Green Pool this morning, Hot and Humid Party tomorrow... HELP!

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Thurston

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May 19, 2017
173
RI
I'm afraid to even ask...

My pool is green today, I can still see the bottom in the 9' deep end. I added bleach to bring it to a little over shock level today, here are my approximate numbers:

CYA - 45 (Low for a salt water pool)
FC - About 20-23 (was 13 when I checked, waiting for added Chlorine to mix before I test again)
CC - 0.5

I think my CYA has been low for some time and may have caused the issue(?), although I measure FC regularly and have never seen it low. The SWG does a good job of keeping it up to 7-10ppm.

Any tips for what I can do to be ready for the party tomorrow afternoon (about 24 hours from now)? I picked up plenty of 12.5% bleach, but my time is limited and I also run the risk of too high FC to swim.
 
It all depends. If it clears up by tomorrow and you can see the bottom of the deep end clearly, then it’s safe to swim at or below shock levels (for CYA of 45ppm that’s an FC of no more than 18ppm). Although your guests might complain of a chlorine smell as that much FC combined with water that’s fouled with algae is going to have a detectable odor to it.

Sorry, not much can be done in 24 hours....it might have to be a garden hose & sprinkler party instead of a pool party....
 
Thurston said:
That's what was afraid of. I have my robot running and the pumps on full time. my wife is brushing and I'll brush again when I get home.

Any other tips?
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Just chlorine.....don’t go too crazy over-dosing though as that is not doing you any good and is just wasting chlorine. 18-20ppm FC is fine.

If you have access to DE, you can put some in your sand filter to help clear the water faster but you have to baby-sit the equipment when you do that. There’s an article in Pool School that describes how to use DE in a sand filter.
 
How long would I need to babysit the DE for? I assume you mean that I need to watch the pressure during the adding process and then afterwards before I backwash. Is 4-6 hours enough time to give myself?
 
I am going through same process since Tuesday. I could not see the bottom since yesterday. So add cup or two DE and keep filtering. My pressure raised from 15(normal working pressure) to 22-25 range when I backwash. So keep an eye at all times. When I can monitor I add little more DE, when I can't monitor I add little less.
But overall DE what helped get rid of algea. I backwashed maybe 10 times since Tuesday and pool looks great right now for party tomorrow.

Even overnight might help you big time so keep brushing, add chlorine and watch for pressure.
 
Since you need to figure out how it affects your filter, I would start with a cup after an hour if its still good pressure add another cup. I let my pressure raise 5pps before I backwashed. But definitely backwash before going to bed and add more DE till morning. (maybe little less since you can't monitor)
Repeat the same thing when you get up. Hopefully it will clear most of the cloudiness
 
A filter should be cleaned when the filter pressure rises by 25% over the clean filter pressure, at the same pump rpm.
 

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Got some DE and added until pressure went up by 1psi from 9 to 10. Ended up being a cup and a half. Swept the pool and will be running my robot cleaner as often as possible.

My FC is 19.5 and I'll check before bed to make sure it's around 20 or so for the might and will do an OCLT.

Pressure after sweeping is around 11. Do I backwash as usual around 25% over normal pressure? 12.5psi?

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Also wanted to say thanks! for all the helpful advice so far.

I can still see the bottom in the deep end so maybe we'll be swimming tomorrow.
 
You might to put on a good movie, kick back and stay up late. Then, before bed, add chlorine as-needed and backwash the filter if you’re close to 12.5psi. Add only a cup of DE, then hit bed. Set the alarm for o’dark-early and see where the pool is at.
 
Pressure was up to 15 (!) so I backwashed and I'm back down to 9.

Does the DE wash out when I backwash and need to be added whenever I do? Sorry if this has been covered, never used it before.

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JoyfulNoise said:
You might to put on a good movie, kick back and stay up late. Then, before bed, add chlorine as-needed and backwash the filter if you’re close to 12.5psi. Add only a cup of DE, then hit bed. Set the alarm for o’dark-early and see where the pool is at.
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Not a bad idea.
 
DE will definitely backwash out so you have to carefully add it after filter cleaning....You will have to carefully add more.
I am watching this thread just to see how good you can do in 24 hours (wish there were pictures). Good Luck!
 
Thurston said:
Pressure was up to 15 (!) so I backwashed and I'm back down to 9.

Does the DE wash out when I backwash and need to be added whenever I do? Sorry if this has been covered, never used it before.
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If your pressure went up that quickly after adding the DE, I would back off on the DE and only add about 1 cup after you backwash. A good bit of that pressure rise could have been the DE, it does take some time for the pressure to reflect the true impact of adding the DE. Otherwise you'll just be backwashing DE out all night instead of getting the benefit of the DE in the filter.
 
Adding a skimmer sock, hairnet or knee-hi nylon to the inside of your skimmer basket(s) will also help, as well as extend your filter backwash intervals since it will catch particles before they reach the filter. Just keep an eye on your pressure, when it rises, clean/replace the sock and check the pressure again before backwashing.

Do NOT add the DE (diluted with pool water) through the skimmer WITH the "sock" in place after you backwash. The DE will just clog it, put it back on after you add the DE.

Do NOT put a skimmer sock, hairnet or knee-hi in your pump basket.
 
PoolguyinCT said:
On the bright side of things we are going to have some serious thunderstorms tomorrow, neighbor.
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Yeah I saw that too. Don't know about where you are but when the forecast calls for tstorms this summer we've gotten nada.

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20180817_193916.jpg

Grabbed a quick pic, I was getting stuff done upstairs and getting dark so a little grainy. You can see the robot for reference of how clear/cloudy it is.
 

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