How do I get green water to be clear again in my swimming pool?

Question

I figured I have algae and I have bought algacide, i have been treating my pool with the algaecide and shock for about two weeks, and have seen no change. Any other suggestions?

Answer 1

Check your filter first. If it is sand, you may need to put new sand in. If it is a cartridge you may need to clean that off.

Then you want to lower you pH to below 7.2. The lower the pH is the more effective chlorine will be when killing algae.

Add some liquid chlorine, you would want to double the normal amount you usually put in. The normal amount is 1 gallon for every ten thousand gallons.

Brush the walls and floor to get everything circulating.

After it is gone, bring your levels back up and enjoy!

Answer 2

first make sure your pump and filter are working properly, then clean the filter, then shock the pool.  If you don't see any improvement, clean the filter again and keep doing it until the pool starts to clear, then shock it again .. also you might consider buying a new filter for after the pool clears up.  brush and vacumn regularly and skim the top often. its alot of work but worth it....also get youself a test kit and learn how to use it.   good luck

Answer 3

Tons of shock.  How did it get green?  It doesn't get green overnight.  So, let me guess.  You were busy and forgot to add chlorine for awhile.If you put the shock in through the filter, you are putting it in through an algae infested filtetr.  

You need to put your multiport to recirculate.

Then dump in 2 cases of liquid shock.

Wait 2 days.

Vacuum the dead stuff to waste function on the multiport.

Answer 4

So all the chemicals are balanced pH, alklanity etc. if not the shock won't work.  Next are you brushing every day so the chemicals can get in and work?  If not try that.  Lastly when we got really bad had to drain, pressure wash and refill.  Hope you find another solution

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Just treatment will not do it.You have to use your vacume brush to break it loose and suck it out then replace your filter and it should be ok.keep using the shock and algaecide though.Good luck.

Answer 7

use full strength algacide and alot

Answer 8

i own a pool company been doing this for eleven years all you do is backwash filter real good.if de filter take filter apart and hose down grids good put filter back together band clamp must be tight do clorine ph test normal clorine is 3.0 ph is7.2 brush walls and bottom recharge filter 8 to 10 one pound coffee cans of de one can at a time repeat this except filter clean you wil have to bring clorine level up until clea this may take a few days

Answer 9

if chlorine and shock are not working for you. i believe your best bet is to drain the pool. and when you refill it make sure you are keeping chlorine in the filtration system so it doesnt happen again. it is a good idea to shock your pool before it starts to turn colors.

Answer 10

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good luck

Answer 11

Wow , lots of answers, and alot of bad answers too...

Here's what you really need to do.

Algaecide is only an inhibitor, it does nothing to remove algae from a pool that has algae in it already.   If you are adding algaecide to a pool that is infested green, you might as well just throw the dollar bills in the pool.

First off, you leave off some important details with your question to give some more specific answers such as your pool type (inground, aboveground), type of filter (sand, DE, Cartridge), Size of pool (gallons works, but 20X40 inground or 24 foot round for above ground works too). And.. lastly.. how green is green? Can you see the bottom green, or is it a lime green where you can see the bottom, but the algae is there.

Also.  IF you have an inground pool i ask this question... If your pool turned green rapidly... did you just have landscaping work done near the pool <or your yard, such as fertilizers added to grass>.  

If you had fertilier added, the problem you have is most likely nitrates, and you are going to need lots and lots and lots of chlorine shock to break the nitrates. those green nitrogen pellets the landscaping companies use to fertilize a lawn is the swimming pools worst enemy.  It can and will turn a pool green in a matter of 24-36 hours depending on how many of those pellets got into the pool.  

So..

Treating your green pool.

First things first.  IF you have a DE filter, take it apart, and clean it off with a hose.  The cleaner you get it, the better off you are going to be.  You can backwash it if you want, but taking it out of the tank and taking it apart and cleaning it completely will be more beneficial.  Backwashing your filter will remove some debris, but not all, and over time regardless of how much you backwash, debris starts to cake inbetween the filter grids, and you lose filter space since no water can pass through that area.

If you have a cartridge, you know the only way to clean it is to take it out and hose it off, and if you have a sand filter, you need to give it a good thorough backwashing.

Now that you have a clean filter, start your system, if you have a DE filter, add your powder as you normally do.



Now if your pool is green and you cant see the bottom, start by adding 5 gallons of liquid shock.  Let your filter and motor run for 24 hours, and you should let it run until your pool is clear.

Make sure your filter is on FILTER, someone else said Recirculate.  Recirculate does nothing, except to move your water around and waste your electrical.  Your filter will trap algae and dead algae while it is working, so you should take full advantage of it while you run your system.

Start by adding 5 gallons in the morning, make sure you have a test kit, and at night, test your water. If at 5pm at night, you have no chlorine reading, add another 5 gallons of liquid.

You are going to continue this cycle until you start to get a chlorine reading.

Also, take note of your filter guage pressure when you start your pool.  You want to backwash when it gets to be 10lbs higher than the start up pressure.  Taking the filter apart is better and uses less water, but i realize not everyone can just take the filter apart.  Backwash it as needed during this process.

When you shock your pool, you do want to brush the pool the best you can.  IF you cant see the bottom, you want to try and brush as much as you can even though you cant see.  The thing with algae is that if you allow it to sit on the bottom or on the side walls etc, the algae will never die with the chemicals.  You need to brush it off the walls and the floor of the pool so that the chlorine can kill it.

This is why when you put 5 gallons of liquid in if at the end of the day or 8-9 hours later you have no chlorine reading its because the chlorine has been consumed attacking and killing off the algae.

Once you get your water blue, you should maintain your pool with your normal chlorine tabs, and you should shock the pool once a week, preferably on Sunday nights after the weekend when the pool normally gets its heaviest usage.

Hope this information works for you.

Answer 12

in my pool i have gone a week with out adding chemicals and it still didnt get green but this year when i took my winter cover off it was green so i swept it added shock swept it then added ph and chorline then i wiped the walls down and swept it again