Pool is deep green and can't seem to make it any better

[kateboggs]

I need some serious help!

About two weeks ago my above ground 27' pool became cloudy and lost its bright blue color. So i bought 2 bags of shock and dumped them in and let the (sand) filter run all day and night. I let a few days go because last time this happened it sparkled right up after a day or two. Unfortunately, the pool got worse and turned a deep green color and now for the last week and a half you can even see the bottom. I took a sample to the local pool store and all they did was stick a test strip in in and tell me I needed to add 10lbs of Alkalinity and then shock it after a day or so. I added the 10lbs and then dumped 2 gallons of liquid shock in the next day. No change. So the following day (yesterday) I dumped in two more gallons. Still no change. My Alkalinity and ph levels are good. pH was a touch high but I brought it down with some pH minus.

Any suggestions!?!? I am running out of ideas. Please help!

[mgara]

I don't know what is with this stuff, but everyone I know using it including myself loves it. Go to nomor.htm and use the drop down to find the product for your problem. They have one for every type of algae. I had problems with yellow algae and it was gone in 2 days, including the stains in 4 more days. It keeps my water so clear and the chemical balance is somehow maintained with this product. It's summer and I have even been able to turn down the time my pool pump runs and still no problems.

Just google which one you need and you can find it at many online pool supply stores.

[RMS1]

The No Mor Problems works pretty good. I took care of about 40 pools in Arizona and it worked for me.

When you say "2 bags" how much is that? If it's a deep green you may want to bring the chlorine up to 20-25ppm. Scoop out debris from the pool and brush and brush and back-wash and back-wash until the water is clear. United Chemicals has some very good algaecides as well.


If you don't hammer the algae with chlorine, it won't do any good. Coming close won't cut it.

Use Calcium Hypo. It has 68% chlorine as opposed to liquid or bleach which is 12%.

[chem geek]

Though you are right that hitting the pool hard with chlorine is the answer (unless the Cyanuric Acid level is very high in which case dilution first would be better), it is not true that Cal-Hypo is any better than chlorinating liquid or bleach. It's only difference is in concentration of product, NOT its effects in pool water once added -- the chlorine in the water is the same except that Cal-Hypo increases Calcium Hardness (CH) so if your pool is already saturated with calcium carbonate, that can make the water cloudy.

See Defeating Algae and also Cost Comparison of Chlorine Sources to see that you can't just look at concentration of product to know its effectiveness or even if it is economical. Yes, Cal-Hypo is lighter and smaller in volume for the same amount of chlorine in the water (i.e. same Free Chlorine level), but it's also more expensive per pound so it nets out that its price is roughly comparable to chlorinating liquid (depending on local pricing) on what matters most -- per FC added to the pool. However, the chlorinating liquid won't increase CH while Cal-Hypo will.

Also, the link you gave says nothing about the chlorine/CYA relationship so you don't know 1) whether it is better to dilute the water due to higher CYA nor 2) how much chlorine to use for shocking since the FC level for shocking depends on the CYA level for consistent rates of algae killing.