Newbie with Issues!!!!!

[AndreaA]

Hi everyone! I'm a new home owner w/ inground 16 x 32 vinyl pool. We purchased our home end of November and the home had previously been on the market for several months. Fortunately a pool company maintained the pool while it was on the market and the home was vacant. When we moved in the pool was in great "looking" order. However the pump was not working correctly and we were not getting suction from the skimmer and the chlorine levels became really low. We went to our local pool store and had the water tested about 3 weeks ago and we were told to add 2lbs of shock to get chlorine levels up since our tabs in the skimmer were not dissolving due to the no suction issue. We added the "powder shock" directly into the pool. In the mean time we were working on getting the clog out of the pipe that lead from the skimmer to the pump-- we were successful!! It was full of acorns and leaves and we got it all out!!! Around 2 hours after we added the shock we watched our beautiful crystal clear pool turn a NASTY green color. The next morning it was HORRIBLE!! Since it was a sunday and we didn't have a test kit we just ran the pump. Monday morning I took another water sample up to the pool store and they told me that my water levels were perfect and that I should just continue to run my filter (sand) 24/7 and it should clear up in a few days. Well a few days later it was still the same. So I decided to take another water sample to another pool store to get a second opinion and was told to add the shock that you mix with water (4lbs) directly into skimmer as well as a full bottle of yellow algae stuff and see what it looked like in the morning. If the water was still nasty green to add the remaining 4lbs of shock. At this point my pool had started to develop this brown dust on the bottom when swept. The guy also suggested that I vacuum the pool and waste the water to get the brown stuff off the bottom. I did! Added more shock the next afternoon because the water was still yucky green. Continued to vacuum and waste the entire weekend. Well I've had to add about 6 inches of water to my pool from all the backwashes and wasting we've done and I'm still dealing with a green pool. So I go back to them and they say I have phosphates in my water to add 1/2 bottle of Phosfree so I did (two days ago) and it's still green and now it's even more hazy than before. I have two different readings for my levels one from today and one from the day before. I'm seriously at a loss and all I know to do after reading your forum is to just add bleach??? I have also read that I might have mustard algae b/c I have the sand looking stuff on the bottom of the pool as well... I dunno! Need help PLEASE!!!

Reading from today-- Please note that this pool company FC will only go up to 7
FC-7.0
TC-7.0
CC-0.0
TA-83
PH-7.9 (Since added stuff to bring that down)
CYA-25

Reading Yesterday--
FC--11
CC-1.0
PH--7.2
TA--70
CYA--45

[aylad]

Hi Andrea, and welcome to the forum!!

The very first thing you need to do is to stop throwing things "at" the pool at the advice of the pool store. It's not getting you anywhere, and it's making your situation worse.

The second thing you need to do is to call the pool company that was taking care of the pool and see if they were using Baquacil or Soft Swim instead of chlorine to maintain the pool. The symptoms you describe are the same as what happens when you put chlorine into a Bacquacil pool. And if that's the case, what you're going to need to do is to hammer it with bleach to maintain at least 15 ppm of chlorine until the conversion to chlorine is complete. If not, then with a CYA of 45, then you need to stop using the tabs altogether, and still bump your chlorine up to 15 ppm, adding more chlorine as often as possible to keep it at or above 15 ppm, and running the filter 24/7 until it clears. Keep an eye on your filter pressure and backwash it as needed--if it's a Baq pool, it'll need to be cleaned often.

Either way, we can help you get it cleared up, but don't add any more of the pool store's additives--just chlorine, either bleach or cal-hypo--no dichlor. If you choose to use powdered shock, read the ingredient label and only buy it if the ingredient is calcium hypochlorite (need to test for a calcium hardness level, too).

Let us know what you find out, and I know that we can help you get it cleared up again in time for swim season!!

Janet

[AndreaA]

Ok. Talked with the guy that maintained pool (first time I spoke with him). He said they never used either of those products on this pool and is now suggesting that we have metals in the water. He wants me to come to the store and purchase a metal remover. This might be true b/c I did dump spring water in the pool (trying to recycle) which was probably STUPID. But I have a natural spring under my pool and I have to pump the water from under the liner every few days... Well this water is crystal clear so I thought it wouldn't hurt.. Well after I did that I did see that I had little sparkles floating in the water :-( Let me know whatcha think. Thanks so much!!!

[chem geek]

If it has mostly remained a fairly clear green, it could be that there was a lot of copper in the pool and the high chlorine level along with high pH caused the copper to precipitate. The copper could have come from a copper-based algaecide. Can you please describe the color of the pool in more detail? Is it a clear green or is it very cloudy?

[AndreaA]

It's very cloudy. The green changes from dark to light but it's still really hard to see the bottom of the deep end (8ft). I can tell there is a lot of small particles (not getting caught in the filter floating around. Water is very VERY cloudy when swept or vacuumed on filter. I have wasted so many times that I have killed the fish in the creek ( my waste goes to a creek).

[AndreaA]

Also, purchased a Taylor 2006 today. I'm getting very ticked with my home depot kit-- ARG!! Hopefully it will arrive soon!!!

[aylad]

If the problem is metals, then you'll need a sequestrant to hold the metals in solution. They wont be removed, but will at least stay in suspension. Can you get a sample to the pool store and ask them to check for metals?

Janet

[AndreaA]

I think you may be right. I do not have a good kit yet but I've added enough bleach to the water (per this website) that I believe my water is staying at shock level between 12 and 15. With the FC level staying so high the water is even more cloudy. But I also have a sand like dust on the bottom of the pool and when swept it throws a big dirty cloud but I have not wasted in several days therefore it might just be dirty cause we live in GA and everything is blooming here. Does it matter if my FC levels are high when I add the metal sequestrant? Also my steps are an orange color does that mean a certain type of metal? And if I do add this how much should I use? Thank you so much for all your help :-)

[aylad]

I'm thinking the orange will indicate iron. I am not the metals expert on the forum, but if you'll go to the metals forum, there are many posts by Marie (mbar), who is probably the most experienced metals person on the forum, next to Ben. You should be able to get most of your questions answered by reading those posts, but if not, come back and post them. In the meantime, Marie should be stopping by soon and I'm sure can help you out, if that is indeed the problem.

Get the water tested if you can, and repost your results here--that will really help us zero in on what you need to do.....and just out of curiousity, take a trichlor tab and rub in on the orange on the steps, and let us know if it lifts the stain.

Janet

[AndreaA]

I had the pool tested 3 times before and they all said no metals but I can see sparkles floating in the water. Had the water tested again for metals two days ago and still nothing. Also my local pool store called me this morning to see if my water was still green (nice of them) and said they were going to send a tech out here for free just to look at everything (again nice of them). Well the guy showed up around lunch. He noticed all the little crap that's been floating around my pool and decided to but some DE powder in my skimmer (for free) and he was going to leave me 1/4 of a bag (huge bag) but when he did ALL of the powder came shooting out of my jets and my pressure never went up. I had said something to them before about my pressure being low and they said that all pools very so I was no longer concerned about it. Well he advised us to change out the sand, run filter, vacuum on waste again, NOT to add the spring water again, and if I wanted to I could flock (sp?) the pool and then waste the next morning. He also said that my water would remain green till I added the metal stuff BUT to wait until the water reaches 60 degrees??? My stuff is orange!!! :-( Also I tried to rub the tab on steps and it's not doing a great job.. Kinda just grating the tablet... Maybe I need more elbow grease?? :-) Oh.. should I post on Metals part too? Thanks again for all your help Janet!!!

[aylad]

Hmmm, sounds like more than just a water issue. If the DE just game back through your jets, then you also have a filter issue. I would replace the sand, also checking for cracks or breaks in the laterals, and see if the filtrationimproves. If not, you can try adding the DE again, but only enough to raise your pressure by 1 psi. It is still possible that you have metals in the water--the way I understand it, if the pool service was using sequestrant, the metals wouldnt show on tests because they are in suspension. Do you have orange staining in your shower or toilet tank? I would also try putting the trichlor tab on top of a layer of cotton balls, and pour some of your water over the tab to see if and orange "drops out". On the cotton.

For now, don't duplicate post in the metals forum because it makes it hard to stay organzed, but I'm going to shoot Marie an email and ask her i put on your situation. If t turns out that metal is the problem, we can always move the thread.

Janet

[AndreaA]

Hi. Just wanted to give an update. Our water is still green but it's looking better. We changed out the sand a checked all parts to make sure everything was in working order. I also got my Taylor test kit and we've figured out how to do all test needed.

So right now. I have not added anything but bleach since we last talked.

1: Ok so I know I have some type of metal issue-- since my steps are orange and my pool turned green once we added chlorine. I haven't added anything for that. I've had it tested but all test are negative but I just know since I dumped spring water with gold flakes in the water.

Here is my reading from this afternoon

FC: 4
CC:0
PH: 7.0
Alk: 50
CYA: 20
Water Temp: 60 degrees

2: Should I adjust the PH and Alk? Also my pool is still green but some what clear now (it's cloudy) but I can see the bottom of the pool in the deep end :-D So that's a plus!!!! Anyhow thank you all for helping and any suggestions would be appreciated.

Also, we do have orange spots and stains in showers and sinks from water.

[aylad]

Sounds like you have iron in your water. Since you already have staining, and there is a way to get rid of it (see the sticky in the metals forum), I would go ahead and just keep shocking the pool (back up to 20 ppm!) until the water completely clears up and you're not losing chlorine overnight Once that's done, then you can go through the process to remove the metals stains. You'll have to make a decision, though--you'll either need to add metal sequestrant to the pool to keep the metals from falling out of suspension again, or you need to try to remove it from the water--and the only way I know to do that is to run it through a high chlorine source and immediately through a filter of some sort.

Janet