Algae problem - Help

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jslone1342

0
May 24, 2017
4
richmond
History: My pump died at the start of this year. We just bought the house this past July, so pool everything is very new to me. We had issues with installation and obtaining what we needed which took about 6 weeks. Our pool became a swamp during this time frame. Fast forward to last week, Sand pump is installed and working. I finally adjust PH and begin shocking the pool with both 10% liquid chlorine and HTH shock and swim. I admit I did also add copper based algecide as a 1 time dose and none after that. There has been some foaming, but nothing terrible. During this process I have added both these types of chlorine, the algecide, PH down at the start and then PH up later to adjust PH to maintain proper levels. I am also brushing the pool daily, although there is some dark matter in the center of the pool I am unable to get right now until I am able to jump into the pool it's self. I also have a floater with chlorox 6 in 1 tabs floating in the pool as well. I just got my fas-dpd test kit today, and had been using strips before now. For chlorine- the strips did okay, and the pool is an aqua blue/green now. I have come a long way so far from the green chunks of algae floating in my pool and bugs galore. I seem to be stuck now. The water continues to be cloudy and will not hold chlorine. I feel this may be just dead algae, and I continue to back wash about twice a day, filter, brush the pool and add about 4 bags or 4 gallons of chlorine and repeat. My pool is approx 10,000 gallons and above ground(24'x52"). My filter media is the Zeolite. The pool filter is new and slightly larger than the suggested size for the pool, [FONT=&quot]Pump Flow Rate: 3,000 gph (11.3 m3/hr). System Flow Rate: 2,450 gph (9.2 m3/hr). I have been trying to SLAM the pool, but I feel I'm doing something wrong. I thought about flocking, but I realize this will deplete my water. I am trying to be patient and let the filter do the work, but the amount of improvement I have seen the last couple of days has been very little if any. [/FONT]

My test results:
FC - 0.5
CC - 4
PH: 6.4
ALK/CC: 10 ppm
Calcium Hardness: 190
CYA: 50


Help!
 
First, Welcome to TFP!!:handwave:

Up until today you have not been able to conduct a SLAM Process. You may have thought you could, but you can't without the test kit.

The past is behind you so forget it.

What FAS/DPD kit do you have?

Moving forward -

Get those tabs out of the floater. they are just adding to the high CYA you already have and pushing your pH lower.

Stop using "bags" of chlorine, again these add CYA to the water.

Did you test the CYA yourself or is the 50 a pool store number? With all your talk of tabs and bags of shock I'm guessing it should be higher.

How did you arrive at 6.4 for the pH? Neither of our recommended kits will read that low if I am correct. If that is a good number you need to bring it up to about 7.2

Stop fiddling with the filter. Filters do not eliminate algae. Only backwash when the pressure rises 25% above the clean pressure.

Follow the directions in the SLAM Process article to the letter.
 
Just to be sure... you tested the water after the pump had been running a while so the water is mixed well?

With the TA so low, any pH adjustment is going to be wild. What chemicals do you have on hand? You might have something useful. Tell us what you have.

Otherwise... you need baking soda to a target of about 60. Brush it around and let the water circulate and mix and then recheck pH and TA and move forward from there.

Then you hit it hard with bleach. The pH test reads wrong above 10 FC so you need to get pH right before you start and then ignore it.
 
I have ph up and down. I also have baking soda, Algecide, bleach/chlorine, flock, and stabilizer. Do I need to be adding baking soda instead of ph up? I thought that by adding ph up it would help with the alk levels where as the baking soda only raises the all and not ph?

- - - Updated - - -

Alk * currently on my phone. I haven't done anything yet because it's been raining the last 2 days.
 
jslone1342 said:
I have ph up and down. I also have baking soda, Algecide, bleach/chlorine, flock, and stabilizer. Do I need to be adding baking soda instead of ph up? I thought that by adding ph up it would help with the alk levels where as the baking soda only raises the all and not ph?

- - - Updated - - -

Alk * currently on my phone. I haven't done anything yet because it's been raining the last 2 days.
Click to expand...
Looks like you want to add about 6 lbs of baking soda first, to get TA up to 50. Let it mix and brush it around and then recheck pH.

Then you can add pH up to raise pH to 7.4.

Playing around with poolmath shows that adding the pH up first will only add about 20 TA, which isn't enough.
 
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