Fighting with a green pool

[thewayne]

My latest test results just taken are as follows.

FC 15
CC .5
pH 7.5
Alk 300
Cal 90
Cya 30
Temp 76

I have been fighting this since last weekend. I have trying to keep the FC at 15 or above and i have removed as much of the leaves and acorns from the pool that I can. But I just can't seem to kill it all. The color has gone from a very dark green to a lighter green but still green. The pool store had me use a product called Mustard and black Magic, sodium bromide, about 16oz. I did not want to put something in other then bleach, but I am getting impatient.

The pool is a 29ft round 48inch deep AG.

Where do I go from here?

 

[JasonLion]

I would stay away from sodium bromide. Using it is complex and a waste of time at your CYA level. Sodium bromide has some merits at extremely high CYA levels, but even there the uses are limited.

The reduction in greenness may mean that you have killed the algae, or perhaps you have only gotten close. A good way to check is to measure the FC level in the (EDIT)evening and again early in the morning(/EDIT). If the FC level remains the same overnight you have killed all the algae and just need to wait for the filter to filter it all out. If the FC falls you need more chlorine.

 

[duraleigh]

Hi, Wayne,

Years ago, a real pool guru posted this advice and it has stuck with me ever since. It was in a response very similar to your's wherein the poster had been doing all the right things and his pool was not clearing up....I'll have to paraphrase..

Dear XXXXX,

Your pool did not get in it's current condition overnight. Please do not expect it to clear up too much sooner than it took to get it where it is.

Of course, you're pool will clear up much sooner than it took to get it where it is but that post has stuck in my brain and always will. The pool clearing process is just that...a process...not an event.

Take a big dose of that POP we always talk about and, most imprtantly, stay the course. Keep your FC up high, run the pump 24/7 and backwash/clean whenever necessary.


The process is complete when:
A. You hold FC loss to 1.0 or less overnite
B. Your CC's test .5 or less
C. Your water is sparkling

Keep plugging along....this method ALWAYS works.

 

[AnnaK]

Stick with the treatment Wayne, it's working. The light green will soon change to turquoise, probably by tomorrow, then blue. The water will be cloudy for quite a while but it will be blue and you will see the bottom. Brushing is very important even in the absence of visible algae growth.

I had to clean up a very deep green pool last year. It took 7 days of daily bleach addition and brushing to get the water blue and another 10 or so days to get it clear and sparkling.

Be patient, and welcome to TFP!

 

[ivyleager]

Wayne,

Keep that filter/pump running 24/7 also. Make sure your filter medium (sand/DE/cartridges) are maintained.

My one and only horror algae problem on opening years ago took me 8 days to fully clear...I only used bleach. It indeed takes awhile but it will clear.

Patience.

 

[thewayne]

Thanks,

I am at the turquoise color this today. It is getting better. I have been using BBB for 3 years now, and have been very happy with it, just got a little impatient with the green muck, which was my fault, btw.

Is there anything I need to do in regards to putting that sodium bromide in? I think I read before that it will actually convert your chlorine to bromine. My chlorine levels are holding now though.

 

[JasonLion]

I strongly recommend that you do not use the sodium bromide at all! Chlorine will clear up the pool, just maintain the proper FC level and give it time to work. Adding other chemicals risks starting whole new problems that you do not need right now.

 

[thewayne]

Well that's just it. I used it before posting here.

 

[duraleigh]

Done is done. Keep the chlorine w-a-ay up there anjd post a full set of test results soon. That'll tell us if it did any harm.

Better yet, Test for FC tonight after the sun is off the pool and then again tomorrow AM before the sun is back on it. That'll help us see if the bromine is gonna' eat up all the chlorine.

 

[JasonLion]

You will need lots of chlorine to finish the sodium bromide process. Start with the amounts they recommend on the package, but expect to go well over that before you are done. If you follow their directions you will kill the algae but it then becomes tricky to hold a FC level afterwards. You need to monitor the FC level and add chlorine regularly, probably two or three times a day, until you can again hold a FC level again, or you will just get algae all over again.

 

[thewayne]

9pm test results:

FC 20
CC .5
pH 7.2
Alk 260
Cal 90
Cya 50

I had to add quite a bit of chlorine today. I checked the levels every 30 min to an hour and used about 7 gallons of bleach, but it has been steady since the sun went down.
Will check again before work in the morning.

 

[thewayne]

Well, I ran out of drops before I could complete my test this morning. So here it goes again.

As of 9:49pm


FC 16.5
CC .5

 

[JasonLion]

It seems like you are getting close but aren't quite there yet. Keep the FC level up till it holds overnight.

How does the water look today?

 

[thewayne]

As of 7:30 am:

FC 15
CC .5

The water is blue, but cloudy. Can't see the bottom yet, but there are no traces of green.

 

[duraleigh]

Hi, Wayne,

The process is complete when:
A. You hold FC loss to 1.0 or less overnite
B. Your CC's test .5 or less
C. Your water is sparkling

Looks like you've got a little more work. Hang in there. Plenty of encouragement from this forum if you need it :lol: :lol:

 

[Rangerman]

As of 7:30 am:

FC 15
CC .5

The water is blue, but cloudy. Can't see the bottom yet, but there are no traces of green.

Like others have stated, "give it time" . . when the chemistry is right but the pool a bit cloudy - that's dead algae that hasn't filtered out yet. If you want to hurry it along, you could consider a floc treatment.

 

[thewayne]

Pool is still cloudy this evening, however, I can now see the bottom and it is looking blue.

My FC is holding over night, but not at all during the day. After reading 15 FC this morning, I told my wife to add a jug before lunch and another a couple of hours later. When I arrived home from work and little league, my FC was .5 with CC at 0. So I bumped it back up to 15 and it is holding now. My CYA was reading 0 when I first began but after adding 4lbs it is reading 50, unless my chemicals are reading wrong.

 

[mac4lyfe]

Why would your CYA be reading zero??? Did you drain the pool? I would suspect it was more like 20 - 30 and the added 4 lbs with your size pool would have added 25-30ppm of CYA which would have brought you close to the 50 that your getting.

Also during the day you will lose FC obviously by the sun...

 

[JasonLion]

Why would your CYA be reading zero?? I would suspect it was more like 20 - 30 and the added 4 lbs with your size pool would have added 25-30ppm of CYA which would have brought you close to the 50 that your getting.

The common CYA test can read levels up to 20 as zero, with only slight user error even 30 can read as zero. No doubt there was 15 to 25 in the pool to start. But reading that as zero is common enough.

 

[thewayne]

No, I did not drain the pool. My cya was around 30 - 40 at the end of last season. But I did leave the pool uncovered all winter, (due to a very hectic work schedule and a bit of procrastination) I am not sure if that attributed to the 0 reading or not.

That being said, I am happy to report that the pool is clear all the way through now. I just need to do a final vacuuming to pick up the dirt or sand that I can see and we will be swimming.

Thanks, for the support. I will be sure to avoid this next season.