How To Clear Up A Green Pool In Woburn
I opened 28,000 inground pool 2 weeks ago. Water was slightly green so I added 4 lbs. of Green Out and shocked with 6 lbs. of shock. Water looked better next day but cloudy so I added Pool First Aid to clear cloudiness. 2 days went by and it started to turn green again so I did double shock treatment. Nothing changed, so re-did Green Out followed by Pool first Aid. No changes so I re-shocked it. Went to pool store to test for metals is water. That tested negative. Store employee said it is algae and nothing can be done except run filter and spray down cartridges every few hours until water clears up. Is this true? I have never had algae problem before. I vacuum and there is nothing in the bag. I don't see any dead algae floating or in bottom of pool. HELP. Thanks for the question The short answer is yes, you can do something about the algae. Here are some other posts by visitors that have had very similar problems: Pool Shock & Floc Not Working Pool Opening..Used Algaecide And Floc...Now The Pool Is White And Cloudy... How Long Does It Take A Cloudy Pool To Clear? First, you need to understand that there are different kinds of chlorine. The pool chlorine you want to use right now is Dichlor. This is a fast dissolving chlorine that also adds a stabilizer. This is called cyanuric acid (CYA). You need to get the CYA in the pool along with the chlorine. But remember that your CYA can increase very quickly by using Dichlor. For every 10ppm added by Dichlor, you'll increase the CYA by 10ppm. You also need to daily dose your pool with chlorine to keep the level up. The chlorine will consume the algae as the shock process happens. The question said you used 6 lbs. of shock. To shock a 25,000 gallon pool, you would use 6.5 lbs. of shock, or granular chlorine. For every 10,000 gallons of water, using granular chlorine, (calcium hypochlorite), you'll need 1.25 - 1.5 lbs. of chlorine to reach break point chlorination. This brings the chlorine level up 10Xs. It sounds like you may not have hit that the first time around. If you don't hit the mark, say 8 - 9ppm, you might as well not have done it at all. Go for a shock of 12 - 15ppm. Get a Taylor FAS-DPD K-2006 pool test kit. Shock in the evening and check the level in the morning. You need to keep the chlorine level high to kill the algae, 10ppm or above. This will require using alot of chlorine, but eventually the algae will burn up. Algaecides are used for preventative measures only, not to get rid of the algae. It can be used along with a pool shock, but this is just for a backup if the chlorine level drops too quickly. I always used a PolyQuat 60. This contains no metals and is safe for vinyl pools. Your right in keep filtering 24/7 and spray off the cartridges each day. Or you can get another pair of cartridges and swap them out. Clean the old ones and do the same thing. This way there little down time. Your pool will turn a grayish/white color and be cloudy. This is the dead algae and will eventually be filtered out. Here are some links to help with your pool shock: Swimming Pool Chlorine Pool Shock Pool Chlorine Chlorine Tablets Pool Chlorine Tablets Clear up a green pool: Green Pool Water Swimming Pool Algae Water testing and kits: Pool Water Testing Water Testing Kit There could be many reasons for cloudy water as well. Here's a good list and what to do: Cloudy Pool Water It's good that the water tested negative for metals. That's one less chemical you'll need to put in the pool and one less expense. You can also go to the pool Q&A forum. There's much information on how to clear up a green pool: Swimming Pool Questions and Answers Your question will be easy to find on the page. It will be the first question in the "Algae" category. If you need more help, just click on your question and scroll down and add a comment. Then check back later for another response. Hope this helps and good luck with your pool. The Summer is still young and there's alot of swimming to be done. Robert New Question Title: Green Water Shoots Back Into My Pool When I Vacuum By: Karen Date: June 9, 2011 Every time I vacuum green water shoots back into my pool. I have a sand filter without a WASTE setting. I realize I still have lots of algea to vacuum up, but how do I do this if it keeps coming back in? Please help!! Answer By: Robert Date: June 9, 2011 Thanks for the question Karen I have answered many questions about clearing up green pools. Here are some of them: Problem With Swimming Pool Green Algea Green Pool (Algae) Re-Occurring..Pictures Green Swimming Pool Water In Above Ground Pool..Algae..Shock You can also go to this page on my website: Green Pool Water And this is the Q&A page with even more information on green pools: Swimming Pool Questions and Answers Without a WASTE setting on your filter, it's even more important to keep backwashing. All of the algae is going right into the filter. Keep the pool water level between 1/3 - 1/2 up from the bottom of the skimmer because you're going to use alot of water. The links above are very similar to your algae issue and the website page will walk you through getting your pool back in shape. Have a fun and safe swimming season. Robert |
