Brand new to pools. Green pool day two.

[DNCXmom]

Hi! I have a swg and sand filter set up. My swg told me to add salt and CYA after filling the pool and then 24hours later turn on the SWG on boost. Well I turned it on last night and woke up to a clear green pool. Is this normal? Well water was used to fill the pool. I’m not really worried about the color just Safty and how long should I wait to correct my pool balance? The boost mode says it will be on for 8x my run time which is 5 hours. So… 40 hours and aprox. 12 of the 40 has been used. I don’t want to rush to correct something that may not need to be corrected because the boost isn’t done. But I have no idea what I am doing. I am still going through pool school on the site as well. CYA and the swg is the only thing added to this pool water since it is only day 2.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
You have iron. Lets call in @JessBlount617
I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

 

[TinFoilHat]

How are you testing your water? You need a proper test kit which is a Taylor K2006, TF100 or TF100Pro. For now you need to add 5 PPM of liquid chlorine per day while using the filter to mix it in. Order your test kit and when you get it do a complete set of tests with it and report those results. Stay out of any pool stores and don't use any pool services as they will both lead you astray with expensive chemicals that don't solve the underlying issues. We will guide you to a clean and sanitary pool. Just so you know, the chlorine generator you have will not build your Free Chlorine up to the level needed right now. Those systems are for maintenance FC levels, not getting them there to begin with. You might as well turn the cell off for now.

 

[DNCXmom]

How are you testing your water? You need a proper test kit which is a Taylor K2006, TF100 or TF100Pro. For now you need to add 5 PPM of liquid chlorine per day while using the filter to mix it in. Order your test kit and when you get it do a complete set of tests with it and report those results. Stay out of any pool stores and don't use any pool services as they will both lead you astray with expensive chemicals that don't solve the underlying issues. We will guide you to a clean and sanitary pool. Just so you know, the chlorine generator you have will not build your Free Chlorine up to the level needed right now. Those systems are for maintenance FC levels, not getting them there to begin with. You might as well turn the cell off for now.

I have a tylor2006 salt kit. And I have a couple test strips that came with the SWG. The SWG told me 210lbs salt and 2.1lbs Cyanuric acid for startup and turn on boost. The instructions on everything is poor and said nothing about need to add liquid chlorine. My pool is a 12x24x52. The test strips say my TA is high. But as for the real teat kit, I didn’t want to wast chemicals not knowing how to use it properly. I’m going to pop over to youtube. The instructions on the kit is simple but its a just in case thing. I didn’t want to use the kit if it was a waiting game because it was a fresh start up. I can’t get liquid chlorine until tomorrow. I may have some reg bleach. Its 7.5% sodium hypochlorite. Sorry for the long reply. Thank you.

 

[JessBlount617]

Hi @DNCXmom That looks a lot like iron - we need to come at this from two angles.

@TinFoilHat and @mknauss are both right - get yourself going through the Basics and get yourself a recommended test kit.

THEN - we need to tackle the Iron at hand. Can you throw up some pics of your mechanicals and tubes connected to your pool?

 

[DNCXmom]

Hi @DNCXmom That looks a lot like iron - we need to come at this from two angles.

@TinFoilHat and @mknauss are both right - get yourself going through the Basics and get yourself a recommended test kit.

THEN - we need to tackle the Iron at hand. Can you throw up some pics of your mechanicals and tubes connected to your pool?

I do have the Taylor2006 salt kit

 

[JessBlount617]

Do you have a ladder you can move near your return on the left (with the orange collar)?

We're going to want to disconnect that hose from the pool and use it to funnel your pool water through your filtration; then through a 5 Gallon bucket with Polyfil, back into your pool.

Polyfil bucket ingredients:

• 5 Gallon Bucket with a SCREW TOP LID (ask me how I know you want a screw top lid, after you chase polyfil in your pool at 10 PM)
• A method of drilling a hole with the same size fitting as your return hose
• A second method of drilling holes in the lid of the bucket
• 3-4 cheapie pillows (I recommend the $3 variety at walmart - something you're not afraid to throw away)
• An excellent sense of humor

Are you able to rig something up that resembles this?

IMG_8048.jpeg

• JessBlount617
• Jul 2, 2024

IMG_8049.jpeg

• JessBlount617
• Jul 2, 2024

The sad news - filtering from the hose isn't effective. Iron can exist in the water and not be caught... BUT once it comes into contact with your chlorine, it oxidizes and attaches to the polyfil in the bucket (you'll have pillow fluff that resembles orange cotton candy when it's all said and done).

 

[DNCXmom]

Do you have a ladder you can move near your return on the left (with the orange collar)?

We're going to want to disconnect that hose from the pool and use it to funnel your pool water through your filtration; then through a 5 Gallon bucket with Polyfil, back into your pool.

Polyfil bucket ingredients:

• 5 Gallon Bucket with a SCREW TOP LID (ask me how I know you want a screw top lid, after you chase polyfil in your pool at 10 PM)
• A method of drilling a hole with the same size fitting as your return hose
• A second method of drilling holes in the lid of the bucket
• 3-4 cheapie pillows (I recommend the $3 variety at walmart - something you're not afraid to throw away)
• An excellent sense of humor

Are you able to rig something up that resembles this?

IMG_8048.jpeg

• JessBlount617
• Jul 2, 2024

IMG_8049.jpeg

• JessBlount617
• Jul 2, 2024

The sad news - filtering from the hose isn't effective. Iron can exist in the water and not be caught... BUT once it comes into contact with your chlorine, it oxidizes and attaches to the polyfil in the bucket (you'll have pillow fluff that resembles orange cotton candy when it's all said and done).

I will add this to my to do list. I have read of people doing this for Iron. And using socks with magic erasers. Thank you for the detailed photos. I put a paper towel in the water for a few minutes to see if it turned brown. It stayed white. So i’m hoping the iron isn’t high enough to stain. I appreciate your time. Thank you.

 

[JessBlount617]

I will add this to my to do list. I have read of people doing this for Iron. And using socks with magic erasers. Thank you for the detailed photos. I put a paper towel in the water for a few minutes to see if it turned brown. It stayed white. So i’m hoping the iron isn’t high enough to stain. I appreciate your time. Thank you.

DO NOT USE A MAGIC ERASER!

If you have iron stains - there is a hack that does NOT tear up and deteriorate your liner. We'll get you down that path once we're certain this is iron in your water.

 

[DNCXmom]

DO NOT USE A MAGIC ERASER!

If you have iron stains - there is a hack that does NOT tear up and deteriorate your liner. We'll get you down that path once we're certain this is iron in your water.

I’ll get the supplies I need from town tomorrow. I’ll post an update here after getting the bucket made and hooked up. Am I taking the filling out of the pillows or just putting in the whole pillow? I assume taking it out since you had to chase the filling around your pool. Thank you.

 

[wireform]

I think a full blown test kit is in order and a complete testing of all levels before we jump to conclusions of what's/ what isn't happening. With the right conditions the water can be green from algae too.

 

[JessBlount617]

I’ll get the supplies I need from town tomorrow. I’ll post an update here after getting the bucket made and hooked up. Am I taking the filling out of the pillows or just putting in the whole pillow? I assume taking it out since you had to chase the filling around your pool. Thank you.

Yep - cut open the case, and save it. The whole pillow won't fit in one bucket.

But I also agree - we need some chemical test results before we go down the path of a bucket... we might need bucket and SLAM together... who knows until we see chemical test results.

 

[Newdude]

If you'd like to keep your pillows, polyfil is cheap at Walmart, Hobby Lobby and such. Google it up before you go and somebody will probably have it on sale.