Help with Stubborn Cloudy Green

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Not much new to report at this point, but I want to maintain a couple updates a day over the next couple days, given the two recent developments (new sand and unclogged MD).

Lost 2 ppm FC overnight, and replenished that this morning, so there's obviously still some business being cleaned up. Went back down to 18 ppm when I checked at lunch, so I added more then as well, but we've been having intermittent storms last night and into this morning/afternoon. It was raining lightly when I added bleach at lunch. Water color still looks about the same, but I'm keeping the faith that the changes made this weekend will have a significant impact once the rain moves through, and the filtration system has a day or two more to work.
 
Quick check-in:

Not a ton better, but I'm trying to remind myself that I just changed out the sand and freed up the main drain 24 hours ago. Maintaining slam at 20+, typically raising it from 17-19 or wherever it happens to be when I test it to 22-24, depending on how irritated I am with this whole thing (the more irritated I am the more tend toward 24). I know it's not scientific, but I figure keeping it above 22 HAS to be a safe bet, even if I'm underestimating CYA by 20 ppm.

Didn't have good afternoon sun at lunch, so I couldn't do the diluted CYA test. I'll try again tomorrow on that. Here's a pic from the upstairs bathroom just now:

20180521_192857.jpg

I could convince myself it's turning more turquoise than straight up green, but I've been telling myself that for two weeks, so I'm a bit fatigued by that.

Jumped in again with my son for a bit. Went back down to the drain, everything looks clear still. The floor is generally quite clean at this point, though there is a little sand accumulated along the crease nearest the returns in the deep end, and scattered about here and there. Not much but it's there. Hard to know if that's left over from the previous batch, or if that's a bit that got spit out right after the exchange, because I did see a cloud of brown get dispersed from the returns right after I turned the pump back on yesterday, before I did the backwash and rinse. Whatever the case, liner looks clean, no signs of algae or anything in or around the skimmer box, stairs are clean, and SLAM is being maintained. Gonna run the Polaris all night tonight to hopefully pick up whatever sand might be left on the bottom.

Anything else y'all can think of? We all really want this thing pretty and swimmable this weekend, and my wife especially is on my case to just start trying anything and everything, but I am trying my best to stay on TFP script and trust the process.
 
It’s hard to tell how much change there has been because your last photo was taken in full sun and this one appears to be overcast. But to me, the water looks less cloudy in this newest photo.

Hang in there!
 
I really would be interested to see the diluted CYA test result. Hope you’ll be able to do one tomorrow.
 
madyogi said:
I could convince myself it's turning more turquoise than straight up green, but I've been telling myself that for two weeks, so I'm a bit fatigued by that.

Jumped in again with my son for a bit. Went back down to the drain, everything looks clear still. The floor is generally quite clean at this point, though there is a little sand accumulated along the crease nearest the returns in the deep end, and scattered about here and there. Not much but it's there. Hard to know if that's left over from the previous batch, or if that's a bit that got spit out right after the exchange, because I did see a cloud of brown get dispersed from the returns right after I turned the pump back on yesterday, before I did the backwash and rinse. Whatever the case, liner looks clean, no signs of algae or anything in or around the skimmer box, stairs are clean, and SLAM is being maintained. Gonna run the Polaris all night tonight to hopefully pick up whatever sand might be left on the bottom.

Anything else y'all can think of? We all really want this thing pretty and swimmable this weekend, and my wife especially is on my case to just start trying anything and everything, but I am trying my best to stay on TFP script and trust the process.
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DE is on script :)
And in all fairness, between the clogged drain and improper level of packed sand, your pool wasn't being "truly" filtered :)
 
splashpad said:
DE is on script :)
And in all fairness, between the clogged drain and improper level of packed sand, your pool wasn't being "truly" filtered :)
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Yep, I get that. As painful as it is after nearly a month on the case, I'm really trying to tell myself tomorrow will be day 2 of the legit SLAM, but hopefully the Chlorine has done a fair amount of the work already, and all I need to do is keep that filter working with a full load of fresh sand and a clean drain. I plan to add some DE as soon as things start looking more blue and cloudy. I have plenty of that on hand!
 
madyogi said:
Yep, I get that. As painful as it is after nearly a month on the case, I'm really trying to tell myself tomorrow will be day 2 of the legit SLAM, but hopefully the Chlorine has done a fair amount of the work already, and all I need to do is keep that filter working with a full load of fresh sand and a clean drain. I plan to add some DE as soon as things start looking more blue and cloudy. I have plenty of that on hand!
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Personally, if it's doable, I'd put the amount of DE in the skimmer to get 1pt rise or so when you get home from work, and backwash it out for the night when pressure reaches 25% over clean (so pressure doesn't get to high)
That will provide a legitimate filter boost, but it will require some extra attention too :confused:
 

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madyogi said:
Yep, I get that. As painful as it is after nearly a month on the case, I'm really trying to tell myself tomorrow will be day 2 of the legit SLAM, but hopefully the Chlorine has done a fair amount of the work already, and all I need to do is keep that filter working with a full load of fresh sand and a clean drain. I plan to add some DE as soon as things start looking more blue and cloudy. I have plenty of that on hand!
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It was day 3 that I really could get motivated and day 4 there was no doubt. So, Wednesday PM and Thursday PM should be pretty exciting and that is assuming you don't add DE.

Watching with much excitement for you madyogi!
 
Also remember that the MD line clog wasn't just impeding water flow, but was actually growing algae in there. It was a breeding ground for algae which is why I was thrilled when you took the plunge and found it. Curious .... have you tried switching water flow (suction pull) from the skimmer and MD to just MD only? Just to test out that line and ensure it's not still clogged further inside? Might be something to consider tomorrow. If you're convinced water flow is good from the MD, then adjust both suctions back to normal and press-on. Just figured I'd mention it. Have a good evening all.
 
Checked in real quick before bed and read Tex's thought. I went ahead and pulled the Polaris out because it's been running for 4 hours now, and I have to close off returns to get enough pressure to it. When I pull it out I can open everything up for maximum circulation. It did pull up 2-3 tablespoons of sand, so we'll see if any more accumulates over time.

I did a pressure check closing off the skimmer first then closing off the MD. My running PSI right now with all valves open is about 18. Closing off the skimmer completely drops PSI to about 12, while closing off the MD completely drops PSI to about 13. There's obviously a difference there, but I wouldn't think 1 PSI indicates a severely obstructed drain, given that the opening in the skimmer is probably larger on the whole than the 4-6 slits in the MD. Any thoughts on that?

I went ahead and closed the skimmer down about halfway, just to see if letting the MD do more of the pulling might help. I do plan to throw some DE in tomorrow, especially if things look better in the morning/afternoon, though it does look like we'll have a thunderstorm or two roll in early, so who knows.

Thanks again everybody, and I welcome any further thoughts, any time you have them!! My wife is seriously going to make me throw in this clarifier Thursday if things don't turn by then :poke:
 
but I wouldn't think 1 PSI indicates a severely obstructed drain, given that the opening in the skimmer is probably larger on the whole than the 4-6 slits in the MD. Any thoughts on that?
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I agree. It sounds like you have adequate flow from both lines. And that was my main concern - chlorine flowing well to disinfect the MD line. As long as the pump basket is full & happy, we're happy. :) Good luck today!
 
madyogi said:
I went ahead and closed the skimmer down about halfway, just to see if letting the MD do more of the pulling might help. I do plan to throw some DE in tomorrow, especially if things look better in the morning/afternoon, though it does look like we'll have a thunderstorm or two roll in early, so who knows.
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100! You definitely want to be targeting the "body" of the water, get more of it passing through your WORKING sand filter!

madyogi said:
Thanks again everybody, and I welcome any further thoughts, any time you have them!! My wife is seriously going to make me throw in this clarifier Thursday if things don't turn by then :poke:
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Coming from the person[a wife, heehee] that suggested it (and has used it, lol) You can let her know that instant gratification in this instance won't provide the answers that are needed =))
 
Well, not much change so far that I can tell, but again, trying to imagine this is legitimately day 2 of my SLAM, just to temper expectations. I did just beat the rain home at lunch and managed to do the diluted CYA test under full sun, just as light rain was beginning to fall. By the time I read the test twice, then did a quick FC test the sun was gone and it's pouring rain now. With the diluted test, I could still see the dot quite clearly at 30 CYA. I did the test twice before the sun dipped behind the clouds, and while the water in the tube was beginning to get cloudy, still clear outline of dot at the 30 mark, so I have a very hard time imagining my CYA is much above 50, if at all.

I have enough reagent for probably two or three more tests. Though I may not get to it today, because it is now pouring rain, I would like to try something like what is mentioned below, but how much R-0007 should I plan to add? "Some drops" is not really specific, like 3-5 maybe?

Originally Posted by chem geek, 07-09-2015
One more thing to try, especially if your FC level is higher, is to add some R-0007 drops to the water sample before mixing with the reagent. That will dechlorinate the water. Chlorine bound to CYA probably won't form melamine cyanurate so the CYA test could read low by as much as the FC level (worst-case).
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Anyway, no significant change in water clarity at this point :mad:

Just going to raise FC back up above 20, check filter pressure, and maybe brush if the rain quits before heading back to work.
 
HI all. So I am following this thread because I too deal with stubborn green algae. It comes and goes. I have learned many things throughout the years on this forum and also from other experiences.
 
fhorta said:
HI all. So I am following this thread because I too deal with stubborn green algae. It comes and goes. I have learned many things throughout the years on this forum and also from other experiences.
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Welcome to the saga of the season, fhorta! I'm desperately hoping my clogged MD was the primary culprit for my troubles this year, but we'll see.

No chlorine loss last night, and no CC, but water hasn't changed much. That said, we've had at least one thunderstorm every day since Saturday, and in my experience that can take even a crystal clear pool and turn it cloudy overnight, so I'm sure that's working against me. Also, pictures are pretty much useless for comparison at this point, with variable cloud cover making lighting conditions all over the place.

Hopefully storms will hold off today, and I can get a better sense of things when I go home for lunch.
 
madyogi said:
No chlorine loss last night, and no CC, but water hasn't changed much. That said, we've had at least one thunderstorm every day since Saturday, and in my experience that can take even a crystal clear pool and turn it cloudy overnight, so I'm sure that's working against me. Also, pictures are pretty much useless for comparison at this point, with variable cloud cover making lighting conditions all over the place.
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Passing the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test tells me DE in the filter is time! =)) That's a great update!!
 

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