My patience is wearing thin green pool from heck!

[tinkherbelle]

OMG 3 weeks and I my pool still milky green!!!
Pool was beyond swamp, cover fell in tons of leaves, frogs and other wildlife, raked, vacuumed, raked vacuumed...you should see my pool guns now.....look out Schwarzenegger
! Until My vacuum came up clean, still vacuuming everyday with very little debris.Brushing pool 1 or 2 times a day.
I have done everything , and am on my 3rd week of shock level for mustard algae.
Changed out pump and filter 10 days ago from intex cart to sand. Pressure guage is still in the green ...started at 1/2 and is now 3/4....numbers too tiny for me to read....argh even with my new specs! Left The filter off for 8 hours just too see wth is going on, huge amount of brown gunk that does not vacuum up with my pool blaster max with filter sock. But water was clear and either my liner bleached or there was a slight tinge of green . Ordered aqua critter, should be here shortly. Very little debris coming up with the vacuum but it mixes the fine particles into the water nicely...the 2nd positive part of this experience....LOL

Chemistry is holding stable and I have checked for metal. None zero zip! FC is dropping by 2 during the cloudy days and 3 during sunny days, cc is holding steady at .5. FC holding at hour interval, and dropping by 1 overnight. How much longer??? I want that clear water fairy at my house pronto! WHat next???

CYA 40
PH 7.2 ( at start...who knows where is is now over the top of the chart
FC24
cc.5
ALK 100
Borate 50
Hardness 220

Municipal water

1) 5000 gallons
2)14 in Krystal Klear sand
3) AG 16x48 intex ultra frame

Tink

 

[JasonLion]

Re: My patience is wearing thin green pool from ****!

Welcome to TFP!

Metals won't cause cloudy water, and it doesn't sound like anything could possibly be alive in the water. So the next place to look is the filter. Could you describe what kind of filter you have and how the filter pressure has been behaving?

You could try adding a little DE to the filter (assuming it is a sand filter), or clarifier.

 

[BoDarville]

Re: My patience is wearing thin green pool from ****!

Looks like you are doing all the right things, so I can understand your frustration. Shocking a pool the right way (which you appear to be doing) is like BBQ'ing a brisket in the respect that it's done when it's done. The amount of time it takes to achieve "done" will vary. Your CC of 0.5 and overnight chlorine loss of 1 are two of the parameters that define "done" for shocking and these numbers are right on the border. The 3rd parameter is, "...and your water is clear"; You are saying that this is not the case.

The big wildcard here is the "huge amount of brown gunk" that will not vacuum up. If possible, please post a pic to help us figure out what that gunk is. Since the vacuum is at least stirring up some fine particles, I would suggest continuing to vac. The filter should catch these particles assuming that the filter is working properly. Keep the filter running 24/7 until this clears up. If your filter is working properly, you could try adding some DE or cellulose fiber (e.g., FiberClear or ZeoFiber) to your sand filter. Here's a Pool School article on how to do this: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/add_de_to_a_sand_filter. Whether you choose DE or cellulose fiber, the addition process is the same. If using cellulose fiber, follow the dosing instructions on the product label. For the record, I use cellulose fiber as a filter aid to my sand filter with excellent results. Just keep an eye on the filter pressure & clean/backwash as needed.

One final note: If you use clarifier (another viable alternative), I would not add the DE or cellulose fiber. Using both at the same time will likely cause your pump pressure to spike quickly.

 

[aa62579]

Re: My patience is wearing thin green pool from ****!

Just as an alternative idea, what is your water situation like? If you can easily refill, with a pool that size, I think I might drain it, scrub it with a bleach solution and use a pump or shop vac to get any leftover water out and then refill. I think you can drain it all being that type of pool, but if not, keep several inches of water in it to hold the liner in the correct place and just treat that small amount of water instead of 5000 gallons.

 

[tinkherbelle]

Re: My patience is wearing thin green pool from ****!

Welcome to TFP!

Metals won't cause cloudy water, and it doesn't sound like anything could possibly be alive in the water. So the next place to look is the filter. Could you describe what kind of filter you have and how the filter pressure has been behaving?

You could try adding a little DE to the filter (assuming it is a sand filter), or clarifier.

Tink has been lurking here with a tfp for 2 summers, so technically not new...but thank you Jason and Thanks to all of the informative posts.... seriously had a beautiful sparkling low maintence pool up to now.

I just installed a new 14" intex sand filter 10 days ago. Figured it was my weasel that came with the pool not doing its job even though it performed well under "clean" circumstances. I was washing the cart every 8 hrs, even though the outflow pressure seemed to be good...lots of yellow- brown debris...at the time I decided to switch out, the skimmer sock was still picking the brown gunk up but the filter was not terribly dirty...so my thought was it is superfine particles. I live in NY...the Hudson valley and we have had extreme weather ( sweltering hot, cold, hot, rainy) here since march with pollen counts over the top...
I have seriously considered floc....did add clarifier last night...pool looks the same like pond water dang it!

As for the new filter, the pressure stayed halfway into the green for the first 5 days and then was bordering on the yellow. I backwashed (yellow/brown~ a pretty topaz actually) until water was relatively clear, rinsed for 1 minute and then went back to filtering. It is sitting at 3/4 into the green. Tried to take pics but the water is so shiny all you can see in the pool is the sky!!! Have not figured out the right time or angle to lose the glare. Took one with my phone this am, will try to attach...newb with the smartphone....

 

[tinkherbelle]

Re: My patience is wearing thin green pool from ****!

Just as an alternative idea, what is your water situation like? If you can easily refill, with a pool that size, I think I might drain it, scrub it with a bleach solution and use a pump or shop vac to get any leftover water out and then refill. I think you can drain it all being that type of pool, but if not, keep several inches of water in it to hold the liner in the correct place and just treat that small amount of water instead of 5000 gallons.

I have considered that, call me stubborn or OCD whichever works, I am not giving in, I want to BEAT this Giving the clarifier 36 hours and then I will try the de.....If I can find it.....Tink does not like pool stores....i'm the one that has 3 salesmen on my tail as soon as I open the car door...they see a sucker coming that quick.

 

[JasonLion]

Re: My patience is wearing thin green pool from ****!

Try DE in the filter. That will help it catch the smaller particles. Obviously it is catching something right now, or your pressure would not have gone up, but it is doing so very slowly, presumably because the particles are small enough to get through the sand most of the time.

 

[tinkherbelle]

Re: My patience is wearing thin green pool from ****!

Try DE in the filter. That will help it catch the smaller particles. Obviously it is catching something right now, or your pressure would not have gone up, but it is doing so very slowly, presumably because the particles are small enough to get through the sand most of the time.

Aqua critter arrived last night and ran for 2 hours
Grrr oclt was 3 this morning, filter pressure was up to 2/3 green, added prescribed bleach and de to filter, now is right on the line green/yellow line.....debated wether to backwash or not and decided to leave it until I get home. Will backwash, rinse, add more de, run aqua critter again and rerun cl level tonight. Threw the floater in with 6~ 1" tabs to keep the chlorine level up....sunny today and I am praying for the blue water fairy! Must have been something in the cesspool that I missed while vacuuming and the critter stirred up...still can't see the bottom!!! Would it be a bad idea to shut the filter down overnight and let the muck fall out and run critter in the am? Thinking if the gunk is on the bottom, the vacuum will take out more at once?

 

[tinkherbelle]

Re: My patience is wearing thin green pool from ****!

:lol: there is progress!!! my pump must have shut off at some point...never reset the timer ....water is definitely starting to clear now. Only needed 22 oz of bleach after a full day in the sun and a few freaky thunderstorms. Running the critter to suck off the sludge on the bottom and hopefully will really see the bottom by morning...the DE was the magic ingredient....Thank You Jason. Persistence, perseverance and OCD....they are all on my side and of course .... there is a pool fairy on this board!!

 

[Suziqzer]

Re: My patience is wearing thin green pool from ****!

Yeah!! Progress is a good thing. Keep up the good work and you'll be swimming in no time!

 

[tinkherbelle]

Re: My patience is wearing thin green pool from ****!

Yeah!! Progress is a good thing. Keep up the good work and you'll be swimming in no time!

...looks like a 5000 gallon Margarita now! Who has glasses and salt??

Oclt is not dropping and cc are .5, did an amonia test and it is zero. So, is all that debris a combonation of pollen and dead algae and why is it still green! LOL I can faintly see the bottom. Backwash, rinse, add de repeat since Thursday 2-3 x a day. I checked my ph which is a tad high 7.8, assuming it is from aeration from all the backwashing and rinsing I am 5 inches below full and hoping to change outflow fitting tonight. May even dump some more and change the inflow fitting while I am at it. Should I keep the cl level at mustard algae shock still, even though it is holding fc at 24 over night and cc is .5? Loosing 2-4 ppm during the day, adding ~16oz total cl to keep it at 24 on sat and sunday during the day. Had to order another test kit as this has been on going!!