from almost clean back to green... frustrated mom of 4

[Sandykassia]

Hello all, we are super new to pools. This gorgeous pool came with the house we purchased last Summer.
our pump stopped working in November. We finally got it fixed last week. By then the pool was... well... BLACK. So I started adjusting chemicals, shocking, on Saturday. Had to backwash every couple of hrs so bad it was... by yesterday (5 Days in) I finally got to a point where water looked almost there. It was clear but slightly green and cloudy. Enough that I you could not completely see bottom, but it looked clean?
Anyway chemicals were finally spot on except by cyanuric acid which was slightly low.
I had the not so smart idea of floc the pool. Followed all directions... and this afternoon pool was greenish with giant green flocs in the surface. I could see bottom though
i try to use my aquabot for the first time ever, and it will only stay in the deep... (bought new). So I decided to try to vacuum manually, and now it feels whole pool is green again, and the green blobs on the top are just killing me...
i would appreciate any wisdom! Got 4 kids to throw in this pool sooner than later (to swim I mean... no child abuse) so I can keep my sanity

 

[Silver_2000]

just keep going, are you following the SLAM recommendations here ?

Post some more details about your pool in the signature and the readings from your last tests with a good test kit

if it was black expect it to take time and many gallons of bleach and many backwashes ...


I f my guess is right the chmistry has to be off some. Your CC is likely high and your FC should likely be about 10 or higher depending on your CYA.

the key is to get your FC to the right slam level for your CYA and KEEP it there for a day or 3 till it passes the chlorine loss tests over night ... When the pool stops consuming chlorine you know you are getting close ...

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

You were so close!

A couple more days of high chlorine and vacuuming and you would have been done. Now you have the floc mess and the algae has rebounded.

What works is to SLAM Process the pool. That means Shock Level And Maintain. It's maintaining a high enough chlorine level to kill the algae faster than it can reproduce long enough to kill it all. The directions are in that link.

Some of these are getting old, and some picture links don't work, but here's some inspiration for you. If they can do it, you can do it.

 

[Sandykassia]

Updated test. I swear 9pm last night all chemicals were spot. Pool was off all night with floc. Right now free chlorine is gone. Bellow zero. Total chlorine is 1. Alk is 120, ph is 6.2, total hardness is 250 cya is 0

 

[Richard320]

Updated test. I swear 9pm last night all chemicals were spot. Pool was off all night with floc. Right now free chlorine is gone. Bellow zero. Total chlorine is 1. Alk is 120, ph is 6.2, total hardness is 250 cya is 0

The complete lack of FC isn't surprising. A sludge pond will consume bleach about as fast as you can pour it in. I wouldn't trust the rest of those results because I googled "insta test6 plus" and discovered it's test strips. Test strips just aren't accurate enough.

Bite the bullet and invest in a TF100 test kit from tftestkits.net. Get the XL option, since you're dealing with a swamp and will be using a bunch of that particular reagent. It'll ship from NC, so you'll have it pretty quick. While you're waiting on it, concentrate on getting the floc and any other solid debris out of the pool and study up on ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and Test Kits compared and the SLAM instructions I liked above. And those inspirational threads.

 

[Sandykassia]

Wish I had found this site last evening, before I used the floc. Id have kept chlorinating and would have learned before messing. Watched the slam video, going out to buy more chlorin and cya

 

[Richard320]

Wish I had found this site last evening, before I used the floc. Id have kept chlorinating and would have learned before messing. Watched the slam video, going out to buy more chlorin and cya

Don't add any CYA until you have reliable test results! The SLAM works best at lower CYA. You don't want to overshoot it.

 

[zea3]

Only use the manual vacuum to vacuum up the floc, and vacuum it to waste. Move the vacuum very slowly to disturb the floc as little as possible. Your aquabot will only stir up the floc and make it harder to vacuum, so keep it out of the pool until the floc is gone. Shut off the pump overnight so the floc can settle again and try to vacuum it to waste. Once the floc is out you can get back on track with your slam.

 

[Sandykassia]

pool yesterday (green) and today (white spots). Are the white spots still algae? I try to clean it with a slimmer but it turns into dust and little to nothing stays in the skimmer...
doing slam

- - - Updated - - -

 

[Richard320]

Those could be algae or it could be pollen.

A hairnet or a knee-high nylon or a skimmer sock stretched over the skimmer basket will catch a lot of that stuff. Just sweep it towards the skimmer and let it draw it in.

Pictures in this thread. I buy the queen size knee-highs -- they're a little wider and easier to get on.