Strange test results, help!!

[lisak]

I have a 23000 gallon inground pool with a vinyl liner. I went on vacation for 10 days and left my daughter and her boyfriend to keep an eye on the pool. Apparently they both missed the directive that they needed to add chlorine, especially with 95 plus degree weather and everyone swimming. I came home to a green lagoon. I immediately started dumping chlorine into it and from Sunday to Tuesday it went from dark green to a cloudy blue. I have continued to dump chlorine in and nothing changed. On Thursday, even though I know better, I got poolstored. My numbers were perfect but still couldn't see the deep end at all and only part of the ramp going down to it. They told me it was phosphates and I dumped whatever they gave me in. I have seen no change and after checking on this forum am now banging my head against the wall. I added more chlorine yesterday and ran the numbers this morning. I got the strangest results I have ever seen after 6 years of taking care of this pool.

FC not sure. water never went completely clear and I stopped after 100 drops. It got clearish at about 70 drops which means FC of 35.

CC again not sure. Adding those drops didn't change the color at all.

pH 7.8

Alk when I added the chemicals the water turned blue instead of green, then when I added the chemical to change it pink, it turned yellow instead. that change happened at 12 drops so does that mean my alk. is 120?

I have never seen these odd colors before and now am totally at a loss. Help!! This light brown stuff (almost looks like dustballs) keeps coating the bottom of the pool. I can kind of see the deep end this morning as I could yesterday. But after I scrubbed and vacuumed yesterday we couldn't see the deep end for the rest of the day. At this point, I don't even know what to do.

Thanks for any help.

Lisa

[aylad]

Ok, I have a couple of additional questions for you..
1)what kind of chlorine have you been 'dumping in"? Cal-hypo, dichlor, bleach? What type of chlorine do you normally use for daily chlorination?
2)what is your stabilizer level?
3) what did you add from the pool store for phosphates? (I know you know it wasn't necessary, but at this point we need to know what it was to correct whatever it did to your pool chemistry).


Your pH reading is high, but pH reads falsely high in the presence of high levels of chlorine, so I wouldn't try to adjust that right now. At least you know you're in the ballpark.

Don't worry about the color change on the alk test--I'll have to search the forum to make sure, but I believe it's the presence of the phosphate remover that is changing your colors. The test still works the same, though, so your alk at 120 is fine for now.

So if your water is still cloudy blue, run your filter 24/7, brush the pool at least once a day, vacuum up anything you can see on the bottom, and resist the temptation to put anything else other than chlorine in the pool. Remember that it took more than a day or two to create the lagoon effect, and it's going to take more than a day or two to clear it up. The chlorine that you put in kills the algae, but it is the filter that removes the dead algae (hence the cloudiness) from the pool. Keep an eye on your pressure gauge, clean your filter as it indicates, and be patient--it will clear up

Janet

[lisak]

My CYA is 30 so it's good.

For chlorine I use sodium hypochlorite from the pool store and have dumped in 20 gallons of the stuff since last Sunday with the last 5 gallons going in yesterday. It is easier for me to deal with and cheaper than buying bleach at the store.

The phosphate stuff was Sea Klear phosphate remover (no chemical composition listed on the bottle) and Sea Klear Natural Clarifier (also nothing listed for what's in it). I will do some research through google and see if I can't find out what it is.

Lisa

[lisak]

Oh, I use the 3" pucks for daily chlorination as my CYA is always in the 30 to 50 range and is always at 0 when I open the pool in the spring. Thanks for the help.

Lisa

[lisak]

Link to the phosphate remover:

http://www.halosource.com/userfiles/HSI_MSDS-SEAKLEAR_Phosphate_Remover(2).pdf


Link to the clarifier:

http://www.halosource.com/userfiles/HSI_MSDS-SEAKLEAR_Phosphate_Remover(2).pdf

This one doesn't even say what it is, just "trade secret" sigh......

[aylad]

If your CYA is at 30 (I assume you've recently measured it, since the pucks continually raise CYA), then your shock level is 15 ppm, which you should be way over at this point. Try testing again tonight after the sun is off the pool, and again in the morning before the sun hits the pool. If you lose less than 1 ppm of chlorine when comparing those two tests, then you can let the chlorine drift back down to the 3-6 range and continue filtering to get all the dead algae out. If you do lose more than 1 ppm of chlorine overnight, you need to leave the chlorine at above 15 ppm so you can overcome the chlorine demand ( which is probably either residual algae or the phosphate remover).

Janet

[CarlD]

You will want to backwash every day.

You may want to get "skimmer socks" and use them, too. They will catch surface stuff.

If you have a sand filter you should add a little DE powder (normally used for DE filters) to through the skimmer (but not with the skimmer sock in place). You add just enough to raise your pressure by one pound and add it anew after backwashing. This increases the filtration capability of the sand. Do NOT add DE to a cartridge filter. Initial amount of DE is 1/4 to 1/3 cup, no more. Add more only if your pressure doesn't increase by a full pound.

[lisak]

I do have a sand filter but have never tried that. I'll go get some today. Have also never used a skimmer sock so will get one of those too. The filter has been running continuously since I left for vacation on 6/30. Am I right in assuming that all the crap on the bottom is dead whatever that the chlorine has killed? Thank you for helping.

Lisa

[aylad]

Yes, the "crap" on the bottom is dead algae, combined with the other normal pollen, dirt, etc that blows into the pool on a daily basis. The link that you put in the above post for the clarifier was actually a repeat link for the phosphate remover, but in any event, a lot of the clarifiers also contain a flocculant, designed to make small particles clump together and go to the bottom where they can be vacuumed out. Just keep vacuuming this stuff out as much as you can--I would vacuum it to waste and bypass the filter, that way you know it's going OUT of the pool. Just make sure that you switch your pump to "rinse" before going back to "filter" to rinse all the residual out of the pipes.

When you get ready to add the DE, like Carl suggested, start with a very small amount and wait several (up to 30) minutes before adding more, because the pressure rise can be slow. You don't want to increase your pressure more than 1 psi. If you overshoot it, just backwash it out and try again.

Janet

[lisak]

Here is the link for the clarifier.

http://www.halosource.com/userfiles/HSI%20MSDS%20-%20SEAKLEAR%20Natural%20Clarifier%20[Rev03].pdf

I just put the DE right into the skimmer basket?

[aylad]

Here's Carl's stickied post about adding the DE..

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=3742

Janet

[lisak]

ok, here are this mornings test results:

FC 21
CC .5
pH 7.2
Alk 100
CYA 45

The color of the tests is back to normal so that's good. The FC was at 25 last night and dropped to 21 this morning (about 12 - 13 hours). The deep end is still cloudy but I can make out the bottom. I did add more water last night as the pool was low from all the vacuuming and waste. Do I need to add more chlorine at this point or will the cloudiness clear up if we keep scrubbing and vacuuming? I can see more of the dead algae and stuff on the bottom but significantly less than there has been. Thanks again for your help.

Also, my kids want to know if they can swim in it today. Any thoughts? Is the chlorine way to high for that?

[aylad]

If you had a 4 ppm chlorine loss while the sun was off the pool, then you're still fighting something in your water and need to keep it at your shock level for a little while longer. It needs to stay at shock level, as consistently as possible, until you're losing no more than 1 ppm overnight. Unfortunately, if you drop the chlorine level enough to let the kids swim, you're going to lose ground, because shocking to kill stuff in the water depends on SUSTAINED high chlorine levels. Besides, if your chlorine in the water is busy fighting something else, then it can't work on viruses and bacteria in the water, so it's really not clean enough for the kids to get in, anyway.

Keep the chlorine level up, the filter running and backwashed as needed, and it will clear up--it will just take a good-sized dose of POPP--pool owner patience and persistence!

Janet

[lisak]

That's what I thought. 21 is at or above shock level, correct? I don't need to add anything at this point? Thank you.

[Watermom]

Run your pump 24/7 and keep an eye on your filter pressure. Try the DE. It may just do the trick. Remember that it sometimes takes a little time for the pressure to rise so give it at least a half hour after you add it before deciding to add more. The first time I added DE to my filter, I didn't want wait long enough before adding more and then my pressure shot way up and I had to backwash it out and start over.

[aylad]

21 is at or above shock level, correct?

Yes, your shock level for a CYA of 45 is 15 ppm. See the "Best Guess Chart" here http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=365 that we use as a guideline for shock/chlorine levels, based on your current CYA levels.

Janet

[lisak]

I want to thank you all for your help. The pool is looking much better. Still a little dead stuff on the bottom but I can clearly see the bottom of the deep end. Still not as clear as it normally is but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. My numbers this morning didn't change.

FC 19
CC .5
pH 7.2
Alk 110
CYA 45
Cal 80

I am thinking that by the time the chlorine level gets down to the correct amount, the pool should be clear again. Added the DE last night. My giggle for yesterday came from the pool store down the street. They told me they don't stock DE because it is toxic but they stock a "pool store equivalent chemical". Didn't even ask what that cost, I'm sure it is at least triple the cost of DE. Called my dad the chemical engineer to ask if DE is really toxic as I hadn't heard that one before. After he got done laughing he said nope. Gotta love pool stores.

[Watermom]

Watch your filter pressure and backwash when it rises 8-10psi over clean filter pressure. Then, you'll need to reload the DE as it will backwash out. Also, run the pump 24/7 while you are trying to clear it. Glad it is looking better.

[lisak]

Pool looks great, thanks for your help! In wandering through the posts, I see numerous replies about how much bleach will raise the chlorine level 1ppm. Is there a chart for this? If not, what am I looking at for a 23000 gallon pool? I checked stickies and searched but maybe I missed it. I can't download the bleach calculator as I have a mac (i tried, it was interesting...). Thanks again.

Lisa

[lisak]

I tried that, it is a windows program and I have a mac. It didn't work.

Here are today's numbers:

FC 17
CC 1
pH 7.2
Alk 90
CYA 45

Pool looks great but chlorine is still too high to swim and dropping very slowly. Any idea how long it will take? Thanks again.

[aylad]

OK, try this one...http://www.thepoolcalculator.com/


It shouldn't take more than a day or two in hot sun to bring your chlorine down to swimmable levels. Watch that CC, though, if it goes up (or doesn't go down after a day in the sun), you need to maintain shock level for awhile longer. It will go up and down as a byproduct of people swimming, but if the sun doesn't dispel it, then you're not finished fighting stuff in the water.

Janet

[Watermom]

In a 23K pool, each 3-quart jug of 6% bleach will raise the cl level by 2ppm.

[lisak]

Thanks for the link Janet, and the amount Watermom. Appreciated more than you know!

[PoolDoc]

Right, DE goes in the basket.

Ben
"PoolDoc"