Help, Pool looks like lime koolaid

[waterbear]

What kind of algecide did you add, If it is copper based that would explain the green water. copper and iron are the two most commen metal problems in pools.

[woman.n.a.shoe]

We used the algaecide 60 by Rising Sun Inc. I did not see any copper in the ingredients. We did this 2 days ago. Since then we have been shocking the pool every 12 hours, changing the filter every 3 hours and vacuuming 2 times a day, and checking the other levels to keep them in balance. Right now the pool is a milky white with a slight green tint. Is white water a normal die off reaction when getting rid of algae? Do we need to add more algaecide for the greenish tint or should the shock do the job? Thanks for helping me with this.

Here is our last reading. Again with test strips.

hardness 250
total chlorine way above 10
free chlorine way above 10
bromine way above 20
ph between 7.2-7.8
alkalinity 120
stabalizer between around 100

Alicia

[waterbear]

Fisrt thing to do is to stop using test strips to try and adjust your pool chemisty by. While test strips are accurate they are not precise (a difficult concept to explain but look at your pH reading...between 7.2 and 7.8! that is a wide varience! There is a BIG difference in the activity of your chlorine at 7.2 and 7.8!)

Look for the HTH 5 way or Aquachem 6 way test kit that uses reagents at your local Walmart or Kmart. Best value in a test kit under $20. Or go to a pool store that uses either Taylor or LaMotte testing with reagents and post a full set of numbers and we can give you much better help!

Am not familiar with the Algecide you used but it might be ployquat 60 which is the only type that you should use. If the ingredients list poly (long chemical name) at a concentration fo 60% then you have the good stuff!

Also disreguard the bromine reading on your test strips...You have a chlorine pool. The same test is used for both chlorine and bromine but bromine will test twice as high (and needs to be run at higher levels also).

[jhm]

There is a BIG difference in the activity of your chlorine at 7.2 and 7.8!)

Can you explain that difference? I'd really like to know.

Thanks,

Jim

[waterbear]

without getting too technical let's just say that it is a more effective sanitizer at a pH of 7.2 than at a pH of 7.8. The chemistry behind it has to do with the equalibrium of hypochlorous acid (the stuff that chlorine forms when in water that sanitizes) and hypoclorite ions at lower and higher pH. But when you are dealing with algae sometimes a higher pH is better because it favors the production of monochloramine which is very effective against algae.
(I am going to stop now because it can get very technical very fast.....Just be aware that accurate pH measurements ARE necessary because the pH can affect many chemical reactions that take place in your pool!)