Attack of the Swamp Water

Having trouble with algae and green water in your pool? Even if you’re Irish, this is not appealing to swim in. When this problem occurs in your above ground swimming pool, follow these four steps to move from green back to clear blue in a jiffy!

attack-swamp

Promote Circulation

Beware of stagnation! In order for your above ground pool to stay clean, you must have great water circulation. You can add all the chemicals in the world but if the water in your swimming pool isn’t moving, your pool will be in bad shape.  Check to make sure your Kayak filtration system is properly and regularly working.  If you’re trying to rid your pool of green algae, run the equipment all day every day until it’s gone. Ideally you want to run the water through your filter system 3 times.

Step 2 – Shock Treatment

Clean the green in your pool by shocking it when necessary. Ideally, a granular shock would be best for this job because it has a faster reaction time. Chlorine needs to remain available. It’s impossible to over-shock your pool. Depending on how green the water is, start with 3-4 lbs of shock, wait a couple of hours and then check to see what the swimming pool water looks like.

Step 3 – Clean Your Filter

Filtration is another big part of keeping out the green goo! The more effective the filter is, the faster the water will clear up. The best way to be sure of this is to clean your filter several times a day if you can. You can never over-backwash your filter.

Step 4 – Use a Water Clarifier

As the water begins to return to its normal clear state, (more blue than green) add a quality water clarifier to speed up the process. Try adding it the first time immediately once you can see that the swimming pool water is blue and not green, and then again about 12 hours later. During this process continue running the equipment nonstop. During this time you should also test and stabilize the pH and Total Alkalinity levels as discussed in previous blog posts.

Hope this helps ward off swamp water in your above ground swimming pool!