How my pool went from dark green to crystal clear in 3 days

[Briarkat]

I thought I would share how my pool went from a swamp on Sunday to crystal clear by Wednesday morning. I have an above ground 7500 gallon pool.

1. First we got that filter running with brand new sand.
2. I added 1 whole bag of Leslie's shock, 1 bag of Leslie's Fresh and clear, soda ash to raise my low Ph levels and Leslie's clarifier as directed (this was over an 8 hour period). The next morning there was a great improvement but the water was a little cloudy. I did another dose of clarifier. I kept the filter running for all 3 days.

This morning I went to check the levels and took a look at the water..it was perfectly clear.

 

[whoozer]

Congrats

 

[SeanB]

How did it get to swamp state? I noticed in your other post you said,

All I have ever done with this pool (and never had an issue) is monitor levels, use chlorine and shock it once a week.

If you are testing and maintaining proper FC levels, you can save yourself that bag of shock every week. If this is necessary to keep your water clear, then your cya may be high; which would not be surprising if you are using pucks. How are you adding chlorine?

 

[stevenbrla]

Sean,

you ALWAYS seem to have the interest of the TFP member in mind.... don't you EVER consider the family of the pool store owner?

One shock a week isn't going to kill this guy financially, and I'm sure its not really an interuption in his week.

BTW, how much does it cost to SHOCK your pool? Just curious, seriously.

and Sean, give the pool store owners a break, their gas prices are high too! (and they need money to SHOCK their pool too!!)

Briarkat,
Thanks for sharing yet another way to clear up a pool other than the famed BBB method. For rookies like me, I'd be curious as to the price of the Leslie's Clarifier, and the Leslies Fresh and Clear, and a bag of SHOCK.

Congrats on the clear pool!!! ain't it great!!

Steve

 

[SeanB]

I realize that was tongue in cheek, but I'm actually not anti-pool store. I'm pro-consumer. Unfortunately, the goals of the pool store are often at odds with what is good for the consumer.

Sometimes this happens not because the pool store has some hidden agenda, but simply because they may have inexperienced or under-educated staff. They may not know how to run the tests properly or may not be able to give the appropriate recommendations based on those results.

It is for this reason that we recommend every pool owner learn the basics of pool care chemistry (easy stuff) and do their own testing.

That doesn't mean you have to become a bbb apostle. You can still buy all your supplies at the pool store, but when you do, you'll know what you are buying and why and NOT buy what you don't need or items that can do more harm than good.

We don't sell bleach, or anything else on this site, so whether or not someone goes to the pool store is irrelevant. We just want to make sure you have a clean, sanitary pool that you are able to maintain yourself with ease!

 

[Guest]

I happen to be a 'pool store guy' besides being a mod on this forum and Sean was right on the money! IF you are testing the water it is not necessary to shock weekly nor to use clarifier or algaecide. THIS is the way that commercial pools are maintained, and it really is the PROPER way to do it. IF pool stores would tell pool owners the truth they would have a much better business than they do, IMHO.

and Sean, give the pool store owners a break, their gas prices are high too! (and they need money to SHOCK their pool too!!)

And I don't need money to shock my pool. I have not had any CC above .5 ppm for a few years nor have I had any algae blooms or other problems. THAT is because I test my water and only add what I need when I need it.

 

[Briarkat]

My pool got into the swamp stage due to a large hole in the cover. Lost of rain and leaves got in there. We did not notice the hole until we unveiled the pool LOL

I shock once a week when the pool gets heavy usage which is more often than not and 6 weeks or more of shock cost me around $20.
The enhancer (clarifier) has cost me $14 over the 3 years I have had the pool (Did not need to use that much) so a little goes a long way. The FC reading is usually fine with just the use of the chlorine tabs though but when there are 5 nine year olds in your 7500 gallon pool...trust me..that would make you want to shock it too!

 

[mac4lyfe]

^ Oh the benefits of a smaller pool. Shocking once a week for me would be an unecessary expense. One lb bag of Cal-hypo won't even come close to bringing my pool to shock levels. Clarifier (which I don't use) wouldn't last no time as well.

The bigger the pool seems like the more $$$ exponentially.

 

[chem geek]

Re: How my pool went from dark green to crystal clear in 3 d

I thought I would share how my pool went from a swamp on Sunday to crystal clear by Wednesday morning. I have an above ground 7500 gallon pool.

1. First we got that filter running with brand new sand.
2. I added 1 whole bag of Leslie's shock, 1 bag of Leslie's Fresh and clear, soda ash to raise my low Ph levels and Leslie's clarifier as directed (this was over an 8 hour period). The next morning there was a great improvement but the water was a little cloudy. I did another dose of clarifier. I kept the filter running for all 3 days.

This morning I went to check the levels and took a look at the water..it was perfectly clear.

Congratulations on clearing your pool!

If what you used to shock was Power Powder Plus, then this is Cal-Hypo. If it was Chlor Brite, then this is Dichlor. It it was Genesis shock, then this is Trichlor powder. Do you know which shock you used? The Cal-Hypo will increase Calcium Hardness (CH) which isn't a big deal if not overdone, but the other two will increase CYA.
Fresh 'N Clear is non-chlorine shock (potassium monopersulfate, MPS).

Basically, the only reason your pool cleared faster than with BBB is the use of the clarifier. For the initial shocking, any source of chlorine could have been used and chlorinating liquid or bleach would have done the same job, but without increasing CH or CYA. The clarifier clears the pool faster when it gets to the cloudy stage after the initial shock. A flocculant can also clear a pool quickly, but requires vacuum to waste.

There's more than one way to combat an algae bloom and the use of a clarifier or flocculant vs. just maintaining higher chlorine levels and filtering and brushing is a tradeoff of cost vs. convenience/speed.

Richard