Help for my neighbor

[Phenom300]

My neighbor called asking for help. Their pool is green. My Taylor kit says FC is zero, TC is zero, Ph is 7.0 or less, ALK is 80, Cya is less than 30 if any at all, the dot is very visible when the tube is full. I added 3 gallons of Walmart bleach that i had on hand but im wondering where to start. He says he added 5 bags of shock a few days ago, and yet FC is zero.

The pool is a 24 foot AG. Im guessing about 13,000 gallons. Sand filter.

Where should I start?

[Spensar]

Best starting place is here:

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?9512-Green-Cloudy-Disgusting-Pool-You-have-ALGAE!!!

You have the first part covered with the Taylor 2006 so you can measure high chlorine levels. Before hitting the water hard with chlorine, check that the PH is in the 7.2 to 7.8 range - more info on this in the link.

After that, it is a matter of killing the algae with chlorine. With a solid green pool, this will take a LOT of chlorine. A few bags of shock, and 3 bottles of chlorine will make a bit of headway, but it gets used up very quickly as it kills algae, then the algae just grows back. Use the cheapest chlorine source available, likely the bleach. The bags of shock are just a more expensive way of delivering chlorine.

You want to get the chlorine level up to shock+ level and hold it there until the water is clear, don't back off or the algae will just bounce back. At CYA of 30, that is 15 PPM. For a 13k pool, 3 gallons of 6% bleach is 15 ppm, so what you put in would initially achieve that, which would be used up PDQ in a green pool. Usually it is good to add the chlorine at night, check the chlorine level 2-3 times a day, adding bleach as required to get the level back up to 15+. Please do not let the neighbour be cheap or shy with the bleach, better to run a higher level than letting the level get lower, the pool will not be harmed.

After the green is gone, the water will be cloudy, and I find I need to keep the chlorine level up high until it goes clear. At this point, there will be a dead algae on the bottom of the pool, which a sand filter may just pass through. I vacum it to waste down the drain.

http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/best-guess-swimming-pool-chlorine-chart.html#a

[BigDave]

In addition to Spensar's sound advice; I'll add: Encourage / Insist that your neighbor register here, buy a K-2006, and understand everything you're doing to help. Unless you want to be a pool service.

[Phenom300]

I couldnt agree more. He loved my kit and has the website, he should be joining soon. This site is great and has helped me many times.