Green swamp

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Marsha O

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Jul 3, 2016
39
Bessemer City
We bought a home that had been vacant for a while with a pool that had not been opened in at least one summer, likely 2. Paid too much for a pool company to do not much because I am new to this pool thing. My husband gave up a long time ago so now it is my pool.

Anyway, 2 algaecide treatments, multiple shock treatments, phosphate treatment, balancing the pH, and changing the sand in the filter, all since May, the water is still green and cloudy. I have never seen the bottom. I have access to sodium hypochlorite 15% solution, and I'm hoping it could help since nothing else has. Does anyone have experience with using this in residential pools?
 
Hello and welcome to TFP! :wave:
2 algaecide treatments, multiple shock treatments, phosphate treatment, balancing the pH, and changing the sand in the filter, all since May, the water is still green and cloudy. I have never seen the bottom.
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Ahhhhhh! Stop please. :) No more trips to the pool store. You have 15% chlorine - perfect. Now you need one more thing Marsha .... the RIGHT test kit.

Please order either a TF-100 (XL Option with Speed Stir) or Taylor K-2006C. I recommend the TF-100. You MUST be able to accurately test at home to make the right moves on that water. From there it's not as difficult as you would think. But you must have the right test kit. With the right test kit, you'll use the "SLAM" page (link below) to clear that water. Let us know if you have anymore questions.... "Swamp Manager". :wink: Love it!
 
If Bessemer City is N. Carolina, you should see the TF-100 quite quickly once you order as it's shipped from near there. For now, continue to keep the water circulating with a decent amount of bleach each evening - about 1 gallon. No more though because you're not going to fix the water yet. We don't want to waste bleach either, we're only trying to keep it from getting worse. As soon as you get that kit, you'll be able to fix the water precisely without wasted products, energy, or just as important ... wasted money. :)
 
The TFP method does not include pucks or powdered shock. They have CYA in them and generally will cause your CYA level to be too high very quickly. Regular bleach or liquid chlorine is the preferred product.
read pool school up top & someone more knowledgable then me will be around to repond.
 
I just calculated your pool at 26,700 gals.
to raise your free chlorine (FC) to 4 ppm, 158oz. of 8.25 % chlorine regular bleach. a gal of bleach is 128 oz.
I would add 1 gallon of plain unscented ( not splashless or outdoor) bleach per day until your test kit arrives & post you results when your kit comes in!
I would also suggest to NOT get anymore tabs for your chlorinator. Just plain bleach and generic is just fine

Oh, and don't add anything except the bleach until your kit arrives. Using the chlorinator with tabs may have your cya to the point of having to drain some water from the pool, but until we see your numbers, we will not know.
 
mulia said:
Oh, and don't add anything except the bleach until your kit arrives. Using the chlorinator with tabs may have your cya to the point of having to drain some water from the pool, but until we see your numbers, we will not know.
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This x10. Many newbies, myself included, go crazy with dry chems and in the process elevate the CYA. Higher CYA means you need more chlorine to clear the pool. If it gets too high, you can't put enough chlorine in there to clear the water and you have to drain water.

Ignore what you know. Ignore what the pool store tells you. Study the TFP method and follow the advice you are given here. Even when it seems wrong, keep following the advice given.
 
My test kit arrived! Here are my results:

CYA: 20
TA: 170
CH: 350
TC: 5.5
CC: 1
FC: 4.5
PH: 8.2
CL BR: 5 10.

The Ph is very high. According to the advice from this forum, I will tackle that first. Any suggestions?
 

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Congrats! So your water is still cloudy right (and elevated CCs)? So, please do the following:
1. Lower pH to 7.2 with muriatic acid. Re-test about 30 min later to see if you made it to 7.2
2. At the same time, you can use a white sock to increase CYA with granular stabilizer. You want a minimum CYA of 30
3. Once the pH is adjusted and sock soaking, increase FC to "12" and you are in "SLAM" mode.

Let us know if you have any questions. Good luck!
 
I wanted to give an update to make sure we are on the right track and also give more background. The first pic is what we started with on April 13, 2016. 4.13.16.jpg Notice the tarp cover that had fallen in creating a swampy mess.
Fast forward to the end of May. We had a pool company come out to "open" the pool. They dumped in a bunch of shock, brushed a few inches down the walls, charged a bunch of money, and left. That was it. So, I called the local pool store and began taking samples regularly, using a leaf catcher and a vacuum to clean up unseen debris, and adding chemicals at their suggestion. This went well at first and we were so close at the end of May, as you can see here.6.1.16.jpg Then, things took a turn. We changed the sand in our filter just after this picture was taken, so you would think that would be the culprit to our current green state. But, the pool store owners were so frustrated by our pool that they came out without charging a service call to make sure the sand filter was working as it should. It was. Then we did 2 treatments of algaecide and multiple rounds of shock.

I was so frustrated with it that I didn't take any pictures for a while and mostly just kept chlorine tabs in the chlorinator and ignored the eyesore for a few weeks. Last week, we started the SLAM process when our Ph was only down to 7.5. We kept it up for 2 days before running out of product for about 2 days. Stupid, I know. We essentially started over on Saturday, July 16 about 1:00pm. We started by retesting everything. Once the Ph was down to 7.2, we started full force with SLAM. Checked it at least every hour on Saturday til bedtime. Overnight FC dropped from the recommended 12 to 3. Brought it back up and kept it there throughout the day all day yesterday, which only required small amounts of bleach every hour or so. This morning, FC only dropped from 12 to 8.5. Saturday and Sunday I brushed the entire pool and today I vacuumed the whole thing. Not much debris came up with vacuuming except for a really bleached out dead frog and some leaves. When brushing, I noticed that the water would look cloudy right where I brushed. This is what we were looking at last week to today. Should we just keep pressing on? Any suggestions?7.18.16.jpg
 
Yes, you need to continue, but more aggressively and consistently. The FC must be maintained as much as possible at the required SLAM FC level. The better you maintain the FC level, the better the SLAM will work. Of course continue to brush and do the things listed on the SLAM page. Now definitely do NOT add any more algaecides. You are adding copper to the water which, in significant amounts, will change the color of the water and can cause staining, green hair, etc. Algaecide is not a cure, chlorine is the cure for algae and lots of it constantly. Always refer to the Chlorine/CYA Chart (link below) and find your current CYA then where your FC SLAM/Shock level should be. Your CYA used to be 30 which would make your FC SLAM level "12". A pool as green as yours will take several days if not a week or so to clear. You'll need to be vigilant but patient. OH, and remove the tabs!
 
:goodjob: Maybe post a new pic in a couple days so we can see the progress? Your SLAM will take more than a couple days, but we should see some definite changes in the water color if the FC is maintained well enough. I'd feel a lot better seeing that dark green transition back to the cloudy blue telling us you're going in the right direction. :)
 

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