Pool turning green - generator doesnt seem to be producing

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Q

qsch

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Nov 8, 2009
29
It rained for a few days after which it sunk the salt levels to just 3200 ppms. It started turning green so I checked the generator salt level which after putting more salt into it is now 3600. We also shocked the pool with 2 pounds of add chlorine 4 days ago. Made no difference. Today we shocked it again with the same, however the chlorine level doesn't seem to be going up. Furthermore, we have been running the pump much longer and last night throughout the night! Any help would be much appreciated. The computer doesnt say that there is a problem.

So salt levels = ok
4 pounds of additional chlorine
pump running longer

and still when testing with the test strips it indicates white showing that the level is on low. It feels like the system isn't producing any chlorine but everything is plugged in fine. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank You
 
If the water is green with algae, there is no way the SWG will be able to keep up. You will need to shock the pool manually and get things back in balance before the SWG can get going properly again.

Shocking is a process, not a simple addition of 2 lbs of chlorine. See How to Shock Your Pool for more details.

If you post a full set of water test results we can give you more specific advice.
 
Thanks Jason,

Yes you are right. Once turned green I am not expecting the generator to keep up. So I have been running the pump non stop and put in extra chlorine. Thanks for sending me the link of how to shock the pool which has been helpful. According to the tables I need to get the FC to 16 to get it to proper shock levels. Our pool is 20,000 Gallons+. Not sure how much chlorine to get into it to get it up to this level??

We have shocked it in the past several times and never had this much problems. Usually 2 pound bags of chlorine have done the job! Unfortunately, the chlorine doesn't seem to do anything/as much as it usually does!!

Nevertheless I made a water test here are the results:

Hardness = 250
Total Chlorine between 0 - 0.5
Free chlorine between 0 - 0.5
PH = very high at around 8.4 (I need to throw in acid but that is very expensive so I have been using it sparsely)
Total Alkalinity = 240
Cyanuric Acid = ideal 30 - 50

The pool we have drops into a giant plunge pool which is located below which acts as a giant skimmer. You can see the pictures I posted sometime before. There are lots of bubbles in there as though there is soap or something aswell. In the past when the pool turned green there were never that many problems. Thanks for your assistance I appreciate it very much.

Regards, Quirin
 
PH = very high at around 8.4 (I need to throw in acid but that is very expensive so I have been using it sparsely)
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At the risk of being pretty abrupt, you are being penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Allowing your pH to stay over 8.0 is an invitation for a far, far, far more expensive issue than a little bit of acid. It is mandatory that your pH stay in the 7's.

What type of chlorine are you using to shock? It sounds like Calcium Hypochlorite and, if so, that is furthering your issue with high pH. Post the ingredients of the bags you are using so we can see what it is.

There is a wealth of information up in Pool School. You should start with "ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" and then "How to shock your Pool".
 
I live on a small island, things are very hard to get here!! The chlorine bags, they don't even have labels on them. In regard to the acid. Sometimes we can't even get any!
 
We can get a lot of the things here but to be honest sometimes they are way overpriced! Which site would you recommend for ordering stuff online? Today I was lucky. I found Acid for pools priced at 14 USD per gallon. I remember last time it was 40 USD per gallon, so I threw in one gallon of acid and 1.5 gallons of Clorox. The clorox cost about 8 USD.

I need to get the FC up to at least 16.

Thanks, Quirin
 
That's what I am saying! I next to Mustique in The Grenadines. There are a few suppliers here but they are expensive like pharmacies. Most stuff imported here comes from Miami as it is not far away. If we can get a cheap supplier up there. We would definitely order everything from up there!

On another note! How do I know how much chlorine to put into the pool to get the proper shock level of 16 FC into the pool? My pool is 20k gallons.

Do I just throw in and then check it with the strips? Is there a way to calculate the needed amount?
 

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with doing some further research i dont know if they deliver out of the states.... it would probrobly cost more than $40 anyways. your best bet would be to buy in bulk all at once!!!!!!!!!!
 
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