Can't get rid of tons of dead algae on the bottom of my pool

[amillionpets]

Due to a completely torn ACL at the most inappropriate time I was unable to open my pool. By the time I finally got to it I double shocked it to kill all the nasty stuff. Unfortunately, all of the dead algae settled to the bottom of the pool. I'm not talking just a little bit of algae. I have vacuumed this thing 3 times now. 2 times to waste. I couldn't afford to keep filling up the pool with fresh water. It is less now, but still way too much to "open" the pool.

The pool size is a round 24' x 52" Intex. l do have a brand new Hayward sand filter. Tonight I vacuumed it once again, shocked it with 4 lbs. of Bioguard Smart Shock, and tried to stir up the remaining matter on the bottom as per the directions. I did this once the sun was down and will see what's in store for me in the morning. It seems no matter what I do the dead algae just settles to the bottom and my vacuum doesn't seem to have enough umph to remove it all. You talked about adding liquid chlorine, however I don't know the dose. Or even if it will help with this matter. I'm so tired of messing with it I'm about to give up. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm lost.

[Watermom]

What is the pressure on your filter? Have you backwashed the filter? By the way, what are the ingredients in the Bioguard Smart Shock? What else have you added to the pool, meaning ingredients.

Do yourself a favor and order a good test kit. The one we recommend is the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C (link in my signature below).

[amillionpets]

The filter pressure is 5. I backwash and rinse it every time I attempt to vacuum the pool. This morning there is still sediment on the bottom of the pool. It's less than yesterday but I feel as though the vacuuming just stirs it up more than vacuums. I will order a good test kit per your recommendation, however for now all I have are the HTH test strips. Everything is dead on except for the chlorine which doesn't even register.
Here is what I found for ingredients for Bioguard Smart Shock:

Product Information:

63% sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione
0.26% Copper (metallic)
Approximately 39% available chlorine
pH 4.7
Patented technology
Multifunctional formula
Shocks, clarifies, and kills algae
Contains blue algae killing crystals
Sunlight protected
No need to pre-dessolve
Maintains brilliantly clear water
Step 2 of the 3-Step and once-a-week 3-Step Programs

The only other "chemical" added to the pool is the Bioguard chlorine block I place in the skimmer.

[Watermom]

If the BioGuard stuff has copper in it, you do NOT want to use it! Contrary to popular belief, it is not chlorine that turns blonde hair green, it is copper!

A filter pressure of 5 doesn't sound right to me. I'm going to ask PoolDoc to look at your thread.

[PoolDoc]

@ Watermom: 5 psi probably *is* normal for some Intex systems.


@ amillionpets:

"Contains blue algae killing crystals" = "contains cheap copper sulfate crystals, which saves Biolab money, and turns your blonde hair green, but may kill some algae, if you manage to get enough copper in the pool to stain it!"

"Multifunctional formula" = "we diluted your expensive dichlor with cheap stuff, like copper sulfate, alum and borax, so we could lower our cost, but keep the retail price high!"


For us to help solve your filtration problem we need to know what sort of filter you have (cartridge or sand) and which model it is.

[amillionpets]

It is a Hayward sand filter VL series.

[amillionpets]

Is that enough information regarding the filter or do you need more?

[Watermom]

I'm going to let Ben handle your filter issue. He'll be back around later.

[PoolDoc]

Here's the page on that filter: http://www.hayward-pool.com/prd/Above-Ground-Pool-Sand-Filters-VL-Series-Sand-Filter-Systems_10201_10551_34001_-1_24001_14018_I.htm

Did you get just the filter, or the pump + filter combo? If you got only the filter, the Intex pump may not be sufficient to drive water through it.

Regardless, open the filter, and inspect the sand's condition (should not be gummed up, hard or in balls) and level (add more if needed.).

This parts diagram shows how it comes apart: http://www.hayward-pool.com/pdf/Parts%20Diagrams/VL_Series.pdf
Here's a screen shot:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rbQwMFxE7SY/UbzXNuWI-kI/AAAAAAAAFlQ/KX03-k14XiU/s815/VL%2520filter.jpg

According to the manual [ http://www.hayward-pool.com/pdf/manuals/VLSeries-VL40T32.pdf ] the fill level is not designated, but the filter takes 40lbs of sand. As a good guess, the sand should be at least at the level of the upper indentation in the filter's profile.

[amillionpets]

We got the filter & pump combo. We bought & assembled it about 2 weeks ago with sand bought at the same pool store. I have not yet taken it apart to check the sand due to nasty thunderstorms in our area this afternoon. I did just come in from cleaning leaves from the pool and the emptying the skimmer. I went ahead & checked the water with an HTH test strip (as that's all I have at the moment). I could smell chlorine in the water as I pushed it around, but here are the results:

TH: 200
FC: 0 to maybe 1. The top of the square was 0. The bottom of the square was around 1.
pH: 7.2
TA: 120
CYA: 30-50

There is still quite a lot of settlement on the bottom of the pool. I will try to post a picture if it makes any difference.

[Watermom]

You are going to have to keep adequate chlorine levels based on your CYA. If you haven't already done so, please read the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature below.

[BigDave]

... I went ahead & checked the water with an HTH test strip (as that's all I have at the moment)... FC: 0 to maybe 1. The top of the square was 0. The bottom of the square was around 1...Thanks for the demonstration of our assertion that strips are basically useless.


...I could smell chlorine in the water...Combined chlorine has that distinct chlorine smell. This is the result of the chlorine in the pool attacking the algae. Please remember: with algae if you're not winning, you're losing - If the FC doesn't stay above shock level all the time, the algae comes roaring back.

[amillionpets]

LOL BigDave. No kidding. Okay, my problem now is that I have to wait for the test kit to arrive. I did use your link so you get some compensation for helping me! :) In the meantime, I have absolutely no idea how much chlorine to add to the pool, or by which means to add it for that matter. Do I pour it directly into the pool? Should I use a bucket of pool water, add the chlorine to that and then pour it into the pool? I've never done this as you may have guessed.

I did see a thread regarding a battery powered pool vacuum. I ordered that as well. The suction power of my sand filter/motor isn't powerful enough to pick up all of the sediment. It gets some, but just kind of moves the rest around to settle again. Ugh. Will be glad when this is all accomplished!

[PoolDoc]

Add 1 gallon of plain household bleach per 10,000 gallons of pool water.


Will be glad when this is all accomplished!

I've always emphasized the fact that it's much easier to AVOID algae, than it is to CLEAN IT UP. That's especially true on AG pools, and triply true on Intex-type pools.

[amillionpets]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Will get going on this right away. Btw, I joined Amazon Prime as you mentioned. I believe, too, that it will be well worth the price! Now just waiting for my Taylor kit and vacuum to arrive........

[Watermom]

I joined Amazon Prime last summer. I order off Amazon all the time. (I'd be ashamed to admit how many times in the past year!) It has paid for itself multiples times over. You can also add a household member for free and college kids also get it for free if they use a school email address like edu I think.

[amillionpets]

Ah! Thank you for the info! I'll add my husband as we both use Amazon quite often. That's awesome that they'll add a member for free!
Oh, and just so I know that I'm doing this correctly, do I add the bleach by just pouring it directly into the pool? Maybe dispersing it by walking around the perimeter as I do so?

[Watermom]

Either of those ways is ok. The best two ways are to either pour it slowly into the skimmer (which is what I do) or to pour it slowly in front of a return jet. Both of those ways get the bleach mixed into the water the fastest.

[amillionpets]

Okay. I went out to add bleach to the pool earlier. I could still smell chlorine in the water from the 2 lbs of Bioguard shock I added a couple of days ago. I decided to wait on the bleach and went to the basement to rummage around through all of the pool stuff we had from our old Aqua Leisure Easy Set pool. I actually found what I was looking for! It was hth's test kit, although I purchased it about 1 1/2 years ago. It's been kept inside the house in a dark storage bin with a lid. I decided to go ahead and try it....what can I lose, right? Here are the results it gave me:

pH: 7.2
Chlorine: 5-10 (that's as high as this test kit can go.....who knows if it's higher??) Remember the test STRIP said 0? Wow.
CYA: 50
Alk: 80
Hardness: It says to add 5 drops of hardness indicator to the measured amount of pool water and if it turns red then there is hardness in the water. From there you add 1 drop at a
time of hardness tyrant until the water turns blue. When I added the indicator my water did not turn red. It turned kind of a dull yellow. I went ahead with the dropping
and swirling of 50 tyrant drops just in case. It never did turn blue, but it did turn a slight green somewhere around 20-25 drops. Don't know if this indicates anything.

So! I did NOT add the bleach as I don't know what the heck to do now. My water samples were taken from at least 8" below the surface about 1 foot before the surface water would reach the skimmer. My Water Tech vacuum won't be here until Tuesday. I will still have to charge it for at least 12 hours before use and it says it will only give me about 1 hour (if I remember right) of run time. I know it will take me longer than an hour to get all of the sediment off of the bottom of the pool as I'm sure I'll be busy changing out "stocking" filters as they get full. I know I'm writing a book. Sorry. You guys have been great! Again, I thank you for your continued help. I am now bowing to you.....:)

[BigDave]

Would you call the chlorine test Yellow, Dark Yellow, Orange or Brown?

[amillionpets]

Most definitely yellow. Very yellow.

[amillionpets]

If you're familiar with the hth test kits it's the darkest yellow they have which is 5-10. It's not any darker than that.
I don't think I can post pics on here so if I haven't made it known my water is crystal clear but for the stuff on the bottom that I keep attempting to vacuum up. I've vacuumed to waste and filter several times each, but now seem to just be moving it around more than sucking it up.

[Watermom]

While you are waiting for your kit, try this. Not super accurate but better than nothing. You have to use distilled water, not tap water.

Testing Without a Good Kit (http://poolsolutions.com/gd/how-to-test-your-pool-without-a-good-testkit.html )

[amillionpets]

Okay, I finally got a few minutes to test the chlorine level using the link above. It only took the 1:1 ratio and it tested 2-4, so 4-8 should be the correct "guess" level. My Taylor kit isn't here yet, but I did receive my Pool Blaster Max vacuum. It is charged and ready to go. I am going to go use it now. The rest of the week is going to be a scorcher. I'm getting closer at least!

[amillionpets]

Oh yeah. And in my #19 post my boys must've been driving me crazy as I typed "tyrant" rather than titrate! LOL! See what happens when you have kids? They suck out half your brain when they're born.....

[PoolDoc]

I dunno. I learned all sorts of things from having my sons. Some, on purpose. Some, by accident. Some, kicking and screaming. ;)

[amillionpets]

I hear ya! It really is amazing how much a kid can teach an adult.

My Power Blaster Max works great! I'm very happy with it.

Did you see my chlorine level above? Any suggestions?

[PoolDoc]

Glad the vac works well; I don't see what your CYA level is (I only looked back very quickly), but you should maintain chlorine levels per the Best Guess page linked in my signature.

[amillionpets]

My CYA level on 6-16-13 was 50. I have nothing more to test CYA levels with until my kit arrives. With my chlorine "dilution" testing being at 4-8 (that's using an hth drop kit with results of 2-4 multiplying x2), I don't know how to lower the chlorine level to match the CYA. I'm reading all over your site but there is sooo much information! Sorry I can't find it.

[PoolDoc]

Did you read this page? http://poolsolutions.com/gd/best-guess-swimming-pool-chlorine-chart.html

4 - 8 is a bit LOW, to be clearing algae, with CYA = 50 ppm.

[amillionpets]

I did read that page. Thank you. The algae is dead & I'm using the pool vac to get it out now. Once it's all vacuumed out I'd like the kids to be able to swim finally. That's why I thought the chlorine was too high. Is that right? Can I lower the chlorine to match the CYA?

[PoolDoc]

The chlorine is not too high; you are in the 'green' zone for your CYA level.

The page explains why the 'keep chlorine at 3 ppm or below' labels are bogus and ignorant.

[amillionpets]

Thanks PoolDoc. I've looked all over but can't find where it tells me what and how much stabilizer to add to raise the CYA. What do I use? How much? I'm sorry I'm such a pain.

[Watermom]

Why do you want to raise your CYA level? 50 is a good reading.

[amillionpets]

Did you read this page? http://poolsolutions.com/gd/best-guess-swimming-pool-chlorine-chart.html

4 - 8 is a bit LOW, to be clearing algae, with CYA = 50 ppm.

[QUOTE=PoolDoc;108144]The chlorine is not too high; you are in the 'green' zone for your CYA level.


My chlorine level is 4-8 with the 1:1 dilution method. My CYA is 50. If I understand the Best Guess Chlorine Chart then shouldn't my CYA be 60-90?

When my Taylor kit finally arrives will it tell me how much to add according to my chlorine level and vice versa? I believe I read somewhere on here that you recommend dichlor as a stabilizer but to order it through Amazon. Is there a chart on your site that tells how much of what chemical to add for a specific reading?

[Watermom]

Your CYA is fine at 50. You do not need to add any more thus no need for dichlor. You match your chlorine level to your CYA reading not the other way around.