Please help with my GREEN MONSTER!!

[ChelleSte]

I went on vaca for 5 days and came home to an OK pool, but unfortunately I got nailed with a flu bug and have been down. Two days ago I noticed the pool was slightly green, yesterday more so, and today it's dark. I've been too sick to do anything with it

I'm not in store ready shape today but I can do a little something to try and stop the greening (still sick but I have a touch of energy today atleast). I have a large bottle of liquid pool chlorine, definitely some bleach in my laundry room, and a 1 or 1.5 small bottles of the Clorox liquid shock. Plus PH down, some powder stabilizer, and test strips. I just ordered a K2006 test kit but won't get it for a few days still.

I actually have a SWG but I think the salt cell is weak or dead. I've been needing to shock all season. I run the filter 6 hrs/day and the SWG 5 hrs/day ( including while I was away from home).

I've been lurking the forums and reading the SLAM page but honestly I'm so brain fogged right now with this flu (on top of disabling Neuro illnesses that I have) that I can't think straight.

Can someone please help me get this pool better? Being disabled, it's my only source of exercise and my daughter's summer fun since we can't go anywhere very often. Can I use what I have on hand to at least get started on cleaning it up?

Thanks for any help!!

 

[reggiehammond]

While you wait for your test kit, I'd head to the store for at least 4-5 gallons of 10% or higher liquid chlorine. You'll need to follow the SLAM process, but you cannot start until your CYA testing can be done.

 

[ChelleSte]

Can I use a test strip to have at least an idea of what the CYA is so that I can start adding chlorine and/or bleach asap to prevent it from getting worse? I should get the testing kit in about 3-4 days, but my pool will be trash by then.

 

[mknauss]

While you are waiting on your test kit, add 5 ppm FC worth of liquid chlorine / plain bleach to your pool each evening with the pump running. This will replenish the FC lost each day to the sun and also inhibit any algae in the water from growing further

 

[Flying Tivo]

I got nailed with a flu bug

Are you sure its the Flu? Havent seen many cases this last year. Did you test yourself for Covid? The Delta variant feels more like a stomach flu than the original strain.
Sorry for the highjack.

 

[ChelleSte]

While you are waiting on your test kit, add 5 ppm FC worth of liquid chlorine / plain bleach to your pool each evening with the pump running. This will replenish the FC lost each day to the sun and also inhibit any algae in the water from growing further

Thank you! Am I correct that this would be about half a gallon of chlorine (abt. 9500 gal pool)? Are the amounts the same for chlorine and bleach, or do you need more bleach to hit the same effectiveness?

 

[mknauss]

Thank you! Am I correct that this would be about half a gallon of chlorine (abt. 9500 gal pool)? Are the amounts the same for chlorine and bleach, or do you need more bleach to hit the same effectiveness?

One half gallon of 10% will work.

If 6% (normal household bleach), then one gallon per day.

 

[ChelleSte]

Lol, np. I'm pretty sure it's a standard flu or cold. I haven't had the energy yet to get tested but I had my sicky great niece over who did test negative before coming and my symptoms are the same, so pretty sure it's what she has. My state DHS says there's some flu's and cold viruses going around here, so I'm going to get tested just to be safe (and responsible) but I think I'm good.

 

[ChelleSte]

Thank you! I'll have to try and do a Walmart curbside pickup tomorrow and use what I have tonight, which is this:

 

[Newdude]

Can I use a test strip to have at least an idea of what the CYA is so that I can start adding chlorine and/or bleach asap to prevent it from getting worse

The strips own guess is horrible. 0, 30-50, and 100 do you no favors when you need accuracy to 10s to maintain a healthy chemistry (or need to know what CYA value to SLAM).

*if* it’s guess is even close in the first place.

 

[ChelleSte]

Should I run the pump 24/7, or for how long after the nightly dumps? Should I stop even running the SWG? Clearly it's not doing its job (and did have enough salt to run properly)

 

[mknauss]

While waiting on your kit, run the pump enough to skim the surface and for at least one hour after adding the chlorine.

Up to you on the SWCG. We can help you with that if you fill out your signature so we know what equipment you have.

 

[ChelleSte]

While waiting on your kit, run the pump enough to skim the surface and for at least one hour after adding the chlorine.

Up to you on the SWCG. We can help you with that if you fill out your signature so we know what equipment you have.

Thank you so much!

 

[ChelleSte]

So I figured out a big part of the problem.... my CFGI tripped so the pump/filter and swg were off I got them back up and running, skimmed debris with net, brushed the pool, added powdered shock (hope that's ok... I couldn't find the chlorine), brushed the shock, ran swg for 7 hours and pump/filter all night.

It looks so much better already today!!! It's cloudy, but way cleaner. I went out and cleaned the filter cartridge and skimmer basket, and reset the timers for SWG for 7 hours and filter/pump for 8 hours.

Anything else I should do (or shouldn't do)? I did find my chlorine to use tonight.

How do I find out if my SWG is working properly? Idk if it's not generating chlorine or if my CYA was just not right, but I've been needing to use chemicals all season. I have an Intex Krystal Klear SWG, model CS8110 (it's old, sat in storage for around 6 years).

 

[ChelleSte]

Also, tracking shows my k2006 should be here tomorrow

 

[mknauss]

Great. Once you get it, run a full set of tests. After you pass the SLAM Process, we can work on the SWCG.

 

[Newdude]

How do I find out if my SWG is working properly

When the time comes you’ll run it at 100% and check to see if it worked. Many of the Intex equipments are undersized or barely sized enough needing to run full time. Right now the pool water will eat up the FC so you won’t be able to tell yet. Lower your PH to 7.2 once the kit comes and SLAM away.

 

[PieterS]

How do I find out if my SWG is working properly?

there's several ways, but usually much easier to tell once your chemistry is balanced and under control. Is your SWCG cell clear? when working, you should see bubbles coming from/out of the cell.

You can also run it overnight and check chlorine levels before/after - you should see a bump in chlorine. Reason for running overnight is that there's no UV to consume your chlorine. this will only work when you have no organics/algae consuming your chlorine overnight.

I've seen some attempts to capture water directly from the return jet when the SWCG is running to run a chlorine test on that water - it should be elevated in chlorine over what the rest of the pool is.

-Pieter

 

[ChelleSte]

Great. Once you get it, run a full set of tests. After you pass the SLAM Process, we can work on the SWCG.

I finally got the kit! Is there any certain order that I should run the tests? Do I use any plastic bottle to collect the sample water, or can I just use the cya bottle to collect and fill the test tubes?

 

[Newdude]

I used the CYA bottle to get my water. It’s small drops make filling to 10ml easy.