Green cloudy pool - help with TF-100 readings

Thanks everyone so much for all the help!!!!

Pool is draining now, I measured the fill water CH = 250 ppm & TA = 140 ppm. Below is a picture of pH, I'm guesstimating a little above 8.2?

Once the pool is drained I'll brush the green / algae from all surfaces, should I use liquid chlorine on the brush?

How many 3" chlorine tabs should I put in once full, and what other chemicals do I need? I'd love to learn how to figure this out myself so can do this on my own in the future with out needing to ask for help

Please note it's a 14k gallon pebble tech pool.



View attachment 490553
Looks like 7.9 to me. It’s the color hue to watch for. Doesn’t matter that much though.
 
You can & should attempt to scrub & rinse while draining but understand that you’ll probably never get all the algae out of the water & you don’t want the pool to remain empty for long as the plaster will dry out.
When the water is refilled let it circulate a couple hours & do all the tests.
you want to use enough granular stabilizer (via the sock method) to reach 30ppm.
Then adjust ph to 7.2 & begin the
SLAM Process with liquid chlorine using 12ppm as your slam target until you re-test cya after 24 hours.
FC/CYA Levels.
Use
PoolMath for calculating amounts.
Save the tabs for vacation!
They won’t help you during the slam anyway as they will just keep changing the cya so your fc target 🎯 keeps changing & they are too slowly dissolving to overcome algae.
Hopefully after the drain & refill your slam will be quick. Better to do it now and it be quick than to wait & fight with a green swamp for weeks once algae takes hold again.
 
Thanks, I just bought a 50 lbs bucket of 3" tabs so hoping I can use them but will look to switch to liquid chlorine... Is it more expensive than tabs? Anything I should look for, I was surprised to find 90% other ingredients listed on what is available at Lowes and Walmart. Is this OK or should I be looking for something else?

1683761014136.png
 
Thanks, I just bought a 50 lbs bucket of 3" tabs so hoping I can use them but will look to switch to liquid chlorine... Is it more expensive than tabs? Anything I should look for, I was surprised to find 90% other ingredients listed on what is available at Lowes and Walmart. Is this OK or should I be looking for something else?

View attachment 490555
Online liquid will be more expensive but you can get it from stores lots cheaper. Liquid is trending cheaper than tablet lately.

The other ingredients is water and a bit of salt.
 
Thanks, I just bought a 50 lbs bucket of 3" tabs so hoping I can use them but will look to switch to liquid chlorine... Is it more expensive than tabs? Anything I should look for, I was surprised to find 90% other ingredients listed on what is available at Lowes and Walmart. Is this OK or should I be looking for something else?

View attachment 490555
That’s fine to use. In most places walmart has the lowest prices on liquid chlorine “chlorinating liquid” .
You can also check around at local pool stores - those that run service routes may sell it in bulk for less $$ & its often the freshest. Some places do refillable jugs with deposit.
 
You can & should attempt to scrub & rinse while draining but understand that you’ll probably never get all the algae out of the water & you don’t want the pool to remain empty for long as the plaster will dry out.
When the water is refilled let it circulate a couple hours & do all the tests.
you want to use enough granular stabilizer (via the sock method) to reach 30ppm.
Then adjust ph to 7.2 & begin the
SLAM Process with liquid chlorine using 12ppm as your slam target until you re-test cya after 24 hours.
FC/CYA Levels.
Use
PoolMath for calculating amounts.
Save the tabs for vacation!
They won’t help you during the slam anyway as they will just keep changing the cya so your fc target 🎯 keeps changing & they are too slowly dissolving to overcome algae.
Hopefully after the drain & refill your slam will be quick. Better to do it now and it be quick than to wait & fight with a green swamp for weeks once algae takes hold again.
Thanks so much! My pool is filling now and probably the clearest its been since we moved in!

After full and circulated for 2 hrs I'll get CYA to 30 ppm (via sock method), then ph to 7.2, then FC to 12 ppm (via SLAM method with liquid chlorine) and then remeasure CYA. Please let me know if I am misunderstanding..

Once I get chemicals balanced, is ok to use chlorine tabs? I have about $200 worth and would prefer to not have thrown that money away. Im open to switching to liquid chlorine or possibly using both until tabs are gone if that means a clear pool.
 
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Thanks so much! My pool is filling now and probably the clearest its been since we moved in!

After full and circulated for 2 hrs I'll get CYA to 30 ppm (via sock method), then ph to 7.2, then FC to 12 ppm (via SLAM method with liquid chlorine) and then remeasure CYA. Please let me know if I am misunderstanding..

Once I get chemicals balanced, is ok to use chlorine tabs? I have about $200 worth and would prefer to not have thrown that money away. Im open to switching to liquid chlorine or possibly using both until tabs are gone if that means a clear pool.
If your pool is clear there’s not need to SLAM. Doesn’t hurt anything and may help prevent something until the water chemistry is settled.

You can use the pucks for a little bit, but once the CYA gets up to 40/50 you will have to maintain a higher chlorine level. If you do that with pucks, the cycle continues until you have to drain again. Save the tabs for vacation or extended overnight trips.
 
As Bperry says, you can use the pucks for a bit. Still test FC and pH and manage them as the pucks will not add enough chlorine each day. Also, after you get your CYA into the target range, you likely can float one puck every other week during the summer as the CYA will degrade with pool water temperature above 80F. Test CYA monthly.
 
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Thanks so much! My pool is filling now and probably the clearest its been since we moved in!

After full and circulated for 2 hrs I'll get CYA to 30 ppm (via sock method), then ph to 7.2, then FC to 12 ppm (via SLAM method with liquid chlorine) and then remeasure CYA. Please let me know if I am misunderstanding..

Once I get chemicals balanced, is ok to use chlorine tabs? I have about $200 worth and would prefer to not have thrown that money away. Im open to switching to liquid chlorine or possibly using both until tabs are gone if that means a clear pool.
You’ll want to re test the cya after a day or so. Then you can adjust the fc level accordingly following the chart.
FC/CYA Levels.
You continue to Maintain slam level fc until you pass all 3 end of slam criteria as listed in the
SLAM Process article to be certain you have eradicated algae before returning to maintenance (target 🎯 range) fc levels.
This probably won’t take long since you exchanged most of the water but it’s good insurance so you know you’re in the clear going forward.
You can use the tabs occasionally for a little bump in cya here & there or if you need to go away so long as you’re cya level isn’t already too high. Just make sure you monitor & always maintain the correct corresponding fc levels.
In your area you’ll probably need around 50ppm cya in the peak of the summer. Otherwise use liquid chlorine for your daily chlorination.
The tabs will last indefinitely if kept dry.
The blind use of tabs without respecting the fc/cya relationship is what causes issues.
The idea here is to test & know where you stand then give the pool what it needs , nothing more, nothing less.
If you don’t need cya or the acidic effects of the tabs they are the wrong choice for chlorination.
There’s nothing more special/magical about liquid chlorine per say it’s just that it only adds fc & a tiny bit of salt nothing else.
Adequate fc in relation to cya is what prevents algae from growing.
Not considering the extra stuff in solid forms of chlorine is what gets people into to trouble.
- Trichlor & dichlor add cya & acid along with fc. The cya stays until water is exchanged but the fc is consumed daily.
- Cal hypo adds calcium along with fc. The calcium stays until water is exchanged but the fc is consumed daily.
When those are used for daily chlorination the xtra stuff builds to unmanageable levels.
It’s also much easier to control all the parameters separately vs dealing with a bunch of moving targets all the time when you’re using products that do multiple things.
As mentioned earlier, a salt water chlorine generator can dose the pool for you if you grow tired of the jug lugging life.
 
Everyone has been a huge huge help, thank you so much! I've followed all the instructions and my pool is clear blue, it's never looked this good!

I just measured FC(2 ppm), ph(7.8-8.2?), and CYA(30 ppm). Just double checking I'm on the right path in regards to my targets and how much to add(I used pool math)....

I believe I need to add 55 oz of liquid chlorine. What should I be using to measure and weigh chemicals?
I believe I need to add 11 oz of muratic acid.

Am I on the right track with adding these chemicals and are there any gotchas(eg don't add them at the same time)? Also is there an article I can refer to, to know how often to measure what chemicals or any other long term pointers to keep my pool clear?
 

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Everyone has been a huge huge help, thank you so much! I've followed all the instructions and my pool is clear blue, it's never looked this good!

I just measured FC(2 ppm), ph(7.8-8.2?), and CYA(30 ppm). Just double checking I'm on the right path in regards to my targets and how much to add(I used pool math)....

I believe I need to add 55 oz of liquid chlorine. What should I be using to measure and weigh chemicals?
I believe I need to add 11 oz of muratic acid.

Am I on the right track with adding these chemicals and are there any gotchas(eg don't add them at the same time)? Also is there an article I can refer to, to know how often to measure what chemicals or any other long term pointers to keep my pool clear?
Find a plastic measuring cup and use that. Once you get an idea of what 11oz or 55oz, just estimate close enough without the measuring cup. An ounce or two either way in 15k gallons isn’t a big deal.

12oz is a can of coke.
64oz is a half gallon or half bottle of chlorine.
 
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Are you in Phoenix proper or one of the burbs?

You will want to get your CYA to about 50. You can do that by using the 3" pucks you already have. Just use PoolMath, Effects of Adding and keep track of how many pucks it will take to raise CYA from 30 to 50.

Walmart has Pool Essentials 10% chlorinating liquid. A few pool stores have Hasa 12.5% chlorine in refillable/exchangable jugs (four 1 gallon jugs/tote).
 
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