greenish and cloudy

[ganny76]

Thanks in advance folks. I have a salt water pool that is about 5 years old. Its 36x18, 8ft deepend and 3 1/2 shallow end. Its green and cloudy. Up to this point i have never tested the water. Guy who put it in said just add stabilizer and salt. Stabilizer twice a year and salt as needed. Well that isnt working this time. Salt is at 3100 and i have added stabilizer. So i got a cheap aqua chem test at wally world to test my chlorine. My color is a dark orange not yellow like the test shows. It says the ph test wont be accurate unless my chlorine is right. I have no idea where to start. Please help. Should i keep my kids out of the pool? Thanks, Tony

[Watermom]

If it is orange rather than yellow, it just means your chlorine is higher than 5ppm that the test can measure. Until you get a better kit (which you need to do), you can dilute your water sample with distilled water to get a better idea of your chlorine level. Testing Without a Good Kit

It is important to test your water. You're going to need a good kit. We recommend the Taylor K-2006 which you can get through the link in my signature. When your chlorine drops below 5ppm, test the pH and report it. Did you have a stabilizer reading before you added more? How much did you add?

What is the volume of the pool? What type of pool is it, what kind of filter and what hp is the pump?

If it is green and cloudy, I would keep the kids out of the pool for now.

Welcome to the Pool Forum!

[PoolDoc]

If your pool is green, orange is good -- usually means greater than 10 ppm.

We need equipment info, that Watermom asked for plus a history of exactly what you've added to the pool in the last few weeks.

[ganny76]

Its a hayword pro series high rate sand filter, howard super pump 1 HP. I added 2 jugs, $14 from wlmrt. Thats all i have put in my pool besides salt. Had the generator at 100%, super chloronate when it started turning green. Thats when i added the stabilizer. I have never checked the level of anything in it until today. Thanks again guys/gals.

[PoolDoc]

Hi Ganny;

Do this:

1. Get a cheap OTO phenol red test kit from Walmart or wherever (explained on the test kit info page in my signature)
2. While you're there, buy 12 gallons or so of PLAIN 6% household bleach - you can check for cheap liquid chlorine (10% bleach) often available in Florida later.
3. Test your pool water in the EVENING
4. Add 4 gallons of bleach after testing (about 12 ppm of chlorine, on your pool)
5. Test in the morning
6. In the evening test again, and then repeat 4 gallons if OTO is not DARK yellow
7. Order a K-2006 (we need more info than the OTO kit can provide -- and so do you, if you want to escape the pool store!)
8. Report everything, and we'll give you next steps.

[ganny76]

I think that is the test i have. It has yellow in one side and red in the other. I will pick up some bleach tomorrow and will order the test you have all recommended. Definitely dont want to become a slave to the pool store.

[PoolDoc]

Sounds good. Let us know what your results are.

[ganny76]

I drained quite a bit of water then added fresh water. Still showing orange. Should i turn the filter on without the chlorinator.

[PoolDoc]

If your pool is green, let it chlorinate.

[ganny76]

Ok, did the dilution test eith my OTO. Took it down to a third and was still a tad darker yellow then my test would read.