Black Pool Water

[pminct]

Last year, I let all the Baquacil levels run out - then added chlorine to close.

Now, I looked under the cover and the pool water is BLACK.

Any ideas on how to fix this? Will shocking several times do it?

Patty

[NWMNMom]

Was there debris, leaves or something in there when you closed? What is the water temp? Get your levels right. Bleach and proper filtering should clear it up. Once the chlorine is added and filtering is done, with all your chemical levels right it should stay there.

Ours still has some ice in it but we added a bit of bleach and stirred/swished already to get ahead of the algae growth that hits as soon as the water gets warm. There were THOUSANDS of those stinky Ladybugs (Asian Beetles?) that got under the winter cover so we know that can make bacteria soup pretty fast if not filtered and hit with bleach as soon as the water hits the right temp.

[pminct]

My water is not black due to leaves or debris or algae - I have a cover and a leaf net - the black is due to combining leftover Baquacil with new chlorine.

I'm hoping several doses of shock will do it, but I'm unsure - I've heard that once you have Baquacil, you have to drain before switching over??? I don't want to shock like crazy, only to find out I still need to drain it out and start from scratch?

I tested at end of year, and algecide, etc, etc of Baquacil all tested as zero or not present - so I closed the pool in the fall using chlorine shock. But now water is black!!

Help!!!!

Patty in CT

[waterbear]

No, you don't have to drain but you WILL go through a lot of chlorine to oxidize any residual biguanide in the water. Even if your biguanide level was testing at 0 you stll need a lot of chlorine to complete the conversion, you can't just shock it once. You will also have to replace your filter sand if you have a sand filter or get a new cartrige if you have a cartridge filter once the conversion is complete. If you have a DE filter you will have to break it down and clean it, not just backwash it.

[Watermom]

And, to add to what Evan said, the more often you add bleach and maintain the high level of chlorine, the faster your conversion will go.

[pminct]

I understand replacing the sand in the filter - no problem.

How much/how often do you think I will need to shock to get rid of residual Baquacil?

How early should I start this if I want my pool open and swimable by Memorial Day, even though it will be much too cold for me to swim (but not too cold for kids to have their annual Memorial Day swim!!!)?

Patty in CT

[waterbear]

You need to raise your free chlorine to 15 ppm (or slightly higher) and KEEP IT THERE by testing at least 2 times a day (more will be better) untill your free chlorine is holding overnight. Your chlorine will not hold until all the biguanide is oxidized.