Algea ?

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ttran2016

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Sep 20, 2016
8
Garden grove/CA
Hello everyone, i'm new to this side and new owner of a pool too. My pool is about 12,000 gallons and has been blue, cloudy after shocking to kill algea. I think I overdose the chlorine stablizer so it will take a while for the water to clear. Today my pool water turns green again, not too green, i dont know it's algea or shade of tree around the pool. I check evert thing and they are fine. Here are the information
FC: about 5
pH: 7.8-8.2
CYA: 100
Volume: 12,000 gallons
I live in southern CA and the weather is cool
 
ttran,

Welcome to TFP... You will love it here. :lovetfp:

Well, with a CYA level of 100, the lowest your FC should ever be is 7 and you really should be running at about 12 ppm. That said, I doubt your CYA is only 100 as that is where the test stops. I suspect your CYA is much higher.

The other problem with having a very high CYA level is that to kill algae you will have to raise your FC to 40 ppm and keep it there for several days.

Does your test kit allow you to measure above 10 ppm? What test kit are you using?

I know you are in CA, but I'm not sure of the water restrictions where you are. The best option would be to drain and replace about 60 percent of your pool water to lower your CYA to less than 50.

Jim R.
 
Hi Jim, thanks for your reply. My test kit doesn't allow to measure above 10ppm, it's taylor K1004. Draining is not the best option because the cost is so expensive, people tell me just let the water evaporates then add new water, the pool will be clear, but it will take a while.
I attached 2 pictures, the blue one is 2 days ago and the green one is yesterday, I dont know how the color changed in only one night. I am going to go to home depot, buy 2 cans of liquid chlorine and the Yellow Gone to treat the Algae.
 

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Hello and welcome! :wave: Save your money on the Yellow Gone. Not only do those products not solve the root cause of the problem and waste money, but often times they add by-products to the water that make things harder later. Instead, supplement your current kit with the FAS-DPD seen HERE so that you can test your FC at higher levels. As for the CYA, Jim is correct. I also suspect it's much higher than just 100. CYA does not go down with evaporation, it must be a water exchange (or possibly reverse osmosis in some locations). You might consider doing a diluted CYA test as follows:
Add pool water to bottom of sticker or line you measure with.
Add tap water to top of sticker or line you measure with.
Shake.
Pour out half so mixture is to bottom of sticker or line you measure with.
Add reagent to top of sticker or line you measure with.
Shake.
Test outside with back to sun and tube at waist level.
Pour back and forth a few times to see if you get the same result.
Double the result.
Click to expand...

In its simplest form, algae must be killed with the "proper" amount of chlorine (bleach) and maintained at the proper level based on the CYA. Anything else will just be frustrating and ineffective.
 
That IS algae. Pictures are a wonderful way to see the day to day changes your eyes miss.

Don't worry about getting the Yellow out.....buy more bleach.

You need to do a SLAM. Here is the link:

Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

The MORE important part of the SLAM is M as in Maintain the FC at SLAM level. The more you keep it at SLAM the faster your pool will clear. It will take quite a bit of bleach but once you get the pool clear you will be on easy street.

Keep taking and sharing pics. so we can watch it clear with you.

:kim:
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. Do you know how my pool is cloudy ? is it because of high CYA ? I bought 2 bottles of liquid chlorine at home depot and already add one to rise the chlorine level(on the label, it says one bottle will add 5-10 ppm). I check my pool chlorine yesterday and it was 3, so if I add one bottle which adds 5-10, so my chlorine level now is 8-13 ?
 
ttran2016, please take a look at this chart: Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart. Now imagine (for now) that your CYA is exactly 100. You see that on a normal day, with no cloudiness or algae, your FC should be around "12" and never below 7. Knowing your CYA is critical which is why we gave you the advice above. Your water is cloudy not because of CYA itself, but because you have not kept a high enough FC to go with that elevated CYA, so now you have algae. The cloudiness is an indication of the algae forming. You need to do a TFP "SLAM" (link below) with regular bleach. You can get bleach at cheaper places that HD, just make sure it's plain/regular - no scents or splashless. But again, you need that FAS-DPD portion for your tester to test FC.

Before you can SLAM, did you do the diluted CYA test? When your CYA is over 100, it takes a considerably high FC to compensate. Ideally you need that CYA under 70 or 80 before you continue. That's something you need to be absolutely sure of before wasting any time or chemicals on water you may just change-out anyways. We all understand the water concerns in CA, but to lower CYA, that's the only way.
 
Hi everyone, here is the water test report from my local Leslies's store (today)
FAC: 10
TAC: 10
Calcium hardness: 330
CYA: 80
TA: 80
pH: 8
Pho:0
The staff wants me to add acid to lower the pH, should I do that ?
I'm sorry, I cant not upload the pictures, something wrong with the uploading system. The water color is the same as above but lighter
 
There are a few things that ideally need to be adjusted if we were to use those numbers. But please keep in mind ... here at TFP we simply cannot give you accurate advice from pool store testing. While it's convenient at times, their incorrect (incandescent) lighting, seasonal staff, and inconsistent testing practices make those results skeptical. That's why you need to have your own TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C. The only items I might consider close to accurate from them is the pH and TA. So yes, your pH should not be over 7.8, but when your FC is at 10 or higher, it skews the pH, so it may not actually be that high. Don't worry about TA or CH at the moment, and you can disregard phosphates as well.

With your cloudy water you need to SLAM and test the water with the proper test kit. That's the only way to read the high FC level you need to kill the algae. Even if your CYA truly is 80, the FC SLAM level for that CYA is 31, so you are well below that and have no way to test it at home. You're in a tough spot without your own test kit I'm afraid.
 
Hi, I used the SLAM process and my pool is now back to blue, but it still cloudy, not to much because I can see the bottom. Yesterday my FC is 10.6 but today it goes down to 7.6, I dont know why It's down so quick, do i miss anything ? The CYA is still 80, the pH is little bit high at 7.8
 

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If your water is still cloudy, then you really haven't thoroughly completed the SLAM (passed all 3 criteria). That's why you are still losing so much FC during the day. With a CYA of 80, you need to maintain an FC level of "31". Adjust your pH to 7.2 (now) before increasing FC to 31 and continuing with the SLAM. Don't let the FC drop until you've pass all 3 SLAM criteria. It can take a few days.
 
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