Green water, cc 0.5 or less

[John2]

How quick can green water clear up? I’m trying to avoid draining and refilling again. Yes, I have a tiny pool but a couple ounces of bleach or other chemicals is still cheaper than a thousand gallons of water.
4 or 5 days ago I slammed the pool and then figured out it could’ve just been pollen I was seeing on the bottom of the pool although the CC was 1.0 at that time. Every since, the CC has been 0.5 or less. I never really completed the OCLT but figure since CC is 0.5 or less that I’m good. The pollen or algae is only on the bottom of the pool, so I guess it’s pollen. I didn’t vacuum for a couple days but started back yesterday. When I first went out the water looked clear but the bottom of the pool was green. As I vacuumed, the bottom of the pool would instantly turn clear but nearby pollen would get stirred up into a cloud of stuff. Once I finished vacuuming, the floor was clean but the water was green so I let the pump run all night. It’s a 1,000 gph pump on a 1,000 gallon pool and cartridge filters are suppose to be good according to this site. The filter cartridge was a little dirty but I didn’t want to put a new one in until I had cleaned out some of this mess.
This morning I woke up and the water was still a little green and the bottom of the pool was a little green, so I vacuumed again and then drained nearly a third of the water out and started filling the pool back up. Once the water level was an inch above the inlet screen, I turned the pump back on and continued to fill the pool up.
Now it’s full again and still green. Not as green but still green.

Test results:
5 days ago: TA 130, CH 150, pH 7.5, FC 8.0 (coming off a SLAM) CC 0.5
Monday: 7.8 pH, 4 FC, 32 CYA, CC <0.5 (floor of pool green but water clear)(prior to vacuum)
Yesterday: 7.2pH, 5 FC, <0.5 CC (green water)

Questions:
Algae or pollen? (I think I know the answer but would like confirmation)
Anyway to clear up in a couple hours without draining pool?
Should I be vacuuming to waste? (I’ve never done that but saw mention of it today somewhere on this forum.)
Any and all advice welcome, thanks in advance.

Happy 4th !!

 

[Vickery]

Welcome to TFP! Small pools require as much persistent attention as large ones, which is to say once they are balanced they won't take much. My vote is for algae. A low CC doesn't necessarily mean the algae isn't present. The SLAM is supposed to continue until you pass the OCLT. Otherwise you'll just have to start over.

 

[John2]

Thanks for the quick reply, I need to buy some bleach before I start that again. I hate getting up before the sun comes up to do that test but I guess I gotta do it.
Can I leave the floating tablet dispenser in while SLAMing? I bought the tablets before finding this site.

 

[Vickery]

Remember that tablets will increase the CYA. They are handy for vacation use, but otherwise just stick to liquid chlorine. Make sure that you don't add anything between the nighttime reading and the morning reading for the SLAM. Chlorinate and circulate an hour before the nighttime reading.

 

[John2]

Thanks! The first night I forgot and left the dispenser in and still lost a couple ppm of FC. The 2nd night (last night) I remembered to take it out at least half an hour before my reading, maybe an hour before, I’m not sure. This morning my OCLT showed that I lost 1 ppm and had a CC of 0.5. I brought the FC back up to mustard algae shock level again one last time after this morning’s test just for good measure lol. That was at 6:00 this morning, i haven’t checked it since, I’m hoping most of the chlorine burns off today so we can get back to swimming.
You were right about it being algae though because after the first bleach addition and the first vacuum/brush it cleared up and hasn’t visibly come back during the SLAM process.
Normally, when not SLAMing, I use the dispenser with the vents closed and it seems to keep my CYA at 30 and my FC at 5, give or take a little. Seems like he CYA has been fairly stable.This is my first summer though, should I expect the CYA to climb after a while?