What am I doing wrong?!?!?!

[CaptainLinsey]

Taylor-K2006C test kit results:

CYA = 30-40 (outdoors, waist level, back to sun, etc.)
PH = 7.2 (out of the tap, prior to SLAM)

16,000 gallon AG pool. Cartridge filter with 2500 gallon/hr turnover

According to Pool School, my shock level is 16ppm. I thought I had a higher CYA, so I've been dosing it to 20ppm for the past 3 days and my pool is STILL opaque green.

• I test/dose with 8.25% bleach about 5 times a day. (Sometimes the FC is higher than shock level.)
• I brush every day (bottom, walls, jets...I've got quite the shoulder muscles from it)
• I remove the ladder until I need it.
• I clean the filter every day (will clean twice a day if necessary).
• I vacuum/remove all debris (I am very thorough with this, even though I can't see the bottom)
• I keep a written log of testing & dosing
• Pump runs 24/7 (and I have the electric bill to prove it)

The only thing I can think of is that I do not have a vacuum to waste option. I have the little garden hose & net kind of vacuum.

I'd hoped after 3 days, I'd see SOME improvement. It's the same color as when I began, and I can see to the same depth as when I began. Zero improvement.

Technically, I've been at this since Aug 9 (8 days ago) but my pool volume was incorrect, and I had to do a partial drain because of high CYA. Now that that's squared away, I'd hoped by now something would be different.

I've practically memorized this entire website.

WHAT AM I MISSING?

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum! :handshake:

Do you know if your water has iron in it?

Put some paper towels in the skimmer basket. Be sure they do NOT block the water from getting to the pump. See if they turn brown.

 

[CaptainLinsey]

Thank you. This forum is incredibly helpful. I don't have a skimmer basket...The pool did not come with one. Do I need to get one? In the mean time, how else could I look for iron?

Edited to add: The intake hose has a plastic mesh-like cover on it, which I am meticulous about keeping it clean.

 

[mknauss]

OK. Skimmer helps to remove leaves, etc. But if you do not have one, that is OK.

Do your cartridge filters turn brown? Have you cleaned them since you added the water? If possible, look at them today.

Iron in water will turn green at elevated chlorine levels.

 

[CaptainLinsey]

Ok, whew I was panicking for a second. I clean the filter every single day. I actually just cleaned my filter this morning, minutes before posting. They are still white, after I rinse the nasty gunk off them.

 

[mknauss]

OK. Well, if not iron, it is algae.

Next step is to be sure your CYA is really 40 and not higher. You should be in the cloudy blue stage right now if your FC has been at SLAM level for 3 days.

Only clean your filter when the filter pressure rises by 25% over the clean pressure. Surprisingly, a dirty filter works better than a clean one, to a point.

 

[CaptainLinsey]

I just tested CYA this morning. I could barely see the dot at 40, and it was absolutely gone at 30. But I'm dosing at 40 anyway. I've been dosing at 50 before today, so that's why I'm so stumped.

My filter doesn't have a pressure gauge. I assess the pressure by feeling the strength of the return flow with my hand. Usually after 24 hours, the cartridge is completely gunked up with dead brown algae.

I put a paper towel in my hand held skimmer net and set it afloat to see if it turns brown.

 

[CaptainLinsey]

Does my CC matter? It was 2ppm when I tested a few days ago

 

[mknauss]

The CC just implies you are consuming organics with your chlorine. It should be 0 or 0.5 by now.

 

[CaptainLinsey]

I just tested again.

FC = 19ppm
CC = 1ppm

Paper towel still white (no iron in water). Pool still green.

What does this mean?

 

[mknauss]

The only reason your pool would be green is from metals (iron) or algae. And after 3 days with FC at or greater than SLAM level for the CYA you are testing it should no longer be green from algae.

Can you post a picture of the pool?

- - - Updated - - -

Your next step may be to drain it and start over.

 

[CaptainLinsey]

That's why I think there's something I have to be missing.

August 6, 1:20pm (before I got in to clean/brush it):




Fast forward to today, August 17, 4:30pm:



The CYA was testing at 70 in the first photo. I partially drained it, then tested again on August 14. I got a reading of 50. So I dosed the pool for 50.

Then today, I tested again and I got a reading of 40, and I've been dosing at 40 today.

I would think that dosing at the higher CYA would yield SOMETHING productive. I've been dosing according to pool math, and even rounding up to the next cup (like if pool math says to pour 2 qt and 3 oz, I'll just pour 2 qt and a cup in).

 

[CaptainLinsey]

I'm sitting here second guessing whether I'm doing the test correctly. I use 2 flat scoops of the powder, the 10mL mark...I just got my kit last week & I've already got a reagent refill because I'm testing so often. I am at a serious loss. I brush the pool every day. I read pool school every day to see if I've missed something (as I said earlier, I've about memorized the whole website).

It's swim weather her until mid/late October. We just got the pool in May. I had a baby in June (c-section, so long recovery) and that's when the pool went to poop. It has been drained and refilled once, and partially drained once. I do not know what I'm doing wrong.

 

[mknauss]

I asked the other Moderator's for some ideas.

In reading your threads, this pool was left without chemical additions for quite a while, uncovered, in the heat of the summer. So your algae load is huge. Your filter and pump are very weak and will have difficulty removing the build up once you kill it with bleach.

I would suggest draining. You can go down to 1' of water left in the pool and then use fresh water to dilute what is left. Before you fill, hit it with bleach to 20 ppm FC for the amount of water left. Then refill, add 30 ppm of CYA, and hold your FC at 16 ppm based on a CYA of 40 ppm until you can test again.

If you do not wish to drain, be sure you are adding bleach (be sure it is fresh) as often as possible.

Take care.

 

[CaptainLinsey]

That's what I was afraid of. I have a shop vac. I'm thinking of draining and sucking out what I can, then using bleach to finish off the rest until it's clean & refilling it. [expletive!!!!] At least I know what went wrong so I can fix it for next summer. Luckily we have a solid few weeks left of swimming weather.

Thank you so much for at least giving me some closure on this.

[more expletives!!!]

 

[mknauss]

Do not drain until empty. Leave one foot of water, at least, in the pool or your liner can shift.

 

[zea3]

If you can afford to upgrade your pump and filter you will have an easier time keeping the pool clean. You may need to add a couple of adapters to hook it up to your pool if you decide to get one. A pool cleaner or manual vacuum are also needed to pick up any debris. The hose and net thing is pretty much useless. You

 

[CaptainLinsey]

I asked the other Moderator's for some ideas.

In reading your threads, this pool was left without chemical additions for quite a while, uncovered, in the heat of the summer. So your algae load is huge. Your filter and pump are very weak and will have difficulty removing the build up once you kill it with bleach.

I would suggest draining. You can go down to 1' of water left in the pool and then use fresh water to dilute what is left. Before you fill, hit it with bleach to 20 ppm FC for the amount of water left. Then refill, add 30 ppm of CYA, and hold your FC at 16 ppm based on a CYA of 40 ppm until you can test again.

If you do not wish to drain, be sure you are adding bleach (be sure it is fresh) as often as possible.

Take care.

Ok, here's what I did:

1. Drained the pool to about a foot. Killed the green with bleach. Brushed the walls & ladder with diluted bleach. Soaked the cartridge and hoses in diluted bleach. Removed debris (small as it was), brushed pool religiously (from inside, so I could help stir the water).

Test results at end of day:
CYA = 40
FC = 35

2. Stuck the hose in, refilled overnight.

Test results this morning:
CYA = basically 0 (only minuscule clouding in the test)
FC = 0

3. Adding CYA now to 30ppm, via a net on the return jet & frequent massages.

4. Added 2.5 jugs (96oz) of 8.25% bleach (raises FC by 9.9), as that's all I had left (my friend is on her way with more.)

Question: What now?

Progress photos. It looks a bit bluer in person, but I still cannot see the bottom, and can barely see the hose down there. (Edit: Ignore my comment about the color. I am using an old TV monitor for my computer screen, but once I glanced over at my actual laptop screen, the color is much more accurate.)

 

[mknauss]

Raise your FC to 12 ppm (shock level for 30 ppm CYA). Test your FC every two hours or so and add bleach back to 12 ppm FC using PoolMath

 

[Perpetual summer]

Just updated myself on this thread, I can’t believe the last photo. Did I read this correctly? You just drained it to a foot of water, added bleach and scrubbed, refilled overnight and in the morning that is what the water looked like? If so what a nightmare, no wonder your frustrated.