Pool won't stay blue!

Stains on the pool surfaces, pool equipment
or on the swimmers, or off-color swimming pool
water. Discolored but clear pool water.
MiamiSun

Pool won't stay blue!

Postby MiamiSun » Sun 07 May, 2006 17:54

I am new to the pool thing so it is very possible I am missing a step here but for the life of me I cannot get the pool to stay blue!

I've vacuumed, chlorinated, used acid, shocked, stabilized, chlorinated more, vacuumed again, shocked again, etc etc, and the pool water turns green after four days. I know the chemicals should be lasting longer than this! The water tests normal and my pool supply store said it probably needed stabilizer, which I added (again) to make the chlorine last longer, but it's not working.

What am I doing wrong and/or what else can I try??


Pool Helper

Algea pool problem

Postby Pool Helper » Mon 08 May, 2006 02:22

my pool supply store said it probably needed stabilizer, which I added (again)

Perhaps you should have the level checked. Too much stabilizer prevents the chlorine from doing its job (chlorine lock).

The Pool Wizard Mineral system definitely keeps pools blue by preventing algea growth. There are other mineral systems too which will make pool maintenance easier.
PoolProfessional

Pool Won't Stay Blue

Postby PoolProfessional » Tue 13 Jun, 2006 22:53

If no-one has figured it out yet it sounds like mustard algea. Chlorine doesn't kill the algea, cleaning the pool helps make the water look better but within a day or two it ends up looking like it did before you spent hours cleaning the pool.

For quick removal, purcahse a non-staining copper based algeacide and follow directions which usally requires, shocking, applying algeacide and burshing, but beware staining can still occur even when using non-staining products. Also once you get mustard algae chances are you will get it again in a few months unless you continue with mainenance doses of a copper based algeacide. The downside is when you have you water professionally tested they will recommend products to remove the metals that are now present in your water. Another option to reduce the chances that the algea will reappear is to remove the phosphates (which the algea feeds on) ...look at Natural Chemistry products.

Another long term approach is to use products by United Chemical Corporation such as Yellow Treat followed by maintenance doses of No Mor Problems. Yellow treat is a little slower in killing the algea but the treatment is non-metallic and elliminates the possibility of staining. Using No Mor Problems for maintenance eliminates the need for routine super chlorination and has worked well for people with reoccuring mustard algea problems and is also less expensive than weekly superchlorination.
Guest

Pool won't stay blue!

Postby Guest » Sat 01 May, 2010 11:08

This sounds just like what was happening to me before. Seemed like I was adding chemicals every other day to keep it from turning green. My problem was corrected when I had the pool resurfaced. The pool was old and even small pieces flaked off bottom. Pool guy described as like your teeth losing its enamal.
No more problem once resurfaced. Cost of chemicals and fact we get to use the pool over yrs has paid for resurfacing.
chem geek
Pool Industry Leader
Pool Industry Leader
Posts: 2381
Joined: Thu 21 Jun, 2007 21:27
Location: San Rafael, California

Pool won't stay blue!

Postby chem geek » Sat 01 May, 2010 11:50

Even in a poorly surfaced pool that has nooks and crannies for algae to grow, you can usually prevent algae by having a sufficient Free Chlorine (FC) level relative to the Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level, assuming your circulation is decent.

It wasn't the resurfacing that fixed your recurring algae problem, but the fact that you did a complete water replacement in order to do the resurfacing. Your pool probably had a very high CYA level, probably from continued use of stabilized chlorine (Trichlor or Dichlor). The following are rules of fact independent of concentration of product or of pool water volume:

For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also increases CYA by 9 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Cal-Hypo, it also increases Calcium Hardness (CH) by at least 7 ppm.

So even with a low 1 ppm FC per day chlorine usage, Trichlor will increase CYA by over 100 ppm in 6 months if you have no water dilution. Learn more by reading the Pool School. If you continue to use stabilized chlorine, then your problems will eventually come back again unless you 1) regularly dilute the water to keep the CYA in check or 2) raise the FC level as the CYA level climbs (i.e. keep the FC/CYA ratio constant) or 3) use a supplemental algaecide or phosphate remover at extra cost. If you were to use bleach or chlorinating liquid instead, then the CYA level won't climb and your pool will remain algae free and have no need for clarifiers, algaecide, or even regualar shocking.
Bruce D.

Pool won't stay blue!

Postby Bruce D. » Mon 28 Jun, 2010 13:58

I am currently having the same problem. I even hired a pool man and he can get it done. After adding 2 gallons of liquid chlorine, the pool will turn to a cloudy blue. We can see to the bottom in the shallow end but not hardly in the deep end. After 2 days, the pool turns blueish green. The pool man suggested that it has something to do with the filter. I emptied the filter and inspected the laterals. All was fine except one screw was slighly stripped. This creates a very tiny gap in between 2 of the laterals, but no bigger than any of the filtering "slits" that are found on the laterals themselves.

For years I had fought with my pool for weeks until I was told to overshock it last year. Where you would normally add 2 gallons of liquid chlorine in the Spring, I would add 4 and maybe 2 more a few days later. That did the trick. Once I "broke" the algae and got the crystal clear water, I only had to maintain it the rest of the way. Half of last year I even ran the filter with a broken vertical pipe (inside the sand filter). So I cant believe the stripped screw is the sole reason I dont have blue water.

I'm afraid the pool man I hired this year just isn't staying on top of it. He'll add chemicals and come back 2 or 3 days later. It has been 4 weeks now and I still have a bluish green pool. I'm thinking about firing him and doing it myself.

Has anything I said make sense, or is there a legimate problem that is preventing the pool expert from getting my water crystal clear? Could the tiny space in my lateral assembly be the root of my problem?
chem geek
Pool Industry Leader
Pool Industry Leader
Posts: 2381
Joined: Thu 21 Jun, 2007 21:27
Location: San Rafael, California

Pool won't stay blue!

Postby chem geek » Tue 29 Jun, 2010 13:02

You simply are not maintaining an appropriate Free Chlorine (FC) level for your Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level and when you get behind you need to shock the pool with a higher FC level maintained and sustained until all of the algae is killed. Read the Pool School for more information including the link on Defeating Algae and the one on how to Shock Your Pool.

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