Why is my pool green? Chlorine level is way to high, but everything else that I can test is ok. ?

Question

I did do pool maintenance yesterday, such as: backwash, shock, all clear,and vacuum,and not all at the same time. Also when I vacuumed this time, there seemed to be more debris, leaves and such from some storms we've had recently, the water was fairly clear till then.

Answer 1

Have your water tested for phosphates.  Also run your pumps for 24 hours and keep the chlorine high (5-10ppm) until it clears.  Put some algaecide in, keep backwashing and brushing the sides and walls.

Answer 2

How to Properly Maintain Swimming Pool:

Sanitize your swimming pool with chemical chlorine, which is dissolved into your swimming pool water and combines with bacteria and other organics in the water on a molecular level to kill these harmful contaminants.

Determine what type of chlorine you should use. There seem to be many types of chlorine on the market, and each pool supply company works hard to make their chlorine product seem new and different.

Add the chlorine to your swimming pool. Floating chlorine feeders and automatic chemical feeders are available from any pool supply distributor, to automatically dissolve 1 inch chlorine tablets, 3 inch chlorine tablets or chlorine sticks into your pool water. Automatic chlorine feeders are a great help to properly maintaining your swimming pool.

Although cyanuric acid(isocyanuric acid)stabilizes the chlorine level, it does it at the cost of reducing the effectiveness(ORP-Oxidation Reduction Potential) of the chlorine. Cyanuric acid is found in dichlor / trichlor tablets. If you choose to avoid cyanuric acid, look for Calcium Hypochlorite(solid) or Sodium Hypochlorite(liquid). You should test your pH, these two chemicals contain strong bases and will raise pH if used in sufficient quantity. If you do use Cyanuric acid, be sure to test the levels. If the levels are too, high the chlorine will completely lose it's sanitizing ability.

Or, consider using bromine instead. The chemical bromine is very similar to pool chlorine in the way that bromine kills bacteria and harmful contaminants, but the two pool chemicals react in different ways. Bromine is most commonly used to sanitize spas/hot tubs because it is more stable than chlorine in the warmer spa water temperatures, and because of the lack of chemical odor in the water. The chemical bromine is preferred by many pool and spa owners because it causes less irritation of the skin and eyes. Because bromine is so stable, it can be harder to wash the chemical smell from your skin after bathing in a pool or spa that uses bromine.