No Clear Water, after 10 days

[acolt]

I am a relatively new pool owner, having only 1 frustrating season under my belt (last year).

This year, I am trying to start out right, and purchased the tf-100 and have been doing alot of reading on this site. So here is where I am:

10 days ago, I had a dark green murky AG pool. I hooked up my pump and filter and brought the pool up to shock level (FC=24 with a CYA of around 70). The green turned fairly quickly to a bluish green and that is where I have been since.

Pump has been running non-stop for 10 days, day and night. I back wash twice each day. Have been checking the chlorine twice per day to keep at shock level and after around 10 gallons of bleach, I am losing confidence that I am headed in the right direction.

Current readings:
PH 7.2
CYA (This one is most difficult for me. seems like the black dot in the test cylinder disappears at around 90 or 100. Took to the pool store today and they indicate a 50 - not sure who's right)
FC 9 or 10
CC 3 (If I am doing the test right)
TA 70

I have many trees in my yard and, here in TX, the oaks are dropping many things from them. Also, the yellow pollen 'dust' is settling on things as well. I have cleared MANY leaves from the pool bottom, as late as yesterday, until when dragging the bottom does not produce any leaves.

Also, I replaced around 9" (20%) of the water in the pool yesterday to try and lower the CYA levels to make the chlorine more effective, if I am understanding that piece right.

Looking for help in making me actually want to keep throwing money into this pool and am dedicated to the regiment, but can't get to a clean starting place.

First post, so I am sure I have missed some information.

Thanks.

 

[woodyp]

first of all. SLAM value for CYA at 70 is 28---not 24. You need to get a fresh CYA reading after draining that amount of water. You can use the same sample and pour it back and forth between the measuring vial and the squirt bottle and get 2 or 3 looks at it and take an average. Helps not waste reagents.

 

[northrn]

I would recheck the CYA level after the water placement. This is the test left more to interpretation than the others. Here's a YouTube to give you an idea how to "read" it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxaqoW-_MCs

Then review the Chlorine/CYA chart. http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock If you are truly at 70 (and I would error on the side of caution if you think it's in between levels and go with the higher level), chlorine shock level is 28. Add enough bleach to reach 28 and keep it there. Retest in an hour and bring it back up to 28. Repeat that as often as you can until the water clears and you pass the OCLT.

Good luck to you!

(ps...if your already doing all this then just ignore my ramblings.)

 

[northrn]

Oh, and always trust your results over the pool store.

And just think of it this way, the initial cost of bleach is going to be much cheaper than pool store potions. And TFP methods WILL work.

 

[kimkats]

You can do it! It will take a while and quite a bit of bleach but it CAN be done!

Trust YOUR testing over the pool store.

Lower your CYA to give your bleach a fighting chance. The lower your CYA the less bleach you will need.

It will be a fight but one worth fighting.

Take a picture of your steps/ladder. Take one each day. You should see a tiny bit of progress each day.

If there is any way you can test and treat with bleach more often it will go faster. I am thinking morning before work, right when you get home from work, after dinner and one more time before bed.

Kim

 

[Smykowski]

Of the three types of filters, sand takes the longest.

Take a look at some of the longer threads in the Fighting Algae forum. It will give you a bit of reassurance that what you are seeing is still completely within the spectrum of normal.

 

[northrn]

Another thing....why are you backwashing twice daily? Is it because the pressure rises 20-25% and you really need it? You may be backwashing too much. Sand that's a little dirty will catch more stuff.

 

[Rere]

I feel your pain. I'm on day 11 of a SLAM. My water is almost clear but I'm dealing with losing a lot of FC each night. Ugh.

 

[kimkats]

With your lose of FC have you taken out the light and cleaned it? Have really worked on the ladder if you have one? Hummmm what about cleaning under the overhang if there is one?

Just shooting out ideas to see if there is ANY thing that needs a little extra attention.

Kim

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Welcome to the forum Acolt

 

[acolt]

So, it has been a while since I first posted and I have had some success but am stuck once again.

I maintained the SLAM level for probably 10 days. Adding 30-40 jugs of Clorox. My current situation is that I have a beautifully CLEAR pool but it has a green tint to it. I assume this means algae so I slammed it once more and maintained that level for a few days. Since then (for about the past 2 weeks) I have just been maintaining a FC level of around 5-7 as it seemed I was pouring in bleach for no visible improvement with the SLAM levels. After achieving clear water, we worked to remove all visible debris from the pool (most of the pool is under a post oak tree canopy). I don't see visible algae when vacuuming the bottom or on the walls. The water simply has a green tint.

My current levels are as follows:

PH 7.5 (this was low, around 7.2 and I brought it up with Washing Soda)
CYA 60
FC 10 (still coming down from the high levels from the SLAM)
TA 70


I even checked these with the pool store at one point to make sure I wasn't misreading/measruing.

Having said all that, I live in TX. If you've been watching the news, we have been inundated with rain for about a month. Raining more days than not. I am not sure how this has affected what I am trying to accomplish, other than requiring a prudent monitoring schedule of the chemical levels, which I was doing anyway.

Any help woudl be most appreciated.

 

[kimkats]

I wonder about metals in your water? Have you tested for that? I THINK the pool store can test to metals.

If it does have metals there is a way to fix it. We can go into that after you test for it.

Kim

 

[acolt]

Thanks, Kim.

Pool store says 0 iron but .6 copper. Wanted me to buy something called Metal free....I didn't.

So, is this enough to be causing the discoloration? How does copper get in the water?

 

[kimkats]

Metals in water in not one of my strong points. I will call in back up for you.

Hang in there!

Kim

 

[Azgirl71]

This will tell you a bit more and tells what products are recommended to use.

Pool School - Metals in the Water and Metal Stains

 

[acolt]

Thanks for the responses. I read the referenced article. It notes in RARE cases the metals cause discoloring. Just curious if you feel this is what is probably causing the issue.

After reading about metals, I don't see anything that would have caused the metals. I don't use well water nor do I use a heater. Would this be the next step you would try? I can certainly replace a portion of the water if that is a better option than the chemicals.

 

[zea3]

Thanks, Kim.

Pool store says 0 iron but .6 copper. Wanted me to buy something called Metal free....I didn't.

So, is this enough to be causing the discoloration? How does copper get in the water?

If you have ever used a copper based algecide or a mineral pak such as Pool Frog you have added copper to your pool. It doesn't go away on its own. You can either manage copper by using sequestrant like the Metal Free and keeping the water very carefully balanced or you can do a series of partial drain and refill cycles to significantly dilute the concentration of copper in the water. Metal Magic and Jack's Magic- the Pink Stuff are both good sequestrants.

 

[PoolESQ]

A good indication that your problem is metal and not algae is that green water from metals tends to be very very clear (just green) whereas green water from algae tends to be cloudy. I have used both Metal Magic and Jack's pink stuff for metal control and both work good.