Pool Water Light Green Color
by Don Ahlbrandt
Free chlorine 0 low? pH 7.4 ok? Alkaline 40 low Stabilizer 0 low? With shock added twice Filter(sand) Been run several hrs. and been backwashed. Whats my course of action? Thanx Don Thanks for the information Don First, if you don't already have one, I'd suggest a Taylor FAS-DPD K-2006 pool test kit. Water Testing Kit Pool Water Testing It would really be time ineffective for me to write exactly everything the questions says. There are several steps involved with how to raise and keep the chlorine level up, how to clear up a green pool, raise the alkalinity, etc... I've written about all these things, so the best course of action is for me to give you the steps, then give you the links to those steps. Swimming Pool Chemistry This way you can get all the details. You can look them over and go through them one at a time. You can also go through the Q&A page. There are hundreds of questions answered, many of them in the "Algae/Green Pool Water" section. Swimming Pool Questions and Answers..Pool Forums First is the right pool kit, as stated above. The pH level is fine, so don't worry about that. The alkalinity is a bit low, but we need to be concerned with the algae problem. Get some Dichlor shock. This does two things; it raises the chlorine level and cyanuric acid (CYA/Stabilizer). Swimming Pool Chlorine Pool Shock The FAS-DPD kit has the test for that. You want to watch that the CYA doesn't go too high or you'll need to drain 1/3 - 1/2 of the pool and refill. You can also test for chlorine demand. The charts you need for a good shock can be found on the chlorine pages. Chlorine Demand This will start you on your way to clearing up the algae problem. Swimming Pool Algae Green Pool Water Keep filtering 24/7 until the pool has cleared up. When the chlorine starts to kill the algae, the water might turn a grayish/white. This is normal. You'll need to manually dose the pool with chlorine. Test the pool water daily and keep the chlorine level above 7ppm. The algae will be eating up the chlorine, so your chlorine levels will keep going down until the algae is gone. Backwash every day until the water clears. Be sure to keep the water level up. This is 1/3 - 1/2 up from the bottom of the skimmer. If the water level gets too low the system will draw in air and decrease the filtration. Swimming Pool Sand Filters Remember to take daily chemical readings and keep a log of what they are and the times they're taken. Once that's taken care of, it will be time to adjust the alkalinity. Pool Alkalinity To raise the total alkalinity you'll need to have the pump motor off. Hope this helps and good luck with your pool Robert |
