What have I done?

[MarleneK]

Hi all,

I opened my pool three days ago. Nasty green algae everywhere! I used what we call Javex 12, not regular bleach, but the really strong stuff. Algae started to die. The water was clearing, but still cloudy, but no longer green. I swept, yesterday. Today I vaccumed. That was around 3 this afternoon. When I was done, I could still see bottom. At 5, I can't see half way down the pool!! What did I do? What do I do next? My pool is an 18x33 AG with approx 12,000 gallons. I don't have any real numbers to give you, but before anyone flogs me, I have a Taylor test kit coming any day now. I've never had a problem with algae in the spring before so this is new to me. I'm not sure of my water temp, but it's probably in the high 50's. Is that part of my problem? My chlorine levels are where they should be. Would it help to put my solar blanket on?
Thanks for any help or suggestions,
Marlene

[timmie]

Hi, I have the same problem.......and I have a 17 x33 pool . I was told that it was 70, 000 gallons or litres! I cant remember. I was told to turn my pump off overnight by a pool store and let the algae settle and then vacumn to waste in the morning or evening. If you vacumn like you normally do, you dont get rid of the algae it goes into the filter?? Dont take my word, as I have a post on here and am waiting a reply also.
My chlorine level is very high in the pool. and I am not sure if this in itself will get rid of the algae without vacumning it up.

[wollypog6]

Hi folks. Just thought I would chime in here and try to help out a couple fellow Canucks. Keep your filters running 24hrs/day. Dont put on your solar blanket. Keep vacumming your pools like normal and backwashing when needed. You absolutely have to get some real numbers for people to work with. Even if it means having to go to a pool store to get it done. Just dont buy or add anything to your pools that they recommend. You can even go to Canadian Tire and get the cheap 2 way test kit which is pretty cheap. It will give you a pretty decent idea of chlorine levels, which will be one of the most important things right now. Get down to your local grocery store and pick up a bunch of UNSCENTED bleach and get ready to add it to your pool!

[MarleneK]

Hi,

In my two way kit, my chlorine level is around 2, and my PH is a little low, around 6. Going to a pool store right now is out of the question, I'm two ferry rides and an hour drive away from one!

[wollypog6]

Marlene, 3 gallons of 6% bleach will give you a chlorine of about 15ppm. As long as your stabilizer isn"t really high that should work. Keeping it there by adding your bleach at night and running your filter 24/7 should start clearing this up. If your PH really is at 6 you need to get it up to about 7.6 quickly. Go to a grocery store and get a hold of a few boxes of plain old 20 Mule Team Borax. Add it to your pool about 1/2 box at a time and keeping adding and testing until you get the PH into range.

[duraleigh]

Marlene,

"Wolly's" advice is rock solid. Get that pH up Now!! Heed his/her entire post.:)

[MarleneK]

Thanks for the advice, I'm at work right now, but just as soon as I get home, I'll do as instructed. I'll let you know how things go!

[ShelleyAnn]

I'm pretty sure you need to recalculate your gallons also. I have a 15 x 30 and the manufacturer says I have 14,850 gal.

Shelley

[aylad]

Hi, I have the same problem.......and I have a 17 x33 pool . I was told that it was 70, 000 gallons or litres! I cant remember. I was told to turn my pump off overnight by a pool store and let the algae settle and then vacumn to waste in the morning or evening. If you vacumn like you normally do, you dont get rid of the algae it goes into the filter?? Dont take my word, as I have a post on here and am waiting a reply also.
My chlorine level is very high in the pool. and I am not sure if this in itself will get rid of the algae without vacumning it up.
The chlorine will kill the algae, but will not remove it. Your filter will do that, eventually, but it's faster to vacuum it out.

Janet

[MarleneK]

The reason I'm saying I have 12,000 gallons is because when we had the pool installed, the company put 12,000 in it for us, and I have it filled to the same level that they did. I could put much more in it.
I'm home from work now, and I added the borax. I'll wait a while before I put the bleach in.

[poolbuoy]

I had a green pool also, well let me start by saying. When I pulled my winter cover off, I realized my skimmer plate fell off and no plug so I lost water down to the bottom of skimmer in my 18x33 AG. We had 10 " of rain so I pumped it out of my perimeter drain into a 55 gal. barrel then into the pool. I used a slime bag to filter it. got the pool filled and adde metal out because I knew it would turn brown. about a day later after backwashing my DE filter it cleared up. I was reading the forum here and one thread told me to add Polyqaut algecide and keep your PH low. Slowly bring up your Cl each day then adjust PH up. Did that but left solar cover on and had a HUGE Algae bloom. So I added about 5 gallons of Shock 12% and a 1/2 qt or super algaecide. next morning CLEAR. I vacuumed up the dead algae and put 1 bag of Cal.Hyp. in pool . SPARKLING!
Fc=5
tc=1
cc=4
Alk=130
PH=7.3
CYA=30

[timmie]

Janet, thanks, I have turned my pump off as i noticed that on the site that seems to be the consensus.

[MarleneK]

Good morning!

My ph this morning is up to 7.2-ish. I added more borax. I can vaguely see the bottom of the pool. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until after work tonight to get a vaccum!
Thanks again, I'm feeling much better about this!
Mar

[ivyleager]

Janet, thanks, I have turned my pump off as i noticed that on the site that seems to be the consensus.

Hmmmm, not really. The consensus is to continuously run the filter 24/7 to circulate the chlorine, and allow the filter to capture the algae. Putting a skimmer sock or old panty hose over the skimmer will capture more algae, also. Need to rinse that off several times a day, as it WILL get very gunked up. Backwashing filter will clean out the dead algae, too.

It was my experience that if I tried to 'vacuum to waste' the dead algae off the bottom of the pool, I stirred up quite a bit, AND lost water in the process. I ended up just running the filter and backwashing. Cleared in about 5 days.

Good luck.

CaryB
Go 'Canes!!

[MarleneK]

Ok, this morning my PH was back down to 7.2-ish after being 7.6 last night. My chlorine is around 4 according to my two way kit. I vaccummed this morning, and back washed 3 times. I'm beginning to think I'm dealing with more than algae. I've been sitting here thinking, and if my toilet water sits for a while, I get a yellowish ring around the water line. Could I have iron in my water? Is there a way to test for it without taking it to a pool store? Remember where I am! Further more, if it is Iron, what can I do to take care of that?
Sorry to be a pain, but thanks for sticking with me!
Mar

[CarlD]

Keep it simple. If you have algae already, a chlorine level of 4 isn't going to help. That's why nothing is happening. You need to shock your pool up to 12-15ppm (since we don't know your CYA/stabilizer level) and keep it there until the water clears. You cannot let it drop, you have to test it 2 to 3 times a day, and add bleach as needed to get it up there. You may have a clear pool in 2 days, or 2 weeks, depending on how infested it is, and how diligent YOU are.

Once you have spent several days killing anything and everything with lots and lots of chlorine, you can start wondering if you have metals as well. IF you still have a problem. Since you clearly have algae, you want to kill that NOW! Solve that first.

[MarleneK]

Is there a way that I can figure out what my ppm is based on what my two way test is telling me? Like if I'm reading a 4 on my kit, what is my pppm, and what I need to add to get it up to the ppm I need?
I forgot to say that I had been using bleach to shock the pool, but yesterday when I came home from work, my husband had filled our automatic chlorinator and turned it on, so I didn't add any more bleach.

[wollypog6]

Hi Marlene, The 4 on your test kit is PPM. Match up the colours look at the corresponding number and that is your PPM. To clear up your algae your going to have to maintain a chlorine level much higher than 4PPM. Get a bottle of distilled water and make a mix of 3 parts distilled water and 1 part pool water. Fill your test kit and take a reading and multiply the results by 4, that will be your PPM. You are going to need to be in the 15-20PPM range to knock down your algae. Get your chlorine up to that level and keep it there as consistently as possible by testing frequently and adding bleach as necessary.

[timmie]

where did you buy your borax?? I am not sure we have it in Winnipeg..............

[wollypog6]

Marlene, I forgot to mention that you will need about 8.5 litres of 6% bleach to get into the proper range. Then keep testing frequently to maintain as close to that level as possible.

[MarleneK]

Timmie, Try Walmart or Home Hardware. I've seen it both those places, as well as The Super Store or Save Easy.

Wollypog,
Thanks for that tip. Should I take the Chlorine pucks out of the chlorinator until we get things under control?

[MarleneK]

ok, I got my TAylor test kit today, and I have a couple questions. When testing for Alkalinity, is the water suppose to go from green to red and stay red, or just flash red and go back to green? If that's the case, I have that reading, if it's not, I have to go back to the drawing board so to speak. When I tried testing for Calcium Hardness, the test liquid sunk to the bottom, and stayed blue. Even after adding the other chemical. So now what do I do there?
Here are my numbers:
FC 2
TC 3
CC 1
PH 7.4
CYA 50

I know I have to get my chlorine up. I haven't been around to doctor it unfortunately. I'm going to add bleach in a couple of minutes. I still have a cloudy pool. Do you think that it will brighten up when I get my chlorine levels up?
Thanks for letting me pick your brain!
Mar

[Watermom]

The alk test should go to red and stay red. On the calcium test, did you swirl it to mix it up? Shock your pool and try and hold your chlorine at shock level. Letting it yo-yo up and down won't clear the water. Also, run your pump 24/7.

[MarleneK]

Ok, I'll have to try that test again. The red one. The Calcium hardness test, I did swirl the water, but the blue chemical just stayed on bottom. It looked like a dot on the bottom. I'll try that one again as well. My pump has been running 24/7 and I'm not seeing anything like dead algea on the bottom of the pool anymore.

[MarleneK]

I'm 99 % certain that the algae is gone. Nothing dead in the pool, nothing coming out of the back wash. I still have a cloudy pool
Here are my latest numbers:

water temp 70
FC 6
TC 5
CC 1

Ph 7

ALK 80

Cal Hardness 50

CYA 50

I know I have to get my Ph up, and my Calcium Hardness, but which do I take care of first? Is it going to be harmful to my pool if I don't get my hardness up? I have an 18 x 33 AG with sand filter.
Thanks,
Marlene

[duraleigh]

Marlene,

Your pool is cloudy because you have not used enough chlorine. You must bring your chlorine level up to 15ppm (not 10 or 12) and KEEP IT THERE until your pool is clear.

Your pH and TA could use some fine tuning but your not in any danger zone....work on them after your pool is clear.

You need more chlorine.

[MarleneK]

I've managed to get my chlorine up. A few moments ago when I tested it was 15-16 range. Hopefully I won't get rain for the next few days. We've had about 6 inches in the last week and a half. Horrible on trying to get the pool where it needs to be for the season!

[MarleneK]

Hi all,

I've kept my chlorine in the 15 range for the last week. It has been fluctuating at all. When I look down into the water, I see bottom just fine. Today I got into the water to see how the water and the bottom was feeling and I couldn't see the other end of the pool. I'm keeping the chlorine up there, but could I be facing a mineral problem? My husband is getting frustrated with me!

Smiles,
Mar

[duraleigh]

What are your current test results?

[MarleneK]

As of a minute ago, they are as follows:

FC 15
TC 15
Ph 7.1
TA 120
CH 50
CYA 60

[duraleigh]

If you have held those good numbers for a few days and show no improvement in your water, I am at a loss. Sorry.

There's nothing in your test results to indicate anything but clear water.

[MarleneK]

That's why I was wondering if I might have a metal problem. It's possible that I might be in the neighbourhood of a pool place sometime this week, but my water sample would be several hours old by the time it got there. Would they still be able to test for minerals or metals? My test kit doesn't do any of that kind of test.

Thanks,
Mar

[cschnurr]

If you still are adding excessive amounts of chlorine, you probably still have algae. However if your consumtion has stabilized, the cloudiness may not be the result of water treatment.

I had similiar problem earlier this year with mysterious cloudy water after I got my number in line. My cloudy water was related to air getting in to my pipe at the pump inlet.

I could see fine bubbles in my return jets (especially visible at night with the pool lights on). I also had air trapped in my pump strainer basket cover. The low pressure side of the pump was sucking water from the pool and some air through the connections and blowing the air into the pool.

I disassembled a couple connections applied teflon tape and reconnected and my problem was solved.