Pool cloudy

Have you read Pool School and the other links up above? You have to follow the TFP method closely for it to work.

I have read all of pool school. Which parts are you suggesting I am missing? Did you read my first post when I talked about how my pool became green and cloudy from the moment I added a single chemical? Water does not come from the spigot with algae. I also stated in my OP that I have slammed for a month long already with ZERO improvement in water clarity and color.

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From the pics, I do not believe metal in your water has ANYTHING to do with the murkiness. I would ignore ANY pursuit of a metals issue (at least for now)

You first reported this issue back in August. Please help 3 week old pool and its green but the numbers look good.

The problem then was that you had been following TFP methods for more than a month and it wasn't helping. Something has to change for you to get your pool clear but I don't know what that is.

I'll summarize some points to keep in mind.

1. The first step in the SLAM process is to kill ALL the organics with constant high doses of chlorine.

2. Simultaneously, you constantly run the pump, filtering the dead organics (and anything else) from your pool

That's it. really a simple process but a lot can go wrong. As before, I can't see anything you are overlooking so I can't offer any advice as to why your pool doesn't clear when it does for thousands of others. I can only suggest the same things as before and none apparently worked.

This is also a thread of mine from shortly after I filled my pool. Reading through here may help to further understand my problem.
 
Sorry I don't have time to reread everything. Did you take those steps out? Is your return(s) aimed down and away from the skimmer so that you circulate in a deep, circular pattern? Have you tried adding DE to your filter?
 
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Previous posts said that DE was added to the filter, but I think James is right that at high speed with a 1.5 HP pump it was blowing debris through the sand filter too much. The more recent clearing may be the combination of running at the slower speed combined with use of DE in the filter. It just may take more filtration with this combination of lower speed and DE.
 
Sorry I don't have time to reread everything. Did you take those steps out? Is your return(s) aimed down and away from the skimmer so that you circulate in a deep, circular pattern? Have you tried adding DE to your filter?

The return is aimed at a 45 degree angle from the surface. Yes I have begun adding DE.

Previous posts said that DE was added to the filter, but I think James is right that at high speed with a 1.5 HP pump it was blowing debris through the sand filter too much. The more recent clearing may be the combination of running at the slower speed combined with use of DE in the filter. It just may take more filtration with this combination of lower speed and DE.

For some reason my low setting on the pump will not turn on. I don't know if this is because of the added resistance with the DE or what but the pump will only hum and never actually pump water. On high it will turn on right away. So any improvement to clarity has been done with the pump on high running 10 hours per day. I may even cut back on the pump run time a bit.
 
Until the pool clears, it is not recommend to shut down the pump. Regarding the lower speed, it should turn on and pump water. At this point, you should backwash for a few minutes to clear out the DE and the pump should go back to normal. If not, then something is going on with the pump.

If the pump goes back to normal on the lower speed, please add DE again as per JamesW instructions as it appears the pump is oversized for the system. I have a 2 hp. pump, but a 350 lb. filter and 2" plumbing. No problems with my filtration, but I have a lot of vibration at the equipment pad.

I have seen many pools with only one skimmer, one main drain and one return jet do perfectly fine. I do not believe this is the case with your pool.

Everything is leading up to what James wrote previously.

The pump is oversized for the filter. You're basically pushing the finer particles through the sand. Backwash then add two pounds of de or filter fiber through the skimmer with the pump on low. Keep the pump on low and backwash as needed. Add more de or filter fiber after backwashing. Complete a full Slam. Watch the returns carefully for at least a minute after adding de or filter fiber to see if any bypasses the filter. If you get a big cloud of de out of the returns, then there is a problem with the filter.

If the pump turns on at a lower speed, add DE slowly and if you see the pump slowing down (watch the pressure gauge), then stop with the DE. Maybe 2 lbs. of DE is too much.
 
Good morning, straigh6tt.

I have a couple of semi-related questions in an effort to help you get to "trouble-free," because I believe you've been at this long enough now ;)

1. METALS: First off, I recall that when you started up your new pool this summer, you had both a purple end point on a test and an immediate green tint on adding chlorine, BEFORE there was time for algae to have developed...which indicates metal...but you're on city water, not well ;) I'm going to assume that your city water had high iron content this summer as there is no other explanation for source water tinting yellow-green on addition of chlorine that I know of.

You've now used a few different types of metal sequestrants, which can sometimes fight each other and cloud up. Since you've switched to SWG, you should also switch to jack's magenta for swg, just FYI. Is that what you meant by jack's purple?

Metals themselves do not cloud the water...but sometimes sequestrants initially cloud the water if you ch is high, but this generally clears in a few days unless there's a filter problem.

2. FILTER: What brand of sand did you use on the filter when you started up? There is a really minute chance that you got a bad batch, meaning too fine for the filter...there were a small handful of cases this year where the sand had not been graded properly by the mfg. if you put a piece of white cloth in front of a return with the filter operating normally (no DE) does any sand/dirt show up on the cloth?

3. NASCENT ALGAE: You continue to get "slam" advice on threads because greenish plus cloudy means nascent algae from FC too low 9.9 times out if 10. Its hard for folks to dx more complex scenarios such as a combo of metal effect, filtration issues, etc. ;) As I think you understand, however, slamming will oxidize the metal and bring a tint.

The easiest way to rule out need for a slam or to communicate to others that there's really no nascent algae is to run the OCLT a few nights in a row and post that. Even I am reluctant to send you down a rabbit hole like sand size if there's any chance you have nascent algae, and my own experience with meals and sequestrants has me a bit more attuned to the "rarer" possibilities ;)

But to give an example, metals notwithstanding, during my swamp recovery my sand filter alone, with nothing more, eg no DE or aids added, was still able to polish my water to crystal clarity over time running 24/7. By now, I feel yours should have too unless there's a filtration problem or nascent algae.

If you run an OCLT and investigate the filter a bit more, we might get this handled ;)
 
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