pool is green

[joverby]

We recently bought an Intex 15'x48" pool for my kids. We have had about 4" of rain in the last two days (THANK YOU LORD!!) Now the pool is green. I have tried to read on here as much as I can about what to do and what not to do, but have not found exactly what I was looking for.

I am completely pool ignorant!! THANKS for your help!

Jeremy

[Watermom]

Hi Jeremy and welcome to the Pool Forum!

I'm glad to hear you got rain. I know Texas needs it badly right now.

Can you give us some current water testing results taken from a drops-based kit? You'll need a good test kit if you don't already have one. The one we recommend is the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C (same kit, larger bottle of some reagents). If you buy it through the Amazon link in my signature, the Pool Forum makes a little money on the sale which helps us keep this form online. Only buy if the seller is Amato Industries, however. Some other sellers are substituting the K-2005 which you do NOT want.

If you don't have a test kit yet, for now let a reputable pool store test your water for you and then post the results here. Do not let them talk you into buying a bunch of stuff though.

Post results and we'll go from there. Also, if you haven't read on our sister site www.poolsolutions.com please do so. Lots of good information there that you will want to know about.

[PoolDoc]

If water is cheap for you, dump it and refill. Cleaning up algae in the small Intex pools is a TOTAL pain. (And, next time it rains, remember to chlorinate even though it's raining!)

If water is not cheap, you'll have to clean up. For starters, turn your pump on and leave it on. Plain on cleaning your cartridge daily. If you've got some what to chlorinate do so. Then, tonight put 1/2 gallon of PLAIN 6% household bleach in the pool this evening. Once you start with the bleach, stop adding everything else.

Today, while you are at Walmart getting the bleach, get a cheap OTO / phenol red drops test kit. Use it to test the pool tomorrow evening before you add the bleach again, and 1 hour after you add it. Then test it again the morning after second morning. When the chlorine level 1 hour after adding bleach is the same as the chlorine level in the morning early -- everything is as dead as you're going to get it.

That will get you started.

Meanwhile, tell us what test kit you have, how you've been chlorinating, and anything else you think we might need to know to give you a 'recipe' to follow so this doesn't happen again.


(9) boxes of borax; (2) gallons muriatic acid

[joverby]

I have a 5 way test. I just try and follow the instructions it has in the test. Chlorine/Bromine test didn't turn yellow. So I guess that means 0. The pH is the color of the 8.2 or maybe a little darker. The total Alkalinity test never turned red like it says it will. I put 100 drops in that little sucker. We have only had this thing a couple of weeks and things were good until the rain (NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT THE RAIN!). Not sure if this helps you or not. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!

Jeremy

[joverby]

We have been using the 3" 3-in-1 chlorine tablets, because I read on here before NOT to use the dual action due to the metal content.

Water is cheap, but due to lack of rain and water restrictions can't put another 4700 gallons in the pool.

I just posted a test result, but don't see it.

We have started the bleach, but doesn't seem to make a dent.

THANKS PoolDoc and Watermom!!

Jeremy

[PoolDoc]

Add some bleach NOW! You want dark yellow to orange readings while you are cleaning up.

If you can handle muriatic acid, get a gallon and add about a cup to your pool. Wear glass and gloves, watch out for the fumes, put the bottle part way into the water and then open it and pour. Recap it before removing it from the pool, and then dunk it in the pool to rinse off any splatters. Do NOT store the bottle indoors; the fumes destroy wiring!

When it's in your pool, muriatic acid is cheaper and better for you and your pool. But it's harder to handle and store, and more dangerous. But, if you're careful it's fine.

How have you been chlorinating?

[joverby]

We have been using the 3" 3-in-1 chlorine tablets, because I read on here before NOT to use the dual action due to the metal content.

[Watermom]

What are the ingredients in the 3-in-1 tabs besides trichlor?

[joverby]

3-in-1 active ingredients:
calcium hypochlorite...47.6%
other ingedients.........52.4%
total..........................100.0 %
minimum available chlorine...45%

That is all it says.

[PoolDoc]

What brand?

I've been collecting MSDS; maybe I can tell what this particular chemical hobo-stew is made of.

[joverby]

the brand is hth.

[PoolDoc]

Got it. It's cal hypo + STPP + Magnesium sulfate (why?)
Full info below.

If that's all you've been using, you've got no stabilizer in the pool. If you've got bleach at home, dump it in the pool tonight.

Get some stabilizer tomorrow -- but you can NOT let it touch those tabs. Bad things WILL happen.

Does your pool have a skimmer, or are you using a floater with the tabs?


=======================

HTH 3-in-1 Chlorinating Skimmer Tablets
EPA Registration Number: 1258-1259

CAS OR CHEMICAL NAME CAS # % RANGE
CALCIUM HYPOCHLORITE 7778-54-3 40 - 55
SODIUM CHLORIDE 7647-14-5 5 - 15
CALCIUM CHLORATE 10137-74-3 0 - 4
CALCIUM CHLORIDE 10043-52-4 0 - 4
CALCIUM HYDROXIDE 1305-62-0 0 - 5
CALCIUM CARBONATE 471-34-1 0 - 4
Sodium Tripolyphosphate 13573-18-7 0.9 - 1.1
MAGNESIUM SULFATE HEPTAHYDRATE 10034-99-8 25 - 35
Water 7732-18-5 17 - 22

[joverby]

The brand is HTH.

I have put in 1/2 gallon of bleach last night and this morning with 1 cup of muratic acid last night and this morning. No change in the green-ness. In fact it looks greener to me. How long before I will begin to see it clear up?


It has a skimmer.

[PoolDoc]

You've GOT to test chlorine levels, and report results. Go to Walmart and get some stabilizer (cyanuric acid) and an OTO / phenol red test kit. Do NOT buy any of their other pool chemicals -- they are a MESS. Instead, go to the detergent section and get a box of borax and at least 8 gallons of PLAIN 6% household bleach.

When you get back, add a gallon of bleach -- pump ON! -- and then test after an hour. If the chlorine is not above 3ppm (medium yellow), add another gallon. Meanwhile, put 2# of stabilizer in an old sock, and hang it in front of the return.

Keep dosing with chlorine till you see chlorine levels ABOVE 3 ppm. Depending on how slimy your pool is, it may take a lot.

One of the key rules of pool care is that it takes more, MUCH MORE money, time and chemicals to clean up a pool, than it does to maintain it.

[joverby]

This morning the test says the chlorine/bromine is 3 6 and the ph is 7.8. I have the 2# of stabilizer in a old sock by the skimmer. The pool is no longer green it is now cloudy.

[PoolDoc]

Unfortunately, the "cloudy" is likely to be with you quite awhile. It's very hard and slow to remove algae remnants from a small Intex pool, given their tiny filters.

I'm leaving town today, but if you are interested, and have a vacuum and a hose, and want to fool with it, you can ask someone to tell you how to settle it out, and then vacuum to waste with a siphon.

But, as long as your chlorine is OK -- ALL the time -- you can swim. You just have to be careful you don't lose track of someone UNDER the cloudy water.

Ben

[joverby]

Ben...THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!!
Should I put a 3" chlorine tablets back in the skimmer or keep using the bleach/muratic acid?
I have only been using 1 chlorine tablet at a time. Should I use more than one at a time in the skimmer?

Jeremy

[Watermom]

Personally, I would just keep using bleach instead of the tabs.