My green algae story....

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Victor Newman

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Bronze Supporter
Sep 6, 2014
70
Grants Pass, OR
Our 15,000 gallon in-ground pool was looking great until heavy rains washed surrounding soil/leafs/etc., into pool. Than came 5 inches of snow. Pool filled to top, overflowed and drain lines around pool froze up and did not work. After a couple of days I got out the gasoline powered fire pump and 8 hours later the level was back to normal. Pool was green and could not see the bottom.

Went to local pool supply and Tom told me to mix 8 oz. of 7% copper algaecide in water and add to pool. Followed right away with 2 gallons of chlorine.....followed right away with 5 lb. of baking soda thru the skimmer. Let run 24 x 7 for a few days...until water clears up. It worked. Three days later the water is clear with a slight green tinge and we can see the bottom just fine. The pH and TA tested low...but Tom said that is normal for now.

A backwash of our DE filter would not be OK to get rid of algae, said Tom. Some would remain and recontaminate circulating pool water. He will send his helper out in 2-3 days to take out the grids and do a thorough cleaning.

Procedure worked fine so far and probably the grid cleaning is a good idea.

Any comments would be appreciated.........
 
Gotta tell ya'...........we don't recommend the use of anything......especially algecides with copper in them for your pool. Causes more problems than they can ever cure. Low Ph and TA are not normal and can be fixed any time. Your grids should be cleaned because they are probably clogged with DEAD algae. Algae can't live inside a lightless filter btw. Wanna post up some specifics of your pool in a signature line to your profile and some test results for us to look at?
 
Ouch! Once copper is in a pool, it's there forever unless you drain & replace 100% of the water.

Low pH can damage your pool, that should be corrected right away.

Water that hat has a green color to it is not the result of successful treatment. That green color is either from algae that remains, or the excess copper in the water.

How low is the pH & TA? Could you post a complete set of test results?

Dom
 
:mrgreen: <------that is Tom loving your wallet and green pool :( Tom is not a friend to your pool. He only likes your wallet or what is in it.

Test results and how you got them please! Can you also fill in your signature?

Kim:kim:
 
Update.......pool is back to normal blue color for about 10 days or more. Was dealing with finding proper O-rings for the slide valve piston. Had the proper p/n for this 1993 Hayward DE 4800 unit, but they were too small.

Tom's procedure worked well and another tech liked it also. If you dilute the algaecide it does not stain the plaster. Grids were taken out and cleaned. Not much green but a lot of brown....probably from the surrounding soil that was washed into the pool. Cost was $80 for the grid cleaning and the proper O-rings. I had the copper, chlorine and baking soda on hand. pH and TA back to normal. All is well........
 
Victor Newman said:
Update.......pool is back to normal blue color for about 10 days or more. Was dealing with finding proper O-rings for the slide valve piston. Had the proper p/n for this 1993 Hayward DE 4800 unit, but they were too small.

Tom's procedure worked well and another tech liked it also. If you dilute the algaecide it does not stain the plaster. Grids were taken out and cleaned. Not much green but a lot of brown....probably from the surrounding soil that was washed into the pool. Cost was $80 for the grid cleaning and the proper O-rings. I had the copper, chlorine and baking soda on hand. pH and TA back to normal. All is well........
Click to expand...
Putting 8oz in a bucket of water then adding that to your pool is still putting 8oz of copper based algaecide in the pool, that extra 5 gallons of water is nothing to the 15K gallons it is going into. Copper in the water is copper in the water, it doesn't matter how it gets there, and eventually it will cause staining when it builds up as the copper does not evaporate. It would be in your best interests to not continue it's usage.

Glad to hear you have your pool clear again. I guess the challenge now it to prevent the situation that caused all this grief.
 
10-4 and thanks for the help. The pool is from 1993 and a bit stained and mottled. We have been here 10 years and it got an acid wash about 5 years ago. Looked better...but not great.

The drains around the pool empty 100 feet away to open space on our 2+ acres. Problem was the swale or collection area could not handle the extra water; pooled up and drain slowed down and backed up. Than it froze outside for a week.
So.....I dug a trench another 100 feet to the roadside ditch... and after connecting to existing drain line......laid some more line to empty into the ditch...grading a bit as I went. Ran a hose from the pool area into the drain and after 10 minutes, water went into the roadside ditch. So far, so good.
 

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Sounds like you have everything under control the way you are doing it....

If you are interested in learning how most of us on this site maintain our pool, check out the links below....You just might learn something new and actually find a cheaper way to maintain your pool. And judging by this sentence above....."Three days later the water is clear with a slight green tinge and we can see the bottom just fine.".....You will be shocked how clear your pool can actually be if you follow the steps on this site. With my pump off, on a calm day, I can literally read the date on a quarter through 4 1/2' of water.

Here is the main page for everything you might want to know....
Pool School

This will explain in detail what what each chemical is and how they all relate to each other etc...
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

And if you are interested, this is by far the best test kit for your money...
Awesome Test Kit...TF-100

Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on things, but if you are curious, do some reading.....Might save yourself some money in the long run. Good Luck!

EDIT: I forgot to mention, a friend of mine was using Prestine Blue to maintain his pool for years. I went over one day to check out the pool. He thought it looked great. It had a slight green tint to it. His pump wasn't pumping like it should. He took off the filter and found about 2 lbs worth of copper between the fins. There is a pic on this site somewhere where he posed it....
My point is, Copper is bad. Enough of it will stain your pool, it can cause hair to turn green, etc. And the worst part is, you don't even need it. Everything can be cleared up with just liquid chlorine and a little bit of time.

Here you go....I found the pics...This is what copper can do...

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Hey, Victor,

As always, I am more direct (and seemingly harsh) in what I post. You seem satisfied with your friends methods and your results but what you did has nothing to do with proper pool management.

There are many things you did that we do not recommend but, since you are happy with the results that's all that counts.

read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School.........there you can begin to learn what we teach. It may be interesting to you or it may not but it is the basis for everything we teach in the TFP method.
 
Thanks to all of you for your comments and help. Pool is blue again. I had bought the 32 oz bottle of copper around 2008, I think. After using the 8 oz in Jan I have 16 oz left. So I had used 8 oz, bit by bit, in 8-9 years. Will read all the links you posted. I was a gardener/landscaper from 1968 to 2004 and was constantly reminded of how much I did NOT know. Same applies to pool owners. Our first was in CA 1988 to 2006 (altho I did hire pool techs for service, most of that time).....
 
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