Getting rid of Algae

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4tigerspool

0
May 29, 2012
14
Tulsa, OK
OK I am new to this site. My friend sent me here after her good results with your BBB system. I am using her TF100 test kit and ordering mine tomorrow. I have had algae for a week and tried the pool store and have not had any results and spent lots of money. So here are my numbers. Can someone please tell me what to do next?

CYA 50
FC 3.5
pH 7.5
CH 500
TA 4.5

From what I have read on your site I think I need to shock as recommended using your How to shock guide.

Thanks.
 
That is exactly what I get for a 30k gallon pool to go from 3.5 to 20ppm FC with 6% bleach.

Note that 20ppm is a MINIMUM. You want to try to keep the FC above that.

To start you may want to aim a little higher (round up to 6 182oz bottles/etc ... no need to be exact at this point) and you will need to re-rest and add more bleach every hour or so until the FC stops dropping so quickly.
 
Backwash the filter when the pressure goes up 20-25% of the clean pressure. If you are not sure of your clean pressure, then just do a good backwash and then note the pressure after that as your "clean" pressure.

Brush the pool as often as you can with the FC at shock levels to help breakdown the algae and expose it to the chlorine ... at least once a day while shocking. And brush everything you can where algae may be hiding.
 
Your CYA levels are a little on the high side, (CYA can only practically be removed by water replacement, or by reverse osmosis treatment), so if water is cheap where you live, you may want to vacuum to waste while cleaning up the algae, this will save on backwash cycles with your filter and give you a chance to drain a little water and replace it. We generally suggest a target CYA level of 40, maybe a little higher since your are in the sunbelt (say 50 ppm).

Ike

p.s. you will know you are done shocking when your FC level does not drop by over .5 ppm overnight (from after sunset to before or at sunrise)
 
Are you sure you tested/calculated properly? 6 gallons would barely make my pool reach 38ppm (4800 gallons). Did you test at the .10ml level or the 25ml level? 38ppm from 6 gallons in your size pool is surely off. Seems like nearly double computations to me. Sounds like you possibly used 25ml, which would make each drop be .2ppm instead of .5ppm.
 

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so tested 2 times after initial shock treatment and got same result. 38ppm Yes i used 10ml and counted 79 drops. Added nothing and went to bed. Now before sunrise this morning I have tested and the FC is 27. The CC has been 1 everytime. Water looks the same. We got a little rain last night. Should I go ahead and test any other variables? What is my next step?

Thanks for all your help so far,
Kendal
 
Ok, I am not sure how you got there, but you are at shock level now, and with the large drop in FC you had over night, there is certainly something in your pool that needs to be killed. So continue to add bleach to maintain an FC level (check every couple of hours as needed, the closer you get to finishing the longer it will hold) of over 20, brush, filter, vacuum, and backwash as needed. Then do another OCLT tonight checking to see if it will maintain FC from dark at night until dark in the morning, repeat if needed tomorrow.

Ike

p.s. could you tell us the things you added to the pool in the last week or so other than bleach?
 
Last Thursday I had added 10lbs of shock as directed by my pool store because they said my FC was 0. Also I use trichlor sticks in my automatic chlorinator which had been opened up all the way since Thursday. This shock had no effect on the appearance of my water. Before I used the better test kit and added bleach, I had tested with strips and my FC was high.

Kendal
 
Do you know what was in this so called "shock" different brands use various dry chlorinating products and call them shock, some may be dichlor, trichlor, or cal-hypo? If it was dichlor or trichlor it would also boost your CYA level which may have some delay showing up on tests, and therefore change your target shock level.

p.s.

Yes now would be a good time to add some bleach, maybe a gallon and retest in a bit, also tell us how the pool looks compared to a day or two ago.
 
Stop using shock, sticks, pucks, tabs, anything at all that adds to your CYA level. You're WAYYYY TO HIGH! You are at least keeping your FC above the shock mark, but you're going to find that you will use a TON of chlorine. You really need to hit pool school ASAP and either listen to the pool store, or the idea's taught here. The two don't go together well at all, and will lead to problems as you have hit. The only way to truly fix the problem that you currently have of high CYA is by draining some of your water.
 
Promise????

The next suggestion every member here on the site will give you is a painful one. You've gotta drain about 1/2 your pool. With a cya level of 95 you will never get ahead, and stay ahead of algae. You need to keep your shock level above 24FC to make the pool clear up. Your new daily FC mark is between 7 and 13. You're gonna be fighting this pool all year long, and you will end up fighting algae again this year. Make a change and spend a few hours reading pool school to understand YOUR own water.

To fix your current issue, drain about 50% of your pool to lower the cya level to 40ish. Your new shock will be 16. Keep your FC above that at all times. I know this seems harsh, but it's what the pool store lead you to. It maybe worth a few seconds to redo the cya test, but my gut says you'll end up about the same.....maybe higher.
 

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