Trouble with high ph and algae

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TN.Eric

TN.Eric

0
May 9, 2013
11
Franklin, TN
OK I need some help, been fighting algae for a over a week now.
I bit of history, had some pump issues toward the end of summer, in the form of leaks.
Finally resolved the input leaks and the bubbles at the returns are most eliminated, I still got bubbles every so often coming out of the returns.
I then discovered a broken 1/4 inch flex line on the output side of my auto-chlorinator (which I keep set at 0) I replaced that and no more bubbles.

I first noticed a bit of green algae on Monday the 16th.
pH 7.7
FC 1.5
Alk 110
CH 240
CYA 58
I added a bunch of bleach to raise the FC (slammed the pool)
I brushed and added chlorine the next coupe days, on 9/17 I noted the Algae was gone (in hind sight this might have been in error not sure)
On the 21st I noted the algae was back
pH 7.8
FC 5
Slammed the pool again and added 1/2 cup dry acid (twice this day) to lower the pH FC 25.5 that night
I began to notice if I let the Taylor pH test site for 30-60 seconds the color would get very pink - I think perhaps my earlier pH reading were wrong because I did not wait long enough. How long should you wait to read the pH?

on 9/23 I recorded :
pH 8.4 (best guess sine it is off the chart)
FC 14.5
CC .5
Alk 110
Ch 240
CYA 58
Added 1 cup of Dry Acid to lower pH

9/25 am:
pH 8
FC 5
Added another 1/2 cup of Dry Acid and some bleach

9/25 pm: More green spots on the pool walls
pH 8.4 (a guess since it's over 8.2)
FC 14.5
CC .5 or less

I added 2 cups of Dry Acid tonight to try to get ahead of the climbing pH

Pump has been back washed several times during this to help make sure no algae is living in it.

What am I doing wrong??? Need some direction from the experts please.
Not sure why the pH keeps climbing...
Pretty much when I brush the pool (usually twice daily) I brush up a "green cloud" from the bottom of the pool, how much green does vary from time to time.

thanks in advance for the help and advise.
 
Does not sound like you are following the SLAM process correctly. [slam:ar80eju6][/slam:ar80eju6]

Have you passes those 3 criteria to stop SLAMing and allow the FC level to drop?

BTW, the pH test reads artificially high when the FC > 10ppm, so you should not be adjusting pH at high FC levels.
 
I did follow the process as much I could the once and hour thing is pretty hard to accomplish. I've never seen my CC over .5 and it was 0 at times when I tested, I also did the over night test and had a loss of .5 at one point. I;ve had a few days of rain making it harder to keep up with the process too. I'll work on the slamming again and see if I can't get over this annoyance.
 
If you still see green, you have not finished.

You state you tested once the 23, nothing the 24 and then twice the 25. And your FC is dropping way below SLAM level. You should be able to test in the morning and dose high, then at least twice in the evening, once when you get home and once before bed. The better you maintain the FC, the faster the process.

Btw, the pH test should be fine fairly quickly, don't let it sit out and read it later.
 
Results from late last night
9/25 PM
FC 25.5
CC 0.5 or less

9/26 AM
Pool looked good no algae on the walls in the normal places and no green cloud when brushing the bottom (before sun rise)
Did not add any bleach as the level was still at SLAM level
FC 23.5
CC .5 or less

9/26 evening
Algae is back, one spot on the wall and a bit of green cloud when brushing the bottom
added more chlorine
FC 22.5
CC 0

Will test again tonight.....
 
This is my first time battling algae so I am learning the process for sure. My thought about only losing 2 over night was that the algae problem was not that bad. Apparently 23.5 is not night enough for slam level, though since the algae won today.
It was a nice sunny day today as well so I'm sure the algae soaked up the sun and used that energy to grow, grow, grow.... I'll just keep slamming the pool....
This pool (my first as well) is small and has been pretty easy to take care of, not needing a lot of chemicals, so this has been very abnormal for me to be dumping as much chlorine and other chemicals into the pool.
Since it is a small pool and the pump does ~45 GPM in theory all the water in the pool is circulated every 2 hours, which I would think would also speed up the process, at least of clearing up the cloudiness.

Thanks for the advise and encouragement.
 
Your not going to clear it overnight. Your SLAM level is 24 ppm. What will make this process faster is keeping it at SLAM level as long as you can. That's where the testing as often as you can to maintain shock level comes into play. Ideally you would be testing every hour and bring it back up when your FC drops below SLAM level.

Do the best you can and stay on it.
 
Apparently my last reply did not come through not sure why... :hammer:

I have a Tf-100 test kit with the speed stir.

Here are the recent numbers:
Date Time FC Notes
9/26/2013 20:53 27
9/27/2013 6:16 26
9/27/2013 17:06 23 Green - A little algae, and green cloud when brushing Adding Chlorine
9/27/2013 22:21 27
9/28/2013 8:24 26 Green - Added more Chlorine
9/28/2013 12:47 25.5 After adding chlorine at 8:24 and again at 10:30 - Added twice as much chlorine as the previous two times
9/28/2013 17:29 29.5
9/28/2013 23:29 25.5
9/29/2013 6:15 27 (I don't understand how it went up overnight??) :shock:
9/29/2013 16:00 25.5 Added bleach about 8 am as it looked cloudy to me, added more bleach now

I'm heading out of town tomorrow for a few days, pretty much expecting a very green pool when I return toward the end of the week.

I could turn on the CL200 auto-chlorination system not sure if that would help though. It is normally turned off.
 

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Good new, when I returned home the pool was NOT GREEN :party: so apparently my efforts over the previous weekend were successful :-D

Did a full battery of tests today and things look good:

Ph 7.5
FC 8 (still coming down from the slamming)
CC 0
Alk 70 (Added 2 lbs of baking soda will test again tomorrow)
Ch 200
CYA 40

Water was nice and clear. Turned my pump back to 3 cycles per day 2-3 hours per cycle.

I've noticed lots of dead beetles and lately worms in the pool, I've been cleaning the strainer basket and fishing them out as often as possible.
 
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