new above ground salt water system pool turned green

[edkaygray]

We just set up a 15'x42: above ground salt water system. When we filled it the water looked ok- a little cloudy but not bad. We have well water. We put in the salt and ran system(cartridge filter) as noted to do. Water still looked ok. then we turned on the ionizer, had green light that system running good and within an hour the water started turning green. I know algae grows quick but not this quick. Tested the water, ph over 8.5 and TA as high as it could read. Could that be why it turned green? Should we add muriatic acid and run pump? Should the ionizer be kept off until run the acid? We have spent a lot of money getting this set up and the kids are anxious to get in it so any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[PoolDoc]

Do you have access to some Polyquat algaecide: http://pool9.net/polyquat/ If you do, add a double dose. That's about the only thing you can put in, without potentially making things worse, since we don't know for sure yet whether you have iron, or algae, or both.

Also use muriatic acid to lower the pH. Small dose every hour are better and safer for your pool than large doses. See http://pool9.net/ma/

Meanwhile turn of the ionizer and/or salt system. -- Operate your pump and filter 24/7. -- If you have the cartridge filter system, order Unicel replacement cartridges. Note that, unlike they Intex cartridges, you should CLEAN them, rather than replacing them. See http://pool9.net/ssr/ and http://pool9.net/cart-clean/

And also, do the bucket test, http://pool9.net/bucket-metals/, to confirm or deny that you have iron.

I know this is overwhelming. Unfortunately operating any pool filled with metal contaminated water is hard, and it's even harder with a soft-side pool, due to their miniscule filtration systems.

If the bucket test is negative for iron, the fastest way to get your pool up and running will be to drain and refill -- but only after you have the right chemicals (covered in the SSR -- Super Simple Recipe) page linked above. Unfortunately, once a soft-side pool's water is cloudy, it tends to take weeks rather than days to clear. And if you don't replace the cartridges or get one of the aftermarket sand filters, it can take a month!

Good luck!