Algae - DRIVING ME CRAZY

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aonis

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Apr 22, 2013
31
Florida
Hi!

I am a novice pool person. I've been down in Miami visiting my mother who usually has a perfectly clean pool but had developed and Algae bloom by the time I arrived and we've been trying to trouble shoot this thing now for 7 days. Here is what I think led to the problem:

- She had a pool guy but couldn't afford the service any more (obvious start) :lol:
- She had an Aquarite automated chlorinator that has malfunctioned and the cell broke
- she then moved over to tablets for chlorine and she had shocked it a few times.

When I got here she had a green pool and was using tablets. I went to the pool guys and every time I go I get a different person but I've been led to do the following:

*** they first said I had too much stabilizer and it was preventing the chlorine from working in the pool.

- I drained 3 ft of water out of the pool and we filled it back up and shocked it.
- I used Aqua Floc and was able to vacuum (to waste) a lot of algae after a few days. this got the pool close to clean but still lightly cloudy
- Now I've been sent down the Phosphate Remover path and am continuously running the filter for 24hrs and will then be putting in Rescue Klear and running filter again continuously.

I apologize for not having my actual readings, but they've been saying everything is normal, except the last visit which showed high phosphates.


PLEASE HELP! I feel like I'm being given product after product without a clear solution.
 
Good Morning!
You've come to the right place. All the information you need to get things right again are here, including support from people who have been there. Have you read through Pool School yet? There's a link near the top right corner of every page here. It has a LOT of information, but relax- it's not as complicated as it seems.

In order to get your pool where you want it to be, you need to know where you are now. Do you have a test kit of any sort? A GOOD kit is essential, think of it as a compass that will point out the direction toward where you want to be. Folks here are glad to help but we need a starting point to go from. if you could post a set of numbers- even pool store numbers while not always accurate might be better than nothing- that could help.

Welcome aboard!
 
aonis said:
Thanks!

I will go and get numbers. What is a good kit and the price range? Otherwise I'll get the numbers from the pool store this morning after I test the water again.
Click to expand...
Welcome.

If you want the best bang for the buck in test kits, go to http://www.tftestkits.net and order a TF100. It's all Taylor stuff, just in realistic quantities. Since you're dealing with algae, order the XL option now. Then you won't need to order refills so soon.

Some Inspiration: before-and-after-t38780.html
 
Have you had your morning coffee or tea? I suggest you brew a pot, print out Pool School, sit down by the green pool and start reading. I still re-read it on occasion because i've yet to memorize it. Once you've read through it once or twice you'll understand what is going on in your pool, and how to combat it.

You are going to need to be able to accurately test your pool, this means no Pool Store tests and no dip stick test. It's not that a pool store couldn't test your water accurately, its just that the general experience is that they don't either due to use of strips, or lack of training, or lack of knowledge.

You say the chlorinator broke and the cell broke. What cell are you talking about?

The big question is long term would she do daily chlorine additions to her pool via dumping in bleach?
Are their funds to fix chlorinator?
 
I'd be willing to bet that the pool is overstabilized (too much CYA). That is usually the culprit when a pool has looked good for a long time and then all the sudden takes a cloudy or greenish turn. Order a good test kit (TF100 is the best value) and then get us the numbers and we will help turn things around for you.
 
I got my numbers in today and they are as follows:

FC: 1.5
Water pH: 7.6
Alkalinity: 8.0
CYA: 55
Water Hardness: 70


I was told to shock the pool which I did tonight. Hopefully that is the right course of action.
 
Have you read any of the previous responses? What did you do to "shock" the pool? There is no such thing as a one time addition. We call it the shock PROCESS:
pool-school/shocking_your_pool

Read the 2 other links that JohnT provided above ... and Read Pool School!!!

You have to decide if you are going to follow the advice here, or from the pool store (who I am sure enjoy getting your money). Trying to do both with just be confusing and waste everyone's time.
 
If that CYA is accurate, then the absolute minimum that your FC should be is 6.5 for a chlorine pool. In order to shock the pool, your FC needs to be brought up to 22.

You really need to get you a test kit. You should be able to test for FC (FAS DPD and not OTO or regular DPD), CC, pH, CH, CYA, and TA on your own. Without being able to get your own accurate numbers, you are going to be spinning your wheels.

Don't worry about phosphate levels or removing phosphates. There is no need to mess with it.
 

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Right now, the only thing you should be letting the pool store do is test your water if anything! Don't buy a thing they try to sell you and don't believe them when they say your chlorine level is good because it's not! Read the relationship between CYA and Chlorine in Pool School!

You need to find yourself in WalMart or your local grocery store buying several jugs of unscented bleach + 10 more. As stated above, you don't add shock to a pool, you shock the pool by holding it at an elevated chlorine level for several days if need be. It's so very important that you buy a good quality test kit like the TF-100 so you can measure FC levels over 5ppm. A *must* when you shock any pool.
 
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