My Green Pool Saga - Help!

[Sherra]

We need to know what your CYA is. If you don't have a CYA test in your drop based test kit (strips are crap...don't use them), then take a sample to the pool store and have them test it. Then, go to the grocery store/Sam's Club/Wal-Mart/Costco/K-Mart/you get the point, and buy about 10 gallons of PLAIN 6% bleach (could be called "ultra" bleach)...name brand, generic, doesn't matter, as long as it doesn't have any "scents" added to it. Depending on your CYA level, bring your chlorine level up to the "shock" level in Ben's Best Guess Chart using the calculations from the BleachCalc. Test your Chlorine level AT LEAST twice a day (sundown and in the morning), 3 times is ideal and add enough bleach after each test to bring your level back up to "shock" level. (Shocking is an action, not a product.) When your chlorine level stays stable from evening until morning, then everything in your pool should be dead. During this whole process your filter should be running 24/7. Within a couple of days your pool should be cleared up.

You need to get your pH down also...now! Go buy some muratic acid (home improvement stores have this sometimes in the paint section, sometimes in the pool supply section). Add 1 or 2 cups, wait a couple of hours, retest, then add another 1 or 2 cups until your pH gets down to within normal range. Your ALK is really high, that needs to come down too! Follow the directions in this thread to lower your ALK... http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=191

If I've forgotten something important the moderators/"elders" of the board will correct me I'm sure.

[Pamsel]

Sherra, thank you so much for your reply. Can you please tell me what CYA is? I don't have it on the test strip. I will go get a drop kit today and the acid and chlorox.
BTW, When I take my water to the pool supply store to have it tested, all they do it stick the same test strip in it that I have at home. They don't tell me anything more than I already knew.

[Sherra]

CYA is cyanuric acid/stabilizer/conditioner. 99% of the "pucks" or "sticks" you get now a days have CYA in them (if the ingredient starts with "trichlor", then they've got CYA added to them). TOO much CYA can become a very serious pain in the you-know-what when it comes to keeping your pool sparkling clean. You do need SOME CYA in your pool though to keep the chlorine from getting "eatten up" by the sun during the day. If your pool store uses the strips, fire the pool store...find another one. You need to look for a drop based test kit that tests for the following:

FC - Free Chlorine
CC - Combined Chlorine
It's best to have both the drop based kit (OTO) and the (DPD-FAS) powder test - the DPD-FAS tests will test up to about 50 PPM for chlorine, which is what you'll need to test accurately for your "shock" levels.
TA - Total Alkalinity
CA - Calcium Hardness
pH - pH (phenol red drop based test)
CYA - Cyanuric Acid/Stabilizer

If your pool store doesn't carry the kits that test all that, sometimes Wal-Mart will carry tests that test all those things, if you've got an ACE Hardware around sometimes they will carry them also. Other than the test kit Ben sells on the Poolsolutions web site (sister site to this forum), the next best is the Taylor K2006.

[Pamsel]

Another thing, in reading the link on lowering Alkalinity, he speaks of aerating the pool as a part of the process. What do I do if I don't have an aerator of any kind and it's not ready to put 10 year old boys in yet? Will the process not work if I don't aerate?

[aylad]

The aeration is what allows the carbon dioxide to be off-gassed, so it is an important part of the process. You can get a cheapie fountain in the pool section at almost any store that would work fine. You also can achieve a similar effect by aiming your return eyes toward the surface of the water so that it creates a ripple from your return jets.

Before you shock your pool, we really need to know if there is any metal content (copper/iron?) in your water, and what type of finish you have. Otherwise, Sherra's got you on the right track.

Janet

[Pamsel]

Hi Janet,

It is a vinyl lined pool.

How do I know if I have copper, etc? The water in our area has a lot of iron in it - it has been a problem in the past, as in when we add water it comes from the hose into the pool yellow/brown and turns the entire pool a greenish yellow. It has been helped a lot by adding water via putting the hose in the skimmer and having it go through the filter first. It would be a good guess that we have metal content in the pool, especially since I have added water several times with the garden hose, due to vacuuming to waste and lowering the water level.

[aylad]

The iron content is what I was getting at. My understanding is that you need to put a metal sequestering agent into the pool before you shock it, to keep it from staining. Also, adding water via the skimmer does help too. Search through the forums for posts by mbar--she's our resident metals/staining expert around here, and she may be able to help you get it cleared up without staining your pool.