Our pool has problems

[DawnM]

UGH! DH says he is giving up on the pool completely.

We have a 24' above ground pool that came with the house. the kids love it.

He has shocked it 4 times and put in algeside (sp?) 3 times.

It still turns green!

I hate to just give up, but I don't know what to do to help, DH is the pool guy!

Suggestions?????

Dawn

 

[aprilvaca04]

Have you tried taking a water sample to a pool store and have it tested? They will usually recommend exactly what to use to clear it up. How long are you running the filter? We have been using a cartridge system called Nature 2 mineral cartridge by Zodiac for the past 3 seasons and it has been awesome. I'd highly recommend it once you get your water stable. We use much less chlorine, only have to shock maybe twice a year and haven't added algecide or clairifier since we installed the system. Good luck!!! I know when I was a SAHM and my kids were younger the pool was my lifesaver!!!! They love the water!!! With 3 young boys I'd be doing anything to save that pool !!!

 

[MrsPooh]

We were having the same problem about two years ago. It ended up that the liner had a hole in it. We'd been in the house about three years and the pool was here before then so it was just old. No matter how much time and money we spent trying to keep it clean it would just turn green and yucky really fast. We ended up closing it that year and then replacing the liner the next spring. Is it possible you might have a leak?

 

[Shmily1]

Ours did that too. If the pH and Alkalinity and Chlorine levels are not all in sync, it will stay green. I would definitely suggest taking a pool sample to the pool store.

 

[OzFan]

Ours did that one year when it rained for a week solid. We had to buy 8 gallons of liquid shock, from a pool store not a retail store. I mean the STRONG stuff. We added it in the morning, by the next morning we had a brown layer at the bottom of the pool. we vaccumed it up and our water was CRYSTAL clear. We never had a "green" pool again. There is something about the liquid shock you buy from the pool stores, I think it is stronger than what you get at Walmart. After we added all of it, we tested the water, the test water was RED with so much chlorine. Good Luck.

 

[Momejules]

Is the pool water a true green or just a bluish green? I ask because ours was a bluish green for the longest time and they kept testing the water at the pool store and telling me that chemically it was fine. Finally a friend of mine, told me about flocculent, which is a chemical that binds to anything floating in the water and sinks it to the bottom of the pool. We put it in and within 24 hours we were crystal clear. Turns out our water was discolored from all the residue that multiple bags of shock leaves behind. We just needed to vacuum all the stuff that sank out of the pool with the filter on waste and have had no problems since. The first step though is getting your pool water tested.

Good luck to you.

 

[EC0323]

Hi, Sorry this is happening to you. We have this problem every spring. Basically something is eating your clorine faster than you are putting it in. To get rid of the algae, you have to keep your level HIGH. Do you test your water or do you take it to the store? I would recommend first taking a sample to the store. You may need a water conditioner or some kind of ph control to stop the clorine from being eaten. Next shock the pool and keep the clorine level HIGH until it is crystal clear. Oh, also you have to vacuum. My pool turned green this year. I needed water conditioner and then I used the 6 and 1 packets from Target. I put 4! in. Tested the clorine. It was at the top! Checked every 4 hours when it started to drop, I added another. It was crystal clear in a very short amount of time. All the algae was dead on the bottom. We vaccuumed and we are good to go. We check our clorine daily to keep it from happenning again. We also have a 24 ft above ground


oh I recommend running your filter 24-7 until this is clear. The hotter the weather the more clorine you will need. I no longer use algaecide in my pool. Clorine is one of the best disinfectives you can get. At least I think so.

Hope this helps and you get back in your pool soon!

 

[Lisa_M]

My dad had similar issues with their pool a few years back and it was going to quit. My dad switched to Bacquacil instead of chlorine and hasn't had problems since, although it's more expensive, but haven't gotten algae since.

I agree about taking a water sample into the pool store and getting some advice from them. They should be able to help you.

 

[majimikate]

Many excellent suggestions here, the only other I would have is to clean your filter...if you are vacuuming out a lot of algae and other contaminants, they can get caught in the filter "fingers" and will need to be cleaned out, otherwise you keep filtering your "clean" water through it and recontaminating it...good luck!!

 

[dogodisney]

My dad had similar issues with their pool a few years back and it was going to quit. My dad switched to Bacquacil instead of chlorine and hasn't had problems since, although it's more expensive, but haven't gotten algae since.

I agree about taking a water sample into the pool store and getting some advice from them. They should be able to help you.

We are just the opposite. We were using Bacquacil and switched over to clorine this year becasue of the problems we were having.

OP....Do you have a sand filter? If so, have you you changed the sand? If not, that may help. Also sand filter cleaner is needed between sand changes.
I know how frustrated you are becasue we have dealt with problenms off and on for the past couple of years. It started off rough this year but I think we finally have it where it needs to be.

Good Luck with yours!

 

[fiveforall]

We just spent a month going back and forth to the pool place with water samples and after spending too much money on chemicals and not getting results, DH and DS just used buckets and a hose to empty the pool and started over. (Our pool is the same size as yours.) Now, I know that is not the best thing to do because it can make your liner slip, but it worked for us. We have actually had our pool for about 10 years and in desperation have resorted to this method 3 times.

 

[j-kids]

We got a 24ft above the ground pool at the end of the season last year but just put it up this year. Once we got it put up, took a sample of water to the local pool store. (not the one where we purchased the pool. They push Bacquacil) And she recommended Phos Free. we had to put some baking soda in it but only one time. Now I just added a one and a half cap fulls once a week of Phos Free and keep one Chlorine tab in the floater. This stuff is great. We have had a clear pool from the start and still is. Also our neighbor has a pool and has had all kinds of problems. Green and also alot of the swimming bugs. Told her about this stuff and she has started using it. Within 24 hours her pool was clear and no bugs. I thought it would be alot of money for chemicals but 120 dollars for all summer. Better than what the neighbor had told me to expected to pay. Also have found the Phos Free online cheaper than at the pool store. Goggle it and read some of the reviews.

 

[DawnM]

Thank you all so much. We will be working on some of these suggestions.

Keep them coming if you have any more.

Dawn

 

[j-kids]

I meant to add that what the Phos Free does is Eliminates phosphates (algae's primary food source) to starve the algae! So without anything to feed on it won't grow. It works for us.

 

[bethie]

Our pool went green one time after a great deal of rain, a lovely shade of torquoise. Oh, we have a 27 round. I added NINE bags of Hit Hard Shock over a two day period and it just cleared it right up. I brushed down the walls good and vaccumed, no more problems. The best thing is to stay on top of your chemicals and don't be chinsy with them. I know chlorine is not cheap, but it works.

 

[bcvprincesses]

Did you just move into this house? If so did the previous owners use chlorine or did they use Bacquacil? This happened to us when we switched to chlorine. It was a mess.