My pool has turned green!

[laclotte]

...........After all the techincal 'stuff' I would just wait until Mr Poshtotti is back home

[peteroldracer]

On the other hand, it could be a good time to employ a hunky pisciñero to sort out everything while himself is away........purely so that the pool will be perfect for his use when he returns, and to make sure it hasn't all got clagged up with lack of anyone going in.

[Karipentti]

Wouldn't it be easier to just change the sand instead of risking one's health with those toxic fumes?

BTW does anyone have an idea how much a pro shop would charge for changing the sand?

[Beachcomber]

Quite possibly so but how would you get the sand out if it is in one solid block?

The only other option is to change to whole filter but, depending on the size of the filter, you are talking about moving several hundred kilos of dead weight.

Even when the sand is loose you have to remove it with a small container because the hole through which you have to extract it is only about 20cm in diameter. This is where the main bulk of the cost lies because it can take several hours.

[Campo Kenny]

Ahhh, well that's explained it for me why folk are loathe to change the sand.......I just assumed it was a doddle but obviously I'm wrong.

Cheers,
Kenny

[poshtotti]

New forum! Lost this post, couldnt find it where I left it

Well, the pool is no longer green, its a cloudy dull colour, I give up!
Landlord still will not sort out the issue of the sand, we are moving out in 1 week, so tough luck really, will have to just paddle, really dont fancy swimming in the murky waters. Even tried 4in1 Crystal clear, which has always worked a treat in the past, not this time!

Hunky pool man would be nice to look at but not sure that Mr Poshtotti would finance this I will await his return & he can sort it out, happy to admit this time I have failed.

[peteroldracer]

Serves me right for being cocky! Having handed out words of "wisdom" about pools, mine is now defeating me! It went what I can only describe as being "murky" - looked like wet, white dust. I shocked it, shoved in the floculant and left it overnight, and when morning comes there is a film of greenish muck on the bottom. I vacuum it up, but after a short while the return jets are pouring out murky water, the stuff in suspension looking like frog spawn that has been in a blender!
The sand is not clogged, as I have had the lid off and strirred it up, and the pressure doesn't build up during vacuuming like it does when there is an excess of normal dirt. My book says do not over backwash, as the sand needs some dirt particles in it to work effectively, and the whole pool is not two years old, so the sand shouldn't be knackered!
Any words of wisdom from anyone would really be appreciated, before more family & friends come!
Now I must go off and get a dealer to see why my rear, number plate, dashboard, and front sidelights have all packed up together, with no blown bulbs or fuses.....life can be a trial, sometimes....

[Beachcomber]

What type of flocculant are you using and how long are you running the filter for?

When putting in liquid flocculant the multiport valve should be on 'recirculate' and the resultant mess should be hoovered to waste. I find flocculant in tablet form easier to use.

Try hoovering the 'green muck' to waste anyway then put the pool back in normal filtration.

[peteroldracer]

I don't think I can hoover anything to "waste"! I will have to check the multiport valve to see what it allows me to do, but I don't think I can vacuum from the skimmer with the output going to waste, without it emptying the pool!
With the liquid floculant, I pre-mix it (as instructions, 1 litre per 50 cu m water) then add it with the valve on recirculate to stir it thoroughly, turn off the pump overnight, and the water is crystal clear in the morning, but with all the sludge on't bottom. It is then I cannot get rid of it.

[Beachcomber]

Yes, OK so far but it is that point that you should hoover it to waste. The multiport valve position you require, if it is not in various languages, is 'desagüe'.

It will lower the level of the pool but it won't empty it during the ten to fifteen minutes that it will take to do it.

If you do not have a hoover point and need to hoover through the skimmer you will need to slightly overfill the pool and leave it filling whilst you are hoovering to compensate for the water loss.

Liquid flocculant should not be allowed to pass through the filter, that's why the instructions tell you to use recirculate to distribute the flocculant round the pool.

When you have got it right give the sand a good long backwash to remove all traces of the flocculant.

Next time try using flocculand in tablet form. You need two tablets for a pool with a capacity of between 50m3 and 100m3. You just put them in the skimmers with the pool filtering normally then hoover as normal (not to waste).

[peteroldracer]

Right, beach - that is my job for the morning!
The floculant is in, I have run the pump on recirculate to spread it around, then shut it down. I will vacuum it out with the valve on "waste" as you suggest, with a running top-up.
Crossing fingers!

[peteroldracer]

A weeks' delay in saying thanks to beachcomber - I vacuumed to waste (although hated running off all that water!) and since then have been enjoying clean water again!
If only some mystery disease would strike down the algarrobo tree that insist on dumping their leaves into the clean water.....

[Beachcomber]

Great. Actually running off a quantity of water and having to refill is not a bad thing because you can get a build up of cyanuric acid and this dilutes it.

Cyanuric acid is a stabiliser which is added to chlorine to stop the chlorine being burned off by the sunlight. This is a good thing but if it allowed to rise above about 80 mg/l it will prevent the chlorine from working effectively.

You should check for cyanuric acid levels on a weekly basis and if it is high you should use unstabilised chlorine for a while.

[peteroldracer]

You could end up looking like a cartoon mad scientist, running a pool out here - white coat, balding head, bottle-bottom glasses and a raft of scientific test instruments (plus the obligatory clipboard of course)!
When I was trouble-shooting printing press process problems, I had conductivity meters, ph meters, exposure meters, all sorts of gubbinses which I hoped I had finished with!

[Beachcomber]

I have a small suitcase size pool testing kit that checks virtually everything. However, I don't fit the stereotype because I have a mass of hair and I don't wear glasses or have a white coat.

[Babby]

AGUA FUERTE

I have a bottle of agua fuerte in front of me. The manufacturers recommend for instructions of use:

1. Limpieza de incrustaciones de fachadas, de paredes de piscinas(cleaning of swimming pool walls), de cemento. Dilute 1 litre in a buckets of 10 litres of water, or apply directly to surface if it is resistant.

2. Cleaning of toilets - apply directly to the insides of the toilet, close lid for a few minutes, flush a couple of times afterwards.

3. REGULADOR DEL PH EN PISCINAS - regulation of PH in SWIMMING POOLS
Add 1 litre for each 2 decimal points of PH to reduce and for every 50 cubic metres of water. Repeat operation if necessary until you reach the required 7.2 - 7.6 level of PH.

Y PUNTO!!!!!!!

[peteroldracer]

And if you have a Fosa Septica or Pozo Negro instead of town sewerage, putting that stuff (or any "Toilet Duck" type chemicals) down the loo will ensure that the biological action will stop, and you will need a pump truck to come and empty the residue........

[Beachcomber]

I am still at a loss to understand how anyone could think that it is OK to dose your swimming pool on a routine basis with the same stuff you use to clean your toilet.

[peteroldracer]

I am with you beachcomber - there are many sightings in Andalucia of a well-known British fish - the cheapskate!

[El Cid]

I am still at a loss to understand how anyone could think that it is OK to dose your swimming pool on a routine basis with the same stuff you use to clean your toilet.

Possibly because all the major pool chemical manufacturers sell it as the industry standard liquid pH reducer.

If there was any reason why you should not use it, they would be banned from selling it.

Sid