Drifter's Paradise

[nismostate]

wassup TFP? Really glad I found this site and figured I start a thread of my own.
Im a first time pool owner and have been following the BBB method since may of this year and everything has been great until recently..
About 2 weeks ago, the pool went from sparkly blue/clear to green. I followed the shocking process and kept it above shocking level (+20 fc @ 45-50 cya) until it passed the OCLT. it got to the point where i could see the drain pretty well so i let it drop to normal FC levels. well a couple of days ago, it went white cloudy again but it didn't drop any FC over night with 0 cc. Do you think I need to bring it back to shock level again? just really confused because everything is checking out like it should but it went cloudy only in the deep end . I did notice that my main drain isn't working as well as it should since it is missing the skimmer diverter. could this be the reason why it started to get cloudy again but not green? i am seeing green spots in certain spots of the pool after a few hrs too and easily scrubs away.

shot of my backyard oasis

 

[linen]

Nice looking pool, nismostate

Can you post a full set of test results (FC,CC,ph,TA, CH, cya), that may help us diagnosing your cloudy issue.

 

[nismostate]

thanks linen!

I should of known better..
brought the fc up just to bring it up some last night but it did pass the oclt this morning with the same FC level.

fc 16
cc 0
ph 7.8
cya 45-50
TA 70
CH 190

 

[linen]

Nothing in you test numbers suggest a problem with calcium clouding.

I missed you comment about green spots. That does suggest you need to coninue with the shocking process. Are the spots on the sides or the bottom?

 

[nismostate]

thanks for the quick response.
both but seems like mostly bottom.

 

[nismostate]

well after looking at your OCLT instructions, pretty sure I dropped it under shock level before it was "crystal clear" even though it had 0 fc loss over night with 0 cc. might be the reason why algea is starting to come back?

 

[linen]

Might be...I would raise it back up and continue until the water is clear. Spots on the side point towards algae verses debris.

 

[nismostate]

Raised to shock level last night and it lost .5 fc over night with 0cc. Will continue to keep it at shock level until green spots go away.

 

[ping]

Make sure you are brushing the pool and I also recommend removing the light if you have one. The light niche might be hiding your algae source.

 

[nismostate]

thanks for the advice, I've been brushing whenever I can. Ill remove the light today and leave it out until it clears up.

 

[nismostate]

Took your advice and pulled the light out. There was a cloud of green algae that came with it. Could that be the reason it won't go away? I've been shocking for a few days now and its still the same. Clear at the shallow end and cloudy in the deep end with green spots popping up at the same areas after 5 or so hrs. Pump has been on 24/7. I've been brushing constantly too.

 

[ping]

Keep up with the shock process and don't let your FC drop below your shock level. Chlorine needs to kill all the algae and you should be seeing some positive results everyday from here on out. Keep your FC at or above 20 for a CYA level of 50. Try to target 22 and see how long it can maintain it at that level.

 

[nismostate]

well it's been sitting at about +24 fc for a few days now with no signs of it getting better. what's strange is that it tests 0 cc and less than .5 fc drop overnight. usually 0 drop! the same spots always reappear after about 6-8 hrs with the pump running 24/7. im started to think that might be mustard algae. they are clumps of dark green/yellow at some spots. i've read the mustard algae section of pool school and i think im gonna raise the fc up to MA shock level. ill try to post some pictures of it tonight.