Green pool- depressed spirit

[grangerhj]

We opened our pool the middle of April and everything was fine - crystal clear water and great numbers- only little problem was a few small stains of the bpottom of the pool- probably from leaves. Ok, so I lower my chlorine level to around .5 ppm- 0- add Haviland Stain Treatment- That afternoon it rains 9 inches. Where I went wrong was that I got caught out of town for 1 1/2 days and did not attempt to raise the chlorine until the morning after I returned- needless to say I was too late- My pool is swampy green!!

I have raised the chlorine to shock level but forgot that I had to maintain it there until the CC went ot 0 so I have used around 20 gallons of bleach over the last 5 days but it is just the last 8 hours that I have maintained the FC at 25 and the CC at 0.

Pool is still green- I plan to vaccum this afternoon- How long should I maintain shock level chlorine?

Needless to say my family is not pleased with me- HELP
Readings this AM
FC 25
CC 0
CYA 65
CH 100
TA 15
PH 8

[GraceByDesign]

According to the Best Guess CYA chart (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=365), you need to keep a minimum of 5ppm FC in your pool with a CYA of 65. Perhaps that 0.5ppm was a typo? If not, it might explain why it is taking so much work to clear your green pool!!

In any case, according to said chart, shock level for your pool is 20, and you need to get it there and keep it there until the water clears. Test your water 2 or 3 times a day and raise your FC accordingly. If your pool is still green, you must have some CC...

[grangerhj]

No, the .5 ppm was correct. I thought I remembered that the stain treatment worked better with very low chlorine level- well a green pool is what I get for thinking- I try to make things too difficult- My cc has been 0 since 6 am today- I have been checking about every 3 hours with Bens pool kit-

Any other suggestions?

[chem geek]

In the future, when lowering FC to make metal stain treatments (e.g. ascorbic acid) more effective, you might try adding some PolyQuat 60 first. This will certainly keep away the algae at low or even zero FC levels. I don't know, however, if it will affect the metal stain treatment, but my guess is that it wouldn't.

Richard

[grangerhj]

IKnow I should have more POP but I seem to be all out of it- Just tested again FC is at 22 CC 0 Pool still green & cloudy- I vaccummed this afternoon and I intend to run the pump for the 4th night in a row and get my chlorine to about 25 to leave for the night-

Could this be anything else- or does algae just take this long to clear?

[ivyleager]

Yes, it takes that long. Keep the filter running 24/7. Make sure the filter medium is cleaned out also. Backwash if sand or DE, and clean off cartidges. My green swamp 2 years ago took a full week to clear. Be patient.

Cary

[mbar]

Polyquat will not affect the ascorbic acid, but it is too late for use in a green pool. ivyleager is right! You have to keep backwashing and brush the pool often. Vacuum at least once a day. Keep the filter running 24/7. You can also put a skimmer sock on the skimmer (or a cut leg of pantyhose) to catch some of the dead algae. It will clear:)