Cloudy, dull green pool

Jump to latest Follow Reply
R

reeltor

0
May 30, 2012
47
I have had this pool for 15 years and went to the pool store often for advice and to empty my wallet. Switched from "Alkalinity Up" to baking soda after an old-timer independent pool supply owner sold me 50lb bags of baking soda at 1/4 the price of the other store. Now that I found this site it appears that I have been throwing chemicals at a problem with poor results.

33,000 gallon in-ground vinyl using 3" pucks and Cal-Hypo to "shock", Atlanta GA location

On May 28th readings from pool store water test

Free Chlorine 2
Total Available Chlorine 4
PH 7.4
Total Alkalinity 100
CYA 50
CH 290

Vacuumed to waste, added water to pool

May 30 pool store water test

Free Chlorine 1
Total Available Chlorine 1
PH 7.4
Total Alkalinity 60
CYA 30
Calcium Hardness 250

Added 13.5 LBS of Baking Soda
9:00 p.m Added 3-1/2 Lbs powdered Cal-Hypo (mixed with water in bucket) Chlorine
11:30 p.m. added another 3-1/2 lbs of Cal-Hypo

8:00 a.m. tested Free Chlorine---------1.0
Added 10 lbs of Cal-Hypo
9:30 a.m. free chlorine test off the scale
10:30 free chlorine tested looks like just over 5

Do I continue to check the chlorine level and add more when it starts to drop?
Need to order the recommend test kit and will stop at Costco to get some bleach

We had a very early spring with heavy pollen, yellow green pollen was floating on-top of and now mixed in the water.
Am I on the right track to clear up this mess? The grand-daughter is asking when will the pool be ready?
 
Welcome to tfp, reeltor :wave:

You are right that your first course of action is to buy an appropriate test kit! I like the TF-100, and Dave ships really fast.

Your two test results from the pool store point out their inaccuracy. For example...very unlikely your cya has gone down that much with just a vacuum to waste unless you vacuum out 1/4 of you water before refilling. CH and TA results also indicate potential inaccuracy/inconsistency.

The FC test in the TF-100 (and the Taylor K-2006 as well) has a FAS-DPD FC test that can go up to 50 ppm FC. I am guessing the chlorine test you are using is an OTO test? They can only go up to 5 ppm, so you can't monitor at the FC levels you are going to need to dose too. This link has some great info for your situation: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/defeating_algae

For the two reason above...1. potentially wrong pool store test values...2. Current test kits inablity to measure high FC levlels....I would probably wait to hit it hard until your test kit comes. You could add a gallon of bleach each day, but that probably won't do much until you know you are high enough to make a dent in the organics in you pool.

Please don't hesitate to post any question you have! Read poolschool while your waiting on your kit!
 
Thank you for the welcome and you are right on all counts.

Just for fun I would bring in two samples to be tested and would get very different results with you need to buy this to fix it!

Hit it hard is what I'm going to do, I just added another 3-1/2 lbs of Cal-hypo, sunny hot day already here. Looking at the charts in the Pool School I see that a 50% increase in CYA requires a 50% increase in Chlorine to get the same job done. I don't want the chlorine already added to go to waste. (I misread the recommendation to wait until I get the correct test kit, before hitting it hard with chlorine, She who must be obeyed wants a clear pool yesterday :roll: ; I will have to find a test-kit locally to see what I'm up against.)

"pool store" never explained how to properly shock a pool, that it is a process over time not a one time deal.

On my way to stock up on bleach
:cheers:
 
reeltor's pool is vinyl, so CH is less of an issue, though very high levels could cause clouding. If there is a heater, or swg, those might be reasons to hold back on the cal-hypo.

With that said, bleach/LC is definitely the preferred vehicle for chlorine during the shocking process (and after).
 
I am making progress; the green is totally gone and now I have the "blue" cloudy pool. I ordered the TF100 kit (should have went for the 2-day delivery but wasn't thinking).

So I am adding chlorine, trying to keep the level up and driving blind without an accurate test kit. I see that the recommendations are to brush or vacuum. I did vacuum to waste this morning; added some water and chlorine to the pool. Do I need to vacuum to waste or can I vacuum through the filter and backwash when necessary?

There appears to be a lot of suspended solids in the water; will the chlorine clear up the cloudiness or does the filter need to remove it?
I got a little impatient and added 16oz of "Ultra Bright" last night and this morning there was a mat of bubbles up against the corners of the pool with some tan-brown material on top. I took the leaf rake and scooped the stuff onto the deck, the bubbles evaporated leaving what looks like dead algae. OK to use ultra blue or just keep the chlorine treatment for now? I can post my numbers but they are now 2 days old.

Thanks,
 
reeltor said:
OK to use ultra blue or just keep the chlorine treatment for now?
Click to expand...
What is it (ingredients)? Just use chlorine, that's all you need to kill the algae.

reeltor said:
Do I need to vacuum to waste or can I vacuum through the filter and backwash when necessary?
Click to expand...
Either, but if your you can't get through you vacuum without backwashing, then it is probably to much for the filter.

reeltor said:
There appears to be a lot of suspended solids in the water; will the chlorine clear up the cloudiness or does the filter need to remove it?
Click to expand...
Eventually it will need to be removed by the filter, though the chlorine does keep killing anything alive in it (whether it is in the filter or not).
 
I miss-typed, it is Ultra Bright not blue; we'll put that back on the shelf and stick with shocking.
I can vacuum through the filter without immediately back-washing. Returned to the pool store the $50 of sure-fire cure for my pool and bought bleach. At least I'm seeing progress :)
 
I just received my test kit and took some readings.

FC = 10.5
CC = 0.5
CYA = 30 (actually a little on the 20 side of 30)
PH = 7.2
TA = 120
CH = 490

I am confident in all the test except for the CH and will have to run the test again, how blue is the sample supposed to get? I kept adding until it turned a real blue not just blueish.

So since May 31 I've been keeping high levels of chlorine in the pool adding it in the evening and again in the morning. Since the max the old kit would do is 5ppm I've been using the calculator to add either bleach or cal hypo to bring the level up to 15.

Now that I can actually test, do I keep the FC up around 13 until the pool clears? It is looking better, do I need to raise the PH now or wait until the pool clears?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
reeltor said:
Now that I can actually test, do I keep the FC up around 13 until the pool clears? It is looking better, do I need to raise the PH now or wait until the pool clears?
Click to expand...
Typically we say to leave ph alone when shocking since FC above 10 ppm causes the ph to read high. In your case, your ph is on the low side, even with the FC above 10 ppm. I would keep an eye on it and if it dips to 7.0 (while above 10 ppm FC) I would raise it up to 7.2-7.4.

As for the shocking process, keep your FC at your shock level (I get 13 ppm for 30 ppm cya from poolcalculator) until you pass all three criteria (see my sig or the shocking poolschool article).
 
I ran some tests last night and this morning.

I added chlorine (6% from janitorial supply was told that it can be as high as 7.5% to allow for shelf life), around 8 pm and tested at 11:30

FC=19
CC=3
TC=22

I forgot to take a sample before the sun hit the pool, at 8 the readings are

FC=15
CC=2-1/2 (or 3, while I was recording the numbers the sample went a little pink and took another drip to clear)
TC=17-1/2 OR SO

CYA just under 30

CH= 470

Vinyl Liner pool, should I be overly concerned with the CH level (I'm used up the cal-hypo :roll: and am on bleach from now on :) ) BTW my wife thinks the pool is a very pretty color (but she would like to swim)

Just to show that you cannot trust the pool store testing (who knew right?) here are the stores readings on CYA
50, 55, 30, 35, and 10, these readings are from 2 days apart with fresh sample taken 12" below the surface.
 
linen said:
Tell you wife that she can go in, but there's no way your going in :mrgreen:
Click to expand...
I should probably be serious and mention that we do not recommend swimming when cc is greater then 0.5 ppm, or when the FC level is at above the shock value (for the cya level), or if a pool is not clear.
 
I just discovered that I don't know how to read directions :oops:
Chlorine levels weren't anywhere near what I thought; used 25ml of h2o instead of 10ml :hammer: .
presently FC=4 and CC=1.5

Have a lot more work to do.
 
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