Green won't go away

[zephyr]

We have been dealing with green algae for 10 days now. Literally overnight it went from cloudy to neon green that couldn't be seen through. My husband shocked it once and added algaecide and waited 5 days. I have now taken over after finding your site. I have a T100 test kit being shipped, but for now, I am having to take water to pool store for testing every day. We were able to get color from non-opaque neon green to cloudy mint green by yesterday. My husband has been cleaning cartridge filter every day for 10 days, but we have seen no change in pressure. It reads at 14psi clean & hadn't changed. In fact, today, it is reading 12psi and he didn't get around to cleaning it last night.

Yesterday (Monday)the readings were as follows, after a gallon of 12.5 liquid chlorine & ph reducer on Saturday:
FC- 5.74
CC- 0
PH- 8.2
CYA- 7

Added 2-1 lb bags pH reducer yesterday, then 1-1lb bag stabilizer to raise CYA, then 1 gal 12.5% liquid chlorine after dark. This morning test was as follows:
FC- 18.11
CC-0
pH-7.8
CYA- 94 (!) - I didn't even add as much as pool calculator said I should.

Water color has not changed since yesterday. Brushing pool twice a day, filter.ca been running 24/7 for 10 days. Lol vacuum runs cycle twice day. What are we doing wrong? What do I do now?

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

You are on the right track, but don't worry about your pH until the pool is clear. The high chlorine level interferes with the test.

You can't trust pool store testing. Most of the time they are no better than guesses. Your CYA could be anything.

Check out Defeating Algae and SLAMing Your Pool for guidance.

 

[DorsalSpine]

Don't add anymore CYA. Pool store testing is notoriously inaccurate. Let's hope it's not as high as you think it is. Your FC level is low if your CYA is correct. You can look in pool school to see the chlorine/CYA relationship but without good test numbers you are flying blind to a large degree.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Well, now you see first hand why you can not trust the pool store testing ... especially for CYA.

You need to wait for the TF-100 to arrive and then post a full set of test results. Read Pool School while you are waiting. Hopefully your CYA is in range and it is not really too high (which would require changing water). Then you need to SLAM the pool. [slam:mr7w5miq][/slam:mr7w5miq]

BTW, does the filter gauge go to 0 when the pump is off? You should clean it when the pressure rises 20-25% over the clean pressure. And you should run the pump 24/7 while SLAMing.

 

[techguy]

7 to 94 on the CYA in less than a week... can you say impossible?

I hate to sound like a broken record but for what you are likely to spend each week at the pool store, you can buy a TF100 test kit, some bleach, a little MA or other chemical required based on test results, and completely solve your green issues, in less than 7 days in many (most?) cases.

 

[zephyr]

I am so frustrated with this whole CYA thing. I only added it last night because the test they gave me said it was at 7! We drained & replaced 3/4 of the pool just over 3 weeks ago in order to clear up the algae that the pool store, understandably now, couldn't help my husband with. If it matters, our pool sits in full sun all day. Can 1 lb of stabilizer really change CYA that much, or is the pool store test really that wrong? I am waiting for my kit, but it could be more than a week before it gets here.

The filter gauge does go to 0 when turned off. Even when we got the water to change from dark green to light green we didn't see any change in pressure.

 

[zephyr]

I have read Pool School 5 times over now. Very grateful to have found it. I realized that my husband who grew up with a pool knew virtually nothing about how to maintain it properly. I had read it before I went to get water tested yesterday and I've been using all the tools, not pool store recommendations. Guess I just need my own test kit to make this work.

 

[RobbieH]

The pool store is probably that wrong.

 

[zephyr]

Yes, supposedly 7 to 94 overnight! When I found this site and asked my husband what his test kit showed three days ago, I realized why we had problems and immediately ordered the test kit. I agree it is cheaper than what he's been doing. I've gone from knowing nothing about pools to trying to teach my husband everything in just a couple of days.

 

[zephyr]

I looked back at last week's pool store tests and CYA ranges anywhere from 60-30. Argh!

 

[jblizzle]

So you have found the poolcalculator.com? Using the Effects of Adding Chemicals at the bottom ... 1 lb of stabilizer in a 10k pool will only add 12ppm CYA ... so one or both of their CYA tests are certainly wrong.

And stick with using the liquid chlorine and not any pucks/powders that have their side-effects

Having read Pool School a few times, you are likely now more knowledgeable than 95% of pool store employees.

 

[zephyr]

Thanks, I've quickly realized that. I'm hoping it's the last test that's wrong, not the one before. I never would've added CYA if I hadn't thought it was too low. Definitely sticking with liquid chlorine.

 

[techguy]

With a test kit, the knowledge you have from pool school and a dedicated effort, you might be able to have this cleared up for Labor Day. It can happen that quick if you make the dedicated effort. FYI... we have all been "PoolStored" and now we are here...with trouble free pools. I have not bought chemicals, filters, media... or anything but toys, tools or parts from a pool store in two seasons.

Can you post a photo so we know what you are looking at? Down the ladder is a great shot as you can see the clarity improve each time.

 

[zephyr]

The view from our deck. It is better. It used to be brighter green than the grass you see around it.

 

[techguy]

It's already showing a little blue.. blue/grey is likely your next color! Looks like we are still hunting for the lower step on your ladder.

 

[zephyr]

The blue has returned! The cloudiness has improved significantly even since this morning 5 hours ago. I've been going blind, but trying to maintain shock level of between 20-23 using dilution method and my basic test kit. Should I be concerned though that the filter pressure still has not changed? Is it possible the cartridge filter needs to be replaced? And if so, can I get away with replacing it next season? We're going to close the pool in another 3 weeks.

 

[jblizzle]

When was the last time you cleaned the cartridge and inspected it for damage?

The pool is clearing, so it must be catching something.

 

[zephyr]

My husband has been taking the cartridge out every morning for the past 10 days and cleaning it. I assume he's indicting git damage as well. Just surprised we've seen no rise in pressure at all.

 

[jblizzle]

So don't clean it everyday and then you should see it rise. Like was said before, clean when the pressure rises 20-25%.

 

[zephyr]

Ok. I'll tell him to back off on that. He was concerned because before when we had lots of green, the pressure wasn't changing, but the filter was completely green. At least now when he pulls it out, it still looks white.