My Green Pool Saga - Help!

[Sherra]

CYA is cyanuric acid/stabilizer/conditioner. 99% of the "pucks" or "sticks" you get now a days have CYA in them (if the ingredient starts with "trichlor", then they've got CYA added to them). TOO much CYA can become a very serious pain in the you-know-what when it comes to keeping your pool sparkling clean. You do need SOME CYA in your pool though to keep the chlorine from getting "eatten up" by the sun during the day. If your pool store uses the strips, fire the pool store...find another one. You need to look for a drop based test kit that tests for the following:

FC - Free Chlorine
CC - Combined Chlorine
It's best to have both the drop based kit (OTO) and the (DPD-FAS) powder test - the DPD-FAS tests will test up to about 50 PPM for chlorine, which is what you'll need to test accurately for your "shock" levels.
TA - Total Alkalinity
CA - Calcium Hardness
pH - pH (phenol red drop based test)
CYA - Cyanuric Acid/Stabilizer

If your pool store doesn't carry the kits that test all that, sometimes Wal-Mart will carry tests that test all those things, if you've got an ACE Hardware around sometimes they will carry them also. Other than the test kit Ben sells on the Poolsolutions web site (sister site to this forum), the next best is the Taylor K2006.

[Pamsel]

Another thing, in reading the link on lowering Alkalinity, he speaks of aerating the pool as a part of the process. What do I do if I don't have an aerator of any kind and it's not ready to put 10 year old boys in yet? Will the process not work if I don't aerate?

[aylad]

The aeration is what allows the carbon dioxide to be off-gassed, so it is an important part of the process. You can get a cheapie fountain in the pool section at almost any store that would work fine. You also can achieve a similar effect by aiming your return eyes toward the surface of the water so that it creates a ripple from your return jets.

Before you shock your pool, we really need to know if there is any metal content (copper/iron?) in your water, and what type of finish you have. Otherwise, Sherra's got you on the right track.

Janet

[Pamsel]

Hi Janet,

It is a vinyl lined pool.

How do I know if I have copper, etc? The water in our area has a lot of iron in it - it has been a problem in the past, as in when we add water it comes from the hose into the pool yellow/brown and turns the entire pool a greenish yellow. It has been helped a lot by adding water via putting the hose in the skimmer and having it go through the filter first. It would be a good guess that we have metal content in the pool, especially since I have added water several times with the garden hose, due to vacuuming to waste and lowering the water level.

[aylad]

The iron content is what I was getting at. My understanding is that you need to put a metal sequestering agent into the pool before you shock it, to keep it from staining. Also, adding water via the skimmer does help too. Search through the forums for posts by mbar--she's our resident metals/staining expert around here, and she may be able to help you get it cleared up without staining your pool.

[Pamsel]

I think that may be why the pool store told me to use "Stain Ban" first thing in the spring. I do have some of that on hand, if needed. I will try to find mbar - Thank you!

[aylad]

I sent her a pm asking her to take a look at your post....
In the meantime, work on your alk problem, and I'd keep my Cl level at least 3-5 until marie tells you what to do from there.
Janet