Green Cloudy Pool

Jump to latest Follow Reply
The latest pool test we have was from 8/22. It shows the copper level at 0.1 ppm and iron level at 0.1 ppm.

If I am doing a SLAM should I be letting the FC level get below shock level? This seems to be what I would need to do to let swimmers into the pool.
 
If you confirm your CYA at 30, then the water is fine up to an FC of 12. If your CYA is 40, the you are fine up to 16. Letting the FC drop slightly before or as the swimming occurs naturally is fine and will not, in the grand scheme of the SLAM, have negative effects on your water. After the family has their fun, check/adjust your FC as required and keep "maintaining". :) While everyone is in the water, consider it a "SLAM" party and let everyone have a scrub brush and give that pool a thorough going-over. :)
 
Yes. If you want to take a swim, letting the FC drop to the shock level or just below is a good idea. The water will be less harsh on suits, hair and skin that way. Then bring it back to shock level after the swim again.

Those levels of metals don't appear high enough to cause staining now but residual staining from past water issues could remain. Can't remember right now at what levels you're in the danger zone.

Any new pictures of the water?
 
Re: Metal Problem?

Chuck,
in reading your other thread, looking at your water picture, I can emphatically say you have a algae problem. It is not green due to metals. Your Chlorine Loss and CCs prove it. You simply have not yet completed the slam.

Keep with the slam to completion. Maintain your FC slam level. It ok if it goes a little above slam. Not a problem. The main thing is to keep the FC at slam - until the water is clear - until you have .5 CC or less (one drop to go clear), and you pass the OCLT.

The SLAM is a process. It took a while for your pool to get green and as quickly as it pains us, it will take a while to get clean again.
 
Wow! Everything went south tonight. The FC level got down to 8 ppm tonight before I got home from work, and then the algae attacked! I added bleach to get it back to 12 ppm, and then two hours later the FC level was at 2.5 ppm! I now have a fight on my hands. I will post updated data tomorrow morning. I am going to need to buy more bleach.

I found out that the pool guy, who came to look at my filter today, added pH minus to lower the pH level more. Could this be what activated the algae all of the sudden? It was not attacking like this until now.

Thanks
Chuck
 
Wow, that IS a huge change of events. Well, there is a positive note ... now you know for sure you have algae attacking and nothing else. Yeah, I bet the pool guy didn't realize pH will read high when you have such high FC during a SLAM. That's unfortunate. What you can do Chuck if you have the time, let the FC drop below 10 just long enough to check the pH again. Make sure it's not dangerously low below 7.2. Adjust as needed, then bump the FC back up to SLAM as soon as the pH is good again.

After that, if you have another situation where your FC drops by 10ppm that fast (2 hours), let us know. That's a bit alarming as well.
 
Yeah, I can test the pH when the pool gets below shock level again. Unfortunately, that is happening all too often. The data for the last two days is below. The FC level did not drop by 10 ppm at any point, so hopefully we are good there. The CC readings are off the charts though. Not feeling good about that. On a positive note, the pool water color has started to change to more blueish. I could not attach more pictures because they exceed my quota.

On a side note, have you ever heard of a product called "Green To Clean"? I have heard very good things about it, as it is not an algaecide, but a sanitizer that works with the chlorine.

8/31 7am - FC=13, CC=0.5
8/31 2pm - FC=9.5, CC=0.5 (added 121 oz. bleach)
8/31 6pm - FC=15.5, CC=0.5
8/31 8pm - FC=15, CC=0.5
8/31 10pm - FC=14.5, CC=0.5

9/1 7am - FC=13, CC=1.0
9/1 11am - FC=14.5, CC=0.5
9/1 3pm - FC=10.5, CC=0.5 (pH minus was added around this time)
9/1 6pm - FC=8, CC=1.5 (Added 60 oz. 8.25% bleach)
9/1 9pm - FC=2.5, CC=7.0 (Added 260 oz. 8.25% bleach)
9/1 11pm - FC=5, CC=7.5 (Added 150 oz. 12.5% bleach)
9/2 12am - FC=7.5, CC=11.5 (Added 89 oz. 12.5% bleach)

9/2 7am - FC=5.5, CC=15.0 (Added 128 oz. 12.5% bleach)

 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Also, to add to my last post, I tested the CYA this morning again. It tested at 27, so I will continue to use 30 as my CYA number.

The difficulty I have with this is that I am not home during the day. So, the frequency that we can check the pool is much less during the day, when the most chlorine is expended by the sun...
 
Looks like algae is still getting the best of the pool and if you have a very sunny day, that's also going to burn up more FC than a cloudy day. Dose and test as often as every 30 minutes. The best situation is if you can do multiple tests and dosing in the evening and after sundown. The more you can keep the FC at or very near shock level, the faster algae will be killed off. For your last dose of the day it's even OK to go a few FC above shock level, just don't go overboard. Keep on the brushing as well and be sure to remove and scrub any fixtures (lights, ladders) with a very dilute bleach solution.
 
Good morning! Glad to hear you are seeing some gradual changes in the water color. I've not heard of "Green to Clean", but maybe someone else will reply with experience. As for your latest test results, that is interesting what happened ever since the visit yesterday. He only worked on the filter and added the pH Minus correct? Nothing else? The big drop in FC and subsequent conversion to CC could mean there's a drastic conversion process taking place in your water as noted by the change in color. You'll want to do your best to keep the FC at your SLAM level as much as possible. Also, you may need to watch your filter pressure closely and backwash a bit more to remove dead organic material. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction. Keep us posted on those test results though so we can ensure no other actions are necessary.
 
Yeah, it is very sunny here today and it is going to be about 90 degrees. During the day, we can only test twice or so, but I plan on testing and dosing every 30 minutes tonight. That is what I did last night. I was able to get 4 tests and doses in, and the color has started to change.
 
Here's a look at some of the data from the SLAM tonight. Is it ok for the total chlorine to be 18.5?

9/2 7:00pm - FC=1.5, CC=9.5 (Added 1.5 gallons of 12.5% bleach)
9/2 8:00pm - FC=3, CC=12 (Added 1.5 gallons of 12.5% bleach)
9/2 8:45pm - FC=4.5, CC=14 (Added 1.25 gallons of 12.5% bleach)
9/2 9:30pm - FC=4.5, CC=15.5 (Added 1.25 gallons of 12.5% bleach)

Here are some pictures from 7pm tonight.

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/cedougl/Pool/Pool_09022015_7pm_1.jpg

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/cedougl/Pool/Pool_09022015_7pm_2.jpg
 
Wow! What a difference in water color. Yes, the CC levels are high, but that's the trash chlorine being processed. Now it needs sunlight to oxidize. I suspect that it will burn-off in good time. For now though, you really must still keep that FC up at SLAM level. That's very important as you are in the thick of things now. Critical point to get over that hump. Good job on the water and seeing it change from that dark green!
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply