At My Wits End

[Watermom]

Every time you test, add enough bleach to get the chlorine reading back up to 15ppm. The more consistent you can do this, the faster the pool will clear. You need to maintain the chlorine at shock level until you can go from sundown one evening to within 2 hours of sunrise the next morning without losing more than 1ppm of chlorine, you have no higher than 0.5ppm of CC and the water is clear. Then, we usually suggest keeping the chlorine high for one more day for added insurance and then you can let the chlorine level drift down and keep it between 3-6 ALL the time.

Run your pump 24/7 right now and clean your filter whenever the pressure rises 8-10psi over your clean filter pressure.

[Jeannie]

Every time you test, add enough bleach to get the chlorine reading back up to 15ppm. The more consistent you can do this, the faster the pool will clear. You need to maintain the chlorine at shock level until you can go from sundown one evening to within 2 hours of sunrise the next morning without losing more than 1ppm of chlorine, you have no higher than 0.5ppm of CC and the water is clear. Then, we usually suggest keeping the chlorine high for one more day for added insurance and then you can let the chlorine level drift down and keep it between 3-6 ALL the time.

Run your pump 24/7 right now and clean your filter whenever the pressure rises 8-10psi over your clean filter pressure.

I'm on Day 3 of keeping my chlorine up there... I'm at about 16ppm.. although it did get as high as 20. And it's not even looking a little better. I'm feeling sooo discouraged. Hanging in there.

[PoolDoc]

OK, there are 2 stages to this: killing the algae, and cleaning up the algae. Is the algae dead, yet?
(Dead = blue, blue-gray or gray water with NO green PLUS no green when you brush or vacuum)

Also, I haven't seen a full set of test results yet (FC, CC, pH, TA, CH, CYA). Can you post the most current readings?

Finally, what color is/was the sediment you had, and what color is your backwash discharge?

[Jeannie]

The pool is GREEN. It's straight up green. It may have gotten a LITTLE lighter green.. but it's definitely still GREEN.

Last results (this evening):
Ph: 7.4
TA: 110
CYA: 50 (it went up.. but I didn't add stabilizer or anything)
FC: 20
CC: 0? I guess? the sample didn't change color.
I didn't test for CH today.. but I think last time it was around 200.


Forgot.. the sediment that we DID have was green. I don't know if there is anything now because I can't see the bottom of the pool.


(Two posts waiting in the queue were combined.)

[Jeannie]

Tested CH today.. it was 120.


I got in the pool to scrub it down.. there is NO slime or slick feeling at all. It's GREEN so it must be algae.. but not slippery. And I used my brush.. but there is nothing on the walls that is coming off. I'm so confused.


(Two posts waiting in the moderation queue were combined.)

[PoolDoc]

OK. You've got a K2006, so we can start testing.

We've got a baseline of

FC: 20
CC: 0
pH: 7.4
TA: 110
CH: 120
CYA: 50

Here's what I want you to do:

1. If your pump is not running 24/7, set it to do so.

2. This evening, add 1 full gallon of PLAIN 6% bleach to your pool. Test the FC level (10 ml sample) BEFORE, and 1 hour AFTER you add the bleach.

3. Tomorrow AM, before 8 am, test the FC level again (10 ml sample) Then, if the chlorine level is below 20 ppm, add another gallon. Post your results.

4. Make a list of EVERYTHING you've added to the pool, from the time just before it turned green, till now. Be as complete and accurate as possible. If you don't know quantities, include brands and products without quantities. Post that info. Include approximate dates.

5. Tomorrow PM, do another complete set of tests (FC, CC, pH, TA, CH, CYA) and post the results. Then add another gallon of bleach.

[Jeannie]

I just used the last of my R-0871! I ordered a new one a few days ago (expedited) but it's not showing shipped yet. I have the OTO thing but it only goes up to 6. I called all the pool stores around here and they don't sell this! How can I test for an accurate number?

[Jeannie]

Pool was crystal clear through most of July.

It rained and then it started to get cloudy/green… we added a bag of shock that night and ran the filter. The next day it didn’t look any better or worse.

+ We went to the store and they sold us Green to Clean. We used Green to Clean and Power Powder Plus. The next day it was a little lighter green.

+ We shocked again and it was a pleasant blue green in time for the party… but not crystal clear blue like we wanted. The result was also that the alkalinity and chlorine were REALLY low – my Ph was a little low too. And the pool was getting greener.

+ Soda Ash was added to increase Ph.. it brought up the TA to around 120 but the Ph stayed around 7.2.

+ We added Imperial Black Out Algaecide

+ and Green Out Shock in a moment of panic. The next day the Ph was up, the Chlorine was way up (around 15-18ppm). The pool was still green. That night the chlorine was down a bit (I don’t remember the number – but I added more shock).

+ The pool guy said it might be metal. We added Metal Free. No change.

+ The following days we would bring the chlorine up to 18 or so.. if it dropped below 10ppm. The green stayed.

+ Pool store said we didn’t need shock.. it was probably a faulty filter and gave us Blue Seal product.. a cationic polymeric coagulant? He said It would help filter out the particles that were making the pool greenish.

+ A few days later the green just got REALLY bad. That’s when we started adding bleach. I added 1 gallon the first night and it came up from 12 to around 18ppm.

+ I started testing 3 times a day, keeping the chlorine levels upwards of 15 (usually closer to 20).

+ All I’ve added since the 5th has been straight 6% plain bleach.

+ I went to the pool store today and he did a manual test on the water. He said all my numbers are pretty perfect except that my chlorine is astronomical. I have no metals in the water. He was / is stumped.

I am frustrated.. and now I don’t have a way to test my CC and FC until my new reagent comes.
ALSO.. no slime, not slick or anything. You wouldn’t even know it’s green if you just jumped in.. the water feels great.