Still green after shock, floc, and pool first-aid?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
O

orangepower

0
May 16, 2013
26
Hello fellow pool owners,

As a rookie to the site, please bear with as many stupid questions/things I'm about to say:

My wife and I purchased our first house last year in July. Having a pool, we were really excited about the prospect of having it look nice. After scrambling all summer to keep up, we finally closed and winterized the pool. Being the broke young married couple, we could not afford a cover at the time so we left the pool uncovered (first mistake).

Opening the pool last weekend we are realizing our errors. After scooping a ton of leaves out and still having some at the bottom, we dumped 2 bottles of black algaecide, 15 bags of shock, 1 pool first aid bottle (64 oz.), and a bottle of flocculant. The numbers we received back from Leslie's testing say our water is perfect.

Howevah, we are still dealing with a very green pool and lots of algae. So much that we can't see the shallow or deep end of the pool. We keep pulling up sludge from the deep end, (silver maple leaves and algae) could this be the problem? Should I scoop every single thing out before adding more chemicals? What should my filter be set to during this process?. I love having a pool but the daily trips to Leslie's are killing me. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm all ears!

Thanks in advance,

OP
 
Welcome to the forum. :lol:

1. Start in Pool School. read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" and "How to Shock Your Pool".

2. Yes, you need to scoop out as much solid debris as you can....not absolutely perfect, but get out as much as you can.

3. Get your own good test kit. YOur trips to Leslies are expensive, time consuming, and laden with bad advice.

YOu cannot clear your pool overnight but if you follow the procedures we suggest, we can help you get your pool absolutely crystal clear.
 
Welcome :wave:

You've already received good advice, so I'll save myself a lot of typing repeating it all. That being said, if you really want to get in good here, post pictures! We love the green-to-clean stories.

Incidentally, you have been Pool-stored.

You're also proof of the simple idea that many people here lose sight of: perfect numbers don't impress very many people; clear, sparkly water does.

I eagerly await the news that you've purchased a proper test kit and I look forward to seeing pictures.
 
I've got the filter taken apart to clean while waiting on test kit today, how do I disassemble the grids on my filter? I'm trying to pull it out, but it looks like the PVC pipes are holding it down. Suggestions?
 
orangepower said:
I've got the filter taken apart to clean while waiting on test kit today, how do I disassemble the grids on my filter? I'm trying to pull it out, but it looks like the PVC pipes are holding it down. Suggestions?
Click to expand...
Here's the manual, with an exploded view. http://www.hayward-pool.com/pdf/manuals/ProGrid-DExx20.pdf

Once the top is off, you undo the center bolt and jiggle and pull until the top piece lifts off. Then you gently jiggle and lift on each grid until they lift out. That's it. There's a few pictures here http://www.troublefreepool.com/post230934.html and some tips other people gave me my first time.

If you open the backwash valve underneath, you can just wash all the sludge out of the botton down the drain. Don't use too much water pressure or it will splatter and send some of that stuff down into the grid inlet.

Be careful to put that bleeder hose back in position when you reassemble.
 
Thanks for your help! Mrs. OP and I finished putting the filter back in/on just before the storm came through OKC. Already backwashed again this morning. Lots of green. I'm guessing this is good because its not in the pool anymore. Still reading the test kit info, plan on getting some numbers today so I can figure out my next step.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
3 lb bags of 70% chlorine added, scrubbed the pool with the brush, and back washed...a lot. Psi in the filter is down to 10psi which is good. But I've still got a lot of green. I've calculated the pool size in gallons to 16k-18k gallons and I've added nearly double the amount of chlorine for that amount. All my numbers from my new, handy dandy test kit are primo. But there still isn't a large reaction like I had last year when I did this. Do I continue to just run the filter and backwash every 2 hours until its clean? Or just go for about 15 bags of chlorine and nuke the Christ out of it?

Thanks everyone

OP
 
I've read the "how to shock" article again for the 50th time and here's my question: what's the difference between shocking to increase to shock level to a certain amount, and just adding 15 bags of 70% chlorine to nuke the Crud out of the pool? I mean, seriously. What difference can it possibly make?
 
A) you are in control of the process, using the knowledge achieved through proper testing to achieve the desired outcome
B) Our method will save you money in the long run
C) Just adding 15 bags of ??? is reckless and could possible damage a pool and/or equipment

There are thousands of threads on this forum that PROVE our methods work. The choice is yours, it is your pool.
 
I'm not trying to offend anyone. I'm just asking because that method is out there. I've owned a pool now for 7 months and I'm 26; so I'm just trying to get my bearings.

On steps three and four after measuring FC levels, it doesn't really address the type of chlorine used to increase Chlorine level. Anyone have a specific bran they prefer?

OP
 
orangepower said:
I'm not trying to offend anyone. I'm just asking because that method is out there. I've owned a pool now for 7 months and I'm 26; so I'm just trying to get my bearings.

On steps three and four after measuring FC levels, it doesn't really address the type of chlorine used to increase Chlorine level. Anyone have a specific bran they prefer?

OP
Click to expand...
Whatever is cheapest!

Sometimes it works out that Chlorox 8.25% is the best price from a warehouse store. Sometimes 10% from Lowes. Maybe even 12.5% from a pool store. Don't waste money on anything that won't tell you the concentration right on the bottle, and don't buy anything with scents.
 
I will get numbers up ASAP. As you all have seen on the news, OK got slammed last night so our Internet has been shotty. PH is fantastic, still filtering and back washing lots of green. But I can see the bottom of the pool and where the algae has settled. Tried to vacuum but we had problems with sucking air instead of water. I'm certainly not trying to burn my new pump out! Probably going to make another supply run this week for more chlorine and recheck numbers. Also, when I figure out how to post pics, I will get them up!

Thanks again everyone,

OP
 
Here are my numbers as of this morning.

CYA-50
FC-.4ppm
CC-1.0ppm
pH-7.4

Seems I don't have much shock in the pool. Filter is running and it seems like I'm back washing everyday and the pool is still green tinted and algae floating around. What do I need to do next?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
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