Intex small 10-foot pool, green water!

[dolly3186]

Hi everyone, I'm totally new here and to owning a pool in general. I bought an Intex 10-foot across, 30-inch high pool for my two kids to play in this summer. I filled it two days ago and all was well on day one! The kids had a blast. However, the next morning it was totally GREEN. I honestly am naive when it comes to pool maintenance, I ran the pump overnight the first night and put a chlorine tab in a floater. I didn't realize so much went into just such a small pool with keeping it clean.

I have no idea where to go next and I'm at a loss because my kids are dying to go in there, but it looks awful. Can anyone help?? I think I may need to shock it, but I didn't think I'd have to this early because I literally filled it two days ago...?

 

[jasnovanorder]

Is it a clear green or a cloudy green? Sounds to me with the short time it was filled that you have metals in your water.

 

[Richard320]

Clear green or murky green? And was it filled from a well?

A lot of times pools go a sickly green when chlorine is added the first time. It reacts with Iron in the water. The yellowish tint from rust against the blue pool looks sort of bilious olive drab. But clear. It generally filters out in a day or two. If it gets brownish, then you'll need to do something about it.

Unless you filled from a pond, I doubt algae could have gotten started that fast.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

You would probably benefit from the Seasonal/Temporary pool guide Pool School - Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools

It's hard to chlorinate small pools with tabs because there just isn't enough water flow to dissolve the tabs fast enough.

 

[dolly3186]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies!! It's a clear green tint - definitely green. Not murky or cloudy. It was not filled from a well. Just from our city water with a garden hose a few days ago. I will check out that seasonal pool guide, thank you! I'm just a mom trying out something new for my kids with no idea where to start with keeping this clean. If I don't chlorinate with tabs, should I use liquid chlorine? What about household bleach? (Or is that a HUGE no-no?) I was doubtful of algae too because it literally was filled two days ago.

 

[Richard320]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies!! It's a clear green tint - definitely green. Not murky or cloudy. It was not filled from a well. Just from our city water with a garden hose a few days ago. I will check out that seasonal pool guide, thank you! I'm just a mom trying out something new for my kids with no idea where to start with keeping this clean. If I don't chlorinate with tabs, should I use liquid chlorine? What about household bleach? (Or is that a HUGE no-no?) I was doubtful of algae too because it literally was filled two days ago.

Household bleach is what we prefer, actually. Or its stronger cousin Pool chlorine. Same chemical.

Question: is your pool an easy-set pool with the inflatable ring, or one with straight walls and poles? That affects the volume calculations which affect the bleach dose.

 

[dolly3186]

It is not inflatable, straight walls and poles. It's small, I think the box said about 1100 gallons. My kids are dying to go in, but the color is really making me nervous! I don't know if it's safe for them. Thankfully they're at school now so I can do some more research.

 

[Richard320]

It is not inflatable, straight walls and poles. It's small, I think the box said about 1100 gallons. My kids are dying to go in, but the color is really making me nervous! I don't know if it's safe for them. Thankfully they're at school now so I can do some more research.

Okay, so 1185 gallons at 90% full. 2/3 cup of plain 8.25% laundry bleach will get your chlorine up to 3ppm.

Add that now. The color may get worse or it may just sit there. If it's just Iron it's unsightly but not harmful. Your kids bathe in the same water, right? Leave the floater in to get you some CYA. You'll probably want to add that much every day until you get some kind of chlorine tester as mentioned in the seasonal pool article. Then you can be more precise.

 

[bordelond]

It is not inflatable, straight walls and poles. It's small, I think the box said about 1100 gallons.

Dolly, is this your pool? 10ft X 30in Metal Frame Pool Set

Pool Calculator has that at a volume of about 1,500 gallons. Maybe shave off ~10% for not being filled to the very top ... call it 1,300-1350 gallons or so.

 

[dolly3186]

Thank you both! I will add the bleach now. Should I stick a chlorine tab in the floater too and leave the pump running all day? I also have some Arm and Hammer pool tab thingys. (I'm sorry my wording isn't the best - newbie!!) And yes, bordelond, that is the pool we have!

 

[bordelond]

Dolly, Richard320 has been at this a lot longer than I have ... I've only had my own pool for a little over two weeks. So if we give conflicting advice, favor his over mine.

I also have a new Intex metal frame pool, just with more volume. Before I found this forum and learned about Trouble Free Pool care, I had thrown three pucks (generic name for the puck chemical: tri-chlor) into it my pool straight away, as well as another sanitizer called di-chlor. Only afterwards did I find this forum.

Long story short -- the chlorinators I had added raised the cyanuric acid level of my pool water from 0 to 60. Not a terrible outcome, BUT -- I was wisely advised by Richard and some others here to stop using pucks and di-chlor and start using unscented plain ol' bleach. You know what plain bleach is. This is also bleach, just more concentrated and with a different name. Walmart sells that stronger bleach, which saves a little money because you're using less every application. But your pool is small enough that you'll not see gigantic savings ... just as soon use regular ol' bleach. Just remember -- no "fresh scent" bleach or anything like that. No "splashproof" bleach, either -- plain Jane bleach.

As for dosing the bleach, the Pool Calculator link I gave above will help. On this forum, you will be advised to perform a water test to determine levels of chlorine, cyanuric acid, pH, etc. in your pool water right now -- that will help dose your pool more accurately. Take a breath, though -- while water testing at home can seem daunting, it can readily be done at a basic level to get a fundamental understanding of what's happening with your water. The learning curve is not steep.

Now, on this next point, I will totally defer to more experienced forum members: the size of your pool will be forgiving of maintenance mistakes because it's easier to drain some or all of the water out and make adjustments if needed. You could even drain in full and start over whenever the water gets to far gone. For me, with a pool much like yours, I really want to avoid draining/refilling with any frequency. That calculus might be totally different for you.

I hope this helps, and I hope I am not stepping on the more experienced folks' toes here. I will take my lumps if so.

 

[Richard320]

Thank you both! I will add the bleach now. Should I stick a chlorine tab in the floater too and leave the pump running all day? I also have some Arm and Hammer pool tab thingys. (I'm sorry my wording isn't the best - newbie!!) And yes, bordelond, that is the pool we have!

Yes, add a tablet, too. That is what is going to provide the necessary CYA. Keep track of how many you add -- even better, the weight if you have a kitchen scale -- so you know when to stop with the tablets. You don't even want to use a full pound -- maybe 12-14 ounces by weight.

 

[dolly3186]

Thank you SO SO much everyone! I added the bleach as suggested as well as the chlorine tab in a floater. I have the pump running and will keep it running all day as well. Should this start to clear up the greenness? And if so, how long will that take approximately? The filter gets dirty VERY fast...it is brown nearly every hour. I've been taking it out and hosing it off. Is that sufficient? When do I start needing to worry about PH, etc? Are there other chemicals I should get besides bleach/chlorine for now?

 

[Richard320]

Thank you SO SO much everyone! I added the bleach as suggested as well as the chlorine tab in a floater. I have the pump running and will keep it running all day as well. Should this start to clear up the greenness? And if so, how long will that take approximately? The filter gets dirty VERY fast...it is brown nearly every hour. I've been taking it out and hosing it off. Is that sufficient? When do I start needing to worry about PH, etc? Are there other chemicals I should get besides bleach/chlorine for now?

Brown filters are excellent news! That means rust is getting filtered out! A couple days ought to do it.

Yes, you need to worry about pH, but you can't do anything about that without a test kit.

 

[bordelond]

The filter gets dirty VERY fast...it is brown nearly every hour. I've been taking it out and hosing it off. Is that sufficient?

Our filter models are not identical, but very similar. So I'll share what I've learned to date.

I've only removed my filter three times so far in the two weeks I've had it. On Days 7 and 11, the filter was stained with tan gunk (not dissolved iron, though, like you might have). Both times, I gave the filter a thorough and brisk hosing off, then replaced it. On Day 14 (yesterday), I replaced the filter after it got gunked up enough to noticeably slow the intake jet (the water flowing from the pump back into your pool).

Hosing the filter off multiple times in one day seems like overkill. With you specifically trying to clear ~1200-1300 gallons of pool water that's not algae-ridden ... a once-a-day hose-off seems like more than enough.

Once the pool water is clear, you should be able to get away with hosing off the filter once after about a week, and then replacing it when it gets to be two weeks old. Might even be able to do that weekly hose off two or three times with the same filter so long as your intake jet doesn't slow up -- a lot of Intex folks locally stretch the filters out like that. Myself, though, after the jet-slowing incident, I'm a little shy about letting the filter go that long. The paper filters and Intex pumps aren't exactly Herculean contraptions ... and it's starting to look like they need to be babied along for their useful lifetimes.

 

[Richard320]

Does it look like the picture here: Results of first TF-100 test ran on fill water - Page 2 ?

 

[dolly3186]

Thank you! Richard, mine looks exactly like that, although half that size length-wise.

 

[Richard320]

Thank you! Richard, mine looks exactly like that, although half that size length-wise.

Dis you go through that whole thread and see the before and after?

 

[jasnovanorder]

Thank you! Richard, mine looks exactly like that, although half that size length-wise.

Then it looks like you got a bit of iron in the water. As long as the chemical levels are in check let the kids go for a dip. Wont hurt them one bit.

 

[dolly3186]

Richard, yes, I did go through that thread! Looks promising. It is almost 100 degrees today, kids are dying to go in. I think I'm going to let them jump in. Just hope this green clears up! Still looks green, but clear.