green water that won't go away

[kinneydd]

:confused: I have been trying for apx. two weeks to get the green out of my pool. I have been reading this forum since Saturday and I have started with the liquid bleach to get rid of the algae on Sunday. My pool water hasn't changed, with four days of having the chlorine level up to 12ppm. I have also been vaccuming the pool everyday.
Here are my pools numbers:
Chlorine 12 ppm
Alkalinity 110 ppm
PH 7.6
Copper/Iron 1.0 ppm
CYA 30 ppm
My pool is a 24' above ground vinyl pool, apx 14,000 gallons.
It has been very easy to keep the clorine level up. So it is not dropping too low before I add more bleach each evening. (I add two gallons every night). Does anyone have any suggestions on what else I should be doing.
I looking forward to any advice you can give me, I'm begining to think that the pool will never be clean for the summer.

[ScottS]

According to Ben's best guess chart with your CYA level of 30 you should be shocking at 15ppm not 12ppm. Not a huge difference but it could be the breaking point for you.

Also how are you testing? Are you using a drop test drop kit for CL and pH? The reason I ask is because it would be good to know if you had any CC.

[waterbear]

You have 1 ppm copper in your pool! (or is it iron?) Either one can cause the water to color with high levels of chlorine. Is the water clear or cloudy? If it is clear and colored and your metal level is that high then use a sequesterant to see if that uncolors your water. Copper will cause a greenish tint to the water and iron will be yellow to brownish. (If you liner is blue then yellow water from iron will look greenish. Do you know how the metals got in your water in the first place? Do you use well water? (Iron is a big problem with some well water). Did you overdose on copper based algaecide (about .3 to .6 ppm copper is enough to be an effective algaecide). Shocking your pool when the metal level is that high is not a good idea. If the water is cloudy and colored then it's most likely algae.

[kinneydd]

It is copper, and yes we did overdose with algaecide before I started reading this forum, won't do that again. But I also have iron which I think is from topping it off with our tap water which is public water however it is very hard.
The water is looking brownish green, and cloudy, we can only see about 1-2 ft. down. I do have a blue liner.
I was going to get some sequesterant today and add it just in case that was part of the problem. I did not know it wasn't a good idea to shock with cooper in the water until late last night. Although I'm still not sure why, is it because it will causing staining?
Yes, I am using a drop kit for the cl and ph, I don't know how to test for CC.
I will start adding another gallon of bleach today to try and get the CL up to 15ppm.
Thanks, I will post again once I have added the sequesterant. How long will it take to notice a difference in the water if the metals are causing the green/brown water?

[waterbear]

Do NOT shock the pool until you treat the metals! High chlorine levels will cause the metals in the water to oxidize and color the water! It can also cause staining. This is probably part of your green/brown water. Since it is cloudy there probably is some algae growing also. First treat the metals with a sequesterant according to the label directions! Adust your pool to the pH and CL levels the equesterant recommends before using it for best results. When the water no longer tests postive for metals then treat the algae. You mentioned that your water is very hard. What is the calcium hardness. Very high levels can sometimes cause cloudy water under certain conditions.

[kinneydd]

Thanks for the advise!! I added the sequesterant yesterday. The water looks better, first improvment that I have seen for weeks. :) However it is still green. I can see apx 2-3 ft. down. I will be testing the water later today and see if there is still any metals in the water and if so adding more sequesterant, is it ok to add two days in a row? If I do not have any metals left then I will continue to shock to a level of 15ppm. I will post the pools number later today. Thanks!!

[ScottS]

I am happy to see that you are seeing some improvement.

Waterbear is 'da man ;)

[mbar]

You can can add sequeserant as often as you have to to keep the metals in suspension. You won't hurt anything by putting too much sequesterant in you water, but not enough will leave some metals free to fall out of suspension and land on the surface of your pool. You will have to maintain enough sequesterant in your water on a continueing basis if you have metals in your water. You can add your fill water through your filter, and don't shock when you first add water new water, untill you let it circulate enough to bind with the sequesterant.

[kinneydd]

Just tested the water here are the numbers:
Chlorine 6.0 ppm
Alkalinity 130ppm
PH 6.8, a little low but thats ok while I'm trying to get rid of algae, right?
Calcium 200
Copper 0
Iron 0
CYA 130
The pool still looks green, however like I said in my previous post, it looks better than it did.
I'm surprised that the coper and iron are zero already, does that seem right?
Should I start shocking the pool again?
How much bleach should I use? 14,00 gallons.
Thanks!!

[mbar]

You do have to get your ph up - anything under 7.0 is corosive, and can ruin your liner. I would add a little borax to get it to at least 7 to 7.2. The chlorine will be just as strong there. You can also aerate your water so it will lower the alk and raise the ph. You are testing no metals because all of the metals are binded with the sequestering agent. You can now shock the pool. You have to be consistant, if you let the chlorine level yo yo, it will take much longer to clear the pool. Get the ph up that is the priority.

[kinneydd]

ok, I have the PH to 7.2, and I added three gallons of bleach , which is what the bleach caluculator said to use. I should be on the right track now.....I will test three times a day and keep the cl at 15 ppm, I hope it clears up soon.

[ivyleager]

kinneydd,

Is your CYA really 130ppm? If so, you need to get your chlorine up alot higher than 15ppm.

Use the info in this chart to help you figure out what levels of chlorine you need to maintain in your pool based on the amount of CYA (cyanuric acid, also called stabilizer) that you have in your pool. (FC = free chlorine)

Stabilizer . . . . . . Min. FC . . . . Max FC . . . 'Shock' FC
=> 0 ppm . . . . . . . 1 ppm . . . . . 3 ppm . . . . 10 ppm
=> 10 - 20 ppm . . . 2 ppm . . . . . 5 ppm . . . . 12 ppm
=> 30 - 50 ppm . . . 3 ppm . . . . . 6 ppm . . . . 15 ppm
=> 60 - 90 ppm . . . 5 ppm . . . . . 10 ppm . . .. 20 ppm
=> 100 - 200 ppm . .8 ppm . . . . . 15 ppm . . .. 25 ppm

Good luck.

CaryB
Go 'Canes!!!!!

[kinneydd]

oops, no that was a type-o, trying to type to quick, it is 30.

Thanks

[kinneydd]

:D The algae is diffidently stirred up, I have green bubbles floating on the top of the water and the skimmer is collecting alot of algae. The algae turns white when it is killed, is that correct? Since it is still green should I add more bleach? I have been testing the water and I still have the cl up to 15ppm, (I have added bleach to keep it there). How long should it take to kill, if I don't let the numbres drop any?

[aylad]

Yes, it should turn white when it's dead. If it's still green, keep adding bleach to stay at your shock number. How long it takes to kill really is variable from pool to pool.....

Janet

[kinneydd]

Still have green water!!!, It has changed some but not enough to get excited about. Cl is being kept at 15ppm, the ph is now high at 8.2 ppm and the alk is 160. Should I lower the ph and alk? I have been running the pump twenty four seven on high, removing the filter twice a day to clean it, vacuming for several hours a day. It seems that the metals are staying in suspension. Can they fall out with all of this chlorine? Should I add more sequesterant just to be on the safe side? I don't want that problem again. It seems that I should be able to see the bottom of my pool by now but I can't, I hope it clears soon, its actually suppose to be hot this weekend.

[CarlD]

Always start with the simple and obvious and see what happens before going to more complicated solutions.

Your pH is 8.2, You MUST get it down. pH at that level has cut your chlorine effectiveness, probably to 1/10!

Get it down to the low 7's and keep it there until the algae is dead--then plan on keeping it from 7.3-7.8.

Be sure to add chlorine neutralizer to the water sample before testing--Ben's kit has it already in the pH test solution.

Don't worry about the T/A. When the pH is where it should be, T/A will be lower. In a vinyl pool, where it is now is fine, but it's high for a concrete pool--but you don't know that it's REALLY high because it moves up when pH goes up. Still, don't worry about it-it won't affect your algae fight.

So get the pH correct and THEN see if the chlorine starts to work on your algae.

[mbar]

I agree with Carl, you must lower the ph. You don't need more sequesterant because the metals would have percipitated out of the water with the high ph and chlorine you have. High ph along with high chlorine is what will make the metals come out of suspension - bring down your ph to 7.2.

[kinneydd]

well, I have the ph down for now, it is back in the normal range, the pool is looking better, it is now a greenish blue. I will continue with the bleach.....

[kinneydd]

I have been keeping the ph down in the normal range and the cl up to 15ppm for several days now. What a vicious cycle that is. It is finally starting to clear up....very slowly........ I never thought it would take this long to get clear. Thanks for all of the advice on clearing it up, I hope its completely cleaned up soon. :)

[kinneydd]

:) We are so happy to finally be swiming in our pool. Thank you for your help. Is there anything I need to know about switching the the BBB "system" How often can I expect to be adding bleach?
Thanks!!!

[Watermom]

Typically every day or two depending on your pool. Some people who have higher cya readings, can go a little longer between doses. I test and add a couple of quarts every evening. It takes me no more than 3-4 minutes.