shock and apply phosphate and wait for 48 hours. Sad part I have now green pool with Algae. I got the TF-100 kit and tested water yesterday.

Here was the reading
CYA =50
FC =0.5
CC = 1
TA =100
PH=7.2
CL=0.75

I added 6 Gallons(10%) of liquid chlorine from walmart yesterday evening , waited for few hours and read the FC = 0.5

Added another 6 more Gallons by night and checked after an hour and FC = 3

This morning I checked again and the FC was 1.25

I added another 12 Gallon of Liquid chlorine and it now shows FC=3.0 .

Pump is running 24/7 since opened the pool.

Please help.
 
Great start on getting the test kit and attacking the algae!

It is startling how much FC your pool is consuming. 6 gallons should be taking you from zero to 20 ppm. You've got to keep hitting it with bleach until you can start to observe only a few ppm after an hour of addition. A large pool means lots of bleach at the start, but it should go down as you burn through the algae. Keep circulating and brushing!
 
How much of Liquid chlorine should I add at a time? The chlorinating liquid product shows every Gallon of Liquid Chlorine will increase 5-10 ppm of chlorine. I have 30K gallon pool. Adding 12 Gallon of Chlorine and I expect the FC to be 20. Am I not adding enough? I tested again and it now shows FC =1.0.
 
You need to use pool math each time to determine your chlorine need. If you can, test every 1-1/2 - 2 hours and continue to keep FC at 20. Just helped neighbor and found some times it took 1 gallon, next time 4. The longer you can keep it at consistent slam level, the more algea is being killed. Don't forget to backwash your filter.
 
You've come to the right place and you have the right kit. At first, you may have to test every 30 minutes or so. As you are able to hold FC, you can test and add less frequently. Wal-mart has been carrying the 10% bleach for 2.50 just make sure the batches are fresh. The date codes are Julian, yyddd. So, a 16030 stamp indicates it was bottled on the 30th day of 2016. The fresher the better.

At first, you will probably add a lot of bleach, but it will slow down as you make progress. Don't wait too long as the algae will continue to multiply when your FC gets below the minimum for your CYA: Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

Brush daily and backwash when your pressure rises 25%.

Once you get this swam cleared, the maintenance levels are easily maintained with very little bleach... but it takes a lot to defeat algae in big pools like ours.

If you are unsure of something, ask and we will help.
 
Thank you all for your advices and really appreciate it.

I am testing water every hour or two and adding shock to keep it to the targeted shock level 20. I see last 2 tests showing FC of 13.5. Do I need to test CYA to adjust FC target?

Between I got the bleach from Wal-mart for 2:50 and the date is 147th of 2016 so it is from fresh batch.

Thanks
 
If your last CYA result was taken greater than 24 hours after the last time you added any form of cya/stablizer, those results are still good.

CYA levels only change if: a) add CYA/Stabilizer in the form of powdered chlorine, pucks, liquid cya/stabilizer or powdered cya/stabilizer; or b) if you have replaced a lot of water like backwashing several times.

We try to stay away from the word shock as it can be confusing. Use the word bleach or liquid chlorine when you are adding bleach/liquid chlorine.
 
It is 9 days since I start SLAM. I kept the chlorine level at 20 ppm until 2 days back after passed the OCLT and CC is 0.5. The water is blue, but cloudy and still cannot see the bottom of the shallow end. The pump has never stopped running and I brush couple of times daily. Can I let the chlorine drop to the targeted FC level while the filter keep run to clear the water?
 

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samtmathew said:
It is 9 days since I start SLAM. I kept the chlorine level at 20 ppm until 2 days back after passed the OCLT and CC is 0.5. The water is blue, but cloudy and still cannot see the bottom of the shallow end. The pump has never stopped running and I brush couple of times daily. Can I let the chlorine drop to the targeted FC level while the filter keep run to clear the water?
Click to expand...
SLAM doesn't end until water is clear. [emoji20]

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 
No. You need to continue until the water is crystal clear. Stopping now. I can't see your filter type... I'm on tapatalk. If you have a sand filter consider adding de. There is a pool school article detailing how to add de. Sand filters take a long time to filter out the finer particles.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 
I am now maintaining the chlorine to the shock level and added DE to sand filter yesterday. I saw a sudden increase of 1.5 PSI, but I didn't see any further increase even after 24 hours. Can I continue to add DE to the sand filter since there was no improvement to the water clarity?
 
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