Cannot clean dead algae - can you help please?

Algae problems in swimming pool water.
Green (cloudy) water or slimy pool walls.
Black algae. Mustard algae. Pink or white pool mold.
Bill21
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun 12 Jun, 2011 07:13
My Pool: Overground, round liner pool, 11m3 capacity
Doughboy Skimline 2.0 skimmer
Intex pump and cartridge filter
Location: Ipswich, UK

Cannot clean dead algae - can you help please?

Postby Bill21 » Sun 12 Jun, 2011 07:39

Hello,

new pool user here, have been going through the posts about clearing a green pool but seem to be stuck.

I've got a Doughboy overground liner pool, 4m in diameter, total of 11 cubic meters. Have a Doughboy Skimline 2.0 skimmer which includes a cartridge filter. I'm using an Intex pump with a cartridge filter.

I opened my pool after winter and made the mistake to allow the dirty rain water collected over the pool cover to fall in. I emptied it to 1/3 and filled it with clean water but still couldn't see the bottom (pool was brown). After time the pool became green with algae at which point I called the pool guy to get me some chemicals.

Have used shock chlorine treatment and managed to get the algae killed, judging by posts I read here and speaking to a pool guy who gave me the chems. The water became cloudy milky blue. Since then it have been 2 weeks of me filtering the pool but with very little result (I used to be unable to see the basket in my skimmer where now I can see it). The pool is still cloudy, no way I can see the bottom still and all this time I have been feeding it chlorine to keep FC levels high as I've read here. My measurements are:

Free Chlorine > 10ppm
Ph - 7.3
Total Alkalinity - 100

I have used a clarifier as well, about 600ml of it but the only benefit I saw was the filter being able to work without blocking every couple of hours and being able to see the basket in the skimmer.

Confused as to what more I can do and have been burning money. I would empty the pool completely if I could but they say I cannot do it with a liner pool.

Would it help if I emptied the pool again to 1/3? I cannot use a floculant as I dont have a sand filter and wouldn't be able to vaccum the bottom to waste because my pump doesn't have this option. Contemplating using a huge dose of clarifier but think I'll just be burning money again.

Any ideas or help please?


kz

Cannot clean dead algae - can you help please?

Postby kz » Wed 15 Jun, 2011 15:00

Hi,
I just ordered a product called KLEEN POOL. I haven't tried it as of yet, but I've read tons of good comments on it. I am willing to give it a try. Last year was my first year of being an above-ground pool owner and found that I spent more time CLEANING it than ENJOYING it. I think I went swimming a total of 4 times. The rest of the time was cleaning, adding this, adding that. I wasn't sure if I even WANTED to put it back up again, but decided to give this product a try. Anyway, I'm sorry that I can't give an opinion on this product yet, but I'm betting it's going to do the trick. Hope this helps somewhat.

kz
thepoolzone
Pool Enthusiast
Pool Enthusiast
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon 13 Jun, 2011 14:38
My Pool: My pool is 18 X 36 inground, vinyl. I have a sand filter that I recently replaced with glass media. Sparkling clear and about 80 degrees today!
Location: Altanta GA

Cannot clean dead algae - can you help please?

Postby thepoolzone » Wed 15 Jun, 2011 22:46

Hi,

This is a common problem. Once the aglae is dead, it won't be green. Confirm it's white or makes the water milky looking.

If so, you have to vacuum it out! The best option would be a robotic pool cleaner. It's so easy to use and it will do the job in a few hours. We rent them out in certain areas of the country for as low as $50 per week. If this is not an option, try to get a hand vacuum set up. It may be costly though. We have battery powered pool vacs too but it would take a lot of time to remove the aglage with one of those.

Another option is to mix up the water! Use a brush to losen the aglage on the floor and walls. Run the filter contstantly and keep mixing! The filter will get it out eventually.

Good luck! email us if you want to find out about the "quick fix" robot rental!
The Pool Girl!
www.thepoolzone.com
Bill21
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun 12 Jun, 2011 07:13
My Pool: Overground, round liner pool, 11m3 capacity
Doughboy Skimline 2.0 skimmer
Intex pump and cartridge filter
Location: Ipswich, UK

Cannot clean dead algae - can you help please?

Postby Bill21 » Thu 16 Jun, 2011 09:30

Hi

thanks for the response.

I kept filtering and shocked again yesterday to maintain the chlorine high. The pool is still cloudy, I can barely see a foot below surface. I can confirm the water doesn't look green, it was milky to start with, now it looks more grey-ish. But when I wash the cartridge there's a lot of milky stuff coming off, so that should be the dead algae.

I live in the UK so I guess renting the robot is not an option unless they do it here :)

Once I'm back from work today i'll start the vacuuming, when I did it a couple of weeks back my cartridge was immediately blocked by debris and i lost suction but things may have improved now.

Need to resolve this soon, I'm at my wits end having spent lots of effort and money while struggling to keep my family patient :cry:
Bill21
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun 12 Jun, 2011 07:13
My Pool: Overground, round liner pool, 11m3 capacity
Doughboy Skimline 2.0 skimmer
Intex pump and cartridge filter
Location: Ipswich, UK

Cannot clean dead algae - can you help please?

Postby Bill21 » Sat 02 Jul, 2011 09:05

Hi all,

still struggling with cloudy pool.

So, I drained it to about 30% and refilled. The water is definitely clearer but still cloudy so can't see the bottom. Have been brushing and vaccuming for a week, slight improvement in that I can now see the outline of my vacuum when it reaches the bottom but progress is very slow. Have added more clarifier with little result. Here are my new results:

Total Hardness: 250
TC: 5
FC: 5
PH: 7.2
TA: 120
CYA: 50

I though that it might have been the large amounts of calcium hypochlorite i was using that made the pool cloudy but shouldn't that have shown in hardness? I now suspect it may be my filter or pump are inadequate? I guess another drain re-fill might do the trick but i'd rather avoid it.

Any ideas please?
cocoasmom

Cannot clean dead algae - can you help please?

Postby cocoasmom » Mon 01 Aug, 2011 10:38

OH can I sympathize. Have been there and done all of that. I had a Dark green pool water and added algaecide by the bottle and then was told by a great pool LADY to dose WAY up on chlorine. She suggested liquid but we had granular so went for it. We mixed and dumped, mixed and dumped more. Probably would have been about 6-7 times the norm. I then added 6 hard round blocks to my floating chlorinator. Ran the filter for four days 24 hrs. a day before I began to see blueness, then cloudiness and then the bottom of the pool but only after I was vacuuming every day several times a day and watching the backwash doing it till the water out of the filter was clean. The pool finally came around day five. I have been told that algaecide is NOT for killing the algae but for preventing it. Now I am cleaning up the dead algae that look to be what they call yellow algae maybe? I keep vacuuming it and its keeps reappearing. Maybe someone else can help me with this problem. Could I need to change my sand in my filter to get a better filtration? Hope this helps you have a light at the end of your tunnel and not spend more that you need to. Can someone help me now?
kid

Cannot clean dead algae - can you help please?

Postby kid » Sun 21 Aug, 2011 08:15

First of all forget what pool stores tell you, they just want your money! I have talked with many people and they have ageed with what I'm doing has worked great for them. Don't buy anything but shock and algea 60. You can buy whats called foc that will help clear cloudy water, Just add it to the pool stainer and let it run over night. back wash it good and let it run another 24 hrs and it should be clear. First thing I do is no matter if its green or cloudy is put 3 to 5 1lbs bags of shouck in the pool. do this after the sun starts to go down or the sun will eat at it away. Same goes for anything else you put in your pool always do it as the sun is going or has gone down.. always be sure to keep the pump running over night. You should see a diffrent when you wake up. If its still not clear good put a few more bags of shock in it and do the same again. Next morning your pool will be looking good. Now put 1 bag of shock once per week one night and add algea prevention in it once a week another night. dont do them both the same night. . Or you can put a whole bottle of the 90day algea prevention. It works for me and others in this area. VA. Get a robot cleaner to use for the bottom of pool if you don't want to clean it. Just throw it in the pool once a week or when ever u see any sign of dirt in the pool. it will do all the work for you.
As for the PH level and all the other crap they want to test your pool for it has done nothing but cost me a waste of money in the past. I take my water in and they sale me stuff to bring up levels I carry it back and they sold me to saying it was to high. So I got to thinking, when I go to the beach who treats all that warter? NO ONE. And it isn't clear. Now I wouldn't want to get in a dirty pool but think about it do they test beaches ph level and treat them no.

As I stated above all u should need is shock, algea 60, and a filter system. forget about the test and worry about a clear pool. Don't let the pool stores sucker you like they did me my first summer. Just like the started kits they sale when u open a pool up. forget it. Shock the heck out of the pool to where you can see the walls and floor. put algea 60 in it to help break the algea up. brush the bottom and walls good and vacum it if u can. withen a few days ur pool should look nice.
doh

Cannot clean dead algae - can you help please?

Postby doh » Sun 21 Aug, 2011 09:16

first of all you are correct you should of dumped 80% of the water removed debris then rinsed it with chlorine/water then drain that out and start refilling it. Water is way to cheap to spend alot of money on the above ground Doughboy/intex pools with tiny equipment which is not made to clear green pools.
If your pool is clear and you keep getting yellow algae stop use chlorine tabs/granular chlorine which have conditioner in them. Your CYA/conditioner should be at 40ppm and when it gets higher this happens. Drain part of pool refill recheck CYA level keep doing it until your at 40ppm. Once your there buy liquid chlorine which does not have cya in it and the yellow will stop.

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