New to the Forum - Algae Issues!

[holycow_75]

Terrible green algae problem. Appeared almost overnight...okay...maybe in 48 hours.

Wife has dropped $450 at the pool shop. Still GREEN!

She went back & had water tested today

pH is 7.4
Alk is 90
FC is 15 (we shocked the fire out of it!)
CYA is 77 (this is too high)
Calcium Hardness is 240

I have vacuumed the pool 6-7x in the past 5 days. I have brushed the walls at least 15x in the past 5 days.

From reading other forums, I know my CYA level is a bit high. But it seems a 15 FC level should still be able to attack the algae. The pool store recommended that we buy a flocculent. So my wife just bought it. Tonight we will lower the pH a bit, add the flocculent, recirculate the water & then let the flocculent settle. Then we are supposed to vacuum the pool again. I've had this pool for 17 years. Never taken more than 48 hours to clear up any problem I ever had. The pool store called the chemical rep & he asked if we had any commercial fertilizers sprayed near our house. As a matter of fact, about 150 feet from our pool is a giant hay field that had fertilizer sprayed about 3 weeks ago. Not sure if that's part of our problem or not.

Please tell me I'm not the only one!

 

[duraleigh]

The largest part of your problem is relying on the pool store to provide you good advice......it seems they are not.

TFPC is a method of self-reliance. You can learn here how to fix your own pool through careful, accurate testing and understanding what to do with the results of your testing.

read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School.......that'll give you an idea of what we teach, Ask questions if we can help you more.....I know we can help you put your wallet back in your pocket.

 

[karmabiker]

Step one is to get a good test kit (see the tf-100 in my signature) so you have numbers you can trust. In pool school getting started there is a comparison if test kits if you want to dig deeper.

CYA may be 75 ... or it may be over 100. We frequently see bad results from pool stores.

Once we have a good number there we can walk you though the SLAM process and you will have a beautiful pool in no time flat.

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!


Sadly, your story is not unique nor rare. You've been pool-stored.

Some accurate test results, some reading here, and the advice we can give should get things cleaned up in plenty of time for Fourth of July. The first step is investing in a proper test kit. I'll spare you the reading; just go to http://tftestkits.net and order a TF100 with the XL option (since the pool is green)

Browse around in pool school while you await the kit, or read something more interesting like these threads:

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threa...ool-is-winning
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threa...ark-Green-Pool
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threa...st-give-up-Can
First Time Shocking with Bleach
Pretty black pool
A little encouragement for those with algae and new to BBB
Frog Filled Green Swamp to Oasis---Work in Progress!!!
Before and After Pool Pics
Before and after!
A final picture set of how well the BBB method works!

 

[BoDarville]

I know my CYA level is a bit high. But it seems a 15 FC level should still be able to attack the algae.

Actually, you would need to maintain an FC target of around 30 ppm for a CYA of 75 in order to get rid of the algae. Check out this chart: Chlorine CYA Chart

I second the advice that duraleigh gave on reading the ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry article and would also get the test kit that karmabiker and Richard320 recommended.

 

[holycow_75]

Thanks for all the good advice so far. I am ordering one of the recommended testing kits today.

In the meantime, my wife applied the flocculent to the pool. And, I must say the algae has dropped to the bottom of the pool. I can see it sitting on the floor. Its an improvement from all of the suspended algae, and the water is actually somewhat blue. I will vacuum it up tonight. This may also have another advantage as I will probably use up 10% or more of my current pool water while vacuuming. I will re-fill later tonight. That should lower my CYA at least a little bit, right?

The question is, since I don't have a test kit right now - should I then go ahead and shock the pool with bleach or liquid chlorine? I want to make sure and stay ahead of the algae the best that I can. But I want to make sure my chemistry is right. But I just don't have the test kit yet.

I know from reading that I will need to SLAM my pool. And do an OCLT to make sure I'm well-balanced and my pool will be sustainable. And I'll start that process as soon as I get my kit.

But in the meantime, I'd like to make sure I can at least stay even against this algae. Any suggestions?

 

[Richard320]

2 jugs of Clorox every day should stall the algae until the kit arrives and you can go on the attack.

 

[holycow_75]

Got my kit & did my first test this morning:

Clorine: 15ppm
Alk: 150
CH: 200
CYA: 60
CC: 1.5
pH: 7.6

Pool water is clear. Flocculant helped (after 4 vacuums), and I got lots of chlorine in there to fight the algae. Looks like I just need to get the CYA a little lower & the CC down to 0.5 or less, right?

 

[Richard320]

Got my kit & did my first test this morning:

Clorine: 15ppm
Alk: 150
CH: 200
CYA: 60
CC: 1.5
pH: 7.6

Pool water is clear. Flocculant helped (after 4 vacuums), and I got lots of chlorine in there to fight the algae. Looks like I just need to get the CYA a little lower & the CC down to 0.5 or less, right?

If you have all the crud out so the water is clear, you can probably SLAM at 24 FC (for 60 CYA) to rid yourself of the CC fairly quickly. A couple backwashes over the next few weeks will lower CYA some more to get it to a more manageable level.

Just follow the SLAM instructions. Your target FC is 24. Don't neglect the brushing and vacuuming, and be sure to scrub the areas where algae likes to hide behind lights and ladders and steps. And don't shortcut on the overnight loss test! You don't stop the SLAM until you've passed all three tests.