Pool still green after hyperchlonate it

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Thomas Vegas

Well-known member
Mar 5, 2019
87
Las Vegas
Hello everyone.

I have a big pool (30.000 gallons) with a sand filter.
For the last 3 months I kept it balanced correctly, PH between 7.2-7-6, ALK between 90-110, FC between 1 and 5 ppm. But still every 3 days, I have green algae on the wall and bottom, but as soon I touch it fly away (like light powder).
FYI I keep my pool covered with a solar cover and a chlorinator to keep the pool with a minimum of 2 ppm (by the way I felt the tab dissolve fast 10 tabs every 1 week to 10 days without have a FC crazy (never higher than 4-5ppm))
Also I recently figured out that he spider gasket from my sand filter was damaged (I figured it out when I put the filter in recirculate and water went out through waste), so I ordered a new gasket.
Last weekend I traveled for 2 days, and the bad things began while I was gone, the water turned completely green. We changed the spider gasket as soon as we got back, then read online, if you have algae, you need to "hyperchlorinate", so I put 7 bags of shock (the 1 lb. 73% Calcium Hypochlorite from Leslie's) overnight, backwashed the filter the following day, and hope the best.
2 days after the pool is still green, and cloudy, a bit less but still.
So considering the shock didn't work, I decided to put HTC Flocculant.
When adding flocculant you should keep running the pump in recirculate for 2 hours and let the product work overnight.
Almost 48h later the pool is still green, and I am feeling it's getting worse and worse (not running the pump to let the flocculant do its job, so no chlorine added).
In addition, at every step, I checked my PH, ALK, FC, CC and kept them at the correct range (except for the chlorine for the last day).
I went this morning to Leslie's to chave my water tested. All the results came back within range except for the phosphate which high (200ppm) and chlorine at 1ppm. So he advised me to put the "no phosphate" product in our pool.
But after doing more research today, I am hesitating as the phosphate remover will not make the pool clear. So I am not sure what is the next step from here: wait a bit more for the flocculant to work (so far nothing more than 24h after putting it in the water), add shock? add the phospate remover product? add algae remover (Green to Clean) product?
I am also worried to put the filter in filter mode because of the flocculant in the water which would clog it.
Any input on this would be highly appreciated, thank you!
 

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First things - stay out of the pool stores. They are just soaking money from you.

Second thing - you need your own test kit to test your water. Do you have one? Specifically a FAS-DPD kit. We recommend either the TFT-100 or the Taylor K-2006C. You will need it to get the green out.

Third - the floc needs to go. You are correct about not running it through the filter and you will need to filter the water to get dead algae out as chlorine kills it. You will need to vacuum to waste and get rid of the flocculent. Any luck doing that so far?
 
Thomas,

You are going right down the pool store road that many unfortunately do until they find us. Expensive and worse and worse pool! So sorry to hear this. Good news is you are now in the right place. Here's my advice:
  1. Stay out of pool stores.
  2. ReadABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and get a recommended test kit on order asap. Test Kits Compared.
  3. Add 5 ppm liquid chlorine every day until you get your test kit.
  4. Post your test results here for expert advice. We'll have you in great shape usually days not weeks.
  5. Maintain your pool with TFP Methods. Your pool will be perfect at very low cost since we rely on generic chemicals available at big box stores. We don't sell anything so you can trust our advice is never driven to get you to buy something.
There are a few pool stores that really do have well-trained people. Most do not. You store has demonstrated they are in the latter group. You have an algae infestation and you need to kill that first. Flocculant does not kill algae and in fact makes the process more difficult.

I hope this is helpful.

Chris
 
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Thomas,

No where in your wall of text did I see anything about your CYA level..

What is your current CYA level?

I suspect it is very high and high CYA with low FC always results in an algae bloom.

Without knowing your CYA, you are just "standing" in the wind...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Thank you guys I appreciate your quick answers!
Since the COVID time, we took avantage of our free time, studied to take care of our pool ourselves and tried to understand how to maintain our pool correctly (and stay away pool stores ;) ) and we bought a test kit (the Taylor K-2006). So good news, we have it.
We have been testing our water almost daily (PH, ALK and FC and CC) but not CYA though (the last one was 50 ppm (April 28th), yesterday with Leslie's 100 ppm, today 100 ppm) our pool turned green in 3 days... and even before it was not perfect (green on the wall after 3 days). Desperate, I decided to go to a pool store... to try to find the magic product...

So here the full result
PH 7.6 (incresing lately, I had 7.5 yesterday and 7.4 the day before)
ALK 120 (same increasing lately)
FC 1.8
CC 0.2
CYA 100

Do you believe, the floc is not gone (or didn't work)? Because there seems to be nothing to vaccum, no big piece at the bottom of the pool so far (almost 48h later) as promoted...
Maybe I can start the filtering again? (it was on recirculate until now because of the flocculant) and add chlorine or shock?

Thank you
 
Has the pool been allowed to settle? No pump running since you mixed in the floc?

If the CYA is over 90 you should do a diluted test. Mix half water from the tap and half pool water and test that. Multiply the result by 2. Let us know what the CYA of that is.
 
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Do your CH test. With cal hypo added and our fill water, your CH may be quite high. You may need to drain the pool (though this time of year you will need to exchange the water) for not only the CYA but the calcium in the water.
 
Thomas Vegas said:
Thank you guys I appreciate your quick answers!
Since the COVID time, we took avantage of our free time, studied to take care of our pool ourselves and tried to understand how to maintain our pool correctly (and stay away pool stores ;) ) and we bought a test kit (the Taylor K-2006). So good news, we have it.
We have been testing our water almost daily (PH, ALK and FC and CC) but not CYA though (the last one was 50 ppm (April 28th), yesterday with Leslie's 100 ppm, today 100 ppm) our pool turned green in 3 days... and even before it was not perfect (green on the wall after 3 days). Desperate, I decided to go to a pool store... to try to find the magic product...

So here the full result
PH 7.6 (incresing lately, I had 7.5 yesterday and 7.4 the day before)
ALK 120 (same increasing lately)
FC 1.8
CC 0.2
CYA 100

Do you believe, the floc is not gone (or didn't work)? Because there seems to be nothing to vaccum, no big piece at the bottom of the pool so far (almost 48h later) as promoted...
Maybe I can start the filtering again? (it was on recirculate until now because of the flocculant) and add chlorine or shock?

Thank you
Click to expand...
Just to clarify, are these all results from your test kit? Also, now that you have your test kit remember it's the best most reliable test result you can get. If pool store is not in agreement with your tests it's much more likely they're the one that's wrong even though you're just starting to test yourself. You'll get more confident in your testing as you go. Pretty soon you'll realize it's very repeatable even for the CYA test.

Chris
 
I put the flocculant almost 48h ago, the 24h first hours no pump at all, but since recently I ran the pump in recirculate (not long) to add chlorine through the chlorinator (in position 5)

The CH is about 300 ppm (FYI pool store 210)
I did the test (mixing pool water with tab water), the CYA decrease to 40 ppm

Yes, all the results is from my K-2006 kit, and match roughly with the pool store (except the CH and the ALK (they got 87 ppm)).
 
So your CYA is 80+ - you need to stop using tabs in the pool or chlorinator and use liquid chlorine. They’re causing your CYA to rise too high. This means your FC level needs to rise too or it won’t be enough.

Are you able to exchange water to get the CYA down? If not you can SLAM at CYA 80 but it is a lot more difficult and will take more chlorine.
 

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Ok, so I should empty half of my pool to reduce the CYA and get rid of the floc?
Also other general questions, tabs are rising the CYA, the shocks are rising the CH. Is it correct? So I should avoid using them?
So the best way to have my pool sanitize for the future (once it's half empty), is to use regular bleach? So preference for the brand or store? Costco, Home Depot, Lowes, ... ?
But regular beach is unstabilized chlorine? So I will need to add CYA in order to keep the level to 30~50, correct?
Should I care about the phosphate? (the Taylor K- 2006 doesn't include this test)
 
Unless you are filling the pool with soft water, your data does not link up.

Test the CH of your tap water you use to fill the pool due to evaporation.
 
mknauss said:
Unless you are filling the pool with soft water, your data does not link up.

Test the CH of your tap water you use to fill the pool due to evaporation.
Click to expand...
The CH of the tap water is 180 ppm. I don't have a water softner.
I don't understand if I have 300 ppm on the water pool, it makes sense, it raised because the shock bags I put on it during the year. No?

But anyway I need to lower the CYA, so I need to change my water, no?
 
Your evaporation will raise your CH by at least your tap water level or greater (mine nearly doubles) in a year. I am surprised your tap water is that low in CH, you must not be on the LVVWD system. Cal Hypo should never be used in this area. Calcium rise is quick enough due to our fill water.
 
Thomas Vegas said:
Ok, so I should empty half of my pool to reduce the CYA and get rid of the floc?
Also other general questions, tabs are rising the CYA, the shocks are rising the CH. Is it correct? So I should avoid using them?
So the best way to have my pool sanitize for the future (once it's half empty), is to use regular bleach? So preference for the brand or store? Costco, Home Depot, Lowes, ... ?
But regular beach is unstabilized chlorine? So I will need to add CYA in order to keep the level to 30~50, correct?
Should I care about the phosphate? (the Taylor K- 2006 doesn't include this test)
Click to expand...
You have the way of it. When you drain to half, your 80-100 will drop to 40-50. CYA does degrade in water but very slowly - maybe if it gets really hot you might lose 10ppm in a month but that's rare. The CYA will stay in the water as you use the FC, which needs to be constantly replenished.

Don't use pucks/trichlor/diclor or cal-hypo. Your CH is fine and you don't want it higher and you don't want more CYA. Liquid chlorine only. If you use actual bleach, avoid Clorox or any "scented" "splashless" etc. I think pool liquid / clorinating liquid / liquid shock is better, because it won't have additives and will be 10% or 12.5%. Home Depot and Lowes carry it - not sure about Costco. Many hardware stores do as well.

Phosphates don't really matter. Basically if you lapse on your chlorine it means it will have a quicker chance of going green faster, but if you keep up your chlorine, then it won't have a chance to begin.

What kind of pool surface do you have? You need to be careful if you drain/refill with many pool surfaces to keep them from getting too dry/hot. You could do a no-drain water exchange, which has info here: Draining - Further Reading

That would carry less risk, but you would use a little more water as no matter how careful you are it will be mixing a little.
 

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