Green water after 2 weeks of opening/shock/etc

Algae problems in swimming pool water.
Green (cloudy) water or slimy pool walls.
Black algae. Mustard algae. Pink or white pool mold.
ricojohn
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My Pool: 28' x 16' inground oval, vinyl liner, 12,000gal shallow end approx 3.5', deep end approx 7' deep. hayward perflex extended cycle D.E. filter

Green water after 2 weeks of opening/shock/etc

Postby ricojohn » Mon 08 Jun, 2009 19:07

cant seem to get water clear. opened pool 2 weeks ago and have shocked and vacuumed and circulated as much as possible (even though the DE filter pressure gets to 25psi after about 10 min.) anyone have advice?
pool is vinyl lined in ground, 16' x 28' oval with about 12,000gal. just tested and water results are as follows:
chlorine - 1.75ppm
Free chlorine - 2.25ppm
PH above 8.2
Acid Demand (4 drops to get to 7.4ppm)
Total Alkalinity 140ppm (started at blue color and took 14 drops to turn from blue to clear)
Thanks for any advice/tips


Denali
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Green water after 2 weeks of opening/shock/etc

Postby Denali » Mon 08 Jun, 2009 22:39

ricojohn wrote:cant seem to get water clear. opened pool 2 weeks ago and have shocked and vacuumed and circulated as much as possible (even though the DE filter pressure gets to 25psi after about 10 min.) anyone have advice?
pool is vinyl lined in ground, 16' x 28' oval with about 12,000gal. just tested and water results are as follows:
chlorine - 1.75ppm
Free chlorine - 2.25ppm
PH above 8.2
Acid Demand (4 drops to get to 7.4ppm)
Total Alkalinity 140ppm (started at blue color and took 14 drops to turn from blue to clear)
Thanks for any advice/tips


Hi,

If the filter is plugging up that quickly you may need a better cleaning than the regeneration is giving you. You could do a detergent soak or an acid soak to better clean it.

You don't list a CYA level. You need to know that to know the level you need to keep your chlorine. If you're dealing with algae you need to keep the pool at shock level until the algae is dead. That shock level is determined by your CYA level.

Your pH is also too high. You want it lower so your chlorine will be more effective.
ricojohn
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon 08 Jun, 2009 18:46
My Pool: 28' x 16' inground oval, vinyl liner, 12,000gal shallow end approx 3.5', deep end approx 7' deep. hayward perflex extended cycle D.E. filter

Green water after 2 weeks of opening/shock/etc

Postby ricojohn » Tue 09 Jun, 2009 06:19

Thanks! About 4 days after I opened, I did hose down the "fingers" and also sprayed them with "Clorox Cleanup cleaner with Bleach" and hosed them down again. The filter is about 15 years old so I bet you're right. I was once told to soak the "fingers" of the filter in a 5 gallon pail with water and muratic acid. does that sound right? Don't know the water to acid ratio or how long to let it soak. Also, my simple drop test kit does not test CYA. Do you recommend a kit that does PH, Chlorine, Total Alkalinity, and CYA or is CYA a stand alone tester?
Denali
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Green water after 2 weeks of opening/shock/etc

Postby Denali » Wed 10 Jun, 2009 00:37

ricojohn wrote:Thanks! About 4 days after I opened, I did hose down the "fingers" and also sprayed them with "Clorox Cleanup cleaner with Bleach" and hosed them down again. The filter is about 15 years old so I bet you're right. I was once told to soak the "fingers" of the filter in a 5 gallon pail with water and muratic acid. does that sound right? Don't know the water to acid ratio or how long to let it soak. Also, my simple drop test kit does not test CYA. Do you recommend a kit that does PH, Chlorine, Total Alkalinity, and CYA or is CYA a stand alone tester?


Wow! 15 years is quite a life span for the "fingers." I would use TSP or an automatic dishwashing detergent soak first. If that doesn't clean them enough, a muriatic acid bath (I use 20 water/ 1 part acid) can be tried. I know many use a 50/50 solution but it does shorten the life of the finger. At 15 years old it is probably safe to try if getting new ones are in the picture anyway.

The Taylor k2006 is one I like. A separate kit for CYA is more than what you need. You don't need to test it that often.
ricojohn
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon 08 Jun, 2009 18:46
My Pool: 28' x 16' inground oval, vinyl liner, 12,000gal shallow end approx 3.5', deep end approx 7' deep. hayward perflex extended cycle D.E. filter

Green water after 2 weeks of opening/shock/etc

Postby ricojohn » Wed 10 Jun, 2009 06:47

Actually I think they are 16 years old! Can I replace just the fingers? Yesterday I did a soaking with 1 gal iron out and 4 gal water and soaked about 3 hrs. regenerated with DE and within about 30 min the pump climbed back up to 25psi and barely moved water. Last night I soaked with 1 gal Muriatic Acid (the "Safer" type) and 4 gal water. the fingers came out noticeably cleaner, but the the pump still gets to 25 psi in about 30 min. The water is getting better as I have been keeping the chlorine high.

I will be getting the Taylor K2006 test kit. What chemical do you recommend to adjust CYA?
Denali
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Posts: 257
Joined: Tue 29 Apr, 2008 17:14

Green water after 2 weeks of opening/shock/etc

Postby Denali » Wed 10 Jun, 2009 20:30

ricojohn wrote:Actually I think they are 16 years old! Can I replace just the fingers? Yesterday I did a soaking with 1 gal iron out and 4 gal water and soaked about 3 hrs. regenerated with DE and within about 30 min the pump climbed back up to 25psi and barely moved water. Last night I soaked with 1 gal Muriatic Acid (the "Safer" type) and 4 gal water. the fingers came out noticeably cleaner, but the the pump still gets to 25 psi in about 30 min. The water is getting better as I have been keeping the chlorine high.

I will be getting the Taylor K2006 test kit. What chemical do you recommend to adjust CYA?


You can replace the fingers but I think I"d try soaking them again. Hate to see you replace them and still have the same problem. I can't think of anything other than dirty fingers that would be causing this though.

The Taylor kit has a CYA test as part of it.
ricojohn
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon 08 Jun, 2009 18:46
My Pool: 28' x 16' inground oval, vinyl liner, 12,000gal shallow end approx 3.5', deep end approx 7' deep. hayward perflex extended cycle D.E. filter

Green water after 2 weeks of opening/shock/etc

Postby ricojohn » Sun 14 Jun, 2009 08:31

thanks! i think i may just replace them because i did soak very very well a few days ago. they were very clean! the green has gone away! but now it is very very cloudy blu. is that just because we cant run it 24/7?
Denali
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Posts: 257
Joined: Tue 29 Apr, 2008 17:14

Green water after 2 weeks of opening/shock/etc

Postby Denali » Sun 14 Jun, 2009 12:19

ricojohn wrote:thanks! i think i may just replace them because i did soak very very well a few days ago. they were very clean! the green has gone away! but now it is very very cloudy blu. is that just because we cant run it 24/7?


Not being able to run 24/7 just means it will take longer to clear. When the algae is killed the cloudy blue is normal. Keep chlorine level high until it is clear. Filter will clear it.

Filter still plugging up quickly?

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