Help! Cloudy water after pool opening - Algae?

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A

atnelson

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Jun 8, 2018
8
libertyville, IL
Hi experts - need some wise advice. I've been a member for about 3 years. My pool is seasonal and was just opened this past Tuesday (5/19/21). I have a local family owned company come to open and close for us, but I do all testing and maintenance, etc. on my own. I have a Taylor kit and test 2-3x a week and am very OCD with keeping up with my skimmers, etc. But enough about me. Here is the issue:

I've never had to SLAM my pool before and have never had a problem with Algae. Usually when the pool is opened, it is pretty crystal clear and I just have to maintain. But this year, we got lots of warm weather pretty early on and I think it led to the issue I'm having now. The water is just cloudy, but I noticed when cleaning the skimmer baskets which are lined with a hairnet that there is visible green slimy algae on the nets.

I tested today:
in ground, vinyl liner, 18,800 gallons, automatic chlorinator
FC = 5.4
pH = 7.0
TA = 300 (wow, never been this high before)
CH = 300
CYA = 20 (best guess, during test I could still see the black dot at bottom when I filled it to top and it ends at 30)
CSI = -0.12

I decided (probably stupidly) to begin SLAM process using Bioguard SmartShock in the 1 lb packets - I used 8 based on the calculations provided on their website. I tested water, then backwashed the sand filter (we had the sand replaced 2 years ago), then I broadcast the Smart shock. I cleaned all debris out with the net. My Polaris unfortunately broke. We've been repairing it over last 2 years, but I think it is time for new one. I also brushed all the walls and steps down. I've been cleaning the skimmers out 3-4 x a day to remove any debris. Unfortunately stuff blows from the trees and I've had to be on it like white on rice. It's been an exhausting day. I think I've made some mistakes here and need someone with more experience to provide me with some constructive advice. I just sent my husband to the store to buy some liquid bleach, but all he could find at a reasonable price was liquid pool chlorinator so we will be using that now. TIA.
 
Liquid pool chlorinator is bleach. :) So don’t worry about that. Same thing, just more concentrated.

BioGuard Smart Shock is dichlor + copper. Don’t use that - the copper will accumulate in your pool and lead to staining and blonde hair turning green. How much did you add?

EDIT: Reading fail - 8 lbs. So that added 28FC and 26 CYA to your pool. I would re-test CYA and only use liquid chlorine for the SLAM. Read the article and be sure you understand it - it’s not a one-time chlorine dump but a process of repeatedly testing and adding chlorine to bring it back to SLAM level until the criteria to end the SLAM is passed.
 
Understood about the liquid chlorinator vs regular bleach. Knew that and b/c it was on sale that is why I had him buy it instead of the bleach. However, my CYA levels are very low - probably non-existent at this point. According to the SLAM bible, it not recommended for me to attempt to 10. So how do I raise my CYA level up a bit to ensure a successful SLAM? And do I need to worry about adjusting PH or any of the other levels first? Should I worry that I've been running the sand filter for such a long time - going on 3 days straight now.

Otherwise, based on your response, it seems I need a bit higher CYA and then regularly every few hours or so, test water for FC and keep adding the liquid chlorine.
 
Yeah, I would assume you now have about 50 CYA and start the SLAM Process with that target FC based on that 50 CYA. You can re-test it - not sure how long the CYA in dichlor takes to show up on tests but I suspect it’s pretty immediate.
 
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Thanks for your replies. Today I was home a lot so every two hours I tested and continued to add liquid chlorine 12.5% - went through about 4 1 gallon bottles. I brush, brush, brush afterwards, clean out the skimmers, and I've backwashed the sand filter twice today. The good news is that I'm not seeing or feeling anymore slimy light green algae in the hairnets I have in the skimmer baskets. Although the water is still very cloudy, I feel like I can see a small amount of improvement around where the pool steps are. I'm going to be able to do one more round before it gets dark.

The CYA test this morning indicating that I am now up to 30 which appears from the SLAM protocol is about where I need to be. I'm going to test that again tomorrow morning.

Although it is quite unusually warm around here for this time of year, I'm having to keep my automatic pool cover closed after I test and add chlorine. We have a lot of oak, hickory and other trees around our yard and unfortunately it is dropping tons of stuff in the pool so I can't keep it opened up - otherwise it is just clogging up the skimmer baskets and littering the pool with debris. I do notice a little bit of foaminess in the deep end of the pool when I open the cover up to re-test, etc., but it dissipates rather quickly within a minute or two.

Pressing forward...

Thanks again.
 
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Ok - sand filters are the slowest to clear up cloudy pools. You want to keep the SLAM going to make sure nothing gets in on the dead algae while you filter it out. Keep at it and see if it improves each day. If it stalls, we can offer some ideas as to why. :)
 

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