New Pool but it turned green..looking for suggestions....

[SolomonMan]

All,
Bought a new 52" X 24ft round pool and just finished the deck (almost 6 weeks after the pool was swimmable) and started to notice the one side had a little green hue. One side of pool has tree cover (20%) (black walnuts) and the other (80%) is full sun. In short on occasion we have seen a walnut or two.

Three days later the pool was then 50% green and yesterday it was not pretty and barely able to see the bottom.

Current Filter system is 1.5 HP Jacuzzi Pump with a CA9650 replaceable filter. There is a external chlorinator that is using 3 inch tablets and seems to be using about 6-8 every week or so. Filter element is the original installed filter as the guy at the pool company said if the pump exceed 15lbs pressure (gauge on top of filter) then change or clean the filter. The pump usually sits between 10 and 15 and never went above 15 to my knowledge. The pump seems to have a great amount of power especially on high.

Water tests show chlorine is low and PH is low as well. For what its worth, we experienced about a 15-20 degree drop in temps as well the past week but its back up in the 90's now.

We have shocked and Algaecide the pool. Water chemical levels stayed the same (so far). Algaecide foamed up considerably. Then I vacuumed out and scrubbed the remaining liner clean using the vacuum. I have also washed out the filter element (to get by for now) and have ordered a new filter element.

So the water this morning... was not clear.. and was green but considerably better looking.

As a fairly new pool owner, I had smaller Intex pools in the past, what can I do to eliminate this happening again?
Where did I go wrong and what steps can I take to get the pool under control.

Also,I have been told different things from its your filter to your chemical level content of the pool. I have also been considering a sand filter but was trying to get through this year but would like to know thoughts on a sand filter and what size (lbs) is recommended for a pool my size.

Thanks,
Chris

[BigDave]

As a fairly new pool owner, I had smaller Intex pools in the past, what can I do to eliminate this happening again?
Where did I go wrong and what steps can I take to get the pool under control.

Simplest answer: Keep enough chlorine in the pool at all times and you will not get algae. It's not hard to do but you will need some knowledge, tools, and patience.

The Knowledge - It's all right here on PoolForum and on PoolSolutions.com. Read the guides on PoolSolutions and the stickied threads in the forums here especially the testing, chlorinating, and algae forums. Pay special attention to the Best Guess Chlorine page at PoolSolutions - it describes the basis for the pool care method taught here as well why your pool turned green.

The Tools - The most important tool you need for keeping the pool clear is a Taylor K-2006 (or K-2006C) test kit. Accept no substitutes. Not available in stores. Buy one through this link http://pool9.net/tk/ and PoolForum get a referral fee to help keep the lights on. Test strips and pool store testing are unreliable. You need to know what's in the water to know how to clear it.

The Patience - It will take time to clear the pool. You will have to get enough chlorine in the pool to kill the algae and keep the level high until it's all dead. After it's dead, the filter will have to remove the dead algae, this also takes time.

For now:
1) Order a K-2006.
2) Go to wall mart and pick up several jugs of generic 8.25% bleach, a couple boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax, and an HTH 6-way drops based test kit (not strips). If the HTH 6-way is not available, buy an OTO / Phenol Red kit (yellow and red drops).
3) Put two jugs of bleach in the pool and brush the pool.
4) Wait an hour and test the pool.
5) Post test results and type of test kit here.

You can do this. We'll help.

[BigDave]

I forgot to tell you, as a trial user you can't see the rest of the forum so copy the URL, log out, then paste the URL in your browser.

BTW, Watermom has given you good advice in the other thread that she closed - be sure to look at it.