Water is very green - Leslie's says "we don't have a clue"

Algae problems in swimming pool water.
Green (cloudy) water or slimy pool walls.
Black algae. Mustard algae. Pink or white pool mold.
threekidsmum
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Posts: 3
Joined: Thu 11 Jun, 2009 11:18
My Pool: Pool is 12,000g oval, new to us, but 18 years old. sand filter, automatic chlorinator.
Location: New Braunfels, TX

Water is very green - Leslie's says "we don't have a clue"

Postby threekidsmum » Thu 11 Jun, 2009 11:42

Problem: VERY GREEN WATER, 2wks plus

FC: .5
TC: 1
pH: 7.8
TA: 210
CH: 370
CYA: 115

My pool: 12,000 gallons
Pool chemicals: started with 3 bags of super shock/ then tried soda ash to bring ph up above 8 (per leslies') & green to clean then added 5 more bags of super shock
My pump & filter: sand filter
Other info: we have done a partial water change for the past 7 days everyday (1 foot a day to waste and refill). Have vacummed several times and backwashed 3 times.

We are new pool owners :roll: , pool is 18yrs old, has been maintained effeciently in the past by professional pool company. We took over the maintainence 6 wks ago, about 2 wks ago, the automatic chlorinator ran out of tablets for about 2 days, at the same time we had a thunderstorm that blew in a lot of pollen and the tree in our neighbors yard started blooming and dropping pollen in the pool. Since then the water has been a lovely shade of green, going from a light shade (margarita green) to now a very dark (kelly green) shade :sick: . We started with leslie's recommendation of partial water change - 1 ft drain to waste/refill (did this 4 times) . We have also daily been diligent in removing all debris, etc. and cleaning out the skimmer. Still green, leslie's recommended that we use soda ash to bring ph above 8, super shock, add "green to clean", shock again and then vacume. Still green, and now seems to be a darker green (kelly green). Leslie's now says to dump to waste at least 4 ft of water to bring down the CYA, and told us that "she didn't have a clue what else to do" which is very scary to a new pool owner (what the h*** do you do when the pool store doesn't know what to do?!?!? :silent: )! Hoping you guys can help us out! Hubby is about ready to fill it in with dirt or make a skate park outta the pool for our son! :lol:


diven2pools

Water is very green - Leslie's says "we don't have a clue"

Postby diven2pools » Thu 18 Jun, 2009 11:00

Soda Ash will not do a thing at this point. It is actually counter productive to use.

The first thing is to backwash your filter to clean out all of the debris otherwise you're just recirculating the bad stuff around. Then you need to shock your pool. Shocking a pool means to bring your chlorine levels up to at least 10 ppm and keeping it high for at least 24 hours. I would guess that you would need at least 2 gallons of Chlorine. Any cheap unscented bleach from the grocery store will work. Slowly pour the Chlorine around the pool with the filter on. Allow this to sit and test throughout the day. The chlorine is needed to kill the algae. Once your pool clears up. Then test again to see where your pH levels are at. They should be high. Now you will need to lower you pH levels to the comfortable level of 7.4-7.2.

Some things that will help you in the future is to know your pool chemicals and their purpose. http://www.natare.com/knowledgecenter/chem4.php Soda Ash is primarily used to raise your alkalinity and pH levels. It does not help keep pools looking crystal clear.

IF this does not work have your fill water tested to know what levels you are starting with. Knowing this will help you to figure out the amounts of chemicals a little better - with less waste. Good Luck
threekidsmum
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu 11 Jun, 2009 11:18
My Pool: Pool is 12,000g oval, new to us, but 18 years old. sand filter, automatic chlorinator.
Location: New Braunfels, TX

Water is very green - Leslie's says "we don't have a clue"

Postby threekidsmum » Thu 18 Jun, 2009 12:19

Thank you all for all of your replies! :D We drained more water, added it back, and then added a "flocking" chemical (from a friend) and let the pool sit for 48 hours. She insisted that the flocking agent worked... (I was very skeptical) After 48 hours, all of the green "junk" was sitting on the bottom of the pool!!! We used the vacume and vacumed it all out, and then shocked the pool. Amazing, the next day we could see the bottom!! :D The levels are all now back in range, we are holding chlorine and things are starting to look up! I do have one question, the CYA dropped to 25 and the alkalinity is at 230. Should we try muratic acid to drop the alkalinity? :?: What about using a water conditioner to bring the CYA up? I'm afraid to use the conditioner and bring up the CYA, considering we were just struggling to get the CYA down from 115 last week. :crazy: Any thoughts? But again, I can't say it enough, thank you all for your help and dedication to helping us, it is really appreaciated! :D
Denali
Swimming Pool Superstar
Swimming Pool Superstar
Posts: 257
Joined: Tue 29 Apr, 2008 17:14

Water is very green - Leslie's says "we don't have a clue"

Postby Denali » Thu 18 Jun, 2009 12:52

threekidsmum wrote:Thank you all for all of your replies! :D We drained more water, added it back, and then added a "flocking" chemical (from a friend) and let the pool sit for 48 hours. She insisted that the flocking agent worked... (I was very skeptical) After 48 hours, all of the green "junk" was sitting on the bottom of the pool!!! We used the vacume and vacumed it all out, and then shocked the pool. Amazing, the next day we could see the bottom!! :D The levels are all now back in range, we are holding chlorine and things are starting to look up! I do have one question, the CYA dropped to 25 and the alkalinity is at 230. Should we try muratic acid to drop the alkalinity? :?: What about using a water conditioner to bring the CYA up? I'm afraid to use the conditioner and bring up the CYA, considering we were just struggling to get the CYA down from 115 last week. :crazy: Any thoughts? But again, I can't say it enough, thank you all for your help and dedication to helping us, it is really appreaciated! :D


Hi,

I would use the muriatic acid to lower the TA but you need to be aware that it will also lower the pH.

I wouldn't add any CYA because in your original post you mentioned using tablets in a chlorinator. The tablets will increase CYA levels so if you are going to use the tablets again, let them increase the CYA for you. The tablets also lower pH so be aware of that and keep an eye on the level.

Hope this helps.
threekidsmum
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu 11 Jun, 2009 11:18
My Pool: Pool is 12,000g oval, new to us, but 18 years old. sand filter, automatic chlorinator.
Location: New Braunfels, TX

Water is very green - Leslie's says "we don't have a clue"

Postby threekidsmum » Thu 02 Jul, 2009 09:06

Thank you to all of you that have helped us solve this issue! The pool is finally a beautiful clear blue and is sparkling clean! I really do appreciate all of the advise and thoughts you have shared. :D
Denali
Swimming Pool Superstar
Swimming Pool Superstar
Posts: 257
Joined: Tue 29 Apr, 2008 17:14

Water is very green - Leslie's says "we don't have a clue"

Postby Denali » Fri 03 Jul, 2009 15:44

threekidsmum wrote:Thank you to all of you that have helped us solve this issue! The pool is finally a beautiful clear blue and is sparkling clean! I really do appreciate all of the advise and thoughts you have shared. :D


Great news! Enjoy your pool.

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