Green pool because I'm clueless...

[PagerMamma]

Hello all:

This is my first post to TFP, so please bear with me. I've read many posts on dealing with a green pool and I really have read Pool School but... I'm just not sure exactly what I should do to deal with my issue. I've got an Intex 16x48 above ground vinyl pool, which is about 5500 gallons. I do have a SWG system and I've been loving it. The past few weeks, the water was getting cloudy but I was keeping it in check. Then the power went out and when it came back on, I completely forgot to reset the pool power. The kids and I were too busy to get outside and the pool got to sit in 90+ weather, just stagnating. Ick! Now it's very green and I simply don't know what to do about it. It doesn't help that it's been hot and raining here too!

I'm using the Taylor K2006 FAS-DPD test kit that is recommended here, and here are my numbers:

CYA: 50
FC: 20
Ph: 7.0
TA: 30 (but the kit said the water should turn "red" during the test. I kept adding and adding drops, but it always stayed pink. See, I said I was clueless...
CA: 75

I'm the kind of person who loves being told exactly what to do, so if y'all can help, I promise I'll follow your advice!

PagerMamma from Charleston, SC

 

[gtemkin]

Assuming your pool is 4 feet deep, a 16 x 48 foot rectangular pool would be over 23,000 gallons, not 5,500 gallons.

 

[singingpond]

Well, it's probably a round pool, 16' across, 48" deep.

PagerMamma, welcome! I'm sure someone will be along soon with advice. I have to get kids on the school bus, but will check back after -- in case no one else has responded before then.

 

[singingpond]

Hello again.

Looking at your signature info., I assume you have the A/C size filter cartridge that came with the pool?

We have a pool with similar volume, but are using a larger pump and larger filter (B size, which has 3 times the filter area of the A/C, if I remember the numbers correctly). Even with this larger filter, cleaning up after algae is a lengthy process, even with a relatively modest algae bloom. We haven't really gotten to the 'green soup' stage that you seem to be describing, so you may have more organic matter to clean up.

I'm saying this so you can decide if clean-up (probably manageable, but lengthy) is the path you want to take. The other option is to drain and refill. If drain and refill is an option for you (depending on how easy it is to dump the old water, how much new fill water costs you, how much you'd have to spend on new salt and other chemicals, etc.) it will be quicker.

If you want to proceed with SLAM (which you've read about in Pool School, I assume), keep your FC at or slightly above the 20 you are at now, and do that as consistently as you can (checking chlorine levels every few hours initially). Keep the pump running 24/7, and clean/swap the filter often.

Are you using PoolMath?
http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html
Perhaps you've already used this tool, to figure out how much bleach to add to the pool... since you're already at the recommended FC level for SLAM.

If you do want to clean up the water (rather than replace it), you will probably need to vacuum to waste at some point -- after you've killed off the algae, and are getting tired of looking at the murky water that isn't getting cleaned up by the inadequate filtration system typical of these pools. That (vacuum to waste) can be done by shutting off the pump for a number of hours (long enough to let most of the yuck settle to the bottom of the pool), and then using standard pool vacuum tools to siphon overboard. If you get to that stage, I and/or other posters can certainly provide more detailed instructions.

Seems to me that the first step, however, is for you to decide whether to go for clean-up or for water replacement.

By the way, when you say

The past few weeks, the water was getting cloudy but I was keeping it in check.

that would have been the time to jump in with a fairly quick and easy SLAM.

As far as the SWG, we don't use one, so aren't that familiar with them. However, to clean up the mess you currently have, you obviously have to use much larger amounts of chlorine than the SWG can provide. If the pool was getting cloudy before, maybe the SWG wasn't keeping up necessary chlorine levels even under normal circumstances? Do you have any information about salt levels in your pool?

 

[mrcarcrazy]

Keep the SWG off while you perform the "SLAM" procedure as outlined below

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl

once the SLAM is complete and the FC drops down to the target number, turn the SWG back on. Keep an eye on the FC to make sure the SWG is keeping up. If the pool was getting cloudy before the power outage I wonder about your equipment. But in reality that can all wait until after the SLAM.

 

[one_knight4u]

Im going to agree with Singingpond.
At this point you have to weigh the alternatives. If it were me, with my pool being 7000 gal, the cost for a refill is around $30. I can get a short gallon (121oz) of the 8.25% bleach for about $3. If my pool were a swamp, it would take alot more bleach than the $30 of refill water.
What would be the benefit of battling the swamp. The positive would be to gain the knowledge of how to take care of a pool. Granted the learning curve is quite steep but the training is priceless.
Although the negatives will be the time it takes to battle the monster. Some can go quick (less than a week), some can drag out (2-3 weeks +, although to be fair, sometimes that can be attributed to mechanical issues or owner persistence).

 

[PagerMamma]

Well, thank you all for the advice. First, I'm sorry I wasn't clear. Yes, it is a round pool, so it is only around 5K gallons. I have tried the SLAM method and haven't been getting any good results. But I do have to say that I haven't put as much time into it as I should have! That being said, I'm going to try to drain and refill the pool so we can get into it quicker. It's still hot here! The kids love the pool and so do I.

Just one more question: what's the best method to determine salt levels in the pool? My pump doesn't show that information and nothing came with the pool either. If I can keep an eye on all my levels, hopefully this won't happen to me again!

PagerMamma

 

[tim5055]

Just one more question: what's the best method to determine salt levels in the pool?

Taylor K-1766 Salt Test Kit at TFTestkits,net

 

[one_knight4u]

Just as a follow up thought. If you feel lost and things start to go wrong, sign in to TFP and ask questions, be as thorough as possible and someone can get you back on track. Soon you will know instinctively as what to do in most any pool situation.

 

[tim5055]

Just as a follow up thought. If you feel lost and things start to go wrong, sign in to TFP and ask questions, be as thorough as possible and someone can get you back on track. Soon you will know instinctively as what to do in most any pool situation.

Never be afraid to ask questions