My Green Pool Saga - Help!

[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.

[Pamsel]

I think that may be why the pool store told me to use "Stain Ban" first thing in the spring. I do have some of that on hand, if needed. I will try to find mbar - Thank you!

[aylad]

I sent her a pm asking her to take a look at your post....
In the meantime, work on your alk problem, and I'd keep my Cl level at least 3-5 until marie tells you what to do from there.
Janet

[Pamsel]

Thank you so much Janet. I'm off to Wal-Mart, or wherever needed, to get a test kit, chlorox and muriatic acid. Will check back as soon as I get home. The help is very much appreciated!

[mbar]

Hi Pamsel, don't worry, we will get your pool ready to swim in, and not have you go broke in the meantime. Welcome to the forum. First, do you have a well, or a way to add water without it costing too much? If so, I would try draining part of the water down 1/3, fill it back up, drain it down 1/3, and continue again. This way it shoud get some of the stuff you have been putting in it out. Your ph and alkalinity are very high, and high ph with high chlorine will percipitate metal right out of the water onto the pool surface. What kind of pool do you have, vinyl, concrete or fiberglass? Once you drain and refill, you should get a complete set of your chemical numbers like they have mentioned before. If you can't get a test that tests for all (cl, cc, ph, alk, cal, cya) then maybe you can find another pool store that tests for all this without test strips! Don't buy anything they are trying to sell you, just get some sequestering agent - like sequasol, metal free, jack's magic, or something that will bind with the metal to keep it in suspension. Put this in first - put at least as much as the bottle says for your size pool, and a little extra too. Check your ph and make sure it is between 7 & 7.2. If your alk is high, turn up the return jets till they bubble on the water. Add enough chlorine to shock the pool - it depends on how much cya (stablilizer) you have in your pool - here is a chart:


Stabilizer . . . . . . Min. FC . . . . Max FC . . . 'Shock' FC
=> 0 ppm . . . . . . . 1 ppm . . . . . 3 ppm . . . . 10 ppm
=> 10 - 20 ppm . . . . 2 ppm . . . . . 5 ppm . . . . 12 ppm
=> 30 - 50 ppm . . . . 3 ppm . . . . . 6 ppm . . . . 15 ppm
=> 60 - 90 ppm . . . . 5 ppm . . . . . 10 ppm . . .. 20 ppm
=> 100 - 200 ppm . . . 8 ppm . . . . . 15 ppm . . .. 25 ppm

as you can see it is important to know this cya number, as you may think you are shocking your pool, when in reality you need a lot more chlorine to kill the algae. You must keep the shock level constant, letting the chlorine go up and down will only extend the amount of time you are dealing with the algae. If you don't get a test kit that goes above 5 you can do a search here on the forum for the "shot glass method" that along with distilled water the kit will allow you to test higher.
Don't worry if you get any staining while you are clearing the pool of algae. It is much more important to get rid of the algae, and then if you have stains, we can deal with them.
Just remember the less stuff you put in your pool, the more money in your pocket, and the easier it is to balance the water. All you really need to keep on hand is baking soda, borax, bleach and muriatic acid. And of course a good test kit. The one that is sold on the "Pool Solutions" site is the best in my opinion - the investment will save you much money in the future.
Please feel free to ask any questions you have - remember there are no stupid questions!

[Pamsel]

Hello Marie,

Thank you for your reply. I just returned home from my second trip to find a decent test kit - 3 towns and 7 stores later, I think I have one that will do. It does test CYA, Total Chlorine, Alk, PH, Hardness. I am going to go to work on the pool now that I have the test kit. I guess I will first drain it down and refill before I start using the muriatic acid and chlorine. Is that correct? I understand that I should work on the PH level first, with muriatic acid. When that gets into proper range, then the chlorine and the sequestering agent. Do I have this straight? BTW, it is a vinyl lined pool.

Thanks again, for your help!