Green Fog in Pool - new user/never posted anywhere....

[leonard]

Good afternoon,

I saw your blog/posts and wanted to solicit your insight as the pool store that I purchased my chemicals from is stumped on what is going on in my pool. We have been fighting a green fog in the 40' x 16', 8' deep pool for three to four weeks.

Test results via aquacheck test strip this afternoon:

hardness = 250
tot chlorine = 3
free chlorine = 0-1
pH=7.2-7.8
alk=180
cyn=30-50

Currently, we chlorinate with a chlorine "frog" floating in the pool with 9 tablets in it. It has been full constantly since the following endeavor started:

I went to XXXXX's pools three weeks ago and asked them to give me whatever is needed to clean the green from my pool. They have tested the water at each step to make sure the balance was correct and had me make adjustments to alkalinity and pH to make sure I was in the envelope etc.. First, they gave me the green to clean product and I followed the directions for application and then 3 shock treatments. It did not work.

We started again and did the same thing, Green to Clean and shock. This time the green left and I had a cloud - however, I could not vacuum the day the green left as I had to fly out to a meeting. The next day I came back and it was green again. I replaced my cartrige as I wanted to rule that out as part of the problem.

We did another treatment of green to clean and shock and they told me to use their XXXXXXXX water clarifier after the shock. The green and fog did not leave.

Then they gave me "Clear and Perfect" clarifier (by natural chemistry) - that did not work. Then they gave me "Metal Free" as they thought it may be metals causing the problems.

The pool was still green and a fog was in the water. I have spent hours vacuuming and cleaning the cartridge...

Then they gave me Coral Seas' "Yellow Out" as it is supposedly stronger than the green to clean and told me to shock again and then use the Ultra bright. With this event, the green subsided a little and the clarity increased in the shallow end. However, there is a cloud from 3' down and the vacuum is not visible. I have running just the bottom drain and the cloud is still there. The water coming out from the filter appears to have suspended material in it - a cloud.

My guess is that I have a colloid issue with an overlapping residual algie issue.

I do not want to keep dumping the clarifier in as I suspect that is now contributing to the problem.

Please let me know what you can - and what to do to drop the polymer out.

Thank you,

Len

Gulf Breeze FL

[PoolDoc]

Wow.

As CarlD (one of my moderators) will say once he sees this, "You've been PoolStored!"

Do this:

Stay OUT of the store. I mean it. Do NOT take ANY more advice from them.
Do NOT put anything else from there into your pool, and especially, not any more ammonia based algae treatments (Green to Clean, Yellow OUT).
Do NOT put any more algicides, clarifiers, metal removers or the like in your pool.
Do NOT let anyone sell you a phosphate remover.
Do NOT try to mix and match pool store advice with PoolForum advice! Pick one, or the other.

But . . .

DO run your pump 24/7
DO turn off your heater, if you have one.
DO add 6 boxes of 20 Mule Team borax (NOT: Boraxo soap!!!!) to your skimmer SLOWLY -- do not let it choke the skimmer. (This may, or may not, cause some additional cloudiness. But that will be long gone before your other issues are cleaned up!)

And . . .

DO put 10 gallons of 6% household bleach in your pool tomorrow PM, about 2 hours before sunset. (No typo: 10 gallons of generic 6% sodium hypochorite bleach -- don't splatter your clothes!)
DO NOT add any other chemicals!!!
DO test your chlorine & pH levels, as best you can, just before dark.
DO test your chlorine & pH AGAIN in the AM, and again Tuesday PM.
DO post again, adding the test results from above on Tuesday PM or Wed AM
DO include info on what sort of filter and circulation system you have.
DO list any OTHER chemicals you've used in the last 2 months.
DO list your stabilizer level LAST FALL, if you know what it was.

Good luck!

Ben / PoolDoc

[leonard]

Ben,
Thank you for assisting with this situation. I followed your advice (except I could only get 5 boxes of Mule team) and tests taken with color strips prior to shock (I did order the kit you recommended) were Hardness = 500, Tot Chl = 1-3, free Chl = 0, pH = 8.4 +, tot alk = 240 Cyn=100. I vacuumed last night and the pool is a light green color at this time. This morning I tested and results were Hardness = 500, Tot Chl = 5-10, free Chl = 10, pH = 8.4 +, tot alk = 240 Cyn=150-200.

I cleaned the filter this am. It was only moderately stained.

Please let me know the next step. Do I continue with second shock? More Mule team Borax?

Thank you,
Len

[PoolDoc]

You can hold off on the 2nd shock for now -- keep testing 2x per day, but don't add any more chlorine so long as levels are above 10 ppm. BTW, your pH test may, or may not, be correct. High chlorine, in the absence of extremely high CYA, causes phenol red (the pH test indicator) to read 'high'. (Chem_Geek, do you know whether the effect is the same when CYA is this high?)

But, meanwhile we need to get a little better idea about your CYA levels.

Steal one of your wife's measuring cups and a clean container. Put one cup full of pool water in the container, and then add 3 cups full of tap water. Mix, and test. See what your CYA level is, and report that here.

Ben

[chem geek]

High FC, mostly above 10 ppm, will affect the pH test regardless of the CYA level. It's about the chlorine capacity or quantity, not its active strength, since excessive FC essentially uses up the chlorine neutralizers that are in the pH tests and above that point they start to oxidize one of the two dyes in the pH test (and do so rather quickly, even with CYA present).

[leonard]

Sorry for the late post, 4 kids with one more in the oven are a challenge....

Test this evening - hardness is 100, tot chl = 0.5, free chl = 0.5-0, pH 7.2-7.8, tot alk = 240, cyn = 30-50.

Test by prescribed dilution method - hardness is 100, tot chl = 0.0, free chl = 0, pH 7.2-7.8, tot alk = 80, cyn = 0-30. Used purified water rather than chlorinated tap water...

Pool is still light green. I am headed to wall mart to buy another 10 gallons.... email me if you can with recommendations if you are still on line...

Thank you,
Len

[PoolDoc]

Actually, it looks like adding a 2nd dose of bleach may well take you where you want to go.

There's enough variation in your test results, so that I don't really want to make recommendations beyond that. So just stick with the chlorine, till things are cleared up. Do NOT let the chlorine stay low -- if you can purchase enough bleach for a third dose, do so. Just put it in a cool place so it will 'keep' till you are ready to use it.

Post again when you've got more results.

PoolDoc

[leonard]

Good Morning...,

Test results this am:

hard = 500

tot chl = 5-10
free chl = 10
pH=8.4+
alk = 240
cyn = 100=150

I will vacuum the debris up later and take another test.

Thanks for your advice, we seem to progressing as the color is getting bluer and it appears to be clearing up.

[leonard]

Pool color is beginning to be a light blue - should I continue to add the Borax? Do I hit it with another 10 gallons of bleach? I still cannot see the bottom in the 8' deep section. I can see the bottom in the 3' area.

Thanks

[PoolDoc]

Hi Len;

I'd hold off on more borax, but I would re-dose with chlorine each time you find the level goes below 5 ppm. You can use 5 gallon doses instead of 10, but do try to add close to sunset.

To go further, we'll need better test information. Some of your results are all over the place, and I can't tell what's going. If possible, you should get a Taylor K-2006. You can get one at Amazon in either the standard or the "C" version, which has 3x the reagents at 1.5x the price. Here are links:

K-2006
K-2006-C

Once you get them, we can start working on the remaining issues.

Ben

PS. The picture of the 2006-C is wrong, but I've checked with Amato Industry's online sales manager and they ARE shipping 2006-C's.

PPS. These links are tied to my "Amazon Affiliate" account, so if you purchase via those links I get a couple of $'s.