Ooops! Green-ish pool

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guamguy

guamguy

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Feb 26, 2010
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Guam, USA
For the first time since I got the pool almost a year ago, I've got a mild case of algae :grrrr: I think it was a combination of factors that caused it. Friday, we had a pool party, with about 15 kids in the pool for at least 4 hours, then rainy, windy weather on Saturday, which dumped all kinds of debris in the pool. I brought the FC up to 10ppm before the party (CYA=50), after the party, it was down to 7ppm, with .5ppm CC, so I took FC back to 10ppm. Sunday, the pool bottom had a greenish tint to it, FC was still 9ppm and CC .5. Decided it would be a good idea to shock the pool (first time ever). So here I am, Monday evening, shocking is going well, no more green, just cloudy water and .5ppm CC, and I've only got enough DPD powder for about 2-3 more tests :hammer: I ordered some more Saturday evening, the night before the pool turned green on me. Guess I should think about keeping a spare on hand just in case this happens again :idea: Hopefully, I'll be able to take care of this with my remaining supplies. Sorry for the rant :rant: Algae is not fun :cry:
 
Sorry you got hit with algae. As you discribe it though, you should not have gotten algae. Seems you may already had the beginnings of it before the party and the party and weather just pushed you further. I have a feeling that you would not have passed an overnight FC test the night before the party. I am curious to see what the experts say about it because I am scratching my head.
 
I'm not too surprised given the series of events that transpired. Having the party and then all the fresh water and debris in the water would cause spots of low to no FC.

Were you running the pump continuously?
 
You're sure your CYA level is at 50 ppm and not higher? That is strange to get algae with the high FC/CYA ratio. 12 kids for 4 hours in 12,800 gallons would be a chlorine demand of at least 4 ppm not counting any of them urinating (and I'll bet at least someone did). So your drop of only 3 ppm is on the low side, but the demand can continue for a while as urea can take a while to oxidize, especially if there isn't a lot of direct sunlight on the pool.

Could be that the debris created local pockets of low chlorine from which algae could grow, but your catching it early made it easy to get rid of. It's also possible the green tint and cloudiness was more from the debris rather than living, growing algae -- that is, a lot for chlorine to oxidize. Raising the chlorine to shock level clears it faster, but it might have cleared anyway, just more slowly.
 
I've had the pump running 24/7 since Friday right before the party, and I'm pretty sure the CYA is at 50. I tested for CYA a couple of weeks ago, and again on Friday morning, both tests were at 50, and I haven't added any in about a month. Tested the water this morning and measured a .5ppm chlorine loss overnight :whoot: , but still have .5ppm CC :( The water looks cloudy, but blue again, I think I'll hold at shock level overnight again and see if that will get rid of the CC's. We haven't had any sun in the past few days, hopefully, we'll get some soon to help burn off the CC. Think I'll add a cup of DE to the filter to help clear the water a bit faster, too.
 
Just an update, I woke up this morning to the familiar crystal-clear water that I'm used to :-D On the bottom of the pool is a white powdery substance I'm assuming is dead algae. I'm going to vacuum later today, but I'm not sure if I should vac to waste, or if I can vac through the filter and backwash later. I'd like to go through the filter, so I don't waste a bunch of water. Does anyone know if vacuuming dead algae through the filter is a good idea?
 
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