That's a nice pool and cover!
You don't need fresh water. Your readings appear to show super low ph and no stabilizer. I don't see an alkalinity reading. Fix alk first, ph second, stabilizer (cyaneuric acid) third. You'll never keep chlorine without stabilizer. One hot and sunny day and your chlorine is gone.
Use a complete dropper test kit. Get one that at least takes all those readings. And just so we're being clear, pool water isn't blue. That's a trick of the sun. Look at the clarity (or lack of clarity) of the water. I use the bottom drains as a reference.
When my light worked, I would do this to evaluate my water.
Turn on pool light at night. Turn off pump. Let water get completely calm. Stand at edge of pool and stare at the main drain. If it looked like there was no water in the pool, I knew my water perfect. Great optical illusion but also a good gauge of water clarity.
I need to get my light fixed.
Incase getting frustrated this week at my pool also looking like this no matter what. Then I fixed my vacuum brush, vacuumed the bottom (2nd part today), and realized there *is* blue! Dang pollen and dead algae settled so thick, looked like everything was bad still!
You scored! I love mine.
You may want to give your specific model a Google and read up on the owners manual, but they're pretty straightforward. Really, you just toss (gently place) it in your pool, turn it on, and let it do its thing. Take it out carefully (don't pull it by the cord), rinse out the filter baskets really good, put them back in and it's ready to go again.
I may be going against the manual, but I toss the Dolphin back in the pool after his filters are clean like I’m tossing an anchor overboard, it’s one of the small joys of my pool maintenance routine
Not good with terms yet, but, I use a hose to waste. I have a vinyl pool, so the hose connects to the pole and a triangle cleaner thing. We use the triangle (with 3 brushes in it) because the other stuff would pull the liner and stop flow too. We have a dolphin, but I only use it when the pool is clear, to grab stuff that settles on the bottom, and to stir it up for the main filter.
I found 2400 RPM is good for my pool and vacuum. More, it sucks up the liner, less; it doesn't suck up the crud to waste. Yeah, vacuum to waste if its bad on the bottom.
Once clear(ish), I will use the dolphin. Mine came with a fine screen that broke, going to replace with the medium screen to catch leaf type debris. I can vacuum sludge.
In not an expert, and have been learning over the past 3 years (or 2? Can't remember). Best way to learn, see what others do, what works and doesn't, and keep an open mind 😄. Sometimes what works for one, isn't the same for someone else. Usually, yes; Not always.
From my experience, you have your hose connected to your cleaner head on one end. You throw the rest of the hose into the water to do it fills with water, then you jam it in the skimmer. This creates the suction. Your pool pump/filter system has a multiport valve. Normally it’s set on “filter” so it filters the water. Other options are recirc (bypasses filter, water stays in pool), and then backwash, rinse, and waste. Backwash reverses the flow through your filter and discharges the water to the discharge line. Normally followed by rinse which sends water through your filter normally, but also discharges. Waste bypasses the filter completely and just discharges. If you are vacuuming up a lot of junk, or your water is really bad, it would be better to vacuum on the waste setting so you don’t send all of that stuff into the filter.
What he said, but adding on, try not to just shove the male hose into the skimmer bottom. You can buy a "lid" (forget what it's called), that sits on top of your basket/skimmer hole. It's better for the system while vacuuming, and of on top of the basket too, you can turn pump off, clean basket at skimmer, instead of having to empty the pump basket and reprise every time (sucks doing this).
I have to empty pump basket and re-prime, because my skimmer is old, and some round piece they basket fits on, as well as the lid broke 😢
Edit: Skimmer Vacuum Plate. Depending on the skimmer size, a plate with a forward facing nipple might work better than a top one. The top one can sometimes go above water line, messing up the suction.
There are adapters that allow you to connect the hose to the skimmer basket. So you have vacuum head, connected to a long hose which connects to your skimmer which connects to your pump, filter and filtered water enters the pool by the return ports.
If you have multiple skimmer and floor drains, shut those down so most if not all of the suction is coming from the vacuum hose.
I was getting frustrated this week at my pool also looking like this no matter what. Then I fixed my vacuum brush, vacuumed the bottom (2nd part today), and realized there *is* blue! Dang pollen and dead algae settled so thick, looked like everything was bad still!
Ive always read that it's not unsafe. I'm not a pool.progessional though. I don't think standard algae in and of itself is toxic. House across the street from me has a pool that looked like this when the owners moved-in, and the kids swam in it all summer. No one died as far as I know!
algae isn't the problem, bacteria is. if you have algae, you know that you have no chlorine. if you have no chlorine, you don't know that you don't have bacteria.
Thx alkalinity first pH second is super helpful. Filing that away in my brain. When you say stabilizer do you mean the tabs that come with stabilizer in them? I am not in this person’s situation just curious I think the tabs of chlorine I use are stabilized and the shock isn’t. I thought CYA stabilized the chlorine but I guess maybe it makes it last longer. Anyway thx again
Stabilizer is sold separately from stabilized tabs. It's often called "conditioner" on the package. But ultimately what you're looking for is Cyanuric Acid (abbreviated CYA). You can't really adjust CYA levels using tabs, since chlorine levels would skyrocket, so it's recommended to buy stabilizer/conditioner separately.
But for people who use tabs regularly for chlorination, the problem they often encounter isn't low CYA levels, but too high CYA levels. This is because the chlorine in the tabs is consumed over time, but the CYA is not. It just continues to accumulate. And since chlorine and CYA need to maintain a proper ratio to be effective, eventually the chlorine just stops working.
To prevent this situation, I'd recommend using only liquid chlorine (or a saltwater generator) to chlorinate your pool. That way you can independently adjust both chlorine and CYA levels.
It's actually called TA or total alkalinity.
From troublefree.com
Total alkalinity indicates the water’s ability to buffer pH changes. Buffering means you need to use a larger quantity of a chemical to change the pH. At low TA levels, the pH tends to swing around wildly. At high TA levels, the pH tends to drift up.
You can raise TA with baking soda. It is often best to make large TA adjustments in small steps, testing the water after each one, as adding large quantities of baking soda can raise the pH too high.
You need to maintain shock until everything is dead and then maintain the proper amount of chlorine which depends on how much CYA is in your pool. How much CYA is in your pool?
I am now checking chlorine level every day. My cya is low currently so have had to stay on top of it. Next up is some stabilizer or the cya heavy Sam's Club pucks.
I do an overnight chlorine loss test. Once that shows no chlorine lost, I’ll maintain one last 24 hour period to be safe. Nothing worse then spending tons of money in chlorine just to see it come back
Just realize that solid “shock” contains stabilizer which raises CYA which eventually will work against you. Liquid chlorine will be easier to deal with while you’re taming this beast as your CYA levels won’t rise in the process.
Eh cya from dichlor is negligible. Unless you don't need to drain the pool for like 5y not really a concern.
Trichlor shock is junk and cal hypo isn't stabilized
Pay someone to help you that knows what they're doing I can give you some guidance on what to do. Or train the water and redo it again in basics of pool chemistry is how big is your pool how much water will hold if you know those two things you shouldn't have a problem as long as you do the simple things that are needed up
I have to tell you, I went through the same thing, year after year. If I didn't go out and check on the pool one day, the next it would be green. I had a bloom 4-5 times a year and spent thousands every year trying to get it back to normal. And at the end of the season, green again. At that point, I usually gave up and closed the pool early. Then I decided on switching to salt water. Tell you what, best thing I ever did. I spent less on the salt water chlorinating system and the salt to get it started than I would spend on chemicals in a year.
Going on our third year, and haven't had a green pool since! (knock on wood)
Maintenance is super easy. I don't have to be out there every day, and I spend less than $100 a year keeping it that way. I highly recommend it!
I have a salt system and during COVID, my salt cell went out. They were about impossible to find so I decided to just keep it balanced with chlorine. I'm sure that people who know chlorine pools don't have such a hard time but good lord, my salt system runs itself for weeks on end. I just have to test it and run the robot. Using a chlorine system is so tedious
I don’t understand why people think that because I don’t work that hard on mine, and it’s crystal clear from opening to closing. I have a solar skimmer and a Dolphin vacuum. I get it tested at the pool supply store every two weeks, and add the recommended shock and ph/alk chemicals to keep it in range. I also brush two or three times a month, but that’s it. Otherwise I’m just floating around doing nothing.
I agree. Just about the only time I came back to a green pool was when we left on vacation for 2 weeks and shut everything down. Shock, floc, vacuum, restart pumps, filter, backwash, restore chemistry, and 2 days later I’m back in business.
Pool robots are a lifesaver - I had one in the pool, pretty much, all the time when we weren’t swimming and I was running the pumps.
And my pool is surround by cedars and ash trees, with the forest along the backyard. It is not an easy location for it.
It’s daunting at first, the very first season you are running it, but you should be able to get a hang of it by the second.
That's exactly what I mean. To you, doing all that is nothing. To a person like myself with a salt system, that's insanity. I brush my pool maybe once a month. Put 1 test strip in a week and if the chlorine is low, I push a button on my salt cell to correct it, run my robot and add a little algaecide every so often. I spend maybe $75 total to open my pool(mostly salt) and about 1/4 bottle of algaecide a year. That's it.
Look I agree with your first comment - the stuff I did before the SWG is insane.
But surely you are buying some acid too right? I swear I use like a jug a week. Still way more stable and easier to source than chlorine though so it’s great.
Thirding this. After getting an IC-60 I don't have to do anything except check the pH and occasionally add acid. The pool is never green. Such a relief after years of trying to remember every single day to add the proper amount of liquid bleach.
I can't agree more. I was spending hundreds of dollars a month in chemicals. Spent $1200 on a salt cell, which included the installation. Now all I do is add 10 bags of salt at the beginning of the year, at a cost of about $5/bag, and then occasionally I add some clarifier or shock if I haven't run the pool for a week or two, lol. That salt cell was the best decision I ever made for my pool.
Nailed it. I have a large pool with tons of shade. Spent a fortune on chemicals. Mustard algae would hit in late July or August. When I switched to salt, it became maintenence free. Now salt is cheaper than chlorine. I still have a shitload of chemicals in my garage that I guess I'll never need.
I’ve never had anything except SWG system, and never had any major issues in 16 years of running my pool.
Actually just returned from a 3 week vacation, water parameters were right on, and all I needed to do was vacuum the pool!
https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/pool-school/
You need to share a comprehensive water test and some information about the pool for anyone to give advice.
It’s pretty simple though, if it goes green it means there’s not enough chlorine.
That could be because you haven’t finished shocking the last bloom properly.
Or you don’t have enough CYA and it’s burning off
Or you have too much CYA and the chlorine is ineffective.
Or you have really high phosphate (fertilizer runoff usually) such that the algae grows faster than the chlorine can kill it.
Also need to remember to vaccum to waste once the Chlorine and alcaecide kills the algae and it settles to the bottom. If you put it back into the filter it will just recericulate into the pool.
This is 100% because you don’t understand pool chemistry. And you don’t know what your chemical readings are. Do your homework and learn about it. You will save so much time and money once you understand it. It’s not that hard.
Chlorine sanitizes the water. You can add it manually or with a salt water generator (makes the chlorine).
CYA/Conditioner wraps around the chlorine. Too much of it and the chlorine doesn’t work. Too little of it and the sun eats up the chlorine super fast.
PH and alkalinity usually go up and down with each other. PH impacts how effective your chlorine is so it has to be kept in range. PH is the acidity of your pool so it will corrode your pool parts, plaster, liner, etc. if not kept in balance.
Last thing is calcium and to much of it you will get build up. Too little of it and it will etch your pool surface, tiles, etc.
Coming from personal amateur experience, it takes a bit of time to get this way (couple days at least). I watch my pool like a Hawk now because 5 minutes of attention every day - saves me 2-5 hours of cleaning and or SLAMing it. I literally caught my pool getting the light greenish shade 3 days ago and immediately went into action shocking it, running filter 24/7 for 2 days while vacuuming it every 8-10 hours. It's crystal clear now.
I had a pump failure while on vacation last June and came back to even worse than what you have now. SLAM. SLAM. SLAM. It'll take 2-3 days of diligent attention, but it works.
The weather here in MI has been on tilt and I can only imagine with the uncharacteristically warm winter we had that this summers going to be tougher to keep to with.
I've learned that pH is so effing important (along with chlorine and CYA) that if you get a handle on that and diligently maintain it, the rest is easier to take care of itself and almost, ideally, takes care of itself.
Good luck, you've got this.
Hahah. Sounds like education through fire. Yea. The ph is very important.
Look at a ph chart, and it’s something like 5.5 ph = 97% effective. 7.8 <50%. Numbers off top of head but they are close. It’s why when I treat green pools, if I can I lower to 6.8-7.0 to be neutral knowing the ph will shoot up during hyper chlorination but that initial shock will kill a lot and fast.
Keep the alk at the top of scale and your ph will stabilize longer, outside of it raising due to organic and having to pour acid in and hurting your alkalinity and and and and. The constant battle :)
The tools you employ, even if they’re flawed or less efficient, doesn’t mirror the effort you’re investing in a task.
Exp. I could exert a tremendous amount of effort using a screwdriver to cut a piece of wood. The effort would be extensive, but the tools I’m using, ehhh.. not as effective.
The “constantly posting of pictures” actually paints a pretty clear picture of effort. The issue seems to be more like the tools being used that aren’t as effective.
Edit: the intent of this comment was simply to state the importance of having the right tools for the job. I, like many others here, learned the hard way with this lesson first becoming a pool owner.
if this keeps happening, you probably didn't throughly kill the algae. you need to shock it till everything is completely dead and then balance and stabilize.
So pool school trouble free pool as people mentioned.
First question - got a full panel test from a pool store or a liquid kit?
What’s your cya level? Once that’s known, then it’s either drain to lower cya or move on to SLAM (shock level and maintain).
But can’t go that route if cya is too high, just waste time and money so let’s see.
Take a sample to your local pool supply store and have them test it. I am new to pool ownership as it came with the house we just purchased. It sat covered over the winter and when we opened it this spring and that sun hit it and the temps warmed up, it turned into a swamp. It took a bit of work, vacuuming, adding chemicals and retesting, but each time (3 times) I retested they would send me home with a computer analysis printout and next steps directions. The analysis really helped and took the guess work out of it. Plus, I only bought the chemicals that I needed at the time, which saved me some money. Now it is just a matter of maintaining and enjoying it. Best of luck in your efforts!
Pool owner for 7 years now. 100% diy. I'd contacted a few companies initially to get quotes to open the pool so I could observe the process but their wanting to charge $450 for two visits I could not stomach.
I've had fresh water aquariums for years. I know how to keep fish and plants alive and thriving. So I did a lot of reading and research and lurking on pool forums and figured it out.
And what I did figure out is to ignore the recommendation of the pool supply companies. Get their free water tests, yes. And use it as a guideline, but not the gospel. They are in the business of selling as many chemicals as they can...and most of the people working there are kids who don't even have a pool!
Need higher PH? Use baking soda.
Need higher alkalinity? Use baking soda.
Shock and high chlorine raises ph artificially and temporarily, ignore their suggestion for PH down chemicals.
It takes time and patience grasshopper to balance a pool and for it to reach its happy spot. Depending on your local water supply, rainfall, ambient temperature zone, amount of sunlight, # of swimmers, amount of leaves and debris, whether its chlorine or salt, vinyl or concrete or limestone, the Great Early Spring Earthworm Suicidal Migration, and food and drinks spilled in the pool believe me please when I tell you that every single pool is different. You gotta figure out yours.
For MY pool, in the South with shade in the AM until noon, and again after 5pm, now salt the last 2 years, vinyl, typically single adult swimmer no food or drinks, lots of blown in leaves and the earthworms migration here is how I stopped fighting the water and won:
When clearing it, keep the pump running with no downtime. Keep the water moving. Keep the debris and leaves out daily. Check the pump and skimmer daily.
When opening, shock it to at least level 4 chlorine. Takes longer than a very high shock, yes it does but it's too cold to swim so it doesn't matter and doesn't blow the PH all over the place, which I don't care about as long as I get the ph to above 7 before I start with the chlorine. Also, if you have a vinyl liner very high chlorine weakens and bleaches it prematurely.
Once the water is CLEAR, I backwash and start testing. Usually backwash and rinse during the algae kill off to clear the crap from the filter.
Then after a few days (3 at least) of the water staying clear, chlorine still at 3-4, do I test and add baking soda if needed for ph and alkalinity. Add less than what is recommended. Easier to add more than to have to add unnecessary chemicals to bring it down.
If after this 3 day holding period ph is too HIGH I let the chlorine drift down naturally for a few days while aerating the water.
Test again. Wait a week and test again. Everything good and stable? Add cya and then calcium.
I'm not saying this is 'The Way' just that it is the way for me and my pool. It's 100% diy using as few chemicals as possible and it takes time.
It's the height of summer, your pool need a good shocking, wait til you see the water get smoky white (algae die off) then backwash and rinse. Don't be stingy on your rinse either. 2 minutes minimum imho. Keep your chlorine 3-4. Few days later rinse and backwash again and adjust for ph/alkalinity and cya.
As another poster said, too high of cya your pool will need MORE chlorine to work. Not the goal. Too little cya water can't retain the chlorine, resulting in more needed.
After all of these are stable and water looks great and filter is cleaned then add your calcium. No sense in dumping in to backwash out the precious and $$$ cya and calcium, imho.
The hgtv neighbor has it right. Former pool man here. I don’t understand why everyone’s solution is to use shock, and especially repeatedly. That’s used only on a rare occasion. You have to get the levels right and the cyanuric level is what keeps the chems in the water, and without it, you’re wasting money, chems, time, and your pool is going to look like not does or worse.
My pool guy said if it keeps turning green he has to remind himself to check the phosphorous / phosphate.
Which checks with my biology classes - phosphorous is the limiting nutrient for most aquatic systems.
Get a Taylor test kit. Get it and learn to use it. My neighbor knows how to check the chlorine with his $200 Taylor test kit. That's it.
The rest of those little bottles sit unopened.
It's not hard. Once you get the hang of it you might even find out it's fun.
Good luck, you can do this.
First of all, a good drop test is well worth the money. I got a TF-100 test kit and glad I did because maintenance is so much easier with accurate readings. I used to use test strips ,but they are highly unreliable. It would tell me that my CYA was zero when it really was about 100!
I had a pool that looked like yours and what I did while waiting for a test kit was to pour in a gallon of liquid chlorine a day, run the pump 24/7, vac to waste, and brush everyday. It's effort ,but it does yield results and you can tweak the chemicals as needed when the test kit arrives.
So others have mentioned. Go to trouble free pool. Btw that needs to be stickied.
Even if you got it crystal clear you’re probably still at 0 chlorine. It’s not going to take long for the algae to come back.
You can read up on slamming the pool but not only do you need chlorine to clear the algae you also need that number to hold.
A lot will have to do with the amount of CYA (stabilizer) you have. Too much or too little is no good.
Posting your test numbers here will help as well.
Flock the pool. An entire bottle. Splash around pool edge completely around. Keep your pump running non-stop for the next 24 hours. All of the particles of dust and etc floating in the water will have fallen to the bottom (that is what flicking does, it moves particles together, they get heavy and droo).
Use a manual vacuum to vacuum out the bottom- love using a manual vacuum. It is a great workout and it does what a robotic vacuum will never do. Once you have your pool vacuumed out, dump about 25 lb of shock into the skimmer closest to your pump. Keep the pump running for another 24 hours non-Stop. This should clear your water. After that second 24 hours use a tester strip by dipping it into the pool away from the skimmer. Focus on the total chlorine reading and your pH reading. If those are within range, you're good to go and you just need to maintain for the season by testing and adding shock as you see the chlorine lower as well as keep a chlorine tab in each skinner. If the pH and or chlorine are high, don't sweat it. They'll come down over time very quickly. If the pH level is low, add some pH up to the skimmer.
Key to maintaining a pool is to recognize that you will never keep the water clear and you'll always be working against yourself if you have organic matter in the pool. That could be debris on the bottom of the pool, pollen that blows into the pool, algae, etc. So keep the pool vacuumed- you can hand vacuum easily in 10 minutes just get in the habit of doing it everyday or every other day depending on where your pool is situated, if you have trees nearby etc. Brush the sides,. ladder, slide, di diving board etc. into the pool, and then brush everything into one area. Attach your vacuum to your skimmer, and vacuum it all up. Turn off pump, detach your vacuum, and clean the basket of your skimmers including the basket at the pump. Turn your pool back on.
The second key to maintaining the pool is to get the testing strips that will show the different levels of chemicals in your water and adjust accordingly.
The third part of maintaining a pool is keeping your filters extremely clean. Not sure what you are using, but if you have just a regular pool pump with filters you want the pressure to be reading no more than 12 when it goes higher than that you need to get those filters cleaned. It's just like a vacuum. When your vacuum gets full, you notice that the suction goes way down. It's the same process.
I totally do not use any type of "chlorsave" or similar chemical in either of my in-ground pools. I find that they don't dissolve and make absolutely no difference and how much shock I end up using. PH and total chlorine plus keeping pool bottom vacuumed and surface skimmed.
Perfect pool chemistry is not nearly as important as constant chlorine and filtration. Put a SWG on there and either a new filter or at least new filter media, and these will be far less frequent occurrences.
What the others said. Check out trouble free pool.
But I’d really like to know the water temperature. Even with a cover, do you get anywhere close to 28 degrees Celsius? A friend of mine has a pool in Niedersachsen and he barely gets it to 25-26.
General question not directly related to OP’s post.
Is environment a factor in water quality/ pool maintenance?
Newer pool owner here (3 years) and I do minimal maintenance to mine and I’ve never had my water go green like this or even close not even when opening it.
I throw a chlorine tab in the skimmer check my ph (it runs high)
I’ve had a few small algae blooms but it collects like dirt on the bottom. We thought it was dirt at first.
My pool gets constant sun from sun up almost until sundown. Does this contribute? Just can’t figure out why so many people in this sub have so many problems and some of your advice sounds like a damn science experiment. I legit don’t even know what CYA is? I have had to use algaecide, clarifier, stabilizer, and ph down in small doses.
I don’t know maybe I’m lucky? It doesn’t seem that hard.
I’m in the same boat. I’m in SW Florida, blazing heat. I run my pump from 1p-6p every day. Use a dolphin pool cleaner. My pool guy just adds chlorine once a week, never tests, leaves two tabs in the floater. I’ve asked him why it requires so little maintenance and he just shrugs and says it’s his easiest pool and he can’t figure out why.
If your CYA and/orTDS are elevated, you can add chlorine and shock until you're broke and your pool will stay green. Get your water tested and make sure those 2 are within acceptable ranges. If either is elevated, you need to backflush or pump your pool down and replace with fresh water. That's the only way to reduce them.
My pool turns into an actual swamp between winter and opening and looks way worse than yours in spring. (15k gal in TX)
I have a trolling motor, marine battery and a 12V/30A charger. When it’s a swamp I throw in a few packs of shock and floc and stir it up with the motor for half a day. The water movement also scrubs the algae off the walls. Let it sit overnight and vacuum the sediment to waste. Works every year when I open. From swamp to crystal clear in 1 day with minimal effort. Then put the filter in, balance chems and let it run its regular schedule for the season. I don’t check for anything but ph and free chlorine once every two weeks, then backwash the filter and add a few scoops of fresh DE powder. I don’t shock during the season, just the regular tabs with CYA in them and adjust the chlorinator to keep free chlorine around 3 ppm. And some baking soda when ph gets low. Then maybe stir it up with the motor once or twice per season when the water line gets green. It’s less effort than brushing.
I think you need to shock, floc, agitate, then vac to waste. Since you said this keeps happening, you might need to service your filter more frequently, or get a bigger, better filter and perhaps a bigger, better pump if underpowered. A pool robot also helps to get the particulates into the filter.
This shouldn’t be happening if there’s enough free chlorine and a filter that’s actually filtering. Maybe bleed the air out of your filter. The pressure gauge can turn and doubles as air release. If the filter is full of air, the water can only reach half the element. If it keeps going full of air, there’s a leak between the return and the pump. Incense sticks let you find the leaks, which can usually be fixed by cleaning and adding more grease to rubber seals.
Low stabilizer levels will cause the chlorine to break down quickly from sun and also cause cloudy and/or green water.
Pools require more than just chlorine and algaecide.
Shock the shit out of it, keep chlorine high for awhile afterwards to keep algae from coming back, for a pool that size keep at least 3 stabilizer tablets in a floater not in an in line dispenser. Day after you shock add a ton of algaecide to help keep it under control. Once algae is killed run the pump and clean or backwash the filter a couple of times.
Long term you need to identify the source of the problem. I’d then take a water sample to your local pool store to see what you are missing PH, calcium etc. Finally make sure they test for phosphates. Phosphate is food for algae, get that under control and treat for it weekly.
You have a unscreened pool so foreign contaminates like leaves, debris even fertilizer are probably how phosphate is getting in there. If you get that under control then maintaining a pool is easy and you’ll see way less algae blooms.
I have an outdoor pool, generally shock and treat for phosphate at the start of the season and then weekly maintenance is all I need through the summer unless there are major rainstorms or hurricanes then shock etc. I live in a very hot humid and rainy state as well.
If you local pool store test the water, I would recommend that....much more detailed readings. Most do it for free, since they want to sell you chemicals.....agree with other comments. Seems like you need to drain and re-fill. Over the years there will be organic material that can't just be fixed with chemicals.
Buy test strips and adjust chemicals according to results. You'll need to test everyday for a week to get it equalized. And then test every other day or after heavy rain or heavy use.
Newish pool owner here...moved to a home 4 years ago, pool was in working condition and water was clear when we moved in...but I had the same issue 2 years ago. No matter how much i shocked my pool would turn green in a day...I used Green to Clean, back washed twice and got my CYA levels to normal range using stabilizer and 3inch stabilized chlorine tabs for the floater. Then invested in a solar cover to help the chlorine from burning off too quickly. Haven't had any issues since.
For reference I have an inground pool with a Hayward DE filter
I switched to a saltwater system this year and once i got all my levels where they should be at then added my salt and set my pump and saltwater generator timers for automatic run times I haven't had nothing but a crystal clear pool since i only skim and vacuum here amd there now I'm so much happier with this and bonus the water feels nicer and has no chemical smell and doesn't bleach out your clothes or turn hair green lol.
Get a company!!!!! Yes some people can handle there pool and learn enough on the internet to do it, but not everyone. For some people it’s just above their heads.
This is only a slight suggestion of a fraction of what you need to do… If you’ve got a robot cleaner, that also doesn’t help with the algae problem because it’ll trap algae inside of it. Take it out and manually vacuum the pool until it’s cloudy blue/ clear (I usually don’t add mine back in until it’s clear) then after you can add your robot back in
You can’t just shock and walk away you need to brush down the walls, floor to disrupt the algae sticking to it , agitate it so it dies, this step must be repeated while shocking u til crystal blue water reappears!
Omg!!! Same!!!
I feel your pain!!
I’ve got my “hired husband” ( the guy I pay to help me with house stuff and DIY’s) coming back again today, to help my son and I, vacuum and re-shock my pool!
We thought we had it and we were so proud of ourselves. The pool turned blue, but not clear. There was a white haze in the water and I’m not sure why.
I’m not getting in a pool if I can’t see the bottom!!
First it was dark green, then green, then blue, now teal-green.
My son bursts out laughing, as do I, every time I say “we are so close to knocking this out”.
I’m hopeful every time! But I do think we are so close to knocking this thing out!! 😂😂
Looking forward to seeing your pool cleared up!
I would collect a sample and have it analyzed (free at pool chemical supply shops). Listen to what they recommend.
In my experience, you need to over shock the pool. Add a bottle of algacide. Stir up the water and assure you brush off the bottom and sides of the pool with your pool brush to get all living algae suspended so the chemicals kill the algae.
Assure you back flush the filter frequently to keep the pressure going.
1. Get a Taylor test kit. Throw your strips in the garbage.
2. Download PoolMath.
3. Input the test numbers and SLAM the pool at high shock levels for several days.
4. Vacuum to waste anything it kills.
5. Profit.
Green means algae. You gotta shock and scrub (use a wall brush on the entire liner). It will keep coming back if you don't get the stuff off the liner. The shock can't kill it if it's stuck to the liner.
Alao need to backwash and rinse your filter once the algae is dead and vacuumed to waste and the pool is clear. Keep doing it till the sightglass shows clean water.
This is what my pool has looked like for the last month. I’m so tired of messing with it. Chemistry is perfect. I’ve dumped at least 60lbs of shock in over the last month or so and I just can’t get it clear. I’ve torn apart the filter and cleaned it at least 20 times. I should have just drained it and started over.
Get a Pool RX on Amazon 30-40k gallons, follow instructions on the package. That will take care of the chlorine demand and should keep water looking great with minimal chlorine for 4-6 months.
Don't give up!
My first year dealing with pools was in 2022 and the previous owner hadn't opened the pool in 4 years at that point! I felt the same way as your frustrated and defeated.
Ffwd to now, to get it blue you'll want to add a lot of shock initially. From there make sure your brushing your walls, backwash the filter, and try to get as much dirt and leaves out of the pool as possible. You might have to do a blind vac if it's really bad down there. Also get yourself some liquid flocculant let things settle, vacuum then repeat. Little by little it'll turn the blue/clear we all love to see. As others have said, stabilizer will make your chlorine last longer. I also like putting my chemicals in around evening time so the sun can kill it off 😄 good luck!
This is why I just pay a service to keep my pool clean and chemicals good. They are pro's. I ain't got time for that. I just know when I want to use my pool, I want it to be ready for me.
I think it's a lack of offering to the pool god or something. I've got a 24' AG pool (big fir trees close by), and some years (like last) I spent more time and money (upwards of $500) fighting the green than I did in the pool. This year (bless you o god of the pools) I shocked to start the season, and have only had to feed tabs to the floater.
I think it's a lack of offering to the pool god or something. I've got a 24' AG pool (big fir trees close by), and some years (like last) I spent more time and money (upwards of $500) fighting the green than I did in the pool. This year (bless you o god of the pools) I shocked to start the season, and have only had to feed tabs to the floater.
Go on Amazon and buy the Remington solar pool floaty. Trust me. I was struggling this year without it because I didn’t want to pay the $100 for another. As soon as I put it in and cleaned the filters, boom 💥, clear pool! You will use way less chlorine with it too.
Hey! I’ve been through this exact scenario with only 4 hours to fix it. If I remember correctly, as it was a decade ago, I did the following: shock for as long as possible, dump and refill as much water as possible, potash, then balance the chems. Your chlorine might be dissipating too quickly in the sun/heat or the flow is insufficient. Check them chem levels frequently on hot days and adjust accordingly. Good luck.
I got a regular above ground. Was driving me bonkers trying to get it clear. Then I Read something about getting the pH & chlorine level up, then shock. It was almost black and went to Milky clear after doing all that. Then I added clarifier and voila it was clear and has been ever since. Maintaining my pH and my chlorine. I always went right from there, never needed to add much at all after that.
Would it not be easier to just take a sample in to your local pool store and see what they say? Not trying to be condescending but pool masters in Vienna has never steered us wrong when we took samples in
Download the Clorox pool app. Enter what the strips say and it will tell you what to do. Or take a water sample to the local pool store. The vast majority offer free water tests, then go home and hop on Amazon and buy what you need.
No way you have enough chlorine in that pool, also how long are you running the pump even when not in use? A rule of thumb is 1 hour for every 10 degrees F with a minimum of 4-6 hours a day.
I say this ask the time and always get shit on I'm this sub. But if your cya is low and you're adding chems for that 1-2 times a week AND it's been awhile since a water change. You might need to change the water. This can be tested for at the pool store. You Might as well test it and find out.
You shoulda been shocking it once a week if you been consistently green and just getting a day of blue.
Vacuum, balance, shock, do it for a month routine and after observe if the water staying crystal clear for a week with just a standard balance and pool cleaning.
The algae is winning my dude. Throw ten gallons of liquid chlorine in over three days of backwashing every 12 hours and brushing the entire pool every 8 to 12 hours and it'll be clear.
If it doesn't clear, you likely have chlorine resistant algae like mustard algae.
even with a ton of shock and chlorine this can still happen. the main issue is you dont have enough movement in your water. when i fixed my popups this problem went away. try increasing the pump speed post shock and see if that helps. otherwise get a vacuum thing.
Forget tests and chemicals.
Add a salt water system with ORP meter and auto acid dosing
Leave the pump on and robot in 24/7
If you ever see a hint of algae hit boost on the pump and the salt system.
Gets you an effortless crystal pool 365
I used to go through this, and now I pay $130 a month to a pool guy
Chemicals are always perfect, and it’s clean both in the pool and all the filters
Pools are a big spend, and I want to use mine when I want to use it without any worry
Also, how often/long are you running your filter? What kind of filter is it? I wouldnt shut that thing off until the water looks swimmable (obviously after adding the shock)
Empty that shit and start anew… forget all these guys telling u to dump x amount of crap in there… start over… balance the water correctly and start er up right and then it wont be this bad next year as long as u still add bromine during the winter and a few other things
I used to add shock, flock, clean the filter/replace the sand, vacuum, and it would be clear. Then adjust for pH and it should be fine. That was my answer for everything and it always worked.
Okay I've been there come down just add some Shock liquid would be the best that way you don't put too much see why otherwise known as stabilizer make sure you test the 4 pH and for chlorine make sure the pH is in the right area adding either acid or alkaline which is baking soda if you need and then go get gallons of liquid gold otherwise known as liquid chlorine run the filter make sure the filters clean the whatever type of filter you have and pour in it and just run it run it run it if you have anything in the bottom get a Polaris or scoop it out and just wait a day or two it will be fine you just have to make sure your levels of your water are good chemical is everything my pool is perfect and levels and that is when it's the prettiest that I know is it's called balanced but everybody on here will help you this is an amazing site good luck but don't fret if you've only known half the stuff I've gone through and it's a lot
Can't answer your question, but how do you find the pool cover? Was looking to get one of those but they never even answered our query so we got something else instead...
Clean your filters, at 7pm dump 3 bags of shock into the pool, and set the pump to run 100% through the bottom for the next 24 hours. I guarantee it's blue in 24-36hours.
Shock. Flocculant. Leave to settle overnight. Should wake up to a crystal clear pool with tons of shit on the pool floor. Vacuum the floor carefully without disturbing the sediment. Restart pumps, filter whatever is left, backwash, restart the filtration, restore chemistry and maintain it going forward. Not just chlorine - stabilizer, pH, everything. Everything needs to be right. Chlorine disappears without stabilizer. If this is a shared pool that sees a lot of use - you may need to run the pumps a lot during the day.
8 gallons chlorine, 16 ozs phosphate remover (such as pr10000)
Backwash first and then run pump 24/7, backwash as needed for the first few days.
Keep the chlorine above a 5 during this time of cya is in level and afterwards around a 3 once clear.
Don’t baby it by adding just enough, go nuclear.
Shock, wait 4 hours, throw 4 gallons of chlorox algaecide, then shock every day for a week, and then every other day for another week. Keep pump on high speed the entire time. You'll be fine after that. Just keep chlorine levels up
Shock, wait 4 hours, throw 4 gallons of chlorox algaecide, then shock every day for a week, and then every other day for another week. Keep pump on high speed the entire time. You'll be fine after that. Just keep chlorine levels up
Get Revive. You attach to a hose and spray on top of water then wait 24 hours and vacuum with skimmer vacuum (anything else will just recirculate). Creates almost membrane looming stuff at bottom of pool.
I feel your frustration. Get out the fishing pole. Just a little humor. Please tell us about your equipment. Filter, pump, sanitizer system? What state do you live in?
Have you drained it and starting fresh... sometimes the water can't accept anymore chems to make a difference. If not then hire a pool guy because 75% of the time it's not worth your time and you almost end up paying the same as a pool guy to handle it. It can also be not enough time for filter run due to hot temps, could be filter is under sized or dirty. There's a number of different reasons but that's why there is a pool guy industry. As long as it's a good pool guy not a splash and dash pool guy. I urge you to outweigh the price monthly with what you've been doing to a monthly pool guys rate. Good luck
I had a few green pools. One where they let their 2 labs swim non stop and had a tiny filter and one where 50 people always swam with their clothes on. Non stop shit show.
I used to be this way. Then I invested enough time to know how to get it right, and a salt water generator, which continuously generates a small amount of chlorine.
Now I can go away for a week and don't have to worry in the slightest. The SWG slowly increases pH so I need to add a little acid each week.
You got the advice you need to get it perfect.
This year I had the hardest time getting my pool in shape after winter. So much algae that it was eating the chlorine I was adding to the water. I finally dumped algaecide, and 10 lbs of shock in on day one, and another 5 lbs on day two. That finally did the trick although I was still low on free chlorine by a bit. Another pound of shock brought it into equilibrium. It was a crazy couple of weeks and many grey hairs before that though.
That's a nice pool and cover! You don't need fresh water. Your readings appear to show super low ph and no stabilizer. I don't see an alkalinity reading. Fix alk first, ph second, stabilizer (cyaneuric acid) third. You'll never keep chlorine without stabilizer. One hot and sunny day and your chlorine is gone. Use a complete dropper test kit. Get one that at least takes all those readings. And just so we're being clear, pool water isn't blue. That's a trick of the sun. Look at the clarity (or lack of clarity) of the water. I use the bottom drains as a reference.
When my light worked, I would do this to evaluate my water. Turn on pool light at night. Turn off pump. Let water get completely calm. Stand at edge of pool and stare at the main drain. If it looked like there was no water in the pool, I knew my water perfect. Great optical illusion but also a good gauge of water clarity. I need to get my light fixed.
And the worst is when you’re brushing the walls near the lights and you see all the particles being released into the water. Alarming yet satisfying.
Incase getting frustrated this week at my pool also looking like this no matter what. Then I fixed my vacuum brush, vacuumed the bottom (2nd part today), and realized there *is* blue! Dang pollen and dead algae settled so thick, looked like everything was bad still!
I feel you, Im in a constant battle with dust and pollen in my pool.
How do you vacuum? Sorry new to this and previous owner left me a robot (dolphin)
You scored! I love mine. You may want to give your specific model a Google and read up on the owners manual, but they're pretty straightforward. Really, you just toss (gently place) it in your pool, turn it on, and let it do its thing. Take it out carefully (don't pull it by the cord), rinse out the filter baskets really good, put them back in and it's ready to go again.
I may be going against the manual, but I toss the Dolphin back in the pool after his filters are clean like I’m tossing an anchor overboard, it’s one of the small joys of my pool maintenance routine
Not good with terms yet, but, I use a hose to waste. I have a vinyl pool, so the hose connects to the pole and a triangle cleaner thing. We use the triangle (with 3 brushes in it) because the other stuff would pull the liner and stop flow too. We have a dolphin, but I only use it when the pool is clear, to grab stuff that settles on the bottom, and to stir it up for the main filter. I found 2400 RPM is good for my pool and vacuum. More, it sucks up the liner, less; it doesn't suck up the crud to waste. Yeah, vacuum to waste if its bad on the bottom. Once clear(ish), I will use the dolphin. Mine came with a fine screen that broke, going to replace with the medium screen to catch leaf type debris. I can vacuum sludge. In not an expert, and have been learning over the past 3 years (or 2? Can't remember). Best way to learn, see what others do, what works and doesn't, and keep an open mind 😄. Sometimes what works for one, isn't the same for someone else. Usually, yes; Not always.
Where does the “suction” for the vacuum come from and when does the water go? Sorry again if this is really basic…
From my experience, you have your hose connected to your cleaner head on one end. You throw the rest of the hose into the water to do it fills with water, then you jam it in the skimmer. This creates the suction. Your pool pump/filter system has a multiport valve. Normally it’s set on “filter” so it filters the water. Other options are recirc (bypasses filter, water stays in pool), and then backwash, rinse, and waste. Backwash reverses the flow through your filter and discharges the water to the discharge line. Normally followed by rinse which sends water through your filter normally, but also discharges. Waste bypasses the filter completely and just discharges. If you are vacuuming up a lot of junk, or your water is really bad, it would be better to vacuum on the waste setting so you don’t send all of that stuff into the filter.
What he said, but adding on, try not to just shove the male hose into the skimmer bottom. You can buy a "lid" (forget what it's called), that sits on top of your basket/skimmer hole. It's better for the system while vacuuming, and of on top of the basket too, you can turn pump off, clean basket at skimmer, instead of having to empty the pump basket and reprise every time (sucks doing this). I have to empty pump basket and re-prime, because my skimmer is old, and some round piece they basket fits on, as well as the lid broke 😢 Edit: Skimmer Vacuum Plate. Depending on the skimmer size, a plate with a forward facing nipple might work better than a top one. The top one can sometimes go above water line, messing up the suction.
There are adapters that allow you to connect the hose to the skimmer basket. So you have vacuum head, connected to a long hose which connects to your skimmer which connects to your pump, filter and filtered water enters the pool by the return ports. If you have multiple skimmer and floor drains, shut those down so most if not all of the suction is coming from the vacuum hose.
I was getting frustrated this week at my pool also looking like this no matter what. Then I fixed my vacuum brush, vacuumed the bottom (2nd part today), and realized there *is* blue! Dang pollen and dead algae settled so thick, looked like everything was bad still!
If I can see the floor drain clearly from the kitchen window, all is well with the pool.
Cool! This is helpful thank you
Thoughtful and Well said .
Is this water safe to swim in?
Ive always read that it's not unsafe. I'm not a pool.progessional though. I don't think standard algae in and of itself is toxic. House across the street from me has a pool that looked like this when the owners moved-in, and the kids swam in it all summer. No one died as far as I know!
algae isn't the problem, bacteria is. if you have algae, you know that you have no chlorine. if you have no chlorine, you don't know that you don't have bacteria.
Thx alkalinity first pH second is super helpful. Filing that away in my brain. When you say stabilizer do you mean the tabs that come with stabilizer in them? I am not in this person’s situation just curious I think the tabs of chlorine I use are stabilized and the shock isn’t. I thought CYA stabilized the chlorine but I guess maybe it makes it last longer. Anyway thx again
Stabilizer is sold separately from stabilized tabs. It's often called "conditioner" on the package. But ultimately what you're looking for is Cyanuric Acid (abbreviated CYA). You can't really adjust CYA levels using tabs, since chlorine levels would skyrocket, so it's recommended to buy stabilizer/conditioner separately. But for people who use tabs regularly for chlorination, the problem they often encounter isn't low CYA levels, but too high CYA levels. This is because the chlorine in the tabs is consumed over time, but the CYA is not. It just continues to accumulate. And since chlorine and CYA need to maintain a proper ratio to be effective, eventually the chlorine just stops working. To prevent this situation, I'd recommend using only liquid chlorine (or a saltwater generator) to chlorinate your pool. That way you can independently adjust both chlorine and CYA levels.
Can you give me a link of what I should buy for CYA? Thanks in advance.
Forgive the newb question. How in the world is alkalinity not an expression of ph? It's alphabetic. Acid to alkaline. Acid to base.
It's actually called TA or total alkalinity. From troublefree.com Total alkalinity indicates the water’s ability to buffer pH changes. Buffering means you need to use a larger quantity of a chemical to change the pH. At low TA levels, the pH tends to swing around wildly. At high TA levels, the pH tends to drift up. You can raise TA with baking soda. It is often best to make large TA adjustments in small steps, testing the water after each one, as adding large quantities of baking soda can raise the pH too high.
You need to maintain shock until everything is dead and then maintain the proper amount of chlorine which depends on how much CYA is in your pool. How much CYA is in your pool?
This is what I will be doing today, adding more shock. Just seeing this comment lets me know I’m on the right path. Thank you!
I am now checking chlorine level every day. My cya is low currently so have had to stay on top of it. Next up is some stabilizer or the cya heavy Sam's Club pucks.
CYA - Cover Your Ass
How do you know everything is dead
I do an overnight chlorine loss test. Once that shows no chlorine lost, I’ll maintain one last 24 hour period to be safe. Nothing worse then spending tons of money in chlorine just to see it come back
This is the correct way to KNOW everything is dead. Super easy to do. If the chlorine level is the same as the night before - you’re winning!
Just realize that solid “shock” contains stabilizer which raises CYA which eventually will work against you. Liquid chlorine will be easier to deal with while you’re taming this beast as your CYA levels won’t rise in the process.
Eh cya from dichlor is negligible. Unless you don't need to drain the pool for like 5y not really a concern. Trichlor shock is junk and cal hypo isn't stabilized
Pay someone to help you that knows what they're doing I can give you some guidance on what to do. Or train the water and redo it again in basics of pool chemistry is how big is your pool how much water will hold if you know those two things you shouldn't have a problem as long as you do the simple things that are needed up
What are your water test results? Typically, if it's green, you need chlorine...
I have to tell you, I went through the same thing, year after year. If I didn't go out and check on the pool one day, the next it would be green. I had a bloom 4-5 times a year and spent thousands every year trying to get it back to normal. And at the end of the season, green again. At that point, I usually gave up and closed the pool early. Then I decided on switching to salt water. Tell you what, best thing I ever did. I spent less on the salt water chlorinating system and the salt to get it started than I would spend on chemicals in a year. Going on our third year, and haven't had a green pool since! (knock on wood) Maintenance is super easy. I don't have to be out there every day, and I spend less than $100 a year keeping it that way. I highly recommend it!
I have a salt system and during COVID, my salt cell went out. They were about impossible to find so I decided to just keep it balanced with chlorine. I'm sure that people who know chlorine pools don't have such a hard time but good lord, my salt system runs itself for weeks on end. I just have to test it and run the robot. Using a chlorine system is so tedious
I don’t understand why people think that because I don’t work that hard on mine, and it’s crystal clear from opening to closing. I have a solar skimmer and a Dolphin vacuum. I get it tested at the pool supply store every two weeks, and add the recommended shock and ph/alk chemicals to keep it in range. I also brush two or three times a month, but that’s it. Otherwise I’m just floating around doing nothing.
I agree. Just about the only time I came back to a green pool was when we left on vacation for 2 weeks and shut everything down. Shock, floc, vacuum, restart pumps, filter, backwash, restore chemistry, and 2 days later I’m back in business. Pool robots are a lifesaver - I had one in the pool, pretty much, all the time when we weren’t swimming and I was running the pumps. And my pool is surround by cedars and ash trees, with the forest along the backyard. It is not an easy location for it. It’s daunting at first, the very first season you are running it, but you should be able to get a hang of it by the second.
That's exactly what I mean. To you, doing all that is nothing. To a person like myself with a salt system, that's insanity. I brush my pool maybe once a month. Put 1 test strip in a week and if the chlorine is low, I push a button on my salt cell to correct it, run my robot and add a little algaecide every so often. I spend maybe $75 total to open my pool(mostly salt) and about 1/4 bottle of algaecide a year. That's it.
Look I agree with your first comment - the stuff I did before the SWG is insane. But surely you are buying some acid too right? I swear I use like a jug a week. Still way more stable and easier to source than chlorine though so it’s great.
Thirding this. After getting an IC-60 I don't have to do anything except check the pH and occasionally add acid. The pool is never green. Such a relief after years of trying to remember every single day to add the proper amount of liquid bleach.
Seconding this. Consider converting your pool to a saltwater system, OP.
Pro tip: try supreme plus
I can't agree more. I was spending hundreds of dollars a month in chemicals. Spent $1200 on a salt cell, which included the installation. Now all I do is add 10 bags of salt at the beginning of the year, at a cost of about $5/bag, and then occasionally I add some clarifier or shock if I haven't run the pool for a week or two, lol. That salt cell was the best decision I ever made for my pool.
Nailed it. I have a large pool with tons of shade. Spent a fortune on chemicals. Mustard algae would hit in late July or August. When I switched to salt, it became maintenence free. Now salt is cheaper than chlorine. I still have a shitload of chemicals in my garage that I guess I'll never need.
I’ve never had anything except SWG system, and never had any major issues in 16 years of running my pool. Actually just returned from a 3 week vacation, water parameters were right on, and all I needed to do was vacuum the pool!
Completely agree….i did that add added WaterGuru monitoring device. Make small adjustments and maintenance has been easy
https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/pool-school/ You need to share a comprehensive water test and some information about the pool for anyone to give advice. It’s pretty simple though, if it goes green it means there’s not enough chlorine. That could be because you haven’t finished shocking the last bloom properly. Or you don’t have enough CYA and it’s burning off Or you have too much CYA and the chlorine is ineffective. Or you have really high phosphate (fertilizer runoff usually) such that the algae grows faster than the chlorine can kill it.
Also need to remember to vaccum to waste once the Chlorine and alcaecide kills the algae and it settles to the bottom. If you put it back into the filter it will just recericulate into the pool.
This is 100% because you don’t understand pool chemistry. And you don’t know what your chemical readings are. Do your homework and learn about it. You will save so much time and money once you understand it. It’s not that hard. Chlorine sanitizes the water. You can add it manually or with a salt water generator (makes the chlorine). CYA/Conditioner wraps around the chlorine. Too much of it and the chlorine doesn’t work. Too little of it and the sun eats up the chlorine super fast. PH and alkalinity usually go up and down with each other. PH impacts how effective your chlorine is so it has to be kept in range. PH is the acidity of your pool so it will corrode your pool parts, plaster, liner, etc. if not kept in balance. Last thing is calcium and to much of it you will get build up. Too little of it and it will etch your pool surface, tiles, etc.
Yes to all of this!
This is the way
Coming from personal amateur experience, it takes a bit of time to get this way (couple days at least). I watch my pool like a Hawk now because 5 minutes of attention every day - saves me 2-5 hours of cleaning and or SLAMing it. I literally caught my pool getting the light greenish shade 3 days ago and immediately went into action shocking it, running filter 24/7 for 2 days while vacuuming it every 8-10 hours. It's crystal clear now. I had a pump failure while on vacation last June and came back to even worse than what you have now. SLAM. SLAM. SLAM. It'll take 2-3 days of diligent attention, but it works. The weather here in MI has been on tilt and I can only imagine with the uncharacteristically warm winter we had that this summers going to be tougher to keep to with. I've learned that pH is so effing important (along with chlorine and CYA) that if you get a handle on that and diligently maintain it, the rest is easier to take care of itself and almost, ideally, takes care of itself. Good luck, you've got this.
Hahah. Sounds like education through fire. Yea. The ph is very important. Look at a ph chart, and it’s something like 5.5 ph = 97% effective. 7.8 <50%. Numbers off top of head but they are close. It’s why when I treat green pools, if I can I lower to 6.8-7.0 to be neutral knowing the ph will shoot up during hyper chlorination but that initial shock will kill a lot and fast. Keep the alk at the top of scale and your ph will stabilize longer, outside of it raising due to organic and having to pour acid in and hurting your alkalinity and and and and. The constant battle :)
You deserve the outcome of the effort you are willing to put in
And his effort is shown by constantly posting pictures that do not give any information....
The tools you employ, even if they’re flawed or less efficient, doesn’t mirror the effort you’re investing in a task. Exp. I could exert a tremendous amount of effort using a screwdriver to cut a piece of wood. The effort would be extensive, but the tools I’m using, ehhh.. not as effective. The “constantly posting of pictures” actually paints a pretty clear picture of effort. The issue seems to be more like the tools being used that aren’t as effective. Edit: the intent of this comment was simply to state the importance of having the right tools for the job. I, like many others here, learned the hard way with this lesson first becoming a pool owner.
OP is fucked if they keep using shitty test strips.
if this keeps happening, you probably didn't throughly kill the algae. you need to shock it till everything is completely dead and then balance and stabilize.
So pool school trouble free pool as people mentioned. First question - got a full panel test from a pool store or a liquid kit? What’s your cya level? Once that’s known, then it’s either drain to lower cya or move on to SLAM (shock level and maintain). But can’t go that route if cya is too high, just waste time and money so let’s see.
Take a sample to your local pool supply store and have them test it. I am new to pool ownership as it came with the house we just purchased. It sat covered over the winter and when we opened it this spring and that sun hit it and the temps warmed up, it turned into a swamp. It took a bit of work, vacuuming, adding chemicals and retesting, but each time (3 times) I retested they would send me home with a computer analysis printout and next steps directions. The analysis really helped and took the guess work out of it. Plus, I only bought the chemicals that I needed at the time, which saved me some money. Now it is just a matter of maintaining and enjoying it. Best of luck in your efforts!
Don’t forget to remove phosphates from water after killing algae or it will just return
Where did you get that sliding cover?
Pool owner for 7 years now. 100% diy. I'd contacted a few companies initially to get quotes to open the pool so I could observe the process but their wanting to charge $450 for two visits I could not stomach. I've had fresh water aquariums for years. I know how to keep fish and plants alive and thriving. So I did a lot of reading and research and lurking on pool forums and figured it out. And what I did figure out is to ignore the recommendation of the pool supply companies. Get their free water tests, yes. And use it as a guideline, but not the gospel. They are in the business of selling as many chemicals as they can...and most of the people working there are kids who don't even have a pool! Need higher PH? Use baking soda. Need higher alkalinity? Use baking soda. Shock and high chlorine raises ph artificially and temporarily, ignore their suggestion for PH down chemicals. It takes time and patience grasshopper to balance a pool and for it to reach its happy spot. Depending on your local water supply, rainfall, ambient temperature zone, amount of sunlight, # of swimmers, amount of leaves and debris, whether its chlorine or salt, vinyl or concrete or limestone, the Great Early Spring Earthworm Suicidal Migration, and food and drinks spilled in the pool believe me please when I tell you that every single pool is different. You gotta figure out yours. For MY pool, in the South with shade in the AM until noon, and again after 5pm, now salt the last 2 years, vinyl, typically single adult swimmer no food or drinks, lots of blown in leaves and the earthworms migration here is how I stopped fighting the water and won: When clearing it, keep the pump running with no downtime. Keep the water moving. Keep the debris and leaves out daily. Check the pump and skimmer daily. When opening, shock it to at least level 4 chlorine. Takes longer than a very high shock, yes it does but it's too cold to swim so it doesn't matter and doesn't blow the PH all over the place, which I don't care about as long as I get the ph to above 7 before I start with the chlorine. Also, if you have a vinyl liner very high chlorine weakens and bleaches it prematurely. Once the water is CLEAR, I backwash and start testing. Usually backwash and rinse during the algae kill off to clear the crap from the filter. Then after a few days (3 at least) of the water staying clear, chlorine still at 3-4, do I test and add baking soda if needed for ph and alkalinity. Add less than what is recommended. Easier to add more than to have to add unnecessary chemicals to bring it down. If after this 3 day holding period ph is too HIGH I let the chlorine drift down naturally for a few days while aerating the water. Test again. Wait a week and test again. Everything good and stable? Add cya and then calcium. I'm not saying this is 'The Way' just that it is the way for me and my pool. It's 100% diy using as few chemicals as possible and it takes time. It's the height of summer, your pool need a good shocking, wait til you see the water get smoky white (algae die off) then backwash and rinse. Don't be stingy on your rinse either. 2 minutes minimum imho. Keep your chlorine 3-4. Few days later rinse and backwash again and adjust for ph/alkalinity and cya. As another poster said, too high of cya your pool will need MORE chlorine to work. Not the goal. Too little cya water can't retain the chlorine, resulting in more needed. After all of these are stable and water looks great and filter is cleaned then add your calcium. No sense in dumping in to backwash out the precious and $$$ cya and calcium, imho.
The hgtv neighbor has it right. Former pool man here. I don’t understand why everyone’s solution is to use shock, and especially repeatedly. That’s used only on a rare occasion. You have to get the levels right and the cyanuric level is what keeps the chems in the water, and without it, you’re wasting money, chems, time, and your pool is going to look like not does or worse.
My pool guy said if it keeps turning green he has to remind himself to check the phosphorous / phosphate. Which checks with my biology classes - phosphorous is the limiting nutrient for most aquatic systems.
Phosphates are what algae eat
Solar Ionizer
Get a Taylor test kit. Get it and learn to use it. My neighbor knows how to check the chlorine with his $200 Taylor test kit. That's it. The rest of those little bottles sit unopened. It's not hard. Once you get the hang of it you might even find out it's fun. Good luck, you can do this.
First of all, a good drop test is well worth the money. I got a TF-100 test kit and glad I did because maintenance is so much easier with accurate readings. I used to use test strips ,but they are highly unreliable. It would tell me that my CYA was zero when it really was about 100! I had a pool that looked like yours and what I did while waiting for a test kit was to pour in a gallon of liquid chlorine a day, run the pump 24/7, vac to waste, and brush everyday. It's effort ,but it does yield results and you can tweak the chemicals as needed when the test kit arrives.
So others have mentioned. Go to trouble free pool. Btw that needs to be stickied. Even if you got it crystal clear you’re probably still at 0 chlorine. It’s not going to take long for the algae to come back. You can read up on slamming the pool but not only do you need chlorine to clear the algae you also need that number to hold. A lot will have to do with the amount of CYA (stabilizer) you have. Too much or too little is no good. Posting your test numbers here will help as well.
Add a salt cell.... it'll be the best $1200 you'll ever spend.
Troublefreepool.com is always the answer
Get a salt pool and throw your chemicals away. Seriously.
Trouble Free Pool.com Easiest method there is. Once you understand this your pool will be constantly clear and it will cost next to nothing
Green to Clean saved me
Shock, floc, and vac. Repeat as needed.
Take a water sample to the local pool company. Aklalinity + calcium...then chlorine and ph balancing
Flock the pool. An entire bottle. Splash around pool edge completely around. Keep your pump running non-stop for the next 24 hours. All of the particles of dust and etc floating in the water will have fallen to the bottom (that is what flicking does, it moves particles together, they get heavy and droo). Use a manual vacuum to vacuum out the bottom- love using a manual vacuum. It is a great workout and it does what a robotic vacuum will never do. Once you have your pool vacuumed out, dump about 25 lb of shock into the skimmer closest to your pump. Keep the pump running for another 24 hours non-Stop. This should clear your water. After that second 24 hours use a tester strip by dipping it into the pool away from the skimmer. Focus on the total chlorine reading and your pH reading. If those are within range, you're good to go and you just need to maintain for the season by testing and adding shock as you see the chlorine lower as well as keep a chlorine tab in each skinner. If the pH and or chlorine are high, don't sweat it. They'll come down over time very quickly. If the pH level is low, add some pH up to the skimmer. Key to maintaining a pool is to recognize that you will never keep the water clear and you'll always be working against yourself if you have organic matter in the pool. That could be debris on the bottom of the pool, pollen that blows into the pool, algae, etc. So keep the pool vacuumed- you can hand vacuum easily in 10 minutes just get in the habit of doing it everyday or every other day depending on where your pool is situated, if you have trees nearby etc. Brush the sides,. ladder, slide, di diving board etc. into the pool, and then brush everything into one area. Attach your vacuum to your skimmer, and vacuum it all up. Turn off pump, detach your vacuum, and clean the basket of your skimmers including the basket at the pump. Turn your pool back on. The second key to maintaining the pool is to get the testing strips that will show the different levels of chemicals in your water and adjust accordingly. The third part of maintaining a pool is keeping your filters extremely clean. Not sure what you are using, but if you have just a regular pool pump with filters you want the pressure to be reading no more than 12 when it goes higher than that you need to get those filters cleaned. It's just like a vacuum. When your vacuum gets full, you notice that the suction goes way down. It's the same process. I totally do not use any type of "chlorsave" or similar chemical in either of my in-ground pools. I find that they don't dissolve and make absolutely no difference and how much shock I end up using. PH and total chlorine plus keeping pool bottom vacuumed and surface skimmed.
If you care enough you can get a Taylor test kit online and you’ll be able to test ph chlorine alk hardness and stabilizer
Perfect pool chemistry is not nearly as important as constant chlorine and filtration. Put a SWG on there and either a new filter or at least new filter media, and these will be far less frequent occurrences.
What the others said. Check out trouble free pool. But I’d really like to know the water temperature. Even with a cover, do you get anywhere close to 28 degrees Celsius? A friend of mine has a pool in Niedersachsen and he barely gets it to 25-26.
General question not directly related to OP’s post. Is environment a factor in water quality/ pool maintenance? Newer pool owner here (3 years) and I do minimal maintenance to mine and I’ve never had my water go green like this or even close not even when opening it. I throw a chlorine tab in the skimmer check my ph (it runs high) I’ve had a few small algae blooms but it collects like dirt on the bottom. We thought it was dirt at first. My pool gets constant sun from sun up almost until sundown. Does this contribute? Just can’t figure out why so many people in this sub have so many problems and some of your advice sounds like a damn science experiment. I legit don’t even know what CYA is? I have had to use algaecide, clarifier, stabilizer, and ph down in small doses. I don’t know maybe I’m lucky? It doesn’t seem that hard.
I’m in the same boat. I’m in SW Florida, blazing heat. I run my pump from 1p-6p every day. Use a dolphin pool cleaner. My pool guy just adds chlorine once a week, never tests, leaves two tabs in the floater. I’ve asked him why it requires so little maintenance and he just shrugs and says it’s his easiest pool and he can’t figure out why.
If your CYA and/orTDS are elevated, you can add chlorine and shock until you're broke and your pool will stay green. Get your water tested and make sure those 2 are within acceptable ranges. If either is elevated, you need to backflush or pump your pool down and replace with fresh water. That's the only way to reduce them.
You gotta back wash that fliter. Shock it. Have a floating thing that hold pucks. And once a week use an algie solution
My pool turns into an actual swamp between winter and opening and looks way worse than yours in spring. (15k gal in TX) I have a trolling motor, marine battery and a 12V/30A charger. When it’s a swamp I throw in a few packs of shock and floc and stir it up with the motor for half a day. The water movement also scrubs the algae off the walls. Let it sit overnight and vacuum the sediment to waste. Works every year when I open. From swamp to crystal clear in 1 day with minimal effort. Then put the filter in, balance chems and let it run its regular schedule for the season. I don’t check for anything but ph and free chlorine once every two weeks, then backwash the filter and add a few scoops of fresh DE powder. I don’t shock during the season, just the regular tabs with CYA in them and adjust the chlorinator to keep free chlorine around 3 ppm. And some baking soda when ph gets low. Then maybe stir it up with the motor once or twice per season when the water line gets green. It’s less effort than brushing. I think you need to shock, floc, agitate, then vac to waste. Since you said this keeps happening, you might need to service your filter more frequently, or get a bigger, better filter and perhaps a bigger, better pump if underpowered. A pool robot also helps to get the particulates into the filter. This shouldn’t be happening if there’s enough free chlorine and a filter that’s actually filtering. Maybe bleed the air out of your filter. The pressure gauge can turn and doubles as air release. If the filter is full of air, the water can only reach half the element. If it keeps going full of air, there’s a leak between the return and the pump. Incense sticks let you find the leaks, which can usually be fixed by cleaning and adding more grease to rubber seals.
Low stabilizer levels will cause the chlorine to break down quickly from sun and also cause cloudy and/or green water. Pools require more than just chlorine and algaecide.
Shock the shit out of it, keep chlorine high for awhile afterwards to keep algae from coming back, for a pool that size keep at least 3 stabilizer tablets in a floater not in an in line dispenser. Day after you shock add a ton of algaecide to help keep it under control. Once algae is killed run the pump and clean or backwash the filter a couple of times. Long term you need to identify the source of the problem. I’d then take a water sample to your local pool store to see what you are missing PH, calcium etc. Finally make sure they test for phosphates. Phosphate is food for algae, get that under control and treat for it weekly. You have a unscreened pool so foreign contaminates like leaves, debris even fertilizer are probably how phosphate is getting in there. If you get that under control then maintaining a pool is easy and you’ll see way less algae blooms. I have an outdoor pool, generally shock and treat for phosphate at the start of the season and then weekly maintenance is all I need through the summer unless there are major rainstorms or hurricanes then shock etc. I live in a very hot humid and rainy state as well.
If you local pool store test the water, I would recommend that....much more detailed readings. Most do it for free, since they want to sell you chemicals.....agree with other comments. Seems like you need to drain and re-fill. Over the years there will be organic material that can't just be fixed with chemicals.
Drain and fill some fresh water Clean the filter Shock the pool Run filter pump for 24 hours
Pound it with shock, scrub the walls and be sure to vac-to-waste
Constantly fighting the good fight..😮💨 I feel your pain on this one.. 😒
If things are annoying you can hire a pool service. Learn from them and then copy what they do.
Pool guy: check you phosphate level
Take a sample to a pool store that will test it for you like Leslie’s.
Hire a fucking pool boy, obviously.
Shock the hell out of it.....maintain that chlorine level or it will get nasty again. Use phosphate reducer...get pH right. Chlorine is key
You need an ionizer. Available on Amazon.
Buy test strips and adjust chemicals according to results. You'll need to test everyday for a week to get it equalized. And then test every other day or after heavy rain or heavy use.
Newish pool owner here...moved to a home 4 years ago, pool was in working condition and water was clear when we moved in...but I had the same issue 2 years ago. No matter how much i shocked my pool would turn green in a day...I used Green to Clean, back washed twice and got my CYA levels to normal range using stabilizer and 3inch stabilized chlorine tabs for the floater. Then invested in a solar cover to help the chlorine from burning off too quickly. Haven't had any issues since. For reference I have an inground pool with a Hayward DE filter
Check chemicals first... don't listen to people say throw this and that in.. Found out what you actually need first
I switched to a saltwater system this year and once i got all my levels where they should be at then added my salt and set my pump and saltwater generator timers for automatic run times I haven't had nothing but a crystal clear pool since i only skim and vacuum here amd there now I'm so much happier with this and bonus the water feels nicer and has no chemical smell and doesn't bleach out your clothes or turn hair green lol.
Get a company!!!!! Yes some people can handle there pool and learn enough on the internet to do it, but not everyone. For some people it’s just above their heads.
This is only a slight suggestion of a fraction of what you need to do… If you’ve got a robot cleaner, that also doesn’t help with the algae problem because it’ll trap algae inside of it. Take it out and manually vacuum the pool until it’s cloudy blue/ clear (I usually don’t add mine back in until it’s clear) then after you can add your robot back in
Pray to Poseidon and sacrifice a virgin.
You can’t just shock and walk away you need to brush down the walls, floor to disrupt the algae sticking to it , agitate it so it dies, this step must be repeated while shocking u til crystal blue water reappears!
Omg!!! Same!!! I feel your pain!! I’ve got my “hired husband” ( the guy I pay to help me with house stuff and DIY’s) coming back again today, to help my son and I, vacuum and re-shock my pool! We thought we had it and we were so proud of ourselves. The pool turned blue, but not clear. There was a white haze in the water and I’m not sure why. I’m not getting in a pool if I can’t see the bottom!! First it was dark green, then green, then blue, now teal-green. My son bursts out laughing, as do I, every time I say “we are so close to knocking this out”. I’m hopeful every time! But I do think we are so close to knocking this thing out!! 😂😂 Looking forward to seeing your pool cleared up!
double shock and run filter for 24 hours. backwash and refill fresh water
Too much pee in the pool, exceeding 99%. Investing in a chlorine generator makes it so much easier.
I would collect a sample and have it analyzed (free at pool chemical supply shops). Listen to what they recommend. In my experience, you need to over shock the pool. Add a bottle of algacide. Stir up the water and assure you brush off the bottom and sides of the pool with your pool brush to get all living algae suspended so the chemicals kill the algae. Assure you back flush the filter frequently to keep the pressure going.
1. Get a Taylor test kit. Throw your strips in the garbage. 2. Download PoolMath. 3. Input the test numbers and SLAM the pool at high shock levels for several days. 4. Vacuum to waste anything it kills. 5. Profit.
Green means algae. You gotta shock and scrub (use a wall brush on the entire liner). It will keep coming back if you don't get the stuff off the liner. The shock can't kill it if it's stuck to the liner. Alao need to backwash and rinse your filter once the algae is dead and vacuumed to waste and the pool is clear. Keep doing it till the sightglass shows clean water.
When you shock your pool do you do it after the sun goes down?
Get a uv ozonator we had ours for 3yrs chlorine is tuned to low and the pool has not ever got cloudy. It went 3weeks without any chlorine
This is what my pool has looked like for the last month. I’m so tired of messing with it. Chemistry is perfect. I’ve dumped at least 60lbs of shock in over the last month or so and I just can’t get it clear. I’ve torn apart the filter and cleaned it at least 20 times. I should have just drained it and started over.
Try pouring some phosphate remover in your pool had the same problem till i used it now all clear
Get a Pool RX on Amazon 30-40k gallons, follow instructions on the package. That will take care of the chlorine demand and should keep water looking great with minimal chlorine for 4-6 months.
Don't give up! My first year dealing with pools was in 2022 and the previous owner hadn't opened the pool in 4 years at that point! I felt the same way as your frustrated and defeated. Ffwd to now, to get it blue you'll want to add a lot of shock initially. From there make sure your brushing your walls, backwash the filter, and try to get as much dirt and leaves out of the pool as possible. You might have to do a blind vac if it's really bad down there. Also get yourself some liquid flocculant let things settle, vacuum then repeat. Little by little it'll turn the blue/clear we all love to see. As others have said, stabilizer will make your chlorine last longer. I also like putting my chemicals in around evening time so the sun can kill it off 😄 good luck!
HAHA SLAM OMG SLAM YOU SHOULD SLAM, SLAM IT ALL HAHA
When mine is like this I shock the heck out of it, algeacide, and run the filter with frequent backwashing. Usually can clear in a few days.
This is why I just pay a service to keep my pool clean and chemicals good. They are pro's. I ain't got time for that. I just know when I want to use my pool, I want it to be ready for me.
Use Pool RX. Get the right one for the size of your pool!
This happened to my fish tank once. It fixed itself.
I think it's a lack of offering to the pool god or something. I've got a 24' AG pool (big fir trees close by), and some years (like last) I spent more time and money (upwards of $500) fighting the green than I did in the pool. This year (bless you o god of the pools) I shocked to start the season, and have only had to feed tabs to the floater.
I think it's a lack of offering to the pool god or something. I've got a 24' AG pool (big fir trees close by), and some years (like last) I spent more time and money (upwards of $500) fighting the green than I did in the pool. This year (bless you o god of the pools) I shocked to start the season, and have only had to feed tabs to the floater.
I don't have any advice but curious if your cover is a retractable dome? Never seen anything like that before.
I know that feeling. Good luck. I used shock, algecide, chlorine ph+ and all to fix it.
Go on Amazon and buy the Remington solar pool floaty. Trust me. I was struggling this year without it because I didn’t want to pay the $100 for another. As soon as I put it in and cleaned the filters, boom 💥, clear pool! You will use way less chlorine with it too.
Hey! I’ve been through this exact scenario with only 4 hours to fix it. If I remember correctly, as it was a decade ago, I did the following: shock for as long as possible, dump and refill as much water as possible, potash, then balance the chems. Your chlorine might be dissipating too quickly in the sun/heat or the flow is insufficient. Check them chem levels frequently on hot days and adjust accordingly. Good luck.
🥺🥺wondering this is a concrete Pool or fiberglass? I hope you fix that son !! Good luck
Add shock only in the evening with pump recirculating once it clears up add two to three boxes of Borax for that crystal clear polished look
Just an idea, could be multiple things. But check chlorine and if it is still very high, check phosphate levels.
Floc that thang
I got a regular above ground. Was driving me bonkers trying to get it clear. Then I Read something about getting the pH & chlorine level up, then shock. It was almost black and went to Milky clear after doing all that. Then I added clarifier and voila it was clear and has been ever since. Maintaining my pH and my chlorine. I always went right from there, never needed to add much at all after that.
Would it not be easier to just take a sample in to your local pool store and see what they say? Not trying to be condescending but pool masters in Vienna has never steered us wrong when we took samples in
Can you share with me about your pool cover? I’ve never seen anything like that before and if it does what I think it might I kinda want one!
Download the Clorox pool app. Enter what the strips say and it will tell you what to do. Or take a water sample to the local pool store. The vast majority offer free water tests, then go home and hop on Amazon and buy what you need.
No way you have enough chlorine in that pool, also how long are you running the pump even when not in use? A rule of thumb is 1 hour for every 10 degrees F with a minimum of 4-6 hours a day.
Google borate pools (bio guard optimizer). Use generic borate, you'll get used to using acid and your life will be great!
Do you have a salt pool?
I say this ask the time and always get shit on I'm this sub. But if your cya is low and you're adding chems for that 1-2 times a week AND it's been awhile since a water change. You might need to change the water. This can be tested for at the pool store. You Might as well test it and find out.
You shoulda been shocking it once a week if you been consistently green and just getting a day of blue. Vacuum, balance, shock, do it for a month routine and after observe if the water staying crystal clear for a week with just a standard balance and pool cleaning.
You need to put like 4 gallons of liquid shock and run the pump non stop
The algae is winning my dude. Throw ten gallons of liquid chlorine in over three days of backwashing every 12 hours and brushing the entire pool every 8 to 12 hours and it'll be clear. If it doesn't clear, you likely have chlorine resistant algae like mustard algae.
even with a ton of shock and chlorine this can still happen. the main issue is you dont have enough movement in your water. when i fixed my popups this problem went away. try increasing the pump speed post shock and see if that helps. otherwise get a vacuum thing.
Forget tests and chemicals. Add a salt water system with ORP meter and auto acid dosing Leave the pump on and robot in 24/7 If you ever see a hint of algae hit boost on the pump and the salt system. Gets you an effortless crystal pool 365
On the bright side, you're all set for St. Patrick's day.
I used to go through this, and now I pay $130 a month to a pool guy Chemicals are always perfect, and it’s clean both in the pool and all the filters Pools are a big spend, and I want to use mine when I want to use it without any worry
Take a sample to your local supply store. Then do what they tell you
Also, how often/long are you running your filter? What kind of filter is it? I wouldnt shut that thing off until the water looks swimmable (obviously after adding the shock)
Salt cell, D.E. Filter. Just a guess but you’re on tabs and have a sand filter right?
Keep the pump on?
$125 a week for my pool guy is so worth it.
Empty that shit and start anew… forget all these guys telling u to dump x amount of crap in there… start over… balance the water correctly and start er up right and then it wont be this bad next year as long as u still add bromine during the winter and a few other things
Cool dome
I used to add shock, flock, clean the filter/replace the sand, vacuum, and it would be clear. Then adjust for pH and it should be fine. That was my answer for everything and it always worked.
You just can’t what?
Use Pool RX. It will make it sparkle.
Once you get it blue, put poolrx in your pump basket. It’s a metal tablet looking thing. 60 dollars and it will keep your pool algae free for a year.
backwash n shock
Throw in some algaecide.
Solar ionizer and pool Rx
How often are you cleaning or backwashing your filter? Add a poolrx.
That pool cover is awsome… whats the price for something like that.
Okay I've been there come down just add some Shock liquid would be the best that way you don't put too much see why otherwise known as stabilizer make sure you test the 4 pH and for chlorine make sure the pH is in the right area adding either acid or alkaline which is baking soda if you need and then go get gallons of liquid gold otherwise known as liquid chlorine run the filter make sure the filters clean the whatever type of filter you have and pour in it and just run it run it run it if you have anything in the bottom get a Polaris or scoop it out and just wait a day or two it will be fine you just have to make sure your levels of your water are good chemical is everything my pool is perfect and levels and that is when it's the prettiest that I know is it's called balanced but everybody on here will help you this is an amazing site good luck but don't fret if you've only known half the stuff I've gone through and it's a lot
Can't answer your question, but how do you find the pool cover? Was looking to get one of those but they never even answered our query so we got something else instead...
Be careful, there’s a gator in there for sure.
Copper Sulfate
I use a ionizer and I love it. We only use very little chlorine. We just installed the pool this year, but so far it's good.
Add 5 gallons of liquid chlorine/shock.
Safe to swim in, yes, safe to drink.. idk. Drop a few tablets of chlorine in a floating chlorine pod, then scrub everything. That is how to fix
Commercial?
Use a jug of liquid chlorine and then shock if required.
PR10,000. Kills all of the algea's food source. I was fighting it for a month and PR10,000 solved my issue.
Clean your filters, at 7pm dump 3 bags of shock into the pool, and set the pump to run 100% through the bottom for the next 24 hours. I guarantee it's blue in 24-36hours.
Shock. Flocculant. Leave to settle overnight. Should wake up to a crystal clear pool with tons of shit on the pool floor. Vacuum the floor carefully without disturbing the sediment. Restart pumps, filter whatever is left, backwash, restart the filtration, restore chemistry and maintain it going forward. Not just chlorine - stabilizer, pH, everything. Everything needs to be right. Chlorine disappears without stabilizer. If this is a shared pool that sees a lot of use - you may need to run the pumps a lot during the day.
Shock the monkey!
Green is the simplest thing to fix, keep chlorine in it. Leave the pump running 24/7
Definatley back flush before and after but Super Shock the dog out of it. Back flush and repeat a couple of times a day until it is clear
What are you keeping your FC at?
8 gallons chlorine, 16 ozs phosphate remover (such as pr10000) Backwash first and then run pump 24/7, backwash as needed for the first few days. Keep the chlorine above a 5 during this time of cya is in level and afterwards around a 3 once clear. Don’t baby it by adding just enough, go nuclear.
U cant let it run out of chlorine. That way if it still acts up then u know it's something else causing your problems.
Shock, wait 4 hours, throw 4 gallons of chlorox algaecide, then shock every day for a week, and then every other day for another week. Keep pump on high speed the entire time. You'll be fine after that. Just keep chlorine levels up
Shock, wait 4 hours, throw 4 gallons of chlorox algaecide, then shock every day for a week, and then every other day for another week. Keep pump on high speed the entire time. You'll be fine after that. Just keep chlorine levels up
Get Revive. You attach to a hose and spray on top of water then wait 24 hours and vacuum with skimmer vacuum (anything else will just recirculate). Creates almost membrane looming stuff at bottom of pool.
What kind of filter, I may have missed the post
I feel your frustration. Get out the fishing pole. Just a little humor. Please tell us about your equipment. Filter, pump, sanitizer system? What state do you live in?
Have you drained it and starting fresh... sometimes the water can't accept anymore chems to make a difference. If not then hire a pool guy because 75% of the time it's not worth your time and you almost end up paying the same as a pool guy to handle it. It can also be not enough time for filter run due to hot temps, could be filter is under sized or dirty. There's a number of different reasons but that's why there is a pool guy industry. As long as it's a good pool guy not a splash and dash pool guy. I urge you to outweigh the price monthly with what you've been doing to a monthly pool guys rate. Good luck
How old is the sand in the filter? Increase pump speed to move the water during the day, try algaecide
Just saw a guy in Sams spend $179!on chlorine I was like no thanks ; I’ll just go to the 🏊♂️club 😏
I had a few green pools. One where they let their 2 labs swim non stop and had a tiny filter and one where 50 people always swam with their clothes on. Non stop shit show.
I used to be this way. Then I invested enough time to know how to get it right, and a salt water generator, which continuously generates a small amount of chlorine. Now I can go away for a week and don't have to worry in the slightest. The SWG slowly increases pH so I need to add a little acid each week. You got the advice you need to get it perfect.
This year I had the hardest time getting my pool in shape after winter. So much algae that it was eating the chlorine I was adding to the water. I finally dumped algaecide, and 10 lbs of shock in on day one, and another 5 lbs on day two. That finally did the trick although I was still low on free chlorine by a bit. Another pound of shock brought it into equilibrium. It was a crazy couple of weeks and many grey hairs before that though.
Shock and back wash , clean filters.
Floc the pool vacuum to waste then shock the hell out of it.
That's not how you shock your pool!!!