Pool is green

Algae problems in swimming pool water.
Green (cloudy) water or slimy pool walls.
Black algae. Mustard algae. Pink or white pool mold.
I've got mad kids

Pool is green

Postby I've got mad kids » Fri 01 Jun, 2007 17:43

Learning as i go! my pool, like a lot of others is green. I'm trying to understand all of the posts that i'm reading and am not sure that i do. when referring to chlorine, I have been using the 3 inch bricks in a floating dispenser, it will obviously take a while for it to penetrate all of the water. When it is talked about adding bleach, are we talking about Clorox? how much would i add to an in ground, vinyl lined pool of about 30,000 gallons of green water.

Any support is appreciated, i'm not a chemist so small words with pictures or descriptions would be appreciated. ;-)


Buggsw
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Postby Buggsw » Fri 01 Jun, 2007 18:03

It would be nice to know what your current test readings are for:

TC Total Chlorine
CC Combined Chlorine
FC Free Chlorine
pH
TA Total Alkilinity
CYA - this is stabilizer
Calcium Hardness

That being said, it sounds like you need to shock at high level and keep it at that level for 2 or 3 days.

To raise your chlorine by 15ppm which is a good shock level for green pools add 8.2 gallons of regular strength Clorox, or 7.5 gallons of Ultra or Super Chlorox, or 3.6 gallons of 12.5% pool store chlorine. You may need to add a gallon of regular Clorox each day to keep it at that level or .5 gallons of 12.5% chlorine daily to keep it at a high shock level.

Don't be surprised that your pool will turn blue and be very cloudy. This will be a combination of dead algae floating around and possibly your pH getting a little high.

Never let your pH go below 7.2 for a vinyl pool - it can damage the vinyl. The liquid chlorine tends to raise pH and the bricks or dry shock tends to decrease pH. If your pH goes too high, lower it with muriatic acid. 24 ounces of acid will lower your pool volume by .2 (drizzle it around the pool about a foot away from the walls).

You are right that at this point, the bricks/tablets are not enough to keep your water clear and blue.

Keep your pump running 7/24 until you are in balance. Vacuum and backwash daily until you are in balance.
i've got mad kids

green

Postby i've got mad kids » Fri 01 Jun, 2007 18:39

thank you for the prompt reply. I will get the bleach and get started. i plan on taking the water samples to the pool store tomorrow to get lavel testing done.

thanks again.

Brad
Deaun

Thank you to Buggsw

Postby Deaun » Sat 02 Jun, 2007 12:45

Big B,
Thank you for your reply to "mad kids," as I believe you have solved my problem as well.

All tests show that the water is A-OK and ready to swim in, but the algae and cloudy water have convinced me otherwise.

I've a 32,000 gallon pool, which has been running 24/7 since the last week of April. I've shocked--averaging 10 lbs., twice weekly--and flocked--twice--and vaccumed, and clarified, and and and.

And nothing.

Still giving it the ol' college try, and hope to thank you again--for a clear pool.

Deaun
Buggsw
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Postby Buggsw » Sat 02 Jun, 2007 13:59

Deaun - You're welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read and see if someone has the exact same problem. I hope it does work for you, too. If you post your readings I will be happy to analyze. You say that your readings are good and water is clear, but you have visible signs of algae. Well, the first step is definately to kill the algae and chlorine is the right thing to do along with brushing, backwashing, etc. You may have to keep your chlorine levels up for more than 2 to 3 days, though. Just a gut feeling here.

If all of your readings are in good range, and you get rid of the algae but still have trouble keeping chlorine high enough to keep the algae away, please get back to us with your readings. You may have something else going on. I don't want to say what I suspect until you try this and see if it works. It may very well be all you need.
Deaun

Water isn't clear

Postby Deaun » Sat 02 Jun, 2007 17:50

Buggsw wrote:Deaun - You're welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read and see if someone has the exact same problem. I hope it does work for you, too. If you post your readings I will be happy to analyze. You say that your readings are good and water is clear, but you have visible signs of algae. Well, the first step is definately to kill the algae and chlorine is the right thing to do along with brushing, backwashing, etc. You may have to keep your chlorine levels up for more than 2 to 3 days, though. Just a gut feeling here.

If all of your readings are in good range, and you get rid of the algae but still have trouble keeping chlorine high enough to keep the algae away, please get back to us with your readings. You may have something else going on. I don't want to say what I suspect until you try this and see if it works. It may very well be all you need.


Readings are good, but water is cloudy.

Readings:

Free Chlorine above 1.5 ppm, below 3.0 ppm
Chlorine Residual: above 1.5 ppm, below 3.0 ppm
PH Level: above 7.2ppm, below 7.6 ppm
Acid Demand: No
Total Alkalinity: 100 ppm

Appears be getting better, however, as I can see almost three feet down as of this evening. Lots of dead algae. I have taken a nylon (tightwad--yeah) and placed inside the skimmer basket to catch as much of the "dead" as possible. Seems to help much.

BTW, I live about 1/4 mile from a summertime canoe rental place that sees mucho traffic. On a dirt road no less. I know that is part/most of my trouble(s), but would really like to see the bottom of the pool this year...bought the house in January, and there are not any maintence or equipment records available. No idea which contractor built the pool--only know it was built by the original owner aproximately 12 years and two owners ago. All I have to test with is a Basic 4 test kit--what else do I need to get? Closest pool anything/anyone is 2 1/2 hours away. Suggestions?
Buggsw
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Postby Buggsw » Sat 02 Jun, 2007 22:02

What is your CYA? Is your water blue now but just cloudy? That's a good sign.

I'd keep the chlorine higher at shock level 10 - 15 ppm and keep your pH at 7.2 while it's still cloudy.

Brush, vacuum, backwash daily - keep that pump running. The skimmer sock is a good idea. I use them all the time. Just be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't get so clogged you aren't getting a good flow. Rinse it out daily or more often, if necessary.

You're a quick study - good going!
Guest

Postby Guest » Mon 04 Jun, 2007 14:31

buggsw, you have reallly helped me out as well. i had the same problem as both of them, but mine sounds more like deaun's. the skimmer sock is the first time i have ever heard of something like that. i have been tempted to wrap either an old cotton t-shirt or some cheese cloth around the pole skimmer and run that through the pool, but thought i would try some of the correct pool methods first :).

so i have done everything you have said. i shock and then i brush and the shock turns the water blue-ish, but then it goes right back to green pretty quickly. my latest readings are as follows (they arent up-to-date in the point that i haven't had it tested since saturday):

**ok, ill have to edit the post with the results as i cant seem to find them. what i do remember though was:
free chlorine: 1ppm
total chlorine: 1ppm
PH: 9.4-9.6
alkalinity: 80ppm

and CYA was right about where it was supposed to be, again on the low side of the spectrum.

so all my chems are good, and for a while the pool was clear where i can see to the bottom. of course at the bottom of the pool was dirt and leaves. the dirt goes into circulation when i brush the pool, but the leaves tend to fall back to the bottom. my APC isnt picking up leaves even though i just had it serviced. the problem is that the screen for the quick-connect gets clogged after just 10 min of running, so the guy only picks up minimal. so i tried vacuuming but the pump basket kept getting clogged with leaves, and when i cleaned other places, it didnt pick up much if any. is there a device to manually pick up those leaves without just vacuuming it to the pump?

i just ran out of shock again so i will pick up another bucket of that, but whats a good way to make sure the shallow end gets enough chlorine? should i keep using powder shock, or switch to liquid?

also, can you explain the clorox method, is there a way to calculate how much you should use. my pool is a gunite in-ground 27,000 gallon pool.
IkeRay
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Postby IkeRay » Mon 04 Jun, 2007 14:32

Anonymous wrote:buggsw, you have reallly helped me out as well. i had the same problem as both of them, but mine sounds more like deaun's. the skimmer sock is the first time i have ever heard of something like that. i have been tempted to wrap either an old cotton t-shirt or some cheese cloth around the pole skimmer and run that through the pool, but thought i would try some of the correct pool methods first :).

so i have done everything you have said. i shock and then i brush and the shock turns the water blue-ish, but then it goes right back to green pretty quickly. my latest readings are as follows (they arent up-to-date in the point that i haven't had it tested since saturday):

**ok, ill have to edit the post with the results as i cant seem to find them. what i do remember though was:
free chlorine: 1ppm
total chlorine: 1ppm
PH: 9.4-9.6
alkalinity: 80ppm

and CYA was right about where it was supposed to be, again on the low side of the spectrum.

so all my chems are good, and for a while the pool was clear where i can see to the bottom. of course at the bottom of the pool was dirt and leaves. the dirt goes into circulation when i brush the pool, but the leaves tend to fall back to the bottom. my APC isnt picking up leaves even though i just had it serviced. the problem is that the screen for the quick-connect gets clogged after just 10 min of running, so the guy only picks up minimal. so i tried vacuuming but the pump basket kept getting clogged with leaves, and when i cleaned other places, it didnt pick up much if any. is there a device to manually pick up those leaves without just vacuuming it to the pump?

i just ran out of shock again so i will pick up another bucket of that, but whats a good way to make sure the shallow end gets enough chlorine? should i keep using powder shock, or switch to liquid?

also, can you explain the clorox method, is there a way to calculate how much you should use. my pool is a gunite in-ground 27,000 gallon pool.


sorry for some reason i wasnt logged in, this is my user name. thank you

ok, just got my water tested:

FC: .2ppm
TC: .2ppm
CC: 0.0ppm
pH: 7.2
Hardness: 205ppm
alkalinity: 95ppm
CYA: 30ppm

its about to rain and he said that should up my pH, although i have heard that its good to have the pH a tad bit low when super-shocking. i asked about liquid chlorine at the pool store and it runs $12/4 gal, or $3/gal and he said that 1gal=1lb of shock, so that makes it $3/lb when i can get granular for $1.5/lb. but if i can use household bleach, ie clorox, i can get that at the store for ~$.6/lb which would be an awesome saving.

sorry if i hijacked this thread, just shared a similar problem.
Buggsw
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Postby Buggsw » Mon 04 Jun, 2007 22:43

The problem with using the granular shock is that it usually holds a lot of other things, too, including CYA, sometimes calcium. If you can get plain granular chlorine cheaper, by all means use it if you wish. Granular doesn't circulate quite as fast.

You can use it until your CYA gets to 50, then I would definately switch to liquid chlorine.

You probably aren't shocking high enough or long enough. You need to keep it at shock level for a few days sometimes. Always add your chlorine at night, else the sun burns it out too quick before it does it's work. When your shock level holds overnight then you've shocked enough and can let the level fall to a normal level. After that, if you keep an eye on your levels and add a cup or so of chlorine when you need it, you may never have to shock again for the entire summer. If you do it right, you shouldn't have to shock but on opening, closing or if you have above .2 combined chloramines.

You don't give your pool volume so I cannot tell you how much you need to add. With your CYA level you need to bring your pool to at least 15ppm chlorine. Did you really mean .2 ppm FC & TC or was that really 2 ppm of each? So, for 10000 gallons of water, you could safely add
2 1/2 gallons of regular strength Chlorox (6% sodium hypochlorite) or 1 gallon and 3 cups of pool store chlorine (12.5%). You would need to adjust more if you use some off brand which may be 5% or 10%.

You also cannot just do this one day and 2 days later tend to it again. You need to check your readings daily and keep your levels up.
IkeRay
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Postby IkeRay » Tue 05 Jun, 2007 00:16

i did mention, but it was in the post that said "pool user" not with my username so you might have missed it. i have a 27,000 gallon pool (inground gunite).

and yes, .2 ppm, i had run out of shock, but my chlorinator has been on full the entire time. so, what you were saying is that i can eliminate the use of tablets all together? or should i still have the tablets running through a chlorinator and use the bleach just as a shock method?

so i should add about 7 gal of bleach to shock?

and do you have a solution to the vacuuming problem?
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Postby Buggsw » Tue 05 Jun, 2007 01:45

IkeRay - Sorry, it gets confusing with posts within posts and so many "poolusers". Yes, that would be 7 gallons of regular strength Chlorox.

I see also, looking back you said your CYA is at the lower end of the scale which, to me would be 30. You can use tabs but like I said, when you are nearing 50 I would discontinue use of tabs altogether as well as the dry shocks that are stabilized.

You need to hit your pool hard and constantly for a few days. Keep that level of chlorine up to the shock level
paperlade

cloudy

Postby paperlade » Tue 05 Jun, 2007 07:29

so, i have the chlorine level really high...showing bright orange on the test. it's made the pool go from pea soup green to cloudy cloudy. do i keep running the filter, or turn it off and let everything settle and then backwash?
Buggsw
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Postby Buggsw » Wed 06 Jun, 2007 00:19

Keep it running. It can take 3 days to a week to clear. Make sure your pH is not too high.
rockongolddustwoman

cloudy cloudy

Postby rockongolddustwoman » Tue 12 Jun, 2007 08:44

After the algaecide or chlorine has turned the water from green to "cloudy, cloudy" as mentioned I like to use a product called Clear Blue from the pool supply store that clings onto the dead algae (now white, not green) and causes it to settle to the bottom overnight and can simply be vacuumed up in the morning. It saves an IMMENSE amount of time! It is also sold by "Guardex" as a product called "super clarity". It is simply a water clarifier that you are looking for in a 946ml container and you will only need to use a 1/3 of the bottle for a regular 16ft x 36ft pool with a 9ft deep end.

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