Cloudy water

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Test Kit - Test Results

So, here is what we have so far,

Chlorine - 2-4
Ph - 7.5

CYA - Now, I did this, and when I started filling the tube up, it started to get cloudy a bit, but I could still see the black drop. I know on the video, it got cloudy, then white, where the dot was unseen. I have it all the way to the top and I can still see the black drop, so that's at 20. Not sure what that means?
 
Well, everyone is outside, some in pool, some eating munchies...Scientist Beth is inside doing all the tests :)
So far everything looks good, EXCEPT the Calcium Hardness....I'm getting 775! I'm thinking this could be the reason the pool is cloudy and not clear? I had to put a lot of drops in to get it to go completely blue. I didn't use the stirrer. I added 31 drops in...it went from pink to bottom blue, then the blue would get higher and higher each time adding drops. I hope I did it right! I still have a few more to do, but I'm thinking this could be the cause of our cloudiness?
 
Cloudy Water - Test Results

Got our kit yesterday and did the testing today. Not too bad, a lot easier then I thought it'd be! We have a vinyl liner as well...here are my results:

FC- 2ppm
CC - .5
TC - 2.5
CYA - 10 (I think, I filled up the beaker and I could still see the black dot.)
pH - 7.5
CH - 775 - if I did that correctly too. When I tested it, I did not add the drops and mix each time. It turned a dark pink, then I added the drops one at a time. After a few, the bottom turned a little blue. The more I added, the higher the blue level became, with still pink on the top. I did shake it a bit to see if it'd turn blue and I don't believe it turned fully blue still a line of pink on the top until 31, but I may redo this one since I did see on here to use the stirrer when doing this.
TA - 100

I did the pool math, I need to add some bleach to get the chlorine level up. I know we didn't put the bleach in today b/c I knew I'd be testing it. We still have the chlorine tablets in the floaty.

As for the CH, the pool math says to get to 260, to drain the pool 66% and refill with no CH water. to get to 350 it says to drain 55% of the pool and refill with water. I'm going to do the test again using the stirrer and see if I get the same results. My husband isn't too keen on draining more then half the pool and refilling it, b/c whose to say it won't happen again. But my question is, what causes the calcium hardness...it was clear at one point for 2 days...I don't know. Just so weird.

Will getting the chlorine level up help at all? and where do I get 0 CH water to refill the pool? Afraid to use the hose in case that's where it's coming from.
 
Re: Cloudy Water - Test Results

Okay, so very random....redid the CH test....now it's LOW! I got the purple the first time, so I had to redo and add 5 drops of the 0012 first, then the rest. I got 2 more drops in and it was blue. so 7 total times 25 is 175. One extreme or the other. Now what????
 
Re: Cloudy Water - Test Results

Leave the CH alone for now....it's the least important of things that need addressing

Tell us what your water looks like and we'll provide more help. I emphasize.....leave your CH alone. Post back.
 
Check your tap water to see what it is testing. Please report your findings.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I did it with the stirrer, per this site's directions...got it at 175 lol

- - - Updated - - -

Got our kit yesterday and did the testing today. Not too bad, a lot easier then I thought it'd be! We have a vinyl liner as well...here are my results:

FC- 2ppm
CC - .5
TC - 2.5
CYA - 10 (I think, I filled up the beaker and I could still see the black dot.)
pH - 7.5
CH - 775 - if I did that correctly too. When I tested it, I did not add the drops and mix each time. It turned a dark pink, then I added the drops one at a time. After a few, the bottom turned a little blue. The more I added, the higher the blue level became, with still pink on the top. I did shake it a bit to see if it'd turn blue and I don't believe it turned fully blue still a line of pink on the top until 31, but I may redo this one since I did see on here to use the stirrer when doing this.
TA - 100

I did the pool math, I need to add some bleach to get the chlorine level up. I know we didn't put the bleach in today b/c I knew I'd be testing it. We still have the chlorine tablets in the floaty.

As for the CH, the pool math says to get to 260, to drain the pool 66% and refill with no CH water. to get to 350 it says to drain 55% of the pool and refill with water. I'm going to do the test again using the stirrer and see if I get the same results. My husband isn't too keen on draining more then half the pool and refilling it, b/c whose to say it won't happen again. But my question is, what causes the calcium hardness...it was clear at one point for 2 days...I don't know. Just so weird.

Will getting the chlorine level up help at all? and where do I get 0 CH water to refill the pool? Afraid to use the hose in case that's where it's coming from.
 
Re: Cloudy Water - Test Results

Ok, that helps. You will need to SLAM your pool. Have you read that article? It's in Pool School.

1. Get your CYA up to 30 ppm

2. Get chlorine in your pool up around 16 ppm.

3. Now read the SLAM article and follow that article absolutely to the letter.

4. Post back after you read the SLAM article.
 
Redo the CH test using the speedstir. Mine went down 200 just by switching to a speedstir. Take your time. Sip a drink while it's doing all the swirling for you.

It's probably safe to say you're above 400, so perhaps you'll want to add 4 drops at a time on each spin cycle until you get up to 16 drops, then maybe two drops every cycle until you see it go sort of indigo, and then singly. And when in doubt, press the button again and let it spin without adding drops. It'll either revert back or finish changing colors.

High CH alone will not cause cloudy water. I've been as high as 1100 and you could still toss a quarter into the deep end and call heads or tails from the deck.
 
Re: Cloudy Water - Test Results

I read the article but very confused about SLAMing it. My CYA is too low to do it, no? I wonder if getting my CYA level up to 4 would help clear it out? That seems to be the only issue we have right now. We did have algae 2 weeks ago, but that has since cleared up. We didn't have enough chlorine in the very beginning of having our pool (just installed a month ago). Since the weather and pool water has been warmer, the chlorine has gone up to normal.
 
Re: Cloudy Water - Test Results

First thing is to get CYA up to 30 ppm. Here is how to add it and other chems, Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals.

Next is to maintain the chlorine level in the pool. Low chlorine is likely the reason why the pool is cloudy and could be growing some algae. Chlorine level is set based on CYA and the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. It must be kept above minimum at all times to sanitize the poo, and keep it free of algae.

To check to see if there is some algae growing in the pool you can do the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. If you pass no algae, if not then follow this process to kill the algae, SLAM Process.

And also, it is important to keep PH between 7.2 and 7.8. We can worry about TA and CH later.

Start here in Pool School, ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
And then here, Pool School - Getting Started
 
Re: Cloudy Water - Test Results

I need to do this. But my FC is at 2, probably lower now :( it was set 2 to 4 this morning, and 1 to 2 tonight. Should i put 2 jugs of bleach in it instead of 1 to try to get it to 3? Then do this?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply