Green tinted pool

[mitch08]

Hey guys,

I am experiencing a problem I haven't had before in all my years of taking care of the pool, so Im hoping someone here can help me out.

Opened Friday. 22,000 gallon vinyl in-ground. DE filter. Pool was extremely green and dirty when I closed. I close very late and last year I stopped running and maintaining it about a month before I closed it. So of course it opened like a swamp. Did the typical things I would do to blue it up quickly...
Got all leaves out. scrubbed. Backwashed every few hours. And kept the FC levels between 12 and 15.

However starting Sunday morning, the pool stopped progressing. It has a green tint to it that I can't seem to get out. I believe this film is on the pool walls and not the water itself because I have a spill over spa and when I fill it with water from the pool, it is spotless.

Sunday night my levels were FC 13, CC .5, PH 7.2, CYA 0
This morning when I woke up my levels were FC 9.5, CC 0, PH 7.2, CYA 0

But there is no improvement at all from last night to today with that greenish tint.
Should I go higher with the shock? Maybe bring it up to 20 for a day? Or perhaps this can be a metal issue?

I've had this pool for over 10 years now and the process up to now has always been very predictable. I SLAM it until it blues up which takes about 3 days until it turns cloudy blue. Ive never seen it get stuck with a green tint before

Thanks a million for any help!

Edit: I forgot to note that the low end of the pool seems to be a lot better than the deep end. I dont notice any tinting or strange coloration of the liner in the low end. Thanks again.

 

[Patrick_B]

That doesn't sound like a metals issue, mostly because you never experienced that before. Silly question perhaps, but did you scrub that tinted area, and what happened if you did? It sounds like you are need of a good healthy SLAM.

 

[mitch08]

Thanks for the response. Yes, I have been scrubbing multiple times a day. It doesn't appear to be changing anything. I do notice it gets slightly cloudier when I brush, but Im not sure if that is just the result of dirt in the pool since i havent vacuumed well yet. There is a lot of 'dirt' on the pool bottom. Its possible it is escaped DE.

I did have an issue with metals about 4 or 5 years ago. But it was much more localized to a small spot of the pool.
Since I lost about 4FCs overnight, Im wondering if I just have a very resilient strain growing that doesn't want to give up

 

[duraleigh]

When you fail the OCLT (as you did) you can always be pretty confidant that you have organics in your pool so you need to continue the SLAM to completion.

You should not have 0 CYA in your pool. Why have you not brought your CYA up to 20-30 ppm for the SLAM?

 

[mitch08]

When you fail the OCLT (as you did) you can always be pretty confidant that you have organics in your pool so you need to continue the SLAM to completion.

You should not have 0 CYA in your pool. Why have you not brought your CYA up to 20-30 ppm for the SLAM?

Ok thanks. I will continue until the pool is passing the overnight test. I normally bring up the CYA to 30 or so, but haven't done it yet. Not for a good reason... Just lazyness. But we dont have much sun light right now.

 

[mitch08]

Hey,

Hours and hours of more shocking and keeping levels at 15 or higher and the color hasnt changed the slightest bit. From all my experience with this pool over the last decade, I am having a hard time thinking this is just organics.

I am attaching a couple of pictures I just took. Its interesting because the water line and even a few feet down the wall is showing these stains. Even on the skimmers. Im wondering if these stains are on the bottom of the walls in deep end and floor of the pool if they would cause a strange tint in the color? But I have no idea what they could be. I have no vitamin C on hand to check if its a metal. but Im leaning towards thinking it might be. It is a little hard to see in the picture. A magic eraser takes the stain off of the skimmer. Thanks again for all the help.

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd293/mitchxxxpp/ad15a95590501a97b4254f37eff549c6.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd293/mitchxxxpp/361ed8e38b86abce0f6a163e9d307d4a.jpg

 

[Casey]

I can't see that thumbnail of a print to even advise. Can you enlarge the print and post it to the forum?

Pools don't turn dark green over night. They should not be expected to clear over night. AND, you still have sunlight on cloudy days that is consuming your chlorine so you are essentially battling 2 demons atm: sun and algae. Keep SLAM'ing and brushing the pool while running the filter 24/7.

 

[mitch08]

Thanks a lot Casey. And everyone who responded.
My neighbor had a bottle of vitamin C pills. I touched it to the stain and it immediately disappeared. Everywhere in the pool I touched immediately looked like a brand new liner. I have seen metal staining, but Ive never seen anything like this. Where the entire pool looks discolored from it.

All the advice about slamming, etc is great and warranted. But sometimes you just know your own pool after years and years. Ive never seen it just not respond in the slightest to a 15fc extended shock treatment.

 

[mitch08]

Just a quick update:

I put in a few pounds of Ascorbic Acid. I wanted to take a before and after pic.
I literally did not have time. By the time I was done broadcasting it across the pool, the pool was bright blue. I couldn't believe it. This stuff works like magic.

Not sure if I will need a sequestering agent yet or not. I guess I will find out if the stains come back.

Thanks again for all responses!

 

[laceygirl]

Please post some pics....

 

[Casey]

You will more than likely need a sequesterant since it is metal staining. It's pretty awesome how that stuff works huh?! So glad you figured it out!