Algae loves my pool

[Watermom]

TC-FC=CC Don't worry about all that until your kit comes. Hopefully you'll get it in few days and you'll be better able to manage your pool.

[mrsbusymomee]

I know I said I would post in a couple of days, but I'm sooooo excited!!! The pool water is almost crystal clear and the algae is going away. The bottom is not that thin film of green anymore. Now it has accumulated in the divets of the bottom. There's just a little bit of algae left. Stairs are all white too! I tested the water this morning and the cl was 17, so I added, according to the pool calculator, another 81oz of bleach. Once the algae is completely gone, I'm assuming I just let the chlorine drop on its own to 5-10ppm?
Y'all just rock and I will be subscribing to this website.
Thank you all!!!

[Watermom]

Great news!! It's amazing what a little (or maybe a lot!!) of bleach can do, isn't it? We would be delighted to have you subscribe to the forum. Those subscriptions help us keep Pool Forum (and Pool Solutions, our sister site) alive and able to help people. We would be very appreciative to have the financial support. Keep us posted how things are going with your pool. Looks like you'll be swimming soon!

[mrsbusymomee]

I went ahead and brushed up the bottom and sides, so the water is a little cloudy again, but not nearly as green. Should I test the water this afternoon to keep that 20ppm? Also my husband had a question, he wants to know how long do I need to keep the pump running each day when the pool is back to normal and when to run it? During the day or evening? Mind you I'm near Houston where we have long HOT summers.
Thanks again for y'alls help!! Can I get a HEE HAW? LOL

[Watermom]

Go ahead and keep the cl high while it is cloudy and keep the pump running. Once it is totally clear with little chlorine loss overnight, you'll be good to go. I typically run my pump about 8 hours per day. Some people break it up into a couple of sessions a few hours long, but I typically turn my pump on around noon when the sun gets strong and off around 8 or so in the evening. However that is not a set in stone rule. Sometimes I turn it on earlier especially if I want to vacuum in the morning or something. But on a typical day, about 8 hours for my pool.

EDIT to add --- when you are no longer fighting algae, the best time to test and add bleach is in the evenings. So, you want to leave your pump running for at least an hour or so after adding bleach to give it a chance to mix well.

[mrsbusymomee]

Just tested the water again and the cl was about 17 so I added another 80oz to the pool and stirred the bottom up again. Slowly but surely it is looking better and better. I'll test again tonight before I go to bed.
Thanks for the advice.

[Watermom]

You are very welcome.

[mrsbusymomee]

The cl level has stayed the same since I added that last 80oz yesterday. The pool is crystal clear and there's what appears to be just debris or maybe dead algae in the crevices of the liner on the bottom. When I brush it up, it is not green, just dirty, dusty looking. Should I keep the cl level up for one more day to be on the safe side? There is no more algae that I can tell. The pool looks great.
Thanks again guys for all your help!!

[PoolDoc]

Dead algae usually looks like grayish brown dust -- sounds like that's what you've got.

And, it's a VERY good idea to keep the chlorine up for several days AFTER it looks like it's all dead.

Ben

[mrsbusymomee]

I had to bring some chemicals back yesterday to get a refund and also brought them a sample. After I drained my pool they said the CYA was still 80. Well when they tested it yesterday, the CYA is now 40. Guess since my pump wasn't working and circulating the water, it gave a wrong reading. So I guess I've been overshocking my pool. No wonder it cleared up fast. LOL Anyway, the water is crystal clear and the bottom just has that sediment, dead algae, on the bottom. I've been shocking since Saturday, should I keep it up or bring the chlorine level down now? I just added some more bleach this morning.
Thanks again for all your advice. Now I am waiting on my kit to get here. Also here are my other readings he tested. Should I start working on getting the alkalinity down?
pH 7.6
Alka 200