Extremely cloudy green water.

[JeremyBlake]

We're just getting our pool opened for the year and we had a lot of algae in the bottom of the pool. We used Aquachem and it's showing all levels are correct but the water is still pretty green and cloudy. (Link to picture below) It's a 24 foot round pool, roughly 13,000 gallons, our pH is at 7.6, FC is 1.5 and the test strips said this was all ok. We've used 3 lbs of powdered shock.

[PoolDoc]

Ok, we're seeing a LOT of these this spring. Quickly:

1. If you have a sand filter, put the valve on "Recirculate"; if you have a cartridge filter, take out the cartridge -- but leave the pump running for both.
2. PF = 11 => 1 gallon of plain 6% household bleach adds ~5 ppm chlorine. Put 3 gallons in, ASAP.
3. Get a cheap OTO test kit (see testkit page link in my sig for more info). You can get both bleach and kit at Walmart, usually.
4. Add bleach each evening following at the rate of 3 gallons each time, UNLESS OTO shows orange just prior to addition.
5. Order a K2006 -- we're going to need to know what's really in your pool; guess-strips can't really measure one of the more critical factors, your stabilizer level.
6. Tell me EXACTLY what chemicals you have on hand; close doesn't count, because "shock" doesn't have any particular meaning, and pool chemical companies play all sorts of nasty games with ingredients.
7. Tell me make/model of your pump and your filter, and how many skimmers and inlets you have.

More when we have your info . . .

Good luck!

[JeremyBlake]

Thanks for the quick reply. Here's what we've used so far:

1) Aquachem Shock Xtra Blue - main ingredient is sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione - 3 lbs
2) Aquachem pH Up
3) Aquachem Algaecide 50% [green algae]
4) Aquachem Super Water Clarifier
5) Aquachem Chroinating Granules and two 3 inch Aquachem chlorinating tablets
6) 1 1/2 gallons of bleach

Hayward S180T Filter
Hayward 1.5 HP Power-Flo LX Pump

[PoolDoc]

Be CERTAIN you put the filter on RECIRCULATE; do NOT let the algae go through the sand filter! Let me known when you have the OTO kit, and what the results are.

The clean up will need to go in two stages:
+ First, you need to kill all the algae, by getting the chlorine high enough so that the water goes from greenish, to cloudy blue. After that happens, you'll need to re-dose with bleach and then brush the pool, to stir up algae on the bottom.
+ Second, you'll need to remove the algae. It won't filter with the sort of undersized sand filter matched with an oversized pump! You'll need to vacuum to waste.

Questions:
1. Do you have any of those chemicals left? If so, do NOT use them; use bleach instead
2. Do you have a manual vacuum set -- head, pole, hose long enough to reach the middle of the pool AND hang down to the ground at the same time.
3. Verify that your filter valve has a RECIRCULATE and a WASTE position.
4. Do you have a valve between the pump and the filter, that wold allow you to throttle flow? Do you have a valve downstream of the filter?

KEY POINTS:
1. Do NOT run the algae laden water through the filter; doing so will make things worse.
2. Do NOT let the chlorine level go below DARK YELLOW on the OTO kit; you'll need to get it up in to the "ORANGE" range (not shown on the kit!)
3. Add a box of 20 Mule Team Borax for good measure; low pH can hurt your pool; high pH under these circumstances is preferable.

[JeremyBlake]

Quick update. I looked all over for a good OTO kit. Nobody had one anywhere. We called the local pool place and they basically tried to get me to bring in a sample so they could sell me more chemicals. I ordered a kit online and it should be here in a few days. (Couldn't find a site that offered next day or two day mail) We've put about 10 gallons of bleach in so far. It smells like a perfectly clear/clean pool, but it's still really cloudy and pretty green, although less green than yesterday. Even at night when i take a Maglight to look into the water i can't see further than maybe 6 inches deep. It's starting to seem like it's going to take forever to get cleared up. We bought some Borax, but i'm not sure how much to put in right now, as our testing kit we have now isn't very good. Is there anything else i should do for the next few days until i can get you an accurate reading? Thanks for all the help so far, by the way.

[Watermom]

That is surprising that you can't find an OTO kit. Walmart has them every time I look. K-mart probably does, too. And, a pool place that doesn't have an OTO? That's pretty weird! Just to verify that you are looking for the right thing --- the OTO/Phenol Red kit is the one with the yellow and red drops.

Hope that good kit arrives soon!

[PoolDoc]

I looked all over for a good OTO kit.

A *good* one, like the K-1000, maybe not. But as Watermom noted, a *good-enough-for-now* one is almost certainly available at Walmart, Kmart, Lowes, Home Depot, or Ace Hardware.

Also, while the water is still very cloudy, take the filter cartridge OUT -- we're beginning to suspect that running the algae particles through a filter that does NOT trap them, fractures the particles and makes them even harder to filter, later.

Walmart Supercenter
3333 U.S. 60, Huntington, WV
(304) 525-8889

Kmart
5636 US Route 60 # 14, Huntington, WV
(304) 736-7813

Ace Hardware
4358 5th Street Rd, Huntington, WV
(304) 529-1090

Also, based on some on-going investigations in this sort of problem -- which is affecting a LOT of people this year -- you may want to consider getting everything listed below, if your budget is not tight. Floc products are selling out nationally, probably because the warm spring has affected millions of pool owners, so to have it when you need it, you would need to order now. If you buy locally, be EXTREMELY careful to get the EXACT product listed below; there is a LOT of deceptive selling going on; even pool stores don't usually know the difference.

PAC (polyaluminum floc)
GLB Pool & Spa Products 71408 1-Quart Drop n' Vac Pool Water Clarifier @ Amazon -OR-
Blue Wave Super Floc 4 x 1 qt. @ Amazon - 4 days to ship -OR- Proteam Superfloc Clarifier (if it's available locally)