Help! Pool Mystery

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

sedwards368

Active member
Jun 8, 2021
37
Clio, Michigan
Pool Size
34000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Short Story: My pool is green! I don't have algae and I don't have copper. I have been to 2 pool stores and they are stumped.
Long Story: I opened our pool last Saturday. It clearly had algae and it was green. I "slammed" it. For 3 days I kept it slammed. The pool water turned to a more Mt. Dew green. Last Monday night, I added chlorine and tested in the morning, and had no chlorine loss. But my pool was still green. I googled it and figured it might be copper. Took a sample to the pool store and sure enough, it was at 0.5ppm of copper. I added Staintrine. Took a sample back and now no copper. But my pool is still green. More of a milky green, but still green. I added algaecide to see what it would do (since the pool people had no ideas at this point) and it foamed up, which proves there are no algae. What is going on??

FC 11.5
CC 0
Ph 7.2
Ta 100
Ch 125
Cya 40
Temp 71
 

Attachments

  • 20230601_172654.jpg
    20230601_172654.jpg
    358.8 KB · Views: 41
  • 20230601_160155 (1).jpg
    20230601_160155 (1).jpg
    312.1 KB · Views: 37
Donldson said:
That's nonsense. Usually the foaming just means cheap algaecide was used. What kind was it?

Milky green is almost always algae. Copper is clear. How long has your FC been at SLAM level?
Click to expand...
I used super algi gon. The internet said foam happens when the algaecide doesn't have anything to be used up on. And since my pool is still green after putting it on, I am still assuming it's not algae. I kept it at slam levels, checking 2 or 3 times a day for 3 full days. On the 3rd night, I put in chlorine to keep it at slam level, and in the morning I didn't have any chlorine loss. I haven't added chlorine since as it is still pretty high.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
zea3 said:
Hi, welcome to TFP! Do you happen to have well water? Also the active ingrediants in Staintrine are effective against calcium scale formation but not copper. Here is a link to the safety data sheet. https://www.ipshawaii.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/APPLIED-BIOCHEMISTS-STAINTRINE-1.pdf
Click to expand...
We do have well water but we haven't needed to add any water to the pool this season. The Staintrine seemed to have taken care of the copper. We test and had copper, added staintrine and then tested again and now no copper. I don't pretend to know what any of this stuff does, but 2 different pool stores confirmed that there is no longer copper in the pool.
 
sedwards368 said:
The internet said foam happens when the algaecide doesn't have anything to be used up on.
Click to expand...
Well far be it for me to argue with "the internet", but what you added is a cheap ammonia based algaecide which foams up regardless of the presence of algae.

The SLAM Process continues until you pass all 3 criteria, one of which is clear water. Your water is not clear, you gave up too soon.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dBsooner and JamesW
Copper does not just disappear.

The tests are not reliable.

In any case, it's a strange color.

Maybe metals or algae or something else.

Other than maintaining a SLAM level, I don't know what else you can do.

What does your backwash water look like?

How fast does the filter pressure rise?
 
  • Like
Reactions: dBsooner
As @JamesW and @Donldson said, doesn’t sound like you ever actually completed a SLAM. CC less than .5, FCLT less than 1, and WATER IS CLEAR.

Some SLAM processes can take a week or even more. Especially when fighting algae and using a sand filter.

sedwards368 said:
I "slammed" it. For 3 days I kept it slammed. The pool water turned to a more Mt. Dew green.
Click to expand...
If it went from dark green to mountain dew green, sounds like you were on the right track. As said, slamming can take many days. I’m still in one that’s been going a week today.
sedwards368 said:
FC 11.5
CC 0
Ph 7.2
Ta 100
Ch 125
Cya 40
Temp 71
Click to expand...
Hopefully you were a lot higher than 11.5 for your slam. At 40 CYA, you need to have been at 16 ppm.
 
Last edited:
Donldson said:
Well far be it for me to argue with "the internet", but what you added is a cheap ammonia based algaecide which foams up regardless of the presence of algae.

The SLAM Process continues until you pass all 3 criteria, one of which is clear water. Your water is not clear, you gave up too soon.
Click to expand...
hmmmm....I do see your point. I don't pretend to know anything about any of this. This is only our 3rd year with a pool. Shouldn't I have seen some improvement after slamming for 3 days? My chlorine is not being used up. If I had a large amount of algae, then I should be seeing my chlorine levels decline fairly rapidly, correct?
 
dBsooner said:
As @JamesW and @Donldson said, doesn’t sound like you ever actually completed a SLAM. CC less than .5, FCLT less than 1, and WATER IS CLEAR.

Some SLAM processes can take a week or even more. Especially when fighting algae and using a sand filter.


If it went from dark green to mountain dew green, sounds like you were on the right track. As said, slamming can take many days. I’m still in one that’s been going a week today.

Hopefully you were a lot higher than 11.5 for your slam. At 40 CYA, you need to have been at 16 ppm.
Click to expand...
Yes...I use the TFP app, "pool math" which had me keep it at 16. It was at 16 Monday night and still at 16 Tuesday morning. I have not added any more chlorine since then, and I am still at 11.5. So in 3 days, I haven't lost much chlorine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dBsooner
sedwards368 said:
hmmmm....I do see your point. I don't pretend to know anything about any of this. This is only our 3rd year with a pool. Shouldn't I have seen some improvement after slamming for 3 days? My chlorine is not being used up. If I had a large amount of algae, then I should be seeing my chlorine levels decline fairly rapidly, correct?
Click to expand...
3 days is very short for water that’s green. You may not have any chlorine loss depending on how you are testing it. The OTO test or the pool store aren’t accurate enough for that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dBsooner
dBsooner said:
As @JamesW and @Donldson said, doesn’t sound like you ever actually completed a SLAM. CC less than .5, FCLT less than 1, and WATER IS CLEAR.

Some SLAM processes can take a week or even more. Especially when fighting algae and using a sand filter.


If it went from dark green to mountain dew green, sounds like you were on the right track. As said, slamming can take many days. I’m still in one that’s been going a week today.

Hopefully you were a lot higher than 11.5 for your slam. At 40 CYA, you need to have been at 16 ppm.
Click to expand...
ah okay. At this point, I don't have much to lose. Thanks for the tips
 
sedwards368 said:
hmmmm....I do see your point. I don't pretend to know anything about any of this. This is only our 3rd year with a pool. Shouldn't I have seen some improvement after slamming for 3 days? My chlorine is not being used up. If I had a large amount of algae, then I should be seeing my chlorine levels decline fairly rapidly, correct?
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. If your CYA reading is incorrect and on the low side, you very well may not be adding enough FC to actually do anything. Are you 110% sure your CYA is 40?

Also, if it were something like mustard algae, which is exceptionally rare, it can be super resistant to chlorine.
 
Last edited:

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