green swamp water under my winter cover, is this normal

R

Rob

New member
ok so i finally peeked under the winter cover today and its BAD. like full on green swamp water. I can see maybe 2 inches down and thats it. Theres also a ton of leaves and crud floating around in there

this is my first pool, bought the house in october so ive never opened one before. The previous owner left me nothing, no chemicals no instructions. I dont even know what kind of filter i have, theres some big tank thing next to the pump

please tell me this is fixable without draining the whole pool because i really dont want to deal with that expense right now
 
Totally normal, dont panic. Ive opened hundreds of pools that looked way worse and every single one came back.

That big tank is probably your filter. If theres a valve on top with settings like filter, backwash, rinse, waste, then its a sand filter. If it has a removable lid with a cartridge inside, its a cartridge filter.

First thing, get the big debris out with a leaf net. Then get the pump running. If its a sand filter, backwash it first. Once water is circulating, hit it with liquid chlorine. For a seriously green pool, figure 4-5 gallons of 10% liquid chlorine for a standard size pool. Run pump 24/7 until it clears.

Do NOT drain it. That can actually cause structural damage if the water table is high.
 
Mine looked the same way last weekend. Happens every year. Dave is spot on about the liquid chlorine. Buy it at the pool store, not bleach from walmart. The pool store stuff is stronger.

Also get your water tested before you go crazy with chemicals. Most pool stores test for free. That way you know your starting point.
 
Welcome to pool ownership! Think of that green water as a pool that just took a long nap and forgot to brush its teeth. Nothing a good dose of chlorine cant handle.

One thing nobody mentioned yet, check your CYA level (cyanuric acid, also called stabilizer) before you start shocking. If its real high from last year, regular shock amounts wont cut through the green. Had a customer last spring dump $200 of shock in and nothing happened because his CYA was over 100. Had to do a partial drain just to lower CYA before the chlorine would work.

Get the 12.5% liquid chlorine if you can find it. Way more bang for your buck than the hardware store bleach.
 
you guys are lifesavers seriously. I was about to call a pool company and spend who knows how much. Gonna grab liquid chlorine tonight and get started this weekend. Pretty sure its a sand filter based on what yall are describing, theres a dial thing on top.

Good call on testing CYA first, I wouldnt have known about that. Thanks everyone!
 
UPDATE: took everyones advice and grabbed 4 gallons of liquid chlorine from the pool store on saturday. Dumped it all in and ran the pump nonstop. By sunday afternoon I could actually see the bottom of the shallow end!! Still a little hazy in the deep end but its getting there. Ive been backwashing the sand filter like every 6 hours because the pressure keeps climbing.

Also got my water tested and CYA was at 35 so thats fine apparently. Going to keep hammering it with chlorine until its crystal clear. You guys saved me a fortune, the pool store wanted $450 just for an opening service.
 
yeah thats pretty normal especially if you didnt add enough chlorine before closing. dont panic tho, once you get the cover off and start shocking it should clear up in a few days. i usually hit mine with a triple dose of shock when i open and run the pump 24/7 until it clears. took about 3 days last year to go from green to blue.
 
the good news is green water after a cover comes off is basically a rite of spring for most pool owners. you're not alone at all. the bad news is you have some work ahead but it's totally fixable.

get a water test first so you know what you're starting with, then hit it with a heavy shock treatment and run your filter continuously. backwash or clean your filter as it loads up because it will clog fast while it's fighting the algae. brush the walls and floor to break up the algae off the surfaces so the chlorine can actually reach it. some people clear it in 48 hours, others take a week depending on how bad it got over winter
 
Totally normal and dont panic. Pretty much every pool that sits under a cover all winter is going to have some green going on when you open it up. The first thing you want to do is get as much of the debris out as you can with a net. Then get the pump running and test the water. Youre probably going to need a good shock treatment and the filter is going to be working overtime for a few days. Keep checking the pressure and backwash or clean the filter as needed. It usually takes mine about 3-5 days to go from swamp to swimmable.
 
this was my first winter with a closed pool and I had the same panic moment haha. turns out its really common. mine was actually worse - full swamp green with some stuff floating in it. cleared up in about 4-5 days of running the filter nonstop and shocking. just be patient with it and keep running that filter
 
Had the same thing last year, pulled the cover off and it looked like a pond. Dont panic its totally fixable. I brushed everything down, ran the pump nonstop for 48 hours, and hit it with a big shock dose. Took about 3 days to clear up completely. The filter is doing most of the work so make sure you backwash or clean it at least once during the process. Oh and dont waste money on algaecide at this point, shock is what kills it.
 
totally normal especially if your cover isnt completely sealed. mine looked like a pond last spring. Dont panic about it, a good shock treatment will knock that out. Id start with a triple or even quadruple shock dose, run the pump 24/7 for a couple days, and brush the walls and floor. You might need to shock it more than once. Biggest thing is make sure your filter is clean before you start so its actually catching all the dead algae.
 
Totally normal, especially if there was any gap where sunlight got through. Green algae usually isn't that hard to beat. Get the pump running, do a heavy shock (might need multiple doses over a day or two), brush the walls and floor, and let the filter run nonstop. Your chlorine will drop fast while it's fighting the algae so test every 12 hours and keep adding shock until it holds overnight.

If it doesn't clear after 3-4 days it might be mustard algae which needs a different approach - different algaecide and usually draining. But for typical green, consistent shocking and brushing does it.
 
Totally normal, happens to pretty much everyone. Doesnt matter how good your cover is, some debris gets in and algae does its thing over the winter. Dont panic and dont drain it, thats the biggest mistake people make.

Heres what I do every spring. Get the big stuff out with a leaf net first, then get the pump running. Hit it with a double dose of shock and let it circulate for 24 hours straight. Brush the walls and floor while its running. Next day youll probably still see some green but way less. Test and adjust pH if needed, then shock again if the chlorine reading is back to zero.

I grabbed one of those aquadoc pool opening kits last year and it had basically everything in one box which was convenient, shock and algaecide and some stain prevention stuff. Took about 3 days to go from swamp to clear which is pretty standard for a bad opening.
 
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