Confused...need a little guidance

[Enkil810]

FC- 28
PH- adjusted down to 7.2 at beginning
Alk- 100
CYA- 60
I finally got my pool clear. Was adjusting my alkalinity down to the correct range. It was stuck at 150. The pool started to form a green film across the bottom. At that time I had 8ppm of FC in the pool. Why would it start turning green with a ph of 7.2, alkalinity 150, cya 60, and FC of 8? Now we had a thunderstorm and the pool is green. I have the FC up to 24 and it's staying green. Shouldn't it turn white? Just so many questions.....

 

[mknauss]

Cloudy green?

 

[Enkil810]

Not at the beginning. Now it is because I have been brushing it. If it's still green the algae is not dead, correct?

 

[duraleigh]

Could be iron precipitate. Can you post a pic?

 

[Enkil810]

Here ya go. When Slaming is it more important to maintain the SLAM level or the sudden rise to that level? My SWG is oversized for my pool to allow plenty of supply for my pool. I did that on purpose. My SWG brought it up to SLAM level pretty quick. I wanted to see if it would get it up to 24 for my curiosity. It was up to 28 and I shut it off. Do I need to let it drift way back down to normal levels and then hit with liquid chlorine all at once? Or just maintain what I have?

 

[JJ_Tex]

Are you on well water by chance, and do you have iron staining in toilets or sinks? It could be iron, but hopefully it is just algae. You can figure out if it is algae or not by performing an OCLT and see how much chlorine you lost overnight.

 

[Enkil810]

Yes I am on well water but my water has never given me issues before. Should I hit it with some metal out to be safe?

 

[duraleigh]

That pic looks like iron in your water and not algae. That will slowly go away as your FC comes down. Forget Metal Out..........that won't work. The high chlorine in your pool is causing iron to precipitate and gives your pool that greenish tint.

You really need to review Pool Care Basics Archives. Meanwhile, run your pump 24/7, brush when you can and let your FC come down. to around 8-10 and I believe your pool will clear.

 

[Bperry]

Why not do an OCLT before stopping the SLAM?

 

[JJ_Tex]

You can certainly do an OCLT, and probably what I would do if I were in your shoes. But to Duraleigh's point, I also think it is iron and there is no need for a sequestrant at this point. It will likely turn clear once the chlorine comes down.

Others may chime in with more experience with iron, but I have seen people using polyfill (the stuff inside of pillows) to help filter out the iron.

 

[Bperry]

IMO, having a name like “metal out” for a sequestrant is deceptive for a product that doesn’t actually take the metal out of the water.

 

[duraleigh]

Why not do an OCLT before stopping the SLAM?

That's certainly a good call but I think only if OP is familiar with TFP methods.......which he is not yet. Running pump 24/7 and letting FC drop so the iron will go back to solution would be pretty simple and allows OP more time to learn TFP methods.

Once the green is gone (still running pump 24/7), then I think OP should post a COMPLETE set of test results and we can advise from there.

For emphasis, OCLT is a good advice but I would rather see OP get a better grasp of our methods by simply letting pool clear pretty much on it's own from this point.

 

[Mdragger88]

I agree with JJ. An oclt isn’t a bad idea nor is trying the polyfill while still @ higher fc levels - this would help confirm an iron problem along with eliminating the probability of algae playing a part which may have not been truly eradicated previously(which would explain the green formation while only @8ppm fc). He has a proper kit & has been on the forum since 2014 so an
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
is likely not too much of an ask.
To clarify for the OP-
SLAM stands for Shock, Level, And Maintain so the Maintain is an integral part of the
SLAM Process.
Using the swg to maintain slam level when you’re away is sometimes possible/helpful with an oversized unit. Reaching slam level with a swg generally takes too long so it is not advised. Also the cell has a finite lifespan so many choose not to use that up with the slam process & reserve it for their maintenance fc needs.
The slam process & using polyfill to remove the iron can be done in tandem. Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading
As mentioned “metal out” is a sequestrant & just hides the metal - it doesn’t actually remove it from the water so also not recommended.
Since this is an above ground pool if you haven’t removed the steps & cleaned them inside and out, do so- they’re known to be algae hotels.

 

[Enkil810]

That pic looks like iron in your water and not algae. That will slowly go away as your FC comes down. Forget Metal Out..........that won't work. The high chlorine in your pool is causing iron to precipitate and gives your pool that greenish tint.

You really need to review Pool Care Basics Archives. Meanwhile, run your pump 24/7, brush when you can and let your FC come down. to around 8-10 and I believe your pool will clear.

My SWG is off and pump is running. I will let it drift down and update then.

 

[Enkil810]

I agree with JJ. An oclt isn’t a bad idea nor is trying the polyfill while still @ higher fc levels - this would help confirm an iron problem along with eliminating the probability of algae playing a part which may have not been truly eradicated previously(which would explain the green formation while only @8ppm fc). He has a proper kit & has been on the forum since 2014 so an
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
is likely not too much of an ask.
To clarify for the OP-
SLAM stands for Shock, Level, And Maintain so the Maintain is an integral part of the
SLAM Process.
Using the swg to maintain slam level when you’re away is sometimes possible/helpful with an oversized unit. Reaching slam level with a swg generally takes too long so it is not advised. Also the cell has a finite lifespan so many choose not to use that up with the slam process & reserve it for their maintenance fc needs.
The slam process & using polyfill to remove the iron can be done in tandem. Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading
As mentioned “metal out” is a sequestrant & just hides the metal - it doesn’t actually remove it from the water so also not recommended.
Since this is an above ground pool if you haven’t removed the steps & cleaned them inside and out, do so- they’re known to be algae hotels.

Steps have been out since I uncovered the pool. I wanted to eliminate that issue. I have read through the basics but I guessed I missed something. Ok..alot info. Do I need to do the polyfill or let it drift down and see what happens?

 

[Mdragger88]

Steps have been out since I uncovered the pool. I wanted to eliminate that issue. I have read through the basics but I guessed I missed something. Ok..alot info. Do I need to do the polyfill or let it drift down and see what happens?

You could do either one-
Option 1- if green goes away at normal fc you know it was iron. If the green remains you have algae & need to do the
SLAM Process.
Option 2- try polyfill in the skimmer whilst still at slam level fc, if it catches anything you’ll know you have iron, also do an oclt to rule out algae being part of the cause.
An oclt with either option is a good idea.
You said you finally got your pool cleared up before this happened - what steps did you take to do so?

 

[Enkil810]

A very loooong SLAM. I lost it over the winter. Had to start over. Had to batch new water in to bring the organics down some and then SLAM to clear it up.

 

[Mdragger88]

A very loooong SLAM. I lost it over the winter. Had to start over. Had to batch new water in to bring the organics down some and then SLAM to clear it up.

At that time Did you pass All 3 end of slam criteria before letting fc fall to target levels?
CC of 0.5 or lower;
You passed an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
AND
the water was clear.
(Crystal Clear w/no algae dead or alive)

 

[Enkil810]

I thought I did. Like I said, I must have missed something. This time I will post my steps that way yall can tell me if I'm good or not. As you can tell I'm not very good at this but I refuse to let this pool beat me.

 

[Mdragger88]

I thought I did. Like I said, I must have missed something. This time I will post my steps that way yall can tell me if I'm good or not. As you can tell I'm not very good at this but I refuse to let this pool beat me.

Clearing up a swamp fully can take a while. This can lead to some wanting to end slam a little prematurely once things clear up reasonably well but that leaves the door open for algae to rear it’s ugly head again sooner rather than later. If you recently had clear or almost clear water at elevated fc levels with this same batch of water this is probably algae that just wasn’t fully eradicated.
I see you have
PoolMath but aren’t recording your logs. Doing so is extremely helpful to others when trying to help you.