opening my green pool...UGH

this is the first season we are opening our pool with SWCG. After closing for the winter with the winter cover I was expecting better...we had a very warm winter in GA. It is very green...UGH! I just want to make sure I get it cleaned up properly. I started the pump just on recirculate as to prevent all of the green from going into the filter. The PH was just at 7.2. I added borax to raise it. I haven't rechecked it yet. Alkalinity was also low at 50. I added baking soda to raise it. I still have it just circulating. I couldn't get the FC to test. It wouldn't turn pink when I added the DPD powder. I know that there is no chlorine. I did go ahead and pour 4 gallons of bleach in at sundown tonight. I'm sure that isn't enough. I didn't know what to do about the salt system. I did read somewhere to try to clean it up before starting the SWCG. I have not turned it on yet. Am I on the right track for cleaning up. I know I have to kill all of the algae then vacuum. When should I turn the SWCG on and will it tell me how much salt to add? Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!

tested the water this morning. It's not too bad...
FC 7.5
PH 7.6
ALK 90
Cal 25 Does this matter with a vinyl liner?
CYA 40

It does look a tiny bit better this morning...but still a long way to go:( I will see how the FC lasts today with the sun. I still have it just on circulate. I was hoping to kill some of the algae and then vacuum to waste before I run it through the filter. Any suggestions on the chemical levels? The water is pretty cold, but I haven't checked the temp. yet.

Hi! Sorry about your green water!

Most people with SWG's keep it off anyway during a clean-up, so just wait to add salt until it clears up.

With a CYA level of 40, you need to raise your FC up to 15/16 and keep it there by testing and adding bleach. Do this as often as you can but at least twice a day. Falling below the 15 FC mark delays your clean-up, so stock up on bleach!

Your CH is fine in a vinyl pool. Maybe someone with a SWG can guide you about cleaning it in the meantime so it's ready to go.

Good luck!

Oh, and just in case, 128 oz of 8.25% bleach should raise your FC by 3.7ppm. Another way to look at it is to raise FC by 1ppm, use 34oz.

Thanks so much! I did add more bleach this evening...it is looking much better. I am surprised how quickly the bleach and recirculating is clearing the water. I'll be at it the rest of the week i'm sure, but that's OK. Not too hard, just time consuming.

See if you can check and add one more time tonight so it can sit at high levels overnight without fighting the sun.

Are you brushing all the surfaces well?

The SWCG cell should only be cleaned if needed. Inspect the cell plates and see if you see any scale buildup on them. If you google "dirty salt cell" you will find pictures of what a dirty cell looks like. If it's not dirty, then it doesn't need cleaning.

If it does need cleaning, refer to your owners manual for the recommended method for your model (I'm not familiar with that model).

With mine (Goldline Aqua Rite with T-15 cell) I rarely need to do anything but hose it out at fall closing. Of course I keep tight control of water chem balance which helps greatly. ;)

Good advice. In addition to maintaining a high level of chlorine and brushing the sides and floor, why not begin filtering? If the pressure rises you can backwash it. This will help clean it up faster.

I seem to recall that vinyl pools like a slightly lower pH (someone please correct me if I'm mistaken). 7.6 is fine, however I think the chlorine is more effective at slightly lower pH levels.

The pH in my gunite pool tends to rise to 8.0+ over time so before shocking I lower it to 7.2-7.5. Once you begin shocking, the high chlorine affects phenol titration so testing pH becomes problematic.

Contrary to what I've read on some pool sites, neither sample dilution (adding deionized/distilled water)* nor induced low chlorine (achieved by adding thiosulfate) will result in a reliable pH reading since both workarounds impact pH.


*Sample dilution using newly manufactured, properly stored and unopened deionized water is better than nothing but it makes sense to me to heed Taylor's recommendation to just wait for chlorine levels to come down before testing pH.

Thanks for all of the great tips...I am brushing daily. I thought I would vacuum one more time this morning and then turn the filter on. Then I can watch the pressure and backwash when needed. I am also fighting that fine pollen. The filter will help get rid of that. I stored our salt cel over the winter. It looks really good...nothing on it. It didn't come with a cap to close off one end for cleaning, so I did see how to just use a bucket on line. I'll address that this summer when it needs cleaning.

Thanks you all and have a BLESSED Easter!

Do you use skimmer socks? They will help catch a lot of the pollen, (and other crud), before it reaches the filter.

I stopped using the water/acid mix to clean my cell. I feel it deteriorates them faster. I just use a wood paint stir stick to work between the plates and knock off the build up.

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Originally Posted by Phillbo

I stopped using the water/acid mix to clean my cell. I feel it deteriorates them faster. I just use a wood paint stir stick to work between the plates and knock off the build up.

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That is my understanding as well. The owners manual for my SWCG says to use wood to remove scale unless it's real bad.

Wow...that's good to know. I haven't cleaned mine yet so I will try that when it needs it. The water is beautiful and clean...only took 5 days. Now I am dealing with the filter...fiberglass sand. I think we will have to replace it...a small amount of water is seeping through the fiberglass...always something.

Hey, 5! How's the pool doing?

The pool looks GREAT thanks to all of the good tips on cleaning it up. I was shocked at how quickly it changed to beautiful blue with balance of water and bleach...one week. I think when I started it up and the pressure was out of wack it caused the filter to leak the water. I know this will be the last season before we need to replace that. It isn't leaking now, but I have been running it on low. I'll keep an eye on it and hopefully it will make it through the season.

Thanks again for all of the help!!!