A picture is worth a thousand words . . .

[Simmons99]

Try private messaging mbar - personally I think you could have copper suspended in the water giving it the green look - but mbar can verify. You can try a sequestering agent for copper.

Copper tends to suspend in high chlorine levels. Have you used a copper algecide or used a source of water that may have metals (like well water)?

[duraleigh]

Hi, Pam,

Thanks for posting those test results.

Get your pH down....whatever it takes to get it down to 7.2 -7.4

I'm beginning to think that's copper as well. I just don't know cause I've never seen it.

You seem to have held your Cl up pretty well so algae is looking less likely. Mbar or someone will be along to answer your copper question in the other forum.

Work on Alk after you solve your green issue.

[Pamsel]

Just tested again - Cl dropped to 10-11 range by evening. Will add another 2 gal Chlorine tonight ~ want to keep it up in shock range until I'm sure that green is copper and not algae.

PH just tested 7.8, so it's coming down. Will add more acid now, then CL in about an hour.

Have posted on the metals forum as well, so will hope for an answer there soon.

Yes, Simmons, I used 2 qts of copper algaecide, one 5/23 and 5/26. The water's been green ever since, but it was very dark green two weeks ago and that I'm sure was algae. But I've put so much Chlorine in the pool these past two weeks, I don't know how any algae can still be alive in there!

Thanks!

[mbar]

Pamsel, I tried to pm but your box is full, so I will put it down here:

I am not sure the green is from the copper. I think that the high ph and alkalinity are making it hard to get rid of the last of the algae. If the water is green because of the copper, then the copper seems to be in suspension from the sequestering agent. High ph and high chlorine will make stain - so maybe that is what is keeping the water green. From the picture of the step, it doesn't seem to have any stain on it, so if it is copper, then how to get rid of it? I'm thinking that you have to get your ph way down, and your alkalinity down too. I'm not sure if the ascorbic acid would work on the water being green - I never tried it, but it may be a good way to go, because the ascorbic acid will certainly lower your ph and alkalinity. I just don't know - I thought the sequestering agent is supposed to hold the copper in suspension and not turn your water green, and I think there is a difference between a chelating agent and a sequesterant - maybe someone else can chime in with the answer? But If it were me, I would really get the pool acidic and see what happens, also if you cut a leg off a pair of tights and put it in the skimmer basket, it will filter out a lot smaller particles.

I can only imagine how frustrated you must be - keep us informed and please keep asking any questions you may have. This is a puzzle, but it probably has a simple solution - we just have to find it.

[Pamsel]

Thank you, Marie. I am using more acid now to try to get my PH in line and am aerating 24/7 to help bring down the TA. I also am still trying to keep my CL at shock level, in case there still is live algae, so I might be fighting against myself, trying to do both at the same time.

I'm not familiar with the ascorbic acid treatment you mentioned. Is there a discussion about that here somewhere? I will also get a pantyhose liner in the skimmer basket tomorrow. Anything that might help is worth trying.

Frustrated, yes! Very! My husband just keeps telling me to drain it and start over, but with a vinyl liner, that's not so easy either.

It's after 11:00 pm now, so I will test again in the morning and see if I'm making progress on lowering the PH and TA. I added 12 ozs of acid twice today, so will check in the morning and will post my results.

[mbar]

What is your fill water's alkalinity? Sometimes it is good to drain some water and refill, but first I would really try to lower the ph down to 7.0 - 7.2. You may as well try this first, since you have a lot of chlorine in your water now. See if it makes a difference, if not then I will explain the ascorbic acid treatment.

[Pamsel]

Test results this morning:

CL 14-15
PH 8.0
TA 340
Water appearance unchanged

I added 12 ozs acid twice yesterday and my PH has not gone down. Is that because the TA is so high? If so, doesn't the PH have to come down first in order to get the TA down? I feel like I'm in a vicious cycle. I have to be gone for the day. Since the CL is high, I'm going to add about 24 ozs acid this morning and hold off on any more CL until I get home, mid-afternoon and will test again then. Also, I know from this forum that the high PH makes my CL less effective and the high CL can make my PH test results skewed, right?

I haven't tested my fill water, Marie. I will do that when I get home, since I need to be leaving soon. I did drain down about 1/3 two weeks ago when I first came to this forum.

I am considering calling a local service I just heard about called The Pool Doctor - supposedly they will come and service/treat the pool until it's right. Trouble is, that will cost me more $$$$ and will probably fill my water with who knows what chemicals. On the other hand, if he will clear up the water, maybe it's worth it?? I don't know...

I have 1/2 a bottle of BioGuard "Pool Magnet Plus" which says on the bottle it "ties up heavy metals and prevents stains caused by metals". However, I remember using this a couple of years ago and whatever it did, it seemed to pull the metals out of the water and drop them to the bottom of the pool. I remember that every time I put fill water in the pool, the bottom of the pool would get covered with yellow-brown stuff that I had to vacuum off the bottom of the pool. It was very frustrating at the time, but I'm wondering now if it would pull copper out of the water, in case that is the problem here.

Any thoughts on all of this confusion??

[Pamsel]

Well, my 6:00 pm CL & PH are:

CL 6.0
PH 7.8

I am convinced that I still have algae or I don't think I'd be losing that much CL during the day - even on a sunny day. I took another picture of the steps tonight, after not brushing or vacuuming for a day so that you can see what has settled out on the top step and see how yellow the second step is, due to what has settled on it. How can algae still be alive and growing after all this chlorine??

http://www.mtco.com/~aug20/6-13-06.jpg

I asked about this last week but didn't pursue it - but how do I know if I have a filtration problem? I am thinking that may be it. It really doesn't matter what I pour into this pool - NOTHING CHANGES!! I have put almost 85 gallons of Chlorine in the pool and in the past two weeks, 2 gallons of acid with almost no results. Tonight, my filter pressure guage is spasmodically hovering between 35-40 and it has always run steadily at 18-20. Even when I backwashed, it didn't change, so I don't know if that means the guage broke today or if this indicates something going on with the filter.

I am getting desperate for some answers!