Cloudy Pool Water & Algaecide..Need Help
by Clint
New Question 1 New Question 2 New Question 3 I live in CT and just opened my 23k gallon in ground pool 2 days ago. I added 2 gallons of liquid shock and then a quart of algaecide. Tried strips & liquid test kits and one showed pH low and the other showed pH high? There is some greyish staining on the vinyl liner around the main drain in the deep end that won't come off?!? I added some pH raiser and more algaecide & now the water is cloudy and there some kind of foam floating on top. I have a DE filter which the pressure looks good on. I did backwash it numerous times just in case. What do you think/recommend? Thanks Hi Clint With a 23k gallon pool be sure your hitting the super-chlorination level. Without that you can't kill any of the algae, bacteria, or foreign matter in the pool. I have 2 good pages on chlorine. This one is a good starting point: Adjust Your Swimming Pool Chlorine As the for algaecide, be sure it's of high quality. This could be causing your foaming issue. Normally there are four reasons why pools foam up: Soap- Rinse toys and swimsuits before allowing them in the pool. Algaecides- Inexpensive "...alkyl-dimethyl..." type algaecides will foam. Use a non-foaming "poly" type. Also, avoid copper algaecides to avoid the green hair. A foaming algaecide in the pool should break down and go away. Pool Algaecide Organic matter- If you can see algae it has already been growing in the water for a while. This can foam if the water is churned up (aerated). Use a good dose of chlorine shock as this should burn-off the organic matter. Air leaks- Be sure the pump motor and plumbing are working and you have enough water in the pump. If the pot is drawing in air you might have an air leak in the plumbing somewhere. For your test strips and liquid test kit I always highly recommend a FAS-DPD Taylor Reagent K 2005 or 2006 test kit, not the yellow test kits. Water Testing Kit It's what I use at the YMCA, for my customers, and what the Oregon state health board uses when they come and test the water. This kit will give you the most accurate reading. For the greyish stain by the main drain it could be stubborn algae. Be sure to super-chlorinate your pool properly. Pool Shock Brush any residual algae that you can. Test your chlorine level after the shock to be sure to have gotten to the super-chlorination level. Be sure your DE filter is in good order and has no tears or rips. Also re-coat the grids each time you backwash. the cloudy water should clear up if everything is working properly. DE Pool Filters Hope this helps and let me know if there's anything else I can do All the best Robert New Question: Pool Algae..Algaecide & Liquid Shock.. By: Jenny Date: April 16, 2011 Can I put algacide and liquid shock in at the same time? Thanks for the question Jenny Yes you can use a pool algaecide and shock and the same time, but let's talk about what each one does. A pool algaecide is used for preventative measures. A liquid or granular pool shock is used to get the chloramines out of a pool (regular maintenance) or when you have an algae problem. If you're thinking about shocking your pool you can go to the chlorine and shock links above. Adding an algaecide when you're doing a regular shock is just a waste of money. You'll need to have the cyanuric acid (CYA) between 30 - 50ppm. The links above talk about that. Now you can use an algaecide after you shock the pool if you're trying to kill an algae bloom. The algae will consume most, if not all, the chlorine and adding an algaecide is a good backup while you're getting the CYA level in line, but don't rely simply on an algaecide to keep algae forming in the pool. It's the chlorine that kills the algae, not the algaecide. Hope this helps Robert New Question: Algaecides For Preventive Measures By: PJ Date: June 3, 2011 Sould algaecides be used as a preventive measure, or should you just maintain the pH and chlorine levels? I am new to all this, so step by step/frequency would be very helpful. Thanks PJ Thanks for the question PJ and I hope you see this answer. This is my take on the algaecide issue. You can go to the About Me page to see my history: About Me The short of it is this: I had a route of 50 pools in Arizona for years. I had to be right and on the money every time because there were 100 other pool guys ready to take my place. This is where I had my pool training; in 110 degree heat in people's backyards for months at a time. I've been the pool operator for the YMCA for the last 3 years. And now I deal with the Oregon Board of Health. That being said, I believe that algaecides are a little overdone. If you keep your chlorine level between 1.5 - 3.5ppm and stabilizer (CYA) between 30 - 50ppm, there shouldn't be any reason for an algaecide. Algaecides are used for preventative measures only, they're not meant to get rid of pool algae or green water, regardless of what anyone who works at a pool supply store says. You can go to this page to get all the links you need to have a great looking pool for the least amount of money: Swimming Pool Chemistry Maintain your pH level between 7.6 - 7.8ppm and chlorine between 1.5 - 3.5ppm and you'll be fine. Check out the alkalinity and calcium hardness pages in the link above. If you do feel the need to use an algaecide, be sure it's a PolyQuat 60. This has no metals and is safe for vinyl pools. I believe most call for weekly doses of algaecide maintenance. Hope this helps and have a fun and safe swimming season. Robert New Question: Chlorine & Tablets In Portable Floating Device By: PJ Date: June 7, 2011 I have been putting in liquid chlorine and using about a 1/2 gallon a day, especially on hot or rainy days. I dont have a chlorinator. Would the tablets in a portable floating device last longer? PJ Follow Up Answer By: Robert Date: June 7, 2011 Thanks for the question PJ Yes, I always encourage pool owners to use a tab floater. If you keep them full of Trichlor tabs your pool will have a constant flow of chlorine and stabilizer throughout the week. Just put the tabs in the floater and test your chlorine level weekly, maybe even twice per week. These tabs do have cyanuric acid (CYA) in them. You'll want to keep that level between 30 - 50ppm. It's important that you check this level as well because it needs to be balanced with the chlorine. And you don't want the level to get away from you. The only way to reduce the CYA is to drain 1/3 - 1/2 of the pool water, refill, and balance out the chemicals. The CYA is 7.5% of your chlorine level. Say you keep your chlorine at 2.5ppm, then you'll want your CYA around 33ppm. 2.5 divided by 7.5% = 33. I'd encourage you to get a Taylor FAS-DPD K-2006 pool test kit. It's the best and the one most pool professionals use. If you have your pool water tested by your local pool store, chances are this is the kit they use. Pool Water Testing Water Testing Kit You're asking some great questions and I think that people are not going to see them because they're getting buried in one post. Another visitor that is looking for information about chlorine tablets won't think to look on a page about cloudy pool water and algaecide. I would ask that if you have more questions, you can go to the corresponding pages and ask them there. This question might be a good one for the chlorine tab page: Chlorine Tablets Just scroll down and ask your question. This way it will be a page by itself and I can post it on the pool Q&A page. Swimming Pool Questions and Answers I don't have a category for chlorine tabs yet, but this one might be a good start. I'm thinking about leaving this answer on this post for about a week, then making it into a page for chlorine tabs. Thanks for visiting my site and hopefully you're getting the information you need. Robert |
