light green pool

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DianeE

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Jul 3, 2008
6
[Edit:split post:please continue your pool clearing/balancing questions in this thread.jjparrish]

hi,

I have a light green 24 ft above ground pool, have been throwing sock and chlorine tablets in skimmer and a floater, changed sand in filter, chlorine level is very high ph 7.2 ish. when I vacuum the green on the bottom is more of a dust, causes a cloud. Water in glass jar is clear. Took water to be tested at the local pool place, was told the levels are all great and was told to turn off pool let everything settle and then vacuum first thing in the morning and then run filter and that I was suppose to stop backwashing so much, making the sand to clean. Put filter sock over skimmer basket and it is green after. Used 2 1/2 bottles of Algaecide 60, threw in some clarifying, have used regular bleach also, even though chlorine is reading high there is no smell of chlorine...help!!!!

Diane
 
Re: From Swamp To green cloudy green

DianeE said:
hi,

I have a light green 24 ft above ground pool, have been throwing sock and chlorine tablets in skimmer and a floater, changed sand in filter, chlorine level is very high ph 7.2 ish. when I vacuum the green on the bottom is more of a dust, causes a cloud. Water in glass jar is clear. Took water to be tested at the local pool place, was told the levels are all great and was told to turn off pool let everything settle and then vacuum first thing in the morning and then run filter and that I was suppose to stop backwashing so much, making the sand to clean. Put filter sock over skimmer basket and it is green after. Used 2 1/2 bottles of Algaecide 60, threw in some clarifying, have used regular bleach also, even though chlorine is reading high there is no smell of chlorine...help!!!!

Diane
Click to expand...

Hi Diane, this is called a thread hijack. :mrgreen:

It would be better for you to begin "your own" thread, and post all of your test number results that the pool store gave you. That way we can help you better. While you begin that, you can read details about BBB for beginners, etc., all about the ABC's of pool chemistry, clearing up a swamp (the article is called something like that) in Pool School. We're here to help you but we only have part of the picture. The pool store telling you that "your levels are great" isn't going to help anyone especially you to clear your pool! LOL. The first thing you need to take is some POP - Pool Owner Patience. You can't buy it, you just have to "get" some. The second thing I recommend is a good test kit, TF-100 (with some extra FAS-DPD reagent) is essential. Until then, if you can access a cheap kit, wal-mart sells one for $16 the HTH 6-way, and that should tide you over till you can get a better kit. You really won't need algaecide, a properly maintained pool doesn't really need it. Besides, Algaecide prevents algae, it doesn't kill it, chlorine kills it.

Welcome to TFP btw.... :-D
 
Re: From Swamp To green cloudy green

I think we are in danger of Highjacking this thread - but I'll go anyway.

1) We need a set of numbers. Specifically FC CC CYA and Ph TA. The others would be good as well

2) How many gallons of water does your pool hold? This would determine, along with your CYA your shock level. Use the pool calc to figure out the shock level and add bleach as it tells you.

3) If it is green and you FC is dropping overnight - it's algae. Still out there, eating the chlorine to it's hearts content.

4) From what I understand on this site, Algaecide helps to prevent algae, it does nothing to kill it. Normally most people put it in upon closing their pool for the winter.

5) the only chemical you need at this point is Bleach - watch the PH though. Don't let it go below 7.0 (then you would need Borax)

6) The Patience you need is terrible. It took about six weeks to turn my pool , and that was 3 weeks of sort of getting it and three weeks of Titanium kicking me in the rear to get it together - and my pool water it BEAUTIFUL! Please trust me on this...


ETA: frustratedpoolmom and I were thinking alike - she thinks faster than me!
 
Well first let me apologize for not starting a new thread... I will try to keep this from happening again.

Well I ran out to Walmart and got the 6 way test kit and here are the readings

cya= 80 ppm
chlorine was over 5 on the tube..dark dark yellow...the other day it was orange.
PH= 7.2
total alkalinity= 70 ppm
hardness test added indicator water never turned red went to clear

Thought I would add that we have well water and since I have been backwashing a lot I have added water several times.
Again I apologize and thank everyone for their time
Diane E
 
Diane,

Is your pool in full sun?

Where are you located, city & state?

What does your water look like now & can you give us a pic?

The CYA test is probably reading a false high due to the condition of your water. But, a CYA of 80 is high. If you're doing a lot of backwashing (you mentioned this), this will help bring it down.

Do you have a print-out from the pool store for the test they did?

I would not add anything but bleach (plain, unscented) to your water for now.

Have you had your fill water tested for metals?

Pool School, link at top of page in sub-heading, has tons of help. Reading the following article(s) should help. "Defeating Algae" in Pool School. Inside that article is a link to "How to turn a swamp back in to a sparkling oasis".

Let us know how it is going.

ETA....Welcome to the forum :lol:
 
CYA is 80-pool green

I have 24 ft round pool- when opening pool water was blackish- cleared it to a cloudy look, using shock and bleach, lots of both. Started getting green- was not holding Chlorine and ph was low, I added bleach, shock, algaecides and clarify, have been keeping a 3" tablet in skimmer and one in a floater. Backwashed a lot, I have a sand filter. Seemed to be clearing up and got a few good days. Green started coming back. So we changed the sand in the filter. No change. Took water to pool store and was told levels were all good and I should stop adding chemicals, turn off the pump and let everything settle over night and vacuum first thing in the morning, which I did. i vacuumed three times yesterday, and then put in the automatic cleaning. They also recommended not backwashing so much as I was possibly making the sand to clean. Put a filter sock over skimmer...green green green. Still no change, Added 2 lbs of shock extra blue and 2 gallons of bleach. Read a few things here and I got the test kit from Walmart the 6 way and the readings are as followed

CYA= 80ppm
Chlorine was very dark yellow so I assume way over the 5 that is listed on the kit at the high end
PH= 7.2
Total ALK= 70 ppm
hardness test = I added the indicator and it was clear, did not change color.

From reading here I see that 80 CYA is high but I read in one post that the CYA was a 100 and the response was to get it down to at least 80 and their pool was smaller then mine, I have well water and I really want to know if there is another way to get the CYA lower without partially emptying the pool, since I was backwashing so much I have added water several times. I am also wondering how long it will take to get the green gone. I do not feel any slime on the walls or floor and when I push it around or vacuum it is more of a dust cloud, I was told that is dead algae. Also is it safe to go in this water since I find it easier to vacuum while in the pool, definitely not inviting.
Thanks
Diane
 
There should be a pressure gauge on top of the filter. Note the pressure reading on the gauge right after backwashing. When the pressure increases by 6 it is time to backwash. It is also good to backwash about once a month even if the pressure hasn't gone up by 6. Sometimes the gauges are broken. It should read zero when the pump is off, and above zero when the pump is running. If it doesn't then replace the gauge. Normal vacuuming can sometimes raise the pressure fairly quickly, so check the pressure after you are done vacuuming (don't worry about the pressure during vacuuming) and backwash then if needed.

Even though the water is fairly clear, the CYA reading could still read a little higher than the actual level because of the cloudiness of the water. When everything is completely cleaned up and the water is totally clear test your CYA level again. In the meantime lets assume that the CYA of 80 is correct.

With a CYA of 80, shock level is a FC of about 21. With an OTO test you want a nice dark orange to be somewhere around 21. If you had a FAS-DPD test you could get a more precise reading. The FAS-DPD test would also be good to have because then we could measure the overnight FC loss, and tell if there is still anything growing in the water or if this is simply a filter problem.

Keep the FC level high with lots of bleach, vacuum up what you can, brush the entire pool once a day, and backwash the filter as needed, and everything should clear up in a couple of days.
 
You can go in the water if you want. As long as it is holding a chlorine level it is safe enough.

I doubt that your CYA level is really as high as 80, so don't think about a partial drain and refill.

The key to cleaning up the pool is a consistently high FC level. Bleach is probably the best way for you to add chlorine, particularly when shocking. All of those other products risk introducing new problems of their own. Keep things simpler and stick with one chlorine source, preferably bleach, and nothing else for right now.

Getting a top quality test kit would simplify things greatly and save money in the long run. I recommend a kit from TF Test Kits, see the link in my signature. The Taylor K-2006 is also good. The best investment in your pool you can make is a top quality test kit.
 

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LOL

I type 4 paragraphs on the other thread and hit submit and "Topic does not exist".

You mods are too quick! :whip:

Ditto what Jason said. He gives great advice on this forum.

If your CYA is really 80, you need to see the CYA chart and understand why this is important to know the actual number. Backwashing will reduce it overtime gradually through water replacement, but until then if it is 80 you need a lot of bleach. That's why your green came back, because you were likely not maintaining a high enough FC level. Also the tablets are adding it back in, they are also acidic and lower PH. So I wouldn't use them, just use bleach, and lots of it until your pool clears, then maintain your target levels and don't let them go below the minimum level, according to the CYA chart.

I agree you can get into vacume. It's not a good idea to let kids swim in a green pool. With shock levels of chlorine, just keep in mind it might shorten the life of your swim suit....

I highly recommend the TF-100 test kit too.

So in pool school, read Defeating Algae if you haven't already.

So welcome to TFP, and you are in the right place, we're here to help!

Oh, Don't forget some POP! Pool Owner Patience.....

Happy 4th!
 
I did the same thing Frustratedpoolmom.

I was gonna say the same thing.

GET A GOOD TEST KIT! :mrgreen:
 
hi again

Well I took the pool water to local Leslie Pool and these are the readings they gave me:
FAC= 5
TAC= 5
PH= 7.6
CYA = 60
TA= 100
Phosphates = 1000

So they suggested 8 pounds of ALUM, said it would be crystal clear tomorrow but there would be a dust cloud on the bottom and to vacuum that to waste or I could get PhosFree, run filter for 48 hours and then chlorine will be able to start working and bring water back into be tested on Sunday. What do you think of these suggestions?
 
Their story about phosphates is just wrong. Removing phosphates is almost always a waste of money.

The ALUM might work, it depends. If all the algae is dead the ALUM will clear the water quickly. But if there is still algae alive in there you will be wasting your time. High FC levels and giving the filter time to work will work every time, but it can take several days or even a week.

A good test kit, with a FAS-DPD chlorine test, would help tremendously. With that we could tell you exactly how much chlorine to add and test to see if the algae is all dead or not.

Without a good test kit, you just need to keep the chlorine level high, high enough to turn the simple chlorine test, shades of yellow, in the WalMart kit light orange.
 
hi,

Well I tested the water this morning myself using the walmart kit and it was a dark dark yellow, tonight it is light orange and I did not add anything since last night, the 2 bags of extra blue shock and the 2 gals of bleach. It actually looks a little lighter in color still cloudy I can see the vacuum head on the bottom of the pool. There was small darker green area in the middle on the floor of the pool but it was like a dust when I ran the vacuum over it. I do not see green clinging to the sides of the pool. I think my liner is getting to be a lighter blue :-D with all the bleach. I appreciate your advise and I am determined to get this conquered...my hubby always tells me pools are a "PITA" and that the title of this site makes him laugh since he does not believe there is anything like a trouble free pool. I aim to prove him wrong. I will put another gallon of bleach in tonight.




Thanks again.
 
Just wanted to stop by and say THANK YOU! pool is crystal clear and I have been doing the BBB. I have also been preaching your advice to friends and anyone who is interested, I think I converted my neighbor since he sees the great results. Again thank you and I have added this site to my favorites.
 
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