Please Help.. Persistent Green Pool.

[Jeannie]

It's actually a very pleasant light bluish green.. but it isn't the crystal clear blue that it was before we had all this rain.

And I'm a new pool owner and I'm lost.

I went to the pool store and they offered me 50 dollars in chemicals.. I already have enough chemicals to start my own store.

So here are my readings:
FAC: .5
TAC: .5
PH: 7.2
TA: 60
CYA: 30

I can see that my Chlorine is bombed out and my PH and Alkalinity are a bit low.. I also see that I could probably up the CYA a little.. but it isn't at a critical point.

I would LIKE to try the BBB method but I don't even know where i would start?

[aylad]

Your chlorine needs to be between 3 and 6 ppm at all times, with your CYA at 30. You likely have an algae bloom trying to happen, so your first step would be to shock the pool--bring your chlorine up to 15 ppm (we normally recommend--and use--bleach for that purpose). Hold the chlorine at 15 ppm by testing and adding more bleach as needed to maintain that high chlorine level. You need to maintain it until the pool clears and until you can go from one night to the next morning without losing any chlorine. At that point, you can let the chlorine drift back down to the 3-6 range.

If you'll put your pool info in the chart here, it will help us give you better advice.

Pool Chart Entry Form

If you'll list your pool's volume we can help you figure doses to achieve your chlorine levels.This is going to require that you be able to do your own testing. Not with strips, but with drop-based testing. Do you have a good test kit? If not, go to your local WalMart and see if they have the hth 6-way drop kit (sells for around $20). If not, then at the very least get the cheapie OTO kit (uses red and yellow drops for pH and chlorine). The chlorine only will read up to 3 or 5 ppm, but we can explain how to force it to read higher, once you get it. It would also be helpful to us if you'll tell us what chems you have on hand/what you've used in the pool (ingredients, not just product names like "shock".)

Many people have algae blooms right after rainstorms and blame it on the rain--but it's really from the fact that people just don't tend to their pools in the rain like they do when it's sunny!

[Jeannie]

Thank you!

I have a 21' /5' ABG.

I finally have had some success in getting the chlorine WAY up (I use a Taylor Kit). It's at a little over 15ppm since yesterday afternoon. I added some soda ash .. but the Ph is stubbornly hovering around 7.2. Oddly... my alkalinity actually increased even though we added nothing for that? It's around 70ppm now.

In the interim, the pool HAS gotten more green and my ridiculous husband poured in "IMPERIAL BLACK OUT" because he SWEARS that the chlorine levels alone won't kill our algae. I am frustrated and wondering if I should just wait it out or continue my plan of maintaining shock levels (despite the algaecide) and just vacuuming as needed..

[PoolDoc]

Adding soda ash will increase your alkalinity. That's one reason we recommend borax instead of soda ash.

Green -- clear green with no slippery sides -- can be iron and/or alkalinity and/or pH. I've seen it, but I don't fully understand it.

1. Maintain chlorine.
2. Check the sides: on a vinyl pool, if there's no slime, it's not green algae!
3. Filter 24/7
4. Be VERY cautious about raising your pH. You need to do, but not too rapidly. If it IS iron, and you DO raise the pH rapidly, you can make a big brownish orange mess.
5. Get your OWN testkits. Links below.

Good luck, Ben

+ Here are links to the kits we recommend:

HTH 6-Way Test Kit @ Walmart
Taylor K2006A (3/4 oz bottles) @ Amazon
Taylor K2006C (2 oz bottles) @ Amazon