Algae is not dying....what am I doing wrong

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ekins2011

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Aug 11, 2013
7
VERY Southern California
I am a science teacher so I consider myself above average in following directions. I feel I have followed the SLAM directions but my pool still looks the same (it has been 2.5 days so far).

My chemistry (using the K-2006):
FC- 18 (keeping it here religiously)
CC- 1
CYA- 55
pH- 7.2

Filter is running...psi looks good (have backwashed once). I have gone through 16 gallon jugs of liquid pool chlorine (10% concentration). So trouble shoot with me....what do I need to do now?

I have not been testing my CH or Phosphates, do I need to?





 
Continue to SLAM the pool for as long as it takes. That pool looks like it has been without adequate chlorine for a pretty good while before you started to SLAM so you are likely in for a LOT more chlorine consumption.

With a CYA of 55 ppm, your SLAM value should be 22 or so.....use the chart in Pool School and the clearing process may very well speed up.

read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School....it will tell you that CH and phosphates are irrelevant to algae.
 
In addition to what the others said, have you removed any/all physical debris from the pool? A layer of leaves on the bottom can make it nearly impossible to clear up the pool.

If the pool has been let go for some time, 16 gallons of chlorine isn't all that much. If the pool just got algae recently, I would have expected you to see more progress by now.
 
We have gotten to a light green cloudy color 5 times this summer but never clear. After our son was born last summer we neglected the pool because we thought it would be easy to get back to this:


I will shock up to 22 now and just try to be patient. We have not seen the bottom of the pool in over a year despite spending $1000s at the pool store (foolishly....seriously it hurts to think of how stupid we were.) Before this year we kept the free chlorine at 1 and never had a single problem...so I was thinking...hey owning a pool is super easy! I am getting to the point where I don't think it is worth the hassle anymore...someone talk me out of a demo. of my pool.
 
In my experience it will take weeks to be clear. I have never gone from green to clean with a DE filter though, hopefully your experience will be faster.

Everybody has already stated my first feeling, your FC level is too low.

To expound upon what Jason said, if there are leaves/organic matter in the bottom of the pool, your chlorine is going be used up killing it, so physically removing it is easier than bleaching leaves etc...

You didn't mention brushing, are you brushing frequently? Brushing will mix the pot up, get stuff out of dead spots in your circulation. Brushing will also stir up particles that have settled to get them floating in the water so that they can be filtered out, it also ensures that they are exposed to the chlorine in the water. A layer of algae on the bottom of the pool floor can shield a layer underneath it from the chlorine.
 
You're going to HAVE to find out if you have any muck on the bottom if it's been a year before you can expect results. Try to rake anything in the deep end up to the shallow with a pool pole and a brush on it so you can net it out.
 

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Can you vacuum to waste? That will help get rid of the gunk on the bottom of the pool alot faster. Untill you get rid of the organics at the bottom of the pool you are just spinning your wheels as others have said. That needs to be your number one priority.
 
.but how would I know if I have any debris at the bottom of my pool? I can't see the bottom. I run my pool robot and it cleans up tons of green gunk each time.
Click to expand...
You answered your own question....if the robot is collecting it (which it is not really designed to do), then you can be assured that it is down there and needs to be vacuumed/netted. That's the very first step as you start to clear that pool.

Clearing a pool that has been neglected that long is a big task. Unless you take it methodically and use the proper techniques and chemistry and equipment, you will fail.

I might add that it is a mind-set, too. You will have to resolve that there are no "magic bullets" that you can toss into the pool and have miracle results. It is going to take some hard work and will be a learning process but there are a lot of folks here that will help you once you get yourself ready.
 
I think we are getting there...
Chemistry:
FC- 26
CC-1
pH-7.2
Cya- 55

We are brushing daily and running the Hayward Shark Vac (someone said that is not what the robot was designed for... meaning I shouldn't be running the vac? Please elaborate on that.) The shark vac has been coming up clean lately...so I think the bottom is clearing.

I don't know who the powers that be are but maybe you can add a section in the sticky (turning a swamp into oasis) that if you have neglected your pool for a year then it is going to take closer to 100 jugs of chlorine and weeks (not days). I was getting antsy after 3 days of nothing happening....now I know better. Just going to keep on. Next week I go back to work and no one will be home all day to keep up the chlorine addition. What can I do then?

Pictures
(Start)

(5 days in)


I do see some improvement
 
Are you running the pump 24/7 with the filter on? I have not seen you mention having to backwash the filter which should be done whenever the pressure rises 20-25% over the clean pressure. Which I would expect to happen every few hours. Actually it is sometimes suggested to run the pump in recirculation mode until everything appears dead and then baby-sit the filter and massive amounts of backwashing.
 
When I started this year my pool looked like that and I knew I had tons of stuff on the bottom. I just kept digging and scooping with my regular skimmer. My pool is a whole lot smaller but you'd be surprised how much you can fish out of there even when you can't see. I even figured out the one spot where the leaves were the worst and just kept pulling out skimmers full of stuff. Boy was it gross....
 
With luck things will be much better by next week, and even if not completely done you can boost to shock level when you leave for work, then again when you get back home. Hang in there and keep us updated.

Ike
 
It will get better and I'm another on board rooting for you too now. SLAM it hard, and don't let up. Get the junk out and keep the Chlorine in and up high....don't let it fall! Thats a beautiful pool and it will come back around for sure.
 
I've checked and there's not a lot of debris at the bottom of the pool. I have been running the filter 24/7 and backwashed a couple times, but I read up on DE filters and I'm afraid that I haven't been adding enough filter media after backwashing. Tonight I plan to completely clean the filter and add some new media (I'm using cellulose fiber rather than DE). After that I'll backwash whenever the pressure increases 20-25% AND add the right amount of filter media afterward. Wish me luck!
 
ekins2011 said:
I've checked and there's not a lot of debris at the bottom of the pool. I have been running the filter 24/7 and backwashed a couple times, but I read up on DE filters and I'm afraid that I haven't been adding enough filter media after backwashing. Tonight I plan to completely clean the filter and add some new media (I'm using cellulose fiber rather than DE). After that I'll backwash whenever the pressure increases 20-25% AND add the right amount of filter media afterward. Wish me luck!
Click to expand...


Just as a heads up...a DE filter (cellulose or DE) can pressure up rapidly when you are killing Algae. Sometimes only a few hours, so be prepared and watch it closely.
 

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