Green won't go away!!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
kdubya815

kdubya815

0
May 30, 2009
130
Columbia, TN
I have been shocking my pool since last Wednesday. It was very green and had a lot of leaves at the bottom (thanks to the huge maple tree next door!). I have scooped and vacuumed to the point that I am pretty confident that most if not all of it is gone. I am at a loss as to what to do now. The water still has a light green cloudy look. It does appear each day to improve slightly as I have noticed it clearing a bit from the top down. I can now see the return jets very clearly and the third ladder step is visible. I just don't understand why the green tint won't go away. What am I doing wrong? Here are my numbers as of this morning:

FC 17.5
CC 1.5
Ph 7.2 (from before shock levels)
TA 90
CH 120
CYA <20 (I am currently adding in a sock in front of return, and I understand it won't show up for a while. When I did the test this a.m. the black dot got cloudy but it never fully disappeared)

The picture is from this morning. Whatever help you can provide will be much appreciated!
 

Attachments

  • pool 6.13.11.jpg
    pool 6.13.11.jpg
    471.3 KB · Views: 389
The green doesn't always go away. Some kinds of algae bleach out from the chlorine and turn gray/white, but other kinds of algae retain their color even when deal and chlorine levels are high.

You still have a noticeable CC level, so you have a little way to go yet. Have you done an overnight FC loss test (OCLT)?
 
With your CC being 1.5 you still need to shock your pool. You will be done with shocking once your CC is .5 or less and you pass the over night chlorine loss test with 1 FC or less of loss. Are you running your pump 24/7? How often are you backwashing your filter?

:cheers:
 
Thanks for the quick replies! Jason, it makes me feel better to know that some algae retains its color! That's what was freaking me out the most! I will certainly continue to maintain shock level. I haven't done the OCLT because of the CC still being higher than acceptable. My filter is running 24/7 and I backwash when psi goes up by 8-10, usually once a day. I have to say that I have been able to go quite a bit longer before needing to backwash than when I first began shocking. Would you suggest doing the OCLT now even with high CC? Would that give me insight as to how much further I have to go before I have a "swimable" pool? I realize that I have a bit further to go, but I guess I just needed some reassurance that I am doing the right thing! I love this forum! Y'all are GREAT!!
 
Thank you for the encouragement FPM! That's definitely what I need to keep going!

I have been reading a lot on adding DE to a sand filter. I have read Pool School on this many times. I am considering doing this. Would this be an appropriate time to do so, or should I wait until I have passed the OCLT? Also, when you add DE to a sand filter, is it something that will go away eventually and you have to add more? I have only seen it sold in large quantities and it doesn't seem like I will need nearly that much unless it is something that I have to add every now and then. Thanks for any answers and suggestions!
 
DE helps the filter catch the smallest particles, which it isn't very efficient at on it's own. Adding DE is handy for day to day use when everything is fine and also towards the end of shocking. It is only when things are really bad and the filter already has plenty of work to do on filtering large particles that it doesn't need the help DE provides.
 
Thanks for the clarification Jason! I have learned so much but I still have a loooong way to go!!

My numbers from this morning are as follows:

FC 18.5
CC 1.0

As I stated in an earlier post, I have added CYA...it was 3.75 lbs total. The most recent addition was yesterday. I only have enough reagent for one more test :shock: I will order more today!! It is my understanding, however, that I should wait approx. a week before retesting anyway. I adjusted my shock level to a CYA of 30 (I had minimal, maybe none at all in the beginning!). Somehow, I overshot the FC target of 13. However, the mustard algae target is 19. Hopefully I am using the pool calc right!?!? How do I know if I should target the MA level or regular shock level? Would it hurt to target the MA level even I don't know for sure if I have MA? I took a picture this morning from the same angle so I could compare. I will post them together so you can see what you think. Does it look like progress? (Please say yes...please say yes...please say yes :lol: )

[attachment=1:3ubffah5]pool 6.13.11.jpg[/attachment:3ubffah5]

[attachment=0:3ubffah5]pool 6.14.11.jpg[/attachment:3ubffah5]

I truly appreciate all the help yall have given me!!

Thanks,
Kelly
 

Attachments

  • pool 6.13.11.jpg
    pool 6.13.11.jpg
    471.3 KB · Views: 311
  • pool 6.14.11.jpg
    pool 6.14.11.jpg
    464.9 KB · Views: 310

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Much better! Keep it up, you still have a ways to go (the CC is a clue ;))

You don't have MA. It won't hurt to overshoot once or twice - it's maintaining that high of a level or higher on an extended basis that might fade a liner.
 
Thanks FPM! I certainly don't want to do that!

Next question...a few days ago as I was trying to manually vacuum to waste, I lost the vacuum head in the deep end :thumbdown: I continued scooping out gunk with my leaf bag thing. Apparently, the vacuum head was in a leaf pile I scooped from the bottom (my husband found it while cutting the yard!). Obviously, I don't want to re-introduce algae to the pool when I am so far along in the shocking process. I have the vacuum head soaking in a bleach solution. How long should I allow it to soak before I can use it again? I think that there may be some more gunk at the bottom that is slowing down my progress and I want to try to vacuum to waste some more. Am I on the right track?

Also, I am kinda thinking that I should get in and go the bottom to see how much gunk is left. If I get in only to do this and get out quickly, is that okay? Kinda scared of what I might find though!!
 
Also, I am kinda thinking that I should get in and go the bottom to see how much gunk is left. If I get in only to do this and get out quickly, is that okay? Kinda scared of what I might find though!!
Click to expand...
I persoanlly see that as totally harmless and a good idea. Unless you suspect 'gators, there is nothing in that level of chlorine that will do you any harm. It may tend to fade clothing if it's REALLY high so wear something old.

Use the Vac head immediately if not sooner......No problems. :lol:
 
dattia said:
I think you should let your husband get in... ;)
Click to expand...

Ha!! I don't think I could pay him to get in! He is not a fan of the pool :cry:


duraleigh said:
Also, I am kinda thinking that I should get in and go the bottom to see how much gunk is left. If I get in only to do this and get out quickly, is that okay? Kinda scared of what I might find though!!
Click to expand...
I persoanlly see that as totally harmless and a good idea. Unless you suspect 'gators, there is nothing in that level of chlorine that will do you any harm. It may tend to fade clothing if it's REALLY high so wear something old.

Use the Vac head immediately if not sooner......No problems. :lol:
Click to expand...

I went ahead and vacuumed and I only got about 1/2 basket of leaves for about 20 mins of vacuuming. Very minimal compared to the beginning of this fiasco! Also, the water that was in the skimmer was the same color as the pool water, not the nasty green water I have been getting when vacuuming!!

I have to wait until the husband gets home to get in and investigate further. Thanks for the tip on the old clothes! Not expecting gators, but still a little worried about snakes!! I am sure the high chlorine levels will keep them away! I will post back what I find.
 
So I completed my investigation this evening. The bottom of the pool was virtually free of debris save one or two leaves. I could actually make out my feet in the shallow end, just barely but it gave me some encouragement! The deeper I got, the murkier the water got. When I was coming up from the bottom it seemed to get clearer and clearer...fascinating!! I definitely know that I still have a ways to go. My CC is consistently staying at 1 or 1.5. Although the test I just did was hard to determine if the water was still pink or not after the first drop of reagent. And that was with a white napkin for contrast! Most recent numbers:

FC 12
CC 1

I don't think it would hurt to do an OCLT tonight just to see where I am at. I know I am not done shocking, but I guess I want to have as much information about my pool as I can. Thanks to everyone who has been helping me! I think at this point the most helpful thing to me would be a huge dose of POP!!
 
I did the OCLT. I lost 1.5 ppm FC from 9:30 pm to 5:30 am. My CC is still 1.0. Hopefully this means I am closing in on completing the shocking process?? Is there anything I can do to speed things up a little bit? Thanks for all your help!!!
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply