HELP!! My Pool is Green

[Tinks Papa]

I finally got my new pool set up this past week end. A 12 x 24 x 52 Intex ultra frame with a Hayward S210T sand filter w/ 1 1/2 hp pump filled with 100 lbs of eco sand and 224 sq ft of solar panels on the roof.
Everything appeared normal. The pool was filled the previous week end but no plumbing was finished until this past week end.
As soon as I turned on the pump (9 p.m. Sunday night after working all week end installing solar and plumbing) to check for leaks the water turned from clear to cloudy. I could no longer see the bottom of the pool.
I have backwashed and rinsed three times now to no avail. This morning the water has changed from murky to green.
Any suggestions of what to do?
Is it normal with sand filters for the water to do that? I am new to them. Should I not have used the eco sand?
Am I going to have to drain everything and start over?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Charlie_R]

I see no mention of you having added any chlorine or stabilizer to your pool. A little more info along with test results and where you got them would go a long way for us being able to help.

 

[Richard320]

I see two problems.
1) You probably didn't rinse the sand before setting the filter to filter. So all the dust shot into the pool instead of out the waste port.
2) You went a week without chlorine.

Number one can be cured with time and filtering.
Number two will require the Shock Level And Maintain process. And to do that, you need a proper test kit. 8400 gallons is a lot of water to waste by draining, and when you refill it, you'll still need a test kit.

In brief, you test your water. You adjust pH. You establish the CYA level. And then you raise the chlorine level to shock level for that CYA level and keep it up there through frequent additions untils the water clears up.

What have you added to the pool so far, if anything? Do you have a test kit of any sort?

 

[Tinks Papa]

Thanks for the reply.
You are correct. I didn't rinse before I filtered. Guess I didn't read the directions good enough.
So far I have added shock treatment from HTH that I bought at Walmart. I also have the HTH test kit but probably need a better one.
I will have to read up on the SLAM method. Also the sand I used was the Zeo Clear. Do I need to add gravel to the bottom of the filter? I read somewhere that I have to.

 

[Richard320]

See if you can't read the bag and tell us what kind of "shock" that was. I can think of five different chemicals they call "shock." If it's Cal-hypo, that could be part of your problem. If the pH is high and the TA is high, that blast of Calcium will make it cloud up.

I can't help you with the sand... I use a DE filter.

Go ahead and run whatever tests you can run and post the results. That test kit really isn't adequate for the SLAM, since it can't read high enough FC levels, but it will certainly help with the pH.

So: what was the shock you added, and test results.

 

[Tinks Papa]

I will try and post the results later. I am at work now. If I'm not mistaken it was Calcium hypochlorite, I will have to check. The pH was 7.5. I haven't checked the TA.

 

[Tinks Papa]

The shock I used is HTH brand called select shock. It is calcium hypochlorite.
I have to order the better test kit but right now my readings are: pH is 7.2 FC is approx. 3 TA is 60 and CYA is 0. I am off to the store for some stabilizer so that I can add more chlorine but the pool is starting to look better. I can almost see the bottom now.

 

[Richard320]

The shock I used is HTH brand called select shock. It is calcium hypochlorite.
I have to order the better test kit but right now my readings are: pH is 7.2 FC is approx. 3 TA is 60 and CYA is 0. I am off to the store for some stabilizer so that I can add more chlorine but the pool is starting to look better. I can almost see the bottom now.

Excellent!