My Pool Looks Like An EASTER EGG!!! -- NOT a good thing!

[PopcornGirl]

Thanks, Dave!
And thanks to you, too, Marie!
I really appreciate your help AND your patience.

Whew! Waterbear, I'm in awe.
Ok, Chemistry 101 -- I definitely need to sit down and reread this AFTER I put my kiddos to bed!
I will try to address/answer your questions/concerns, Waterbear...

First though, let me tell you what I've done today so far...
1)Added 1 quart of METAL OUT to the water.
2)Added ~1.5 quarts of MURIATIC ACID.
3)Waited 3 hours, retested the pH. It is now 7.4
4)Added 4 gallons of liquid bleach.
My pool is now very cloudy which I'm sure is algae die-off.

--->>>QUESTION: Can I, or rather SHOULD I, add SuperBlue (water clarifier) tomorrow or is that now a No-No? I only ask because that is what I have been told to do for the past 4 years and I now suspect that I probably shouldn't.

As for the copper:
1) I converted from copper to chlorine 1.5 years ago (early fall of 2004).
2)Before converting, I personally tested the copper level and it was at ZERO; the pool store also tested and it was ZERO. We removed the copper bars and added METAL OUT before adding chlorine (just to be SURE). I had NO staining after switching to chlorine, and in fact, we swam without ANY staining issues last summer.
3)The black algae preceeded the switch to chlorine, so I really DO NOT think it is copper staining. Also, it was diagnosed by several different people who are familiar with black algae. And it ACTED like black algae: For example, I had to scrub it with a metal brush before it would respond to the algaecide.
4) Finally, I suspect it is black algae because, as they say, once you have it, you never truly get rid of it. And I will be the first to admit that I completely neglected my pool for a couple of months over the winter, so I was not surprised to see it back! Furthermore, at the start of LAST summer, I had a little bit of black algae and I used black algaetrine & scrubbed it like crazy and shocked at high chlorine levels and it went away; it didn't get worse.
This is why I'm convinced that it is not copper staining.

As for the pool store testing for copper, I have been told (by various people, both here on this board and elsewhere) that the copper builds up in the pool and is re-released over time. Also, the pool store's test was about a week after I had added the black algaetrine, so couldn't that have contributed to the positive copper reading? In any event, I have now (in the past 3 weeks) added 3 QUARTS (total) of METAL OUT.

At this point I sort of lost track of what is going on and am confused.

Me, too!

I have to admit that at this point I am lost but definately do NOT put a puck in your skimmer with a cartridge filter!

Don't worry; you've made a believer out of me!!! I will NEVER do that again!

Could be mustard algae (more tan than brown)

I have wondered about that...
Did you see the pics of the stain (it no longer looks like this)? Click here:
MY POOL 3 WEEKS AGO

ou said that you are using HTH super shock (which is cal hypo). I noticed you wondered or were suprised as to why you CH was 360ppm, this could be a reason) and pucks

I thought CH was calcium hardness (that's what I was referring to); how does the super shock affect that? I was surprised because the pool store had told me that it was 270 just 2 days before. What is the chemical relationship between the two? And what SHOULD my CH level be?
And finally,

Are the pucks HTH and are they by any chance the 'dual action' ones? If they are they contain --guess what--COPPER!

They're not. They are hth 3" stabilized chlorine (they don't say dual action and they don't mention copper -- just say they won't cause "over-stabilization").
WHEW!
I hope that helps clear things up a bit.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure the green is green algae; my pool water is SO warm already (it was 90 degrees here today) and the green stuff felt a tad slimy and it brushed off the walls VERY easily.
Ok, I think that's about it. Whaddaya think???
I'm open to any and all suggestions.
I'm so excited to FINALLY be on the right track!

[waterbear]

I thought CH was calcium hardness (that's what I was referring to); how does the super shock affect that? I was surprised because the pool store had told me that it was 270 just 2 days before. What is the chemical relationship between the two? And what SHOULD my CH level be?
The shock you are using is calcium hypoclorite...operative word is calcium....it will cause your calcium levels to go up. However 360 ppm is certainly in range for a plaster pool. You might want to start shocking with sodium hypochlorie, however...usually called 'bleach'
And finally,
They're not. They are hth 3" stabilized chlorine (they don't say dual action and they don't mention copper -- just say they won't cause "over-stabilization").
As far as I know all the currently manufactured HTH 3" triclor pucks now contain copper. If they are older ones they might not. As far as not causing overstabilization...that is just marketing hype!
WHEW!
I hope that helps clear things up a bit.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure the green is green algae; my pool water is SO warm already (it was 90 degrees here today) and the green stuff felt a tad slimy and it brushed off the walls VERY easily.
Ok, I think that's about it. Whaddaya think???
I'm open to any and all suggestions.
I'm so excited to FINALLY be on the right track!

With all the seqestering agent in your water metal should not be a problem for a while but be aware that they might still be lurking in your water to return when you least expect it.
I need to go over your numbers and think about them but it seems you are on the right track . Keep up the FC levels at schock level until the green is gone. vacumn the dead stuff up, and keep cleaning your filter and you will beat it.

As far as the brown stains they did look like iron but they also could have been tannin stains. Iron is pretty easy to lift off if the pH of the water is low enough.

Good luck!

[PopcornGirl]

Waterbear,
Ah, that makes sense! Thank you for explaining that; I had no idea the two were related. And I bet you're right about the tabs (pucks), too.

Ok, I retested everything this morning... no real surprises:
FC = ZERO
TC = < 0.5
pH = 7.4
TA = 100
CYA = 50 ??? Is it normal to drop that much in 2 days??? It was 65 on Sunday!
CH = 370

Ok, so I added 5 more gallons of bleach early this morning (right after testing). It's kind of overcast here this morning so hopefully it will have some time to work before the sun hits it... I was afraid to let it sit all day in the heat without adding at least SOME chlorine!
Going to the store to buy MORE BLEACH today!!

Side Note: It *appears* as though the stains are GONE so maybe *something* worked (or all of it). I realize they could come back as I continue to bring my chlorine up, but I just wanted to note that now...
I'll check in again later,

[waterbear]

sounds like you are on the right track..just get your FC up and keep it there. You might want to retest the cya...it's not the easiest test, it can be a bit subjective as to when that black dot dissappears! I try to do mine in the shade, hold the container at about waist level, and if the water is cold I let it come to room temp (indoor) because lower temp will slow down the reaction and could possibly casue a lower reading.

[PopcornGirl]

Oh, dear.
Only 5 hours after adding 5 gallons of 6% bleach (and yes, I checked to make sure it was still bleach -- not old/water), my FC is still ZERO and my TC is still <.5 !
And I STILL have a LOT of green algae on my walls and floors...
QUESTION:
Would it be ok to add a quart of polyquat 60% to the pool to help with the algae problem? I'm afraid I am combatting two MAJOR chlorine-demand problems here (the algae & all the other stuff [stains, metal out, high CYA]) and it's going to cost me a fortune if I continue using only bleach...

I won't do ANYTHING unless y'all ok it, but I have spent so much on chemicals this month, it's REALLY putting a strain on my budget!!
HELP!

[waterbear]

IMHO, you need to keep putting chlorine in there. What type of test kit are you using for FC and TC? Is it DPD (comparator cell with pink colors) or FAS-DPD (titration test)? The reason I ask is that DPD can bleach out with high chlorine levels. I don't think this is what is happening. I think you just have a big chlorine demand and the only thing that will take care of it is to satisfy your pool's "hunger" for chlorine right now but it is one possiblity that sprung to mind to explain your FC of 0. Bleach is NOT your only alternative. You might want to check around at the prices of liquid chlorine and cal hypo vs. bleach. Sometimes they can be a bit more economical (but usually not). Your CH is at the high normal end for a plaster pool but your TA is on the low side so I don't believe that cal hypo will be a problem. I personally would stay away from stablized chlorine with your CYA levels being as high as they are.

As far as polyquat, have never used it but my understanding is that it is more of a preventative than a treatment from what I have read on here.

Hope this helps. Keep the faith, you WILL be swimming soon!

[duraleigh]

Summer,

Remember my post calling for 4 gallons of bleach? Why are you putting in five gallons? Not enough is useless...too much is not good at all, unless you REALLY want to spend some money.. Just like Goldilocks, you've got to get your quantities "just right"?

Listen to the advice you're getting. Nothing is cheaper than bleach to fix your problems. Once your water is clear, you will use maybe 1-2 qts per day to keep your pool nice. Did you think you would have to use this much bleach all the time? If so, you need to do more reading.

Ben does not recommend polyquat for what you're trying to do. What makes you think it's cheaper, anyway?

Go get some more bleach and bring your Cl reading up to 18-20ppm.

Stay the course!!

Dave S.

[KurtV]

popcorn, Read through this thread on polyquat all the way to the end. It looks like another forum member had some success using poly to get rid of an algae infestation...http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=486