pool is always green please help

[ranm545]

okay.. so im new here to this.. i was advised of this site from someone that uses the site told me to get my water tested and post it for some help..let me tell ya my issues and whats goin on here.. we bought this house and it has a in ground pool that is 29x14 which i did the calculations to be 18,200 gallons of water..and the pool store had me at 10,000 sooo i got that fixed today..so this whole 2years we lived here we have been having an on going issue of the pool turning green.. buying all this Crud the pool store tells us to not knowing any better and it never worked.. we had a pool guy coming weekly to do the pool for us and it still turned greeen then he would charge us 100.00 to fix that so after 2x i said thats enough too cuz this is your job to be here to eliminate this problem.. my sister has a pool and she used the same guy so figured he woudl work for us.. my sister has lived in her house same amount of time and not once has her pool turned green.. i live in florida so we get the hurricanes and lots of rain certain times of the year.. so we chalked it up to be that.. we had phosphates tested thats not it... so now im just at wits end and need major help on what to do iwth my pool...so i take it to get tested today and they say my levels are fine.. sooooooo why is my pool still green.. he told me he dont know.. drain it... i looked at him like a crazy lady with my head spinning are you nuts...

okay...
free chlorine 4
ph 7.4
total alkalinity 100
calcium hardness 355
stabilizer 50
total dissolved solids 3,800

now they also said for me to get a new filter now we just had my father inlaw install a new filter and pump about i would say 3-4 months ago if that..

i just dont know what to do.. i need help.. i guess even from the beginning of the basics.. like how to maintain the pool weekly to just everythign..

it seems like we are cleaning the pool enough we have been cleaning the filter everyday.. i was vacuuming everday.. while the pool is green when its not we do like once a week vacuuming.. and same with filter.. we would test the water daily and ad chlorine weekly.. am i supposed to be adding chlorine daily i dont know..

we just dont know what it could be to fix this problem and do the upkeep of hte pool...please help...thanks...

 

[Guest]

YOu need to do two things:
1) get a good test kit so you can test your water properly. I would recommend either the TF100 www.troublefreetestkits.com
or a Taylor K-2006 which is basically the same except the TF100 does not include the acid and base demand tests (which are not that useful) but does include a Taylor K-1000 OTO/pH tester for quick daily checks and has more of some of the reagents that get used up quickly.

2) You need to get your free chlorine up to 15 ppm and KEEP IT THERE until the pool is no longer green. Use either bleach or liquid chlorine to do so. The chlorine will get used up pretty quickly killing the algae so you will need to add it at least 3 times a day. The more often you add the chlorine to keep your level at 15 ppm the faster you will kill the algae. When your chlorine levels have not dropped overnight and the algae has turned white you are done. It can take up to a week for the filter to clear the dead algae out of the pool.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

There are some links in my sig that will help you...
a) Jason's calculator: will help you figure how much of stuff to add. also, recalculate your vol with this calculator assuming oval shape, 4' water depth, I get 10,900 gal. rectangle 4' deep is 12,100 gal
b) read all The Stickies. That will help you get a good grasp of what BBB is all about, and just how trouble-free you pool can be!

Welcome to TFP!

 

[ranm545]

thanks for the replies.......i did use the calculator to figure out the pool its 6ft rect so thats how i got the 18,200..after using that and researching this site i did come up with the same that i should have the fc 15ppm.. so thats cool to have that confirmed..

my next question even though it maybe normal common sense is... this whole week while im dumping in all this chlorine should i be running the filter 24/7 and vacumming the pool and how often and same with the filter should clean it daily...

what else should i do ...thanks..

 

[ranm545]

YOu need to do two things:
1) get a good test kit so you can test your water properly. I would recommend either the TF100 www.troublefreetestkits.com
or a Taylor K-2006 which is basically the same except the TF100 does not include the acid and base demand tests (which are not that useful) but does include a Taylor K-1000 OTO/pH tester for quick daily checks and has more of some of the reagents that get used up quickly.

2) You need to get your free chlorine up to 15 ppm and KEEP IT THERE until the pool is no longer green. Use either bleach or liquid chlorine to do so. The chlorine will get used up pretty quickly killing the algae so you will need to add it at least 3 times a day. The more often you add the chlorine to keep your level at 15 ppm the faster you will kill the algae. When your chlorine levels have not dropped overnight and the algae has turned white you are done. It can take up to a week for the filter to clear the dead algae out of the pool.

 

[Buggsw]

I would run the pump 7/24 until you get it all cleared up.

You don't need to vacuum unless there is something to vacuum.

You don't need to clean your filter unless the pressure gets to 10 over normal pressure.

Just make sure to keep the FC level up as recommended.

Keep testing and adjust pH when necessary during the process - it can creep up on you.

 

[ranm545]

I would run the pump 7/24 until you get it all cleared up.

You don't need to vacuum unless there is something to vacuum.

You don't need to clean your filter unless the pressure gets to 10 over normal pressure.

Just make sure to keep the FC level up as recommended.

Keep testing and adjust pH when necessary during the process - it can creep up on you.

okay another question whats the normal pressure supposed to be..

 

[Michael Silvester]

Shock and floc as I always say

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

okay another question whats the normal pressure supposed to be..

It is different for each filter. Clean/backwash your filter, and read the pressure after it is clean. That is your 'normal' pressure. When the pressure goes up, time to clean/backwash again!

Don't floc yet... your problem will probably clear with shocking and filtering. If you brush your pool frequently, you will keep the algae and stuff suspended so the filter can take it out. If it does not clear in a reasonable amount of time, then you might consider floccing.

 

[ranm545]

okay another question whats the normal pressure supposed to be..

It is different for each filter. Clean/backwash your filter, and read the pressure after it is clean. That is your 'normal' pressure. When the pressure goes up, time to clean/backwash again!

Don't floc yet... your problem will probably clear with shocking and filtering. If you brush your pool frequently, you will keep the algae and stuff suspended so the filter can take it out. If it does not clear in a reasonable amount of time, then you might consider floccing.

whats floccing...

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

floc is a kind of clarifier... I don't remember which is which, but one of them (floc or clarifier) clumps the particles and somehow keeps them suspended so the filter can take them out. The other clumps them and sends them to the bottom so you can vac them out.

Shock and floc as I always say Wink

but the floc is not really necessary at this point, which is why I commented.

Somebody here has a saying... your pool will clear in a week with shocking, or you can floc and it will clear in 7 days... something like that! Meaning you can get the same results in about the same time with plain ol' bleach, brushing, and filtering.

 

[ranm545]

floc is a kind of clarifier... I don't remember which is which, but one of them (floc or clarifier) clumps the particles and somehow keeps them suspended so the filter can take them out. The other clumps them and sends them to the bottom so you can vac them out.

[quote="Michael Silvester":3k812ct5]Shock and floc as I always say Wink

but the floc is not really necessary at this point, which is why I commented.

Somebody here has a saying... your pool will clear in a week with shocking, or you can floc and it will clear in 7 days... something like that! Meaning you can get the same results in about the same time with plain ol' bleach, brushing, and filtering.[/quote:3k812ct5]




thank you!!!! :lol: :-D

 

[JasonLion]

Clarifier causes the particles to clump together just enough that the filter can catch them. This is designed for use with a very slight haze that won't go away. Most people who use clarifier report no detectable effect but for a few people it makes a huge difference.

Floc casues the particles to clump together and fall to the bottom. This is best when the pool is totally murky. This treatment works quite well but is a fair bit of work: add floc, allow to mix, turn off the pump, wait overnight, then very carefully vacuum the bottom without stiring up the pool too much.

For most people letting the filter do it's job, probably over several days, is simpler. If you are in a hurry the floc treatment works but only if you pay for the chemical and do the work to make it happen.