Ugh Green cloudy Pool (lease, how much, buy)

[locoenlacabeza]

So for about a week now I have been fighting with my pool. The water was green and cloudy, I took it in and had the water tested. Leslie's said it was fine, little low on chlorine but nothing horrible or that would cause algae. 2 days later after shocking it that day, it was less green but more cloudy.
Took water in again and had it tested- all chemicals were fine at this point. No phosphates, chlorine was perfect, ph good etc....That was on Sunday. I added clarifier that day hoping it would clear. No such luck. Today we are back to GREEN and murkey. I can't even see the bottom.
I am burning through tablets every couple 3 days. I have never had to add tablets that often.
Any ideas?

I read on another forum of using bleach as opposed to shock or liquid chlorine as a form of shock because it is less expensive.

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by locoenlacabeza

So for about a week now I have been fighting with my pool. The water was green and cloudy, I took it in and had the water tested. Leslie's said it was fine, little low on chlorine but nothing horrible or that would cause algae. 2 days later after shocking it that day, it was less green but more cloudy.
Took water in again and had it tested- all chemicals were fine at this point. No phosphates, chlorine was perfect, ph good etc....That was on Sunday. I added clarifier that day hoping it would clear. No such luck. Today we are back to GREEN and murkey. I can't even see the bottom.
I am burning through tablets every couple 3 days. I have never had to add tablets that often.
Any ideas?

I read on another forum of using bleach as opposed to shock or liquid chlorine as a form of shock because it is less expensive.

Bleach! NO don't do that, ouch, bad for the skin, eyes, etc. If I were you I would call a pool service. Maybe something in the filter, pump, or other mechanical component is leaking something "harmless" into the water like lubricant or even some dirtier water?

[locoenlacabeza]

Yeah i was hesitant to jump on the bleach band wagon lol!
As for the filter, it could be the problem because the sand does need to be changed.
Must be the time of year for pool companies to be busy- i have called a few and am awaiting the return call.

[dbean]

Used to be in the same boat...
we signed a lease and the pool was of course crystal clear. Well, we didnt' move in for 1.5 months later and the pool was DARK green.

Called a pool service and 5 days later we were swimming in a sparkling oasis!! AFter they added all the chemicals, the pump ran non-stop to filter out all of the dead (white) algae. I would wager a guess that your filter is screwed up.

After the green mess was cleaned up, the pool lady took the filter apart and cleaned it out. I couldnt' believe how much white crud was in there!!! After the filter was flushed out, the water circulated through the system 10x faster.

good luck, I know it can be frustrating not being able to swim after work!!

[Ponderosa]

It doesn't matter if you use bleach or not. It all ends up being the same thing - hypochlorous acid that does the work. The problem with bleach is that it is"

1. It's pretty dilute. The liquid chlorine is "bleach" but is 10% not 5% like household bleach.

2. The is the biggie: It raises pH way up. You cannot maintain sanitizing levels of hypochlorous acid in the presence of high pH.

What to:

Backwash your filter.

Get some muriatic acid and add it a little at a time to get your pH down to 6.8-7.2. If you have not drained the pool in a couple years or more or you use liquid chlorine regularly it can take a good deal of acid to bring the pH down and keep it down due to buffering from the dissolved solids that are in the water.

Dump in 2-3 bags of tri-chloro shock (not calcium hypochlorite as it has the same pH issues as liquid/bleach does.

Drop a 3" tab in the skimmer as needed so that there is always at least 1/2 tab.

Watch the pH. If it gets over 7.8, hit it with muriatic acid again.


Backwash your filter.

Make sure the pool place tests for CYA - it should be at least 40ppm.


Even better - step one - drain and refill the pool. Draining it will kill the algae and you start with predictable chemistry.

[locoenlacabeza]

thanks for the tips!!

[Ponderosa]

A note on draining a pool. It is generally not a good idea to drain a pool here in the summer time. The heat and pressure stress can cause the plaster to crack and then water gets into the rebar when you refill and makes rust stains. So if you can go the chemical fix until December-March that is better. If you do drain it, don't leave it empty any longer than necessary.

[CheyDee]

Sorry, but I respectfully disagree with many of the things previously stated.

First of all, I ONLY use bleach to chlorinate my pool. I usually buy 10% bleach, except when regular household bleach is on sale. Then I stock up and use that until I run out. As was stated, sodium hypochlorite is sodium hypochlorite.

Secondly, while chlorine does alter the pH level, they are two separate entities and should be addressed individually.

What you should add to your pool and the amount you should add depends upon several factors, one of which is how many gallons of water is in your pool. There is not an ideal one size fits all quantity which suits all pools, whether you are shocking, adjusting pH, etc.

The ideal CYA level depends upon whether or not you have a salt water generator and if your pool is in full sun all day. I do not have a SWG, but have a lot of direct sun . I keep my CYA level around 60. A CYA level of 40 would be too low for my pool.

Tabs such as trichlor contain both chlorine and a stabilizer (cyanuric acid). Over time, the use of trichlor will increase the cyanuric acid level in your pool to too high a level. This is a significant problem and may be why your pool is not clearing. (It is also one of the reasons I use bleach rather than tabs.) It is NOT recommended to empty your pool unless your CYA level is way too high (over 100). Since damage to an empty pool could result, it would be more prudent to only partially empty and then refill your pool rather than completely draining it.

Water is expensive, as are all the chemicals the pool store would LOVE to sell you. Instead of draining any water or pouring more $ in chemicals into your pool, let me provide a link to an excellent resource for clearing your green pool: http://www.troublefreepool.com/about4147.html (broken link) If you decide to post, tell 'em CheyDee sent you

Good luck. LMK how you make out.

[shawnrobbins]

These people are giving you bad information. Household bleach contains less chlorine than pure chlorine tablets. It is no more bad for your skin, clothes, etc than the tablets that you currently put in. If you could figure out the correct dose, it could potentially be much cheaper than tablets. As for clearing up the murkiness, good luck, that is what I am trying to figure out.

[modsalon]

Just get yourself a good test kit. I think it's like 40.00 at leslies..and then don't ever go in there again!

Go to www.troublefreepools.com and read the threads.

I'm betting that your CYA is off the chart..meaning very high, especially if you've been using powdered shock or tablets for more than a year. The higher your CYA, the more chlorine it's going to take to kill the algae in your pool.

Read all you can..test your pool, post your numbers - that forum is a great help.

Of course, make sure your equipment is working properly too.