intex pool first year on SWG, GREEN POOL! HELP!

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ffmedicwife1997

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Jun 9, 2012
320
1 1/2 hours south of Chicago
My intex 5500 gallon pool 16X48 pool is GREEN. Been using test strips, yet I cant get it normal. I have the Krystal clear Saltwater System.
My friend came over with a above ground pool with a taylor kit (non swg pool, she tells me BBB is what i need to do) and my CYA was 0 and TA was over ther roof...after 15 drops still would not turn from green.

I need help, and my friend recommend I come here. Do I switch back? Add bleach ( my friend said I need to shock to get rid of the algea)

I am so confused frusterated, and just want my kids to be able to swim daily. Spent 200 doallrs on the salt water filter. UGH!!!! HELP!!!
 
Help! Intex pool to SWG, I am GREEN!

So last year had a regualr pool, and to some advice I went to an SWG pool.
I have an Intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System. 16X48 Vynal Above ground.
My girlfriend came over tonigt with her Taylor kit and tested (even tho she is above ground non SWG) She said my water is green, algea and need to shock with bleach. My TA she said was over the roof after 15 drops it would not turn from green to red., CYA was 0.

She hounded me on how the BBB system works, and to change from SWG to just regular. I spent over 200.00 , this year for the SWG, and want it to work. I want my my kids to be able to swim everyday, just not when water decides to be nice.

I run my filter 4 hours, and the SWG we run 3. We try for mid afternoon/ evening. I know I may need to give more info, but just need to know where to begin.

We add PH minus powder form, and pool salt per the test strips. HTH brand. I want a clear pool, and my friend says, this is where i need to begin.

I appreciate all help, and comments, and of course posts where i have gone wrong...
 
Don't give up on the swg, I love mine. Tell your friend that swg fit nicely in with the BBB method. The swg is just a way to get chlorine into your pool without having to lug bleach jugs to the pool.

With that said the swg is not the tool to use when fighting algae. When fighting algae, bleach/liquid chlorine are the best ways to get chlorine into the pool. After you are algae free then the swg is a great way to maintain your appropriate chlorine level.

This pool school article should get you started on clearing your pool: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/defeating_algae

Before doing the shocking process referred to in that article, make sure you get about 30 ppm cya (stabilizer) into the pool by putting it in an old sock and hanging it in front of the water return to the pool.

Also, get your ph down to about 7.2 (what is it now?) before doing the shocking process.
 
Welcome.

There is no reason you can not use the SWG. BBB is about understanding the pool not a strictly which chemicals you use.

Start by ordering one of the recommended test kits for yourself (see link in signature)

Then read through pool school a few times (button at upper right)

Your biggest problem now is the lack of stabilizer (CYA). It protects the chlorine (FC) from the sun. so all the FC generated by the SWG is disappearing due to the sun and then algae stats.

Get your CYA up to about 30ppm and then follow the shock process as described in pool school. Once you pass the 3 tests to stop shocking, we will then raise the CYA up closer to 70ppm and get the SWG running.

Hopefully your friend can teach you how to use the poolcalculator.com and then show you how to user your new test kit. The fact that you will be using salt just mean some of your target levels are a little different.

Please ask questions as they come up, but you need to do some reading to get you up to speed.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone ;)
 
Bleach wont hurt the swg. I would leave the swg off until you are done with the shocking process and just use bleach for now.

I would lower your ph down to 7.2, which would take ~17 ounces of 31.45% Muriatic Acid (going down from 7.5 and using poolcalculator.com, 5500 gallons and 170 ppm TA to calculate) before starting the shocking process.
 
1. ph first

2. then bleach which you can also buy from walmart, grocery store, etc. or liquid chlorine (just extra strong bleach). Use poolcalculator.com to calculate how much you need to get to 10 ppm in your pool size and check it as often as possible and redose with the appropriate amount to keep it at 10 ppm.

3. as soon as possible get the cya started in the sock as mentioned above.
 
At the moment i am having so many problems with my swg and i have green water!!! i have surgery coming up in the next month and i wanted my kids to enjoy the pool while im laid up....im soooo disgusted and ready to empty the pool..can you add bleach with using the SWG i never get a low salt or high salt alarm the only alarms i get is low flow which i have to clean out the many filters on the pool.
Also my main filter is the one that came with the pool and uses size A/B Filters and then we have the Krystal clear SWG that we bought this year when we bought the poo. THe pool has been green since the last big rain storms we had i had neghbors trr limbs i was pullng out of th pool. i never get low or high salt alarms..the only alarm i get is low flow so i go through and empy the three filters and restart the swg,
 

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if you have a menards around you they have 6% bleach for 99 cents for a 96 oz jug right now, just remember you dont want scented bleach...i just bought 18 jugs, i am no expert at this but i would follow all the info that these wonderful people have given you they are very knowledgeable. but you do need to get some stabilizer in a sock and hang it in front of the return and dont let it touch the side of the pool and knead it every now and then, until you get some cya in your pool the sun will just eat up all your fc that the swg is trying to produce.....read pool school and when your done read it again. i am stupid i had to read it 5 times....lol but the bbb method is so simple ONCE you get the water in balance...........Mike
 
on another note STAY AWAY FROM THE POOL STORES they will steer you wrong, i would suggest listening to the information of this site these guys are not here to make a living off of you by selling you stuff you don't need....only great FREE advice. also you need to invest in a good test kit to monitor your water the tft test kits are the best around.
 
ffmedicwife1997 said:
one last thing i just remembered im always testing 0 for chlorine is that common with a SWG also we do not have a solar cover for our pool so should we keep it covered all the time with th vinyl cover it came with when we are not using the pool.
Click to expand...
No that is not common for an swg, you should never see 0 for FC. How are you doing your tests?

Covers can help prevent uv light from getting to the chlorine in a pool, depending on how clear they are (clearer possibly being less effective than more colored/opaque). The cover is more useful at night to keep the pool warmer by preventing evaporative cooling.
 
Since I am the "friend" who got her onto this site, I will try my hardest to help her.
1, Myratic acid to get the PH down, this you can accomplish in day
2, CYA get some stabilizer use the pool calculator to help guide you on how much you need to add to the sock (old pair of nylons works just fine)
3, SHOCK PHASE. Only problem I don't know what her target number should be while shocking. (you need to maintain a high amount of bleach to kill off the algae) This can and most likely will take about a week.

Get a good test kit. I know it seems a bit overwhelming at first, but once you successfully nail these 3 steps, and test pool everyday, your kids will swim the rest of the summer in a crystal clear pool, and you will have much more money in your pocket!

One last note get a solar cover, if they do not sell your size, get the smallest one, and cut it to fit! Will help so the sun does not eat up the chlorine.

I go to the pool store at least every 2 -3 weeks and get 4 - 198oz bottles of liquid chlorine @ 12.5% for 14.99, next time I go I will give you a call and see if you need some. It lasts me well over a week, well not latley cuz its been SO HOT AND SUNNY!

:wave:
 
The only cover I have is the thicker solid color one that came with it. I dont have a solar cover wish they made them for my size pool..it would probably take forever to get one from them. Im in the process of getting a better testing kit but for now i use the test strips. yes i know they are no good to use. found that out from my friend and on here.
 
MedicWife -- You have a good friend. :)

You have been given good advice above and I'll just add. Step back a little and realize that you can get this fixed and have a good rest of the summer.

First thing, Are you on a well? and if not, do you know what water costs you?
If it's very inexpensive, you may be better off draining the pool and starting over. It would cost me about $15 to $20 to fill a pool the size of yours up. If yours is close to that cost, it may be cheaper (and will definitely be faster) to drain it, clean it with bleach and refill it. You could do that today and be swimming tomorrow.

If you decide to tackle cleaning it up, keep reading.

Learning the method taught here is just like eating an elephant..... one bite at a time.

So lets take this one step at a time.
Don't worry about too much about lowering your pH. Add the acid Linen suggested and then don't worry about it.
Go ahead and add 3 quarts and 2 cups of bleach to your pool as soon as you can. Then follow the advice about testing and adjusting as often as you can.
You need some CYA in your pool. Since you have tested it at zero you need to add 1½ lbs of stabilizer. The sooner you can get that the better off you'll be.
Once you've gotten the stabilizer in there wait 24 hours and assume it's there and raise your FC target to 15 ppm.

It'll take a little while to clean it up but all it takes is a little time and some bleach.
 
If you have a pool store nearby you can have them test the salt for you.

If you want your own salt test I'd get the test strips. Once things are set up and running correctly you don't have to test the salt very often.

Don't worry about the questions. We like answering questions. That's how we all learned things.
 

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