green pool- Ch 0 help

[poolpatty]

last yr I started using store brand 6% reg liquid bleach, not sure if I Also used Leslies chlorine tab in floater in pool. Leslies tabs are Trichlor . Had nice pool water. forgot what I did last yr to this yr!

This yr I use liquid bleach & had been putting 2 tabs in each (2 total) floater disp in pool--couldnt get water clear , turned green -

I recently realized the trichlor tabs caused the realy high TA & high PH, aerated pool a few days , put some muriatic acid in 2-3 times & didnt put more bleach - left alone - now a stinky swampy green mess -unable to find cheap bleach --didnt want to waste more $$ -need to find out how to clear it up & keep a level of chlorine in pool. Walmart bleach is $2.98 / 96 oz 6% if you use liquid bleach do you also have to use some kind of chlorine tabs?


pool is vinyl round, 15,500 gallons Central TX ( Austin area)

CYA 40
TA 80
PH 8.2

[kelemvor]

You have it backwards. Trichlor is acidic and will reduce your pH. Muriatic acid will reduce the pH (and alkalinity), and you need to get your pH down within 7.2-7.8. Here are some good instructions: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...Your-Pool-s-pH

Also, make sure your filter is clean and run the filter 24x7 until you have things cleaned up. Chlorine kills the algae, and the filter removes the dead algae from the water. At 40cya you need to be between 3 and 6ppm fc for normal operations. To clean up the algae, you need to bring the pool to "shock" level and keep it there until you can go from sundown to sunup without losing more than 1ppm fc between the tests. Shock level for your pool would be at least 15ppm. on 15.5k gallons, that would be just under 4 gallons of bleach. Remember, that for this to work you have to maintain that concentration by testing and adding more bleach often (a few times a day).

To determine your operating and shock levels, read this: http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/best...ine-chart.html

[PoolDoc]

Trichlor tabs do NOT cause high TA or high pH. If you happen to have some cal hypo tabs, they can do that.

Post the EXACT manufacturer and product name, and we can see.

Also, you'll need a real test kit. And, if you'll complete the Pool Chart, we can do a much better job of answering:

Pool Chart Entry Form

Ben

===============================
+ Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol test kit, or if available at YOUR Walmart (check availability), get the HTH 6-way DROPS test kit, which is compatible with the Taylor K2006. Test the pool as soon and you can, and post the results. If you get the 6-way kit, ALSO test the water you FILL the pool with, especially if it's a well, and post THOSE results as well. (The HTH is the best available kit you're likely to find locally, but it's not the K-2006. It can only provide rough measurements chlorine levels above 5 ppm, and it measures "TOTAL" hardness, rather than "CALCIUM" hardness, which is not ideal.)

+ Having a good test kit makes pool care easier for EVERYONE, but is an ESSENTIAL tool for pools with problems. A good test kit means a kit that can test chlorine from 0 - 25 ppm, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer with reasonable accuracy. Test strips (AKA 'guess-strips' ) do NOT meet this standard. Some pool store testing is accurate; most is not. The ONLY way you'll know whether your pool store is accurate or bogus, is by testing accurately your own self. On the other hand, pool store 'computer' dosing recommendations are NEVER trustworthy -- ignore them. They are designed to sell more chemicals than you need, and WILL cause many pool problems.

+ We recommend the Taylor K-2006 test kit, which meets the requirements above, for many reasons. The HTH 6-way drops kit is a great starter kit, and is compatible with the K2006 (it's made by Taylor). There are a few alternatives; for example Lamotte makes an FAS-DPD kit that's OK -- but it costs 3x as much. But, we're not aware of any test that is better, and since we are all familiar with the K-2006 (and can help you with it) we recommend it exclusively ( Test kit info page )

One caution for the 2012 season: Amazon does not stock the kits directly. So when buying at Amazon, Amato is our current preferred seller. However, they often don't list enough stock to last the whole day, so try order mid-morning. You should expect a delivered cost under $60 for the K2006A and under $95 for the K2006C. If you can't find that, wait a day.

+ Here are links to the kits we recommend (you can check local availability on the HTH kit, using the Walmart link):

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

[PoolDoc]

Sorry, Kelemvor -- I should have refreshed the page before I posted.

[poolpatty]

I redid tests this am--yesterdays number for CYA had to be wrong . Think I need new glasses.

The CYA is 90 , which sounds correct, because it had been over 100.

I put some shock in pool this pm--BEFORE I got on my computer & saw your post. an hour later--not only is pool yukky, stinky green, there were disgusting green bubbles in the skimmer. It s greenish black, green algae can be seen on vinyl liner...

[PoolDoc]

With a PF of 9, each gallon of plain 6% bleach will add about 4.5 ppm of chlorine. With a CYA > 80, you can add up to 30 ppm without much risk of your liner fading. So, do this:

1. Begin operating your pump 24/7
2. ASAP, lower your pH to below 7.8. (See the muriatic acid handling page, linked in my BLUE signature bar)
3. Add 7 gallons of bleach as soon as you have lowered the pH.
4. Repeat this dose each evening until your pool changes color from green to gray or brown.
5. Once the pool has changed color, BRUSH the entire pool, and then add ANOTHER 7 gallon dose.
6. Before each dose, test the chlorine level with OTO - skip the dose if the OTO color is ORANGE. BUT, after you brush, if the pool turns green add at least 4 gallons of bleach regardless if the OTO reading.
7. pH testing will be unreliable when you have chlorine in the OTO orange range.
8. Test your CYA level again ~24 hours after you brush.

Let us know how it goes, generally. Please note the correct volume figure for your pool. This is based on the dimensions you supplied -- 24' round w/ 52" walls.