algea in pool

[Watermom]

We don't recommend teststrips because they aren't very accurate. Most of us use the kit that Ben sells at the sister site to this forum www.poolsolutions.com. It WILL test high cl levels which you're going to need to be able to do if you decide to keep your cya of 100. At the very least, buy the 5-way drops based kit at Walmart for about $15. It won't test cl higher than 5, but you can dilute the sample and make it test higher. However, just be aware that with each dilution, you do lose some accuracy. To dilute - take one part pool water and two parts distilled water, mix them together and then test as usual. Then multiply the result by 3. (If it were my pool, I'd do the partial drain and lower cya to 50. Just my opinion.)

About the dog - dogs swim in green ponds all the time so............. but, I probably wouldn't let it swim in the pool when it had been shocked so high.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted how things are going.

[tara15]

ok here we go again....

I took some water to the pool store for analysis. these are the results

fc 5(thats all they go up to so it could be higher)
ph 7.6
ta 150
cya 50

so now what? i added 2 gallons of bleach, waited a while and brushed and vacumed the pool. do i wait and see now?

thanks

[Watermom]

Your cya level is drastically different than before. We are always leery about pool store readings and test strips so I don't know which one to believe. Also, since it could be 50, I am now skeptical to tell you to shock up to 25 as we suggested before when we thought your cya was 100. Can you go and buy the drops based kit I suggested above and test the cya yourself? We put more faith in test results that we do ourselves. You should also run the cl test yourself and use the dilution method I described above. Then repost and we'll go from there.

[tara15]

ok....

i got the test kit with 5 drops and the strips as well to compare...i know you dont like the strips.

here are the results

total chlorine(by diluted it the way you told me to) 15 or even higher
cya 70
ph 7.2

test strip
free chlorine over 5
ph 7.6
ta 150
cya 100


ok so now what?

[Watermom]

I'm more inclined to go with the results from the drops based kit rather than teststrips, so we'll assume the first results are somewhat accurate. Keep your chlorine level between 15-20 for a few days. Test and redose with bleach as often as practical to take it back up to that level instead of letting it drop much. Run your pump 24/7. That should clear your pool. Keep an eye on your ph. Don't want it to go lower than 7.2.

Keep us posted how things are going.

EDIT: I'd still consider a partial drain to lower that cya level.

[tara15]

ok. so things are ok so far. pool looks a little less green i think. i backwashed this am and a lot of green came out so thats good. levels are still holding. ph is at 7.2 and i dont want it to drop so how much borax would i add to increase it if needed? I might just leave the cya alone for this season since only about a month or so left. once i get the pool blue and cleared up, do i still need to maintain a fc at 15-20? if so, is that safe for people to swim in? thanks

[Watermom]

PH is OK at 7.2, but if it drops any, add Borax slowly so you won't get it too high. I'd probably do no more than a fourth of the box at a time.

Keep your chlorine at shock level. Glad it is looking better - but keep hammering it with bleach. Test it at least 3x a day and each time, take it back up to shock level.

After the pool is cleared, keep the high cl for one extra day as insurance and then you can let it drop back down. But, with cya of 70, you'll want to keep it between 5-10 ppm all the time and yes, it is safe to swim in at that level.