1st time pool owner with 18' ag

Jump to latest Follow Reply
OK, now I really need help...
We set up the pool yesterday and filled it overnight (took 7 1/2 hrs from two hoses running off our well!)
This morning I put half a jug of bleach in (slowly, as instructed) because despite the COLD 64 degree water, the kids are all in their swim suits already!
While waiting the 30 min recommended (pump running to circulate) before allowing them in, the water turned green!
No one has been in the pool yet (expect when there was 1" water in it to smooth out the wrinkles in the liner on the bottom).
We did put the 4 bags of salt recommended for the SWG. We put them in as it was filling and they are completely dissolved (salt is at 3100 ppm).
This is well water, but I had tested the TA and pH before filling it and it was perfectly clear before adding bleach.
My results a few days ago were:
TA 160
pH 7.5
This morning:
salt 3100 ppm

Is this normal??? OK to swim in??? Need me to do more testing??? Kids are all lined up out there waiting for the word to take the plunge!!!
Thanks!
 
It sounds like there is Iron in the water - reacting with the chlorine the water turned yellow, and up against the blue pool it looks green.

You can have the pool store test for Iron.

You'll need some sequesterant, sequasol or Jack's magic are good ones.
 
Is it ok to swim in???
I just tested the following:
FC 3
PH 7.6-7.7

I have not added any CYA (I have a 3lb bottle) because I wasn't sure if I had to wait after adding bleach. Also wasn't sure once I put the CYA in how long before allowing them to swim.

I also bought a bottle of muriatic acid because I knew the TA was high, but haven't done anything with that yet either. I will need much help with lowering the TA!

If I let them swim as it is I can just add the other half of bottle of bleach tonight (and the CYA?) and let the pump run, right? Also, the SWG is hooked up but it said to wait 24 hrs after adding the salt to start running that. I could turn that on tonight as well.
Thanks!
 
Yes, you can let them swim.

Go ahead and add the CYA, you don't have to wait. Put some in a sock, and tie it off in front of the return. It won't dissolve very quickly at first because the pump won't be on, but the kids swimming will provide some circulation. Make sure they understand to leave it alone. It won't harm them, I just don't want it to come loose or spill all over the pool. You really need to get the CYA in soon or all the FC is lost to sunlight.

The TA lowering is not as complex as people think. It's as simple as lowering the PH every time it hits 7.8. Over time, the TA will also drop with each acid addition, and eventually get into the recommended range. The SWG operating will make the PH rise faster, so this will speed up the process. You will need to check the PH diligently, maybe twice a day at first, to know how quickly it will rise. By the time the TA gets to 70-90 you should see the PH stabilize and rise much slower.

If you go to the pool store and ask for metal removers/sequesterants, explain you have iron in your water and it reacted to the chlorine, ask them to test for Iron and Copper, and they should have the appropriate product.
 
First let me say that the kids only lasted 10 - 15 min in that cold water this morning! But it was up to 70 deg this evening so they swam for about 30 min (and were shivering!). LOL

Now... here is what I found out at the pool store... I explained what happened this morning when I added bleach and they proceeded to test my water.
Saturation Index -0.2 (not sure what that is)
CYA 14
Tot. Chlorine .4
FC .4 (that dropped quick!)
pH 7.5
TA 136
ADJ TA 132
CH 107
Salt 4400
Copper 0
Iron 0

I hung the CYA in a sock this morning by the return as suggested . But that was not long before taking the sample to be tested, hence the low CYA result. It's now been hanging there all day and most of what was in the sock is now dissolved in the water. I'll check that again in the morning so I'll know where I'm at. This evening I added the another half jug of bleach and started the swg. That should get my FC back up. My pH was good, which I knew from my own tests. :)

The surprises are as follows:
#1... the TA was 136 which is still higher than I want it but not as high as it was (160). So it's a better starting point with that.

#2... NO iron or copper in the water!!! So WHY did the water turn green when I poured the bleach in this morning??? (or yellow and appearing green from the blue liner, which makes more sense because when I took the sample in a clear water bottle, it did not look green) Also, when I added the bleach tonight, the "clouds" of bleach were instantly green when pouring it in, but almost instantly cleared as the cloud diluted into the pool. Hmmmm.... any thoughts on what it could be now??? Of course the guy at the pool store said it must be algae and tried to sell me some "algicide". We started filling the pool at 7:30 pm last night and it finished about 2:30 am. I added the bleach about 8 am this morning (about 12 1/2 hours since we started filling it) and it turned green within 30 min... Algae already??? I had a hard time with that and didn't buy any. I wanted to wait and see what you all said first.

Thanks for all your help!!! I would have been COMPLETELY lost without it and all the info on this site.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
THANK YOU for your reply...
I re-read the pool school sections you recommended...

If I'm understanding correctly, since my FC and TC were the same, then the CC was 0 which means there probably isn't any algae. Shouldn't the guy at the pool store have known that??? I also learned that most algaecides aren't really that effective and can add metals to the water and that they aren't really necessary when chlorine can do the same job! So I guess my instincts were right when refusing the algaecide. :lol:

The result I posted for CH 107 was actually TH (total hardness). From reading pool school, I divided the TH by 2/3 to get an accurate CH of 71.3 (if I did it correctly). With a recommended level of 50-300 for CH, I assume this is ok.

Also, I read that CYA can take a week to register so I shouldn't bother testing for a week. I'll just keep checking my FC and PH a couple times a day until then. Pool school also said I shouldn't backwash the filter for a week after adding CYA. We currently have a cartridge filter running but have a sand filter that we planned on installing in the next couple days. We just changed the sand in it and are supposed to backwash it upon connecting it to backwash out any debris or dust from the new sand so it doesn't end up in the pool. I really don't want to wait a week to hook up the sand filter because we are also switching to a 3/4 hp pump that will do a much better job at circulating the water. The little pump/filter combo that came with the pool is just not moving the water that great. Is there a way I can get around waiting the week out? Or is it absolutely crucial that we don't backwash for a week after adding the CYA?

Any feedback/suggestion are greatly appreciated!!!
 
if you haven't been fighting algae, and you keep your chlorine/cya ratio per the chart, you shouldn't have algae. the pool industry does not believe in the chlorine/cya chart. also, the primary test to make sure you don't have algae is the overnight fc loss test in pool school. but I don't have a clue about metals or the green color you're talking about.
you can do what you like with the cya and pump deal, you just may have to add more cya when you're done.
 
given your using the sock method to add cya, you can go ahead with changing the pump...we used to recommend adding cya through your skimmer which would mean if you backwashed shortly after you would just dump all the undisolved cya sitting in your filter...again given you are disolving it in a sock...your all set :goodjob: any water lost during your intial backwash will have a minimal effect on your CYA and salt levels
 
Hmm. No Iron? Possible testing error, or something else happening, but not sure what. I highly doubt algae.

I guess we take a wait and see approach - a pic would be helpful. Maybe it will clear up on its own with bleach.

On the CYA - if you used the sock method, you can change the filter/clean it whichever.
 
It wouldn't surprise me if they messed up the test... it was a bunch of teenagers in there. There was one older guy (the owner?) who showed his face a few times but the "kids" were doing all the testing. The one who gave me the results couldn't really do much but tell me what they were, which I could have just read from the printout he gave me! When I started asking question, he had NO idea how to answer them. I'll see if my husband can take a sample to a different pool place sometime in the near future.

In the mean time, the water is looking better. Still has a tint to it (not sure if it's green or yellow looking green against the blue liner). But it is lighter this morning. The picture makes it look darker than it really is. When I take a sample in a clear container, it looks clear! I should mention that the inside of my dishwasher has a green stain. It is SOMETHING in my water reacting to the bleach in the dishwasher detergent. Could it be sulphur? I believe my well water has a high sulphur content.

I apparently ran the swg too long last night and the FC is up. It was 9 at 7:30 this morning. At noon I got 10. The swg has been off since the cycle ended last night. I just added the CYA via sock method yesterday morning. It has all dissolved out of the sock and with my FC still up after direct sun all morning, I guess it must be working! I know I shouldn't test for CYA yet (wait a week)... if it's all dissolved, will it show up yet? I'm wondering what my CYA/FC ratio is.

I should mention that each time I've checked the FC, I've gone the extra step to check the CC and it has always been 0. If it was algae, I don't think I would be getting a CC of 0.

pH was 7.5 both times I've checked it today. I need to test the TA again since what the pool store told me didn't match what I'd previously tested it at.

We attempted to get the sand filter and 3/4 hp pump connected last night. Got it all plummed in and it wouldn't start (just hummed). So we reattached the cartridge filter/pump for now while we trouble shoot the pump. My husband is going to check and see if the impeller is clogged. He's pretty handy so I'm confident he'll either be able to fix it or at least replace whatever needs replacing fairly quickly.

Kids are waiting for me to go for an afternoon swim so I'll update again later with more results.
 

Attachments

  • 7_14_09 [Desktop Resolution].jpg
    7_14_09 [Desktop Resolution].jpg
    361.7 KB · Views: 75
  • 7_14_09(2) [Desktop Resolution].jpg
    7_14_09(2) [Desktop Resolution].jpg
    309.9 KB · Views: 74
WOW...that is the clearest slightly green tinted pool I have ever seen...I'm stumped :scratch:

You can try PM'ing chemgeek (Richard), but I'm with FPM...seems like iron or maybe copper...odd. But I must say the water looks very clean/well filtered
 
Yes, definitely getting clearer. :goodjob:

Don't retest the CYA, but you can be pretty certain the CYA level is at the target you dosed for, and use that as your target.

So if you added enough to reach 30ppm, then your level is now 30 and use the chart to determine your targets. If you added enough to reach 50ppm then that is your level...KWIM?

The kids are very CUTE and look like they are loving their new pool! :whoot: :party:
 
Ok, just ran some tests after 4 hrs of swimming this afternoon!

FC 5.5
CC 0 (so probably still no algae)
pH 7.5
TA 160

I did the TA because it had been testing high for me but the pool store test came back at 136. Now I don't trust ANY of the pool store results, especially the metal tests! I need to take my water to another pool store for a re-test.

The tint seemed to almost disappear in direct sunlight (as seen in the last picture I posted above). But when the sun went down, the water looks about the same as in the first two pictures I posted above. Still a mystery! I just may PM chemgeek and see what he thinks.

Thanks for all your help!
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply