Opened to algae now cloudy water

[Edge70]

Hi there, first time closing myself. All went well but opened to a green pool. Green like the grass green. I didn't use any algicide so maybe next time I'll try this. I started slam process and green went away quickly. Pool still very cloudy though and appears to be getting cloudier as I keep up the slam. Wondering if this is normal and if there's something else I should be doing to help clear the water. Note, I have a sand filter so maybe it's having trouble clearing the dead algae? I'll back wash it again tonight and see if that helps. Note, levels today are:
FC 12, TC 12.8, PH 7.5, TA 91, CH 80, CYA 30

Anything else I should be doing. Note, I've added more chlorine to keep the slam going. Thank you!!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Yeah, sand filters are the slowest but they should get the job done.
Monitor your filter pressure and backwash when it rises 25% over its clean pressure.
Some find that closer to the end they add a bit of pool DE to the filter (per directions) to help trap the dead stuff.

Add DE to a Sand Filter

A clean pool filter will increase the efficiency of your pool! ... your filter are to backwash it, clean the manifolds and grids, and add new DE.

www.troublefreepool.com

Maddie

 

[V___25]

Patience. Just stay the course, keep up the SLAM and you will get there.

 

[Edge70]

Does it look like this?!? … my FC is 16, PH is 7.6, CYA is 40View attachment 407127

Yes, pretty similar to that actually. Maybe a little better but not much.

 

[Texas Splash]

 

[Edge70]

Here's how it looks on day 5. Opened on Sunday.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

A couple more days ought to do it!

 

[Bperry]

FYI: it’s not normal to open to a green pool. If you open earlier when it’s still a bit cold and close when it’s consistently cold, you can avoid having the green pool when it opens. My water has been crystal clear each opening and I don’t use any algaecide. (Except for when the yuck water on top of the cover spills in the water)

 

[Stump]

Current temperature in Belleville, Ontario 56 degrees lol.........

 

[Bperry]

Current temperature in Belleville, Ontario 56 degrees lol.........

So probably opening right on time! I bring my FC up to SLAM level before I close and cover it so that may help as well. One season I had a floater with trichlor in it over the winter and this past season, I just added a gallon of chlorine halfway through the winter without testing. Both times got me a clear pool on opening.

 

[Edge70]

@Stump - yes, it's not exactly balmy up here in Canada in April but we're finally starting to see some warm weather now. I have a safety cover so it does allow some light through in the winter and maybe my chlorine burns off. Also, in April, we can have some warm days and cooler nights so Algae growth could begin. I'm was going to open earlier but I was concerned with temp dropping below freezing at night and having an issue related to this. I don't really want to have to run my pump constantly to prevent this.

 

[Edge70]

@Bperry I'll try to add a bit more liquid chlorine mid way through the season this winter. Will also ensure to close at SLAM level. Thanks.

 

[Stump]

Here in Northeastern Oklahoma, we wait until late October early November to close our pool. All we do is dose to shock value drain just below skimmer/return our pool water temp will be under 60 degrees.
We open 2nd week of May fill pool level mid skimmer opening and have had absolutely no issues for 8 years running. The reason we wait until the 2nd week of May we have several Hickory trees within blowing wind distance that places what we call Hickory tree tassels and they are a nightmare.
We had warm temps in late April one year and we opened early big mistake. The tassels were like an energized Bunny they kept coming and coming lol.
I will tell you last Labor Day there was an auto accident on the road in front of our house. I heard the crash and was on my way to ensure everyone was ok. When I stepped off my porch one driver who was kind of across from our driveway gunned there car came across our yard just missed our Tundra begin a left turn just missing our Tacoma, VW CC clipped our picnic table and slammed into the side of our pool. They traveled roughly 300 feet and with 3 wheels the back drivers side the wheel had been knocked off.

 

[Edge70]

@Stump - that's crazy. Don't think we'll ever have a car in our pool but you never know! We closed on Halloween day last year. Try to hold out as long as possible too. I'll ensure we go to shock levels when we close this year. Thanks!

 

[Edge70]

So, we are at 2.5 weeks of slamming and pool is still not clear. Here's an updated photo. Note, my testing chemicals are a year old so I've just ordered some new refills that should be here tomorrow. I've been keeping chlorine levels up in the the 12% range and pool balanced so I would have expected quicker results than this. I would say it's getting better but really, really slowly. Now, perhaps it the grackle issue with them constantly dropping Crud into the pool. I'm not sure but this is taking a really long time. Water is now 61°F so still chilly. Would like to get it cleared up before we turn heater on. Here's a new photo.... you can see my pool robot in the water. If you look to the right of the robot, you can barely see the main drain. Water is not very clear at all.

 

[mknauss]

You have a sand filter. Slowest to clear.

Have you tried Add DE to a Sand Filter

 

[Edge70]

@mknauss That's what I've heard. Last year I did do the deep clean of the sand filter as per instructions on the site. I could do this again I guess. Long weekend in Canada so I'll have a bit more time this weekend. I haven't tried adding DE to sand filter yet. I could also give this a go.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

What strength liquid chlorine are you getting? Are you putting that strength into PoolMath to get the right amount to put in?

How often are you testing & dosing the pool? A minimum of three times per day....more (even hourly!) is better.

 

[Edge70]

@YippeeSkippy Using 12% liquid chlorine and dosing the pool once per day bringing the number up to around 12. When I add again the next day, the FC has normally dropped to about 9 so I top it back up using pool math numbers. I'll try more frequent dosing over this coming weekend to see if I can get it turned around.

 

[Edge70]

So after 3 weeks of SLAM we are finally getting there. Past weekend I was able to add liquid chlorine more often (3 times a day) to ensure it remained at slam levels. I also was able to perform a deep clean on the sand filter. It was pretty dirty so hopefully that has helped. Seeing more noticeable improvement daily now. However, baby birds are also leaving the nest so nasty poop sacks getting dropped in the pool have stopped which I think is helping too!

Would it be pretty normal to see FC drop from 12 down to 9 from 8pm last night to 1pm today? Pool is south facing exposed to full sun uncovered right now. I top up the FC at lunch and again in the evening to keep it around 12 to maintain the SLAM. I feel like I'm winning now but this has taken a long time and a lot of chlorine. Still not clear but getting there. Note, CYA is 30.