I Can't Get The Green Out Of My Pool
by Michelle
CHL - 3 BR - 6 PH - 8.2 alk - 33 hardness - 80 cya - 30 Cartridge filter My pool is green, looks like algae, lots of floaties, can't clear it. Tried shock, chlorine and algaecide. Now I haver some liquid Muriatic acid called Muriatic Magic, but am hesitant on my next step. I have vacuumed and skimmed and washed out filter over and over for days. I can't find any other kind of test kits here, only the HTH kit. Thanks for the question Michelle Do you have a local pool store that you can take a sample of water to test? This might help out a bit. I'd encourage you to get a Taylor FAS-DPD K-2006 pool test kit. Pool Water Testing Water Testing Kit Thanks for the readings. It helps to clear up your pool faster. The CYA (stabilizer) is fine, so don't touch that. And no chlorine tabs in the skimmer. Always use a floater. The pH is a bit high. It should be between 7.6 - 7.8ppm, but now we want to get it down to 7.2ppm. Chlorine works better at a slightly lower pH. The alkalinity (TA) is low. It should be between 80 - 100ppm, 120 being the top. Do you have a plaster pool or vinyl liner? With vinyl don't worry about the hardness. With plaster, you want the hardness between 150 - 250ppm. First thing is to raise the TA using baking soda. Pool Alkalinity Total Alkalinity Start this process in the evening. To raise TA 10ppm per 1000 gallons you'd use 0.14 lbs. of baking soda. You need to raise your TA by 50ppm. Use 2.5 lbs. of baking soda in the deep end with the pump off. Let this sit for 3 - 4 hours, then turn the pump back on and keep in on for the remainder of the shock process. Get the pH down to 7.2ppm. Start with 10oz. of muriatic acid broadcast around the perimeter of the pool with the pump on. Swimming Pool pH Levels Pool pH Next is to shock the pool with chlorine 2 hours after adding the acid to adjust the pH. Remember that shocking is a process, not an even or a name. Swimming Pool Chlorine Pool Shock Pool Chlorine For 4400 gallons, use 1.5 gallons of liquid chlorine broadcast around the perimeter of the pool. Sweep the sides and bottom to break up any hot spots of chlorine. You'll want to get the chlorine level up to 12 - 15ppm. Go a little over, it's better than not hitting the 10ppm mark. Shock in the evening, then retest the chlorine and CYA in the morning. You'll see how much chlorine has been used through the night. Keep filtering 24/7. During this process you can use a PolyQuat 60 algaecide as an added backup against any algae blooms that might occur. The trick in clearing up your pool is to get the TA and pH in line and keeping the chlorine level above 12ppm for a period of time. That's why you shock in the evening, retest in the morning, then shock again. Be sure to clean the filters every day. Get new ones and swap them out with the old ones. Clean them, and swap them out. Remember to test morning and evening and keep the chlorine level at 12ppm or above as best you can. When the pool turns a white/gray color and you only lose 1 - 2ppm of chlorine through the night you'll know the algae is dead. Let the filter do its job. And keep the cartridges clean. If you have a pool store that's close, take a sample of water to be tested after every turnover of the water. This is normally about 8 hours. Morning and night. They should do it for free. Hope this helps and let me know how it turns out for you. To post a reply, or if you have a similar question, you can see your post on the Q&A page in the "Algae/Green Pool Water" category. Swimming Pool Questions and Answers Check back to this post for updates or answers. Robert Comment: Getting The Green Out Of My Pool By: Michelle Date: August 9, 2011 I have a vinyl pool, it is a 15' x 48" round I don't have a pool store near, probably could take a test over next week. My TA on the hth test kit that I have at this time, is that the Alkalinity test? It took 33 drops to go from green to red which x 10 is 330, so isn't that high? Last evening, I put in the Muriatic acid as directed, then the liquid chlorine. I do have a dual tab floating. It still looks mucky this morning after all night. I brushed and skimmed. At work now. I can retest soon, then brush and vacuum. I will order the test kit you recommend soon. Thanx Comment By Robert Date: August 9, 2011 Yes having a TA 330 is a bit high.Before adjusting that you should retest or have a pool store or someone else test to confirm. The DPD K-2006 kit is easy and will tell you exactly what each reading is. Be sure to keep filtering 24/7 and keep the chlorine level above 12ppm morning and night, or as best you can. Remember to use a bucket filled 1/2 with water and chlorine, then broadcast it around the perimeter. Sweep after each application. Don't add the chlorine directly into the pool. It's heavier than water and will sink to the bottom and may cause staining on the liner. Keep me up to date. Robert Comment By Michelle Date: August 9, 2011 I just retested with the hth kit that I have. ch 1 br 2 ph 7.8 TA 40 gtts x 10 = 400 ppm ** It took 40 drops to get from green to red, directions say to multiply # of drops by 10. CYA is under 30 ** tube only goes up to 30 and black dot was still visible starting to get cloudy, like grey. Water is milky green. Comment By Robert Date: August 9, 2011 Good. The pH came down a bit. Once more, add the same amount of acid you did. The pH should come down to 7.2 - 7.4ppm. Keep filtering. The CYA is a bit low so you'll want to shock once with Dichlor chlorine, then retest in the morning or after 8 hours. This is a stabilized chlorine that will get the CYA in the pool. When you get the CYA between 30 - 50ppm, stop and go back to liquid chlorine. If you can't get the Dichlor now, use liquid chlorine until you can. Be careful when using Dichlor as it can get out of hand quickly. For every 10ppm of chlorine added with Dichlor, you'll raise the CYA by 9ppm. For your size pool, 1lb. of Dichlor should do it. Keep shocking with liquid chlorine above 12ppm (after you get the CYA between 30 - 50) as often as you can, but at miminum morning and evening. Remember to use a bucket with water and sweep after chlorination. And keep the cartirdges clean. It may take a few days for the pool to turn white/gray so be patient, keep the chlorine level up and clean the filters. Robert Comment By Michelle Date: August 10, 2011 Yesterday early evening I put in the same about of acid as the first time. Abut 2 hours later I put in the Dichlor. Did my pool care. I was not able to test in the morning. I just tested this evening and the reading I get on my hth test kit again are: cl 5 br 10 ph 7.8 ta 400 cya 30 hardness 830 The water looks a bit better like a milky grey to it. My chlorine test tube only goes up to 5 so I am not able to tell how high the chlorine actually is. The pH is not moving. I used about 14 oz. of mariatic magic acid the first time and the second time. What do you think I should add? I have liquid chlorine and I have another pkg Dichlor and still have the muriatic acid too. I will be able to get to a pool store and get the test kit you suggested next week. Thank you! Comment By Robert Date: August 10, 2011 It's fine if the test kit you have only goes up to 5. It sounds like the algae is finally starting to die out. Milky grey is good. If the CYA is only 30 you could probably get away with adding another 1 lb. pack, but that's it. After that only use liquid. It should only raise the CYA another 10ppm or so. You can go up to 50ppm and be fine. The range is between 30 - 50ppm and the chlorine level between 1.5 - 3.5ppm. The is for normal maintenance. Keep shocking the pool, morning and night. Maybe tonight shock with Dichlor and the morning shock with liquid chlorine. Another 1.5 gallons. After 2 hours put 20 oz. of acid in the pool to reduce the pH and keep filtering. Remember to clean out the cartridges. All of the dead algae will clog it up quickly. Magic Acid is Hydrochloric Acid, but I'm unsure as to the strength compared to normal muriatic acid. You're going to need a bit more acid because after this you'll work on the alkalinity. You'll use acid, but the adjustment will be different. The pH might not be moving because the alkalinity is so high. At least the pH is below 8.0ppm which is good. Best would be 7.2ppm but this is what you have to work with right now. Shock tonight, 2 hours later more acid around the perimeter of the pool, and shock and in the morning. Keep me posted. Click here to read or post comments. |
