Making no progress...

[Christy Kinsey]

We have had multiple problems this summer getting our pool up and running. We've only been able to use it 3 days this summer, and after many trips to the pool store, we're still not there.
Where to begin?
Our chemistry was basically right a few weeks ago, but the water was very cloudy. Then suddenly our free chlorine went to 0. After researching, I found out that SWG cells only last about 3-5 years, and since this was our 7th summer, I came to the conclusion that our cell must have died. So I replaced it, we changed the sand in the filter, the water cleared up, I added salt, and our TC finally came up to 3 after a couple of days. But out FC was 0. Our stabilizer was less than minimal, so I added 10# stabilizer Thursday and then the TC started dropping and the FC was still 0. So then I found this website...which is awesome...and added 1 gal. of bleach Thursday night as the calculator told me to. Then my TC went to 0, and my FC is still 0. The good news is my stabilizer is between 50-100.
On a side note, we also battle the good ol' metal stain, which we've had for about 3 yrs. I know how to treat it, but I also know that if I don't get some chlorine in there prior to treating it, I'll have algae the next day. It's a terrible vicious cycle.
Also, I have ordered the test kit everyone speaks highly of on here, but for now I'm using basic test strips.
Here's this morning's results:
FC: 0
TC: 0
pH: 7.0
TA: 120
TH: 250
CYA: around 75
Thanks so much!

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! You will be very happy when your test kit arrives. It is so much easier to take control of the pool with good test results! I am assuming your water is still cloudy. What you need to do is use the SLAM process to kill the nascent algae bloom and clear the pool. During the slam you will turn off the SWG and just use liquid chlorine. An SWG is great at maintaining FC levels in a clear pool, not so great at creating the large amounts of chlorine needed to clear a pool once algae has gotten started.

What kind of metal stain do you have? Any chance of replacing your water with metal free water?

 

[Christy Kinsey]

Thank you!
It is actually clear, and has been for nearly a week with 0 FC, which is weird to me. It is slightly green when a sample was in a clear glass container. It is an iron stain, and clears up quickly with ascorbic acid, and I've bought Jack's Magic I'm going to use after treating it, in hopes that it won't come back this year... if I can ever get to that point.
I don't know about emptying the pool. Sounds scary. Is that safe to do? I will give the slam process a try. How many gallons of bleach should I buy?

 

[zea3]

You have probably kept just enough chlorine in there to clear the haze, but not enough to get ahead of the algae, thus always reading 0 FC because it is being consumed killing algae as fast as the SWG can make it.

Read through the slam process and ask any questions you may have. The amount of chlorine you will need is different for each pool, so use PoolMath to determine how much you will need to reach shock level for the slam process. Once you have dosed the pool to shock level retest in a couple of hours and raise the FC to shock level again if needed. That is the key to a successful slam, Shock Level And Maintain.

Have you ever used any copper based algacides or mineral pac products in your pool? The green tint sounds more like a copper problem than an iron problem. Iron usually gives the water a yellow tint. If you have blue pool walls that gives the appearance of green in the pool. Do you use well water to fill and top off the pool?

 

[Christy Kinsey]

We have city water, and in years past I had used algaecides and shock with copper in it, before I realized it was in them. This year I've been sure not it use anything with copper in it in case it was a copper problem instead of an iron problem. But from what I've read recently, once metals are in the water, they're there for good, I just have to treat. Is that correct? If that's the case, it would make sense to empty the pool. I just know that our pool installers said not to drain it.
The walls are white, and the stain is yellow-brown, everywhere the water touches.

 

[zea3]

You would have to do a series of drain and refill cycles to replace the water. How much you can drain in one cycle depends on your ground water level. Your local county flood control district or extension office should have information about the water table in your area. If you decide you want to drain and replace water you can skip the slam and go ahead and treat the stains. We can find out the best procedure for getting rid of metal stains on a fiberglass pool. Also go ahead and have your pool store test for copper and iron, so we know for sure which one you have.

 

[Casey]

I would do multiple drain refills on this pool until you have completely replaced all the water. Once you do that then you can treat to rid the pool of staining and hopefully not have to deal with it again.