hoping to gain some knowledge

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CynN

CynN

0
Apr 25, 2016
6
Leavenworth, WA
So I have been lucky up till now and I have had this pool for many years. But this year I can't seem to get the cloudiness out. It is not green but rather milky. It does not SEEM to be white mold because it doesn't have a papery look, mostly fairly fine like undissolved powder with some slightly larger "pieces" now and again. SO I am not sure if it is mold or not. Or whether my pool is not yet balanced.

Regardless it has not cleared in week. I have ordered a new Taylor kit to replace my old one that only measured chlorine and PH (both of which are balanced at this point yet the pool is still not clear) to be able to measure CYA and calcium levels as well (our well water is high in iron and calcium) and I have been using a stabilized Chlorine that contains CYA.

So I am thinking I may have over stabilized by shocking the pool with this product. I will know better the levels once my test kit arrives.

So my initial question is, if this is mold, how can I get rid of it? You can't scrub everything down in this pool as there are surfaces permanently hidden away. I have opened it to the sun all day since yesterday, and scrubbed off the slippery whitish looking stuff off all the surfaces I could. It actually looks a smidgen clearer today, but is still cloudy.

And my second question is, is it safe to swim (once everything is balanced) in the presence of this mold? (if it is mold)

Thanks
 
when you start to kill algae it can appear white. its not mold. you need to SLAM your pool, which you cant do until you get the test kit and know your CYA. once you get that you determine if you need to drain to lower the CYA or if you are fine and can proceed to SLAM.
 
So since the pool was never green do I still assume there was algae and the white "sediment" I see is bi-product of killing some sort of algae?

I am hoping we don't have to drain it or at least might be able to partially drain. Vinyl liner which will collapse and on a well (so it takes days and days to refill).

Is SLAM protocol here on the website? Do these protocols apply to all pool types?

Thanks and sorry for the twenty questions.
 
Cyn, did you mean 2300 gallons or 23,000 gallons in your signature? If you mean the type of endless pool that's maybe 3-4x the size of a large hottub and you have something stronger like jets and suspect its actually white mold you might be better off treating like a hottub and changing the water/flushing the system -- do they make a line cleaner like AhSome for Endless pools? (AhSome is used for hot tubs to clean out gunk in lines because hottubs are hot, covered, etc.)

Your well should be able to handle 2300 g in a day, i'd suspect. I just used 2400 vacuuming a treatment to waste on my well. It was slow, and I have dual softener's to accommodate such a fill, but just letting you know that may be an option if the Endless pool is the type I'm thinking of.

If you are on well, do you also have metals, eg high iron?

If so, have you recently added a metal and scale product? If so, that can cause milkiness for a few days if your calcium level is high. If you end up NEEDING to slam, (eg if it doesn't clear and you get your test kit and fail an overnight chlorine loss) and you have historically needed a metal sequestrant, remember that you will need to retreat because a slam will oxidize the product too, and sometime tint the water, which your filter and more sequestrant after the slam should clear.

Best wishes and welcome - and cheers to clear!
 
yeah, 2300 gallons. Pool is 9 x 16 and 51" deep. (It would be tough not to see the bottom) So by my calculations its about 2300 g. I guess I need to wait for my new kit to arrive to be able to see CYA levels. I suspect it is the problem, though not sure what I base that suspicion on other than I have never had a problem but I have almost always used a chlorine product with CYA in it based on being outside. Today I got in there and stirred everything up, vacuuming as much as I could (Endless pools vacuum through the filter system) The pressure went up from 9 to 10, so maybe I am collecting stuff in the filter. It just doesn't seem like mold to me. Sediment of some sort after a winter of no maintenance. It is very difficult for me to change out the water - I live in a remote area and on a well. I replaced the liner 2 years ago and that was horrendous filling it again. Hoping a total empty and refill is not necessary. Meanwhile, since skiing has ended boy I miss my pool :-(
 
Once you have your kit, slamming per TFP instructions and maintaining a FRee Chlorine reading in line with the FC:CYA chart (link in my signature) may well clear you up.

I did find this thread on the subject of endless pools and white water mold, where there is an Aquafinesse product designed to help break up bio films, if that's even what you have: Recurring White Water Mold

Did you happen to add any kind of "metal control" product before noticing the white?

Endless pools, as I recall, also come with a mineral cartridge -- do you use that as well? The general TFP pool care method avoids those in larger systems for built up mineral staining issues, etc.

At any rate, even if your cya is high, using liquid chlorine/or unscented, NOT splashless bleach to the right level would allow you to bring it down over time with a series of partial water changes and still be able to enjoy the pool, provided we can get it cleared up ;)
 
Thanks - thinking along the same lines as you Swampwoman. I do not use the silver cartridge any longer and I did not add anything to the pool other than stabilized chlorine and some algaecide (could be byproduct cloudiness I guess). It is clearing ever so slightly with sunlight and stirring it up and vacuuming. I hear my Taylor kit has shipped so should know more soon. Thanks for the advice everyone.
 
Oh and you were right. Miscalculated the volume since the pool calculator I used called for a shallow end and deep end depth and I only put in one measurement. Anyway, it's still a low volume pool at 4500 gallons and 51" deep. Hope my kit comes soon.
 

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OK so my pool is now crystal clear. Sunshine and vacuuming daily and regular chorine seemed to fix the cloudiness. My test fit finally came and my numbers are 2.4 free chlorine, 0 combined chlorine, 7.4 ph, 70 total alkalinity and well over 100 CYA (probably about 130). So the CYA and TA are off a bit it seems - TA needs to come up some, CYA go down. But I don't want to mess up my absolutely pristine looking water so wonder if leaving these levels is OK for now. The only way for me to lower CYA would be to empty part of the pool.
 
TA at 70 is fine as long as your PH is stable. You can do the extended CYA test to test over 100 here, Pool School - Extended Test Kit Directions

Chlorine level is set based on CYA level and the Chlorine CYA Chart, at 130 you need to keep FC at 15 and your shock level is 52. The biggest problem with keeping your FC at 15 at all times is that the PH test isn't accurate with FC above 10. The only way to lower CYA is partial drain, splash out, carry out, overflow from rain. Your CYA will drop a few PPM per month on its own also.
 
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