If you shocked your pool water and it turned brown you probably have metals. Oxidized iron usually turns a brown or rusty color in the water. Use the No-Drain Metal Stain Eliminator Kit to reduce, sequester, and eliminate the metals to clear up your water and prevent recurrence or staining of your pool surface.
Recovering Pool Water
Adjust the pH levels as well as the water hardness. Use pool shock until the dark green water turns blue-grey. Make sure the filter is running throughout until the water becomes clear. Use a clarifier and flocculant to coagulate and drop particles to the bottom of the pool.
In an average sized inground pool, we would recommend 10 to 20 gallons of Liquid Shock. Liquid Shock in 5 gallon containers is the cheapest way to purchase Shock. One gallon of inexpensive algaecide may also be added. This should help kill whatever algae was living in your pool.
If dirt is reappearing at the bottom of your swimming pool after you've vacuumed it your pool's filter may be working poorly. Pool filters often work poorly because they're in need of cleaning. If you have a sand filter for your pool you need to make sure that the sand is sharp and freshened up.
Depending on the type of surface in your pool, you can use a brush to scrap it clean with or without water in it. If the pool has a soft vinyl liner, you will use a rubber or nylon brush to keep it clean. If the pool has a concrete floor and walls, a stiff and course brush will do the trick.
To clean your own pool, skim the surface of the water with a net every day to remove leaves and other floating debris. Once a week, use a pool brush to brush the sides and ladder of the pool so dirt and grime don't build up on them.
Using Fill Water From a Well
Wells are commonly known to be one of the greatest sources of metals in a swimming pool, especially copper and iron. Iron reacts with chlorine to form iron III chloride, which is reddish in color. This is why your pool may turn to brown or rusty color when chlorine is added.
Since brown algae is extremely chlorine-resistant, several other chemicals such as shock and an algaecide specifically designed for mustard algae will help get rid of the infestation. This will often result in cloudy pool water, so use clarifier to correct this problem.
Baking Soda and Green, Blue, or Yellow Algae
You'll need to use an algaecide to kill the algae and superchlorinate your pool to clear the water. After this treatment, test your pH and alkalinity and add baking soda to raise alkalinity to at least 100 ppm and pH to between 7.2 and 7.8.
As a general rule of thumb, you should open your pool when the outside daytime temperature stays consistently above 70 degrees (or 21 degrees celsius). 70 degrees is still a little too cold to go swimming, but it's not too cold for algae.
I think the answer to your question is about 3-6 days. The problem is that the chlorine that you need to keep the bacteria in check is used up more quickly as the temperature rises, the activity increases, and as sweat and other body stuff is put into the pool.
This dreaded color of water is often caused by algae buildup. Keeping your swimming pool pump running and adding an algaecide and pool shock will usually take care of this issue. One thing to look for is the buildup on your pool's surfaces.
You normally need 6 quarts of bleach per 10,000 gallons of water, so to kill algae, you might want to increase this to 8 quarts ( 2 gallons) per 10,000 gallons. If the pool water is very green and cloudy, consider doubling the basic dosage. Just remember to stay out of the water until the chlorine drops to safe levels.
Submerge the entire hose into the pool until all of the air is removed from it, then lift one end out. This creates a suction that you can use to vacuum your pool with the other end of the hose. This method is not as thorough as using a vacuum bag but will work in a pinch.