Hello to all!
I'm a new Pool Owner and new to this forum. I hope to be here for awhile, meet others and use this as a valuable resource in the future.
I'm completely lost when it comes to what needs to be done to maintain and clean a pool. I've been reading alot in forums, but still have so much to learn. My issue is the water keeps getting cloudy. Even when it's cleared up, it only stays clear for a day or so then, returns to a cloudy state. I'm hoping that I can get the water crystal clear. I've been going to Leslie's Pool Supplies daily (and probably getting ripped off) and purchasing more and more chemicals. At this point, I figured I should stop wasting money on chemicals and consult a new resource.
Here is everything that has been done to my pool so far:
2 weeks ago pool was opened. We hired a service ($275...it was a ripoff) to open our pool. He attached the pump and filter, shocked the pool. Told us to wait a week for pool to clear up....and it did. Later he returned to vacuum and clean the pool and filter. He didn;t measure any chemicals and was literally just dumping stuff in our pool. He gave us the ok to swim in it. 2 days later it was super cloudy again. You couldn't see the bottom at all, let alone anything beneath the surface.
View attachment 50450
I went to Leslie's to troubleshoot. Here were my results from the water test
Free Avail Chlorine: 3
Total Avail Chlorine: 3
Calcium Hardness: 230
CYA:100
Total Alkalinity: 110
pH: 7.0
Base: 6
Copper: 0
Iron: 0
Total Dissolved Solids: 900
Phosphates: 500
I was told to purchase Soda Ash, PhosFree, Algae Control and Jumbo Chlorine Tabs (I've included photos of what I purchased).
View attachment 50452
As instructed, I added 1lb 7 oz of Soda Ash. After 4 hours, I added 16 oz of PhosFree to the skimmer. Next morning, I added a 4 oz of Algae Control. The pool began to clear up a day later. However, after 2 days , it went back to being cloudy. I used a pH strip and ALL chemicals were balanced; pH, TKA, CYA and Chlorine. I was so LOST as to why the pool would be cloudy? Perhaps, the CYA being a little high?
I took another water sample and returned to Leslie's. Here are the results:
Free Avail Chlorine: 1
Total Avail Chlorine: 1
Calcium Hardness: 200
CYA: 90
Total Alkalinity: 120
pH: 7.4
Copper: 0
Iron: 0
Total Dissolved Solids: 800
Phosphates:0
I was told that the water was safe to swim in and that everything was in balance, besides Chlorine being a little low. As for water clarity, they tried selling me a billion products. I refused. I ended up buying 1# of Power Plus Pool Shock. I also called the pool guy who instructed me to add 5# of Pool Shock product. That sounded like an awful lot to add to an 8600 gallon pool. I added 1# of shock, then added Nature's Way Clarifying liquid 6 hours later and again 4 hours after that. The water cleared up a bit after a day and I could see the bottom. There was brown sediment all over the bottom of the pool, my wife vacuumed most of it up. After vacuuming, the pool was super cloudy AGAIN!!!! I was also told to backwash the filter ( I have NO CLUE what that means or how to do it) and clean the filter. However, I can't seem to get the filter open. Ugh.
Did we vacuum wrong? I dunno.
I went outside this AM and pool looks more clear. So, I guess it worked a bit. It's still not clear enough to my liking though. I'll atleast get in it. I refuse to get in the pool, if it's cloudy and I can't see the bottom. LOL.
I just want a crystal clear pool. Is that possible? I'd appreciate any feedback or recommendations that you can share with me. If there is anything that I did wrong throughout the process, please let me know. Any tips that you can share are greatly appecated!
Thanks in advance for your help. I look forward to learning more with everyone here.
Happy Father's Day to any Dads out here!
Have a great day! Thanks.
I'm a new Pool Owner and new to this forum. I hope to be here for awhile, meet others and use this as a valuable resource in the future.
I'm completely lost when it comes to what needs to be done to maintain and clean a pool. I've been reading alot in forums, but still have so much to learn. My issue is the water keeps getting cloudy. Even when it's cleared up, it only stays clear for a day or so then, returns to a cloudy state. I'm hoping that I can get the water crystal clear. I've been going to Leslie's Pool Supplies daily (and probably getting ripped off) and purchasing more and more chemicals. At this point, I figured I should stop wasting money on chemicals and consult a new resource.
Here is everything that has been done to my pool so far:
2 weeks ago pool was opened. We hired a service ($275...it was a ripoff) to open our pool. He attached the pump and filter, shocked the pool. Told us to wait a week for pool to clear up....and it did. Later he returned to vacuum and clean the pool and filter. He didn;t measure any chemicals and was literally just dumping stuff in our pool. He gave us the ok to swim in it. 2 days later it was super cloudy again. You couldn't see the bottom at all, let alone anything beneath the surface.
View attachment 50450
I went to Leslie's to troubleshoot. Here were my results from the water test
Free Avail Chlorine: 3
Total Avail Chlorine: 3
Calcium Hardness: 230
CYA:100
Total Alkalinity: 110
pH: 7.0
Base: 6
Copper: 0
Iron: 0
Total Dissolved Solids: 900
Phosphates: 500
I was told to purchase Soda Ash, PhosFree, Algae Control and Jumbo Chlorine Tabs (I've included photos of what I purchased).
View attachment 50452
As instructed, I added 1lb 7 oz of Soda Ash. After 4 hours, I added 16 oz of PhosFree to the skimmer. Next morning, I added a 4 oz of Algae Control. The pool began to clear up a day later. However, after 2 days , it went back to being cloudy. I used a pH strip and ALL chemicals were balanced; pH, TKA, CYA and Chlorine. I was so LOST as to why the pool would be cloudy? Perhaps, the CYA being a little high?
I took another water sample and returned to Leslie's. Here are the results:
Free Avail Chlorine: 1
Total Avail Chlorine: 1
Calcium Hardness: 200
CYA: 90
Total Alkalinity: 120
pH: 7.4
Copper: 0
Iron: 0
Total Dissolved Solids: 800
Phosphates:0
I was told that the water was safe to swim in and that everything was in balance, besides Chlorine being a little low. As for water clarity, they tried selling me a billion products. I refused. I ended up buying 1# of Power Plus Pool Shock. I also called the pool guy who instructed me to add 5# of Pool Shock product. That sounded like an awful lot to add to an 8600 gallon pool. I added 1# of shock, then added Nature's Way Clarifying liquid 6 hours later and again 4 hours after that. The water cleared up a bit after a day and I could see the bottom. There was brown sediment all over the bottom of the pool, my wife vacuumed most of it up. After vacuuming, the pool was super cloudy AGAIN!!!! I was also told to backwash the filter ( I have NO CLUE what that means or how to do it) and clean the filter. However, I can't seem to get the filter open. Ugh.
Did we vacuum wrong? I dunno.
I went outside this AM and pool looks more clear. So, I guess it worked a bit. It's still not clear enough to my liking though. I'll atleast get in it. I refuse to get in the pool, if it's cloudy and I can't see the bottom. LOL.
I just want a crystal clear pool. Is that possible? I'd appreciate any feedback or recommendations that you can share with me. If there is anything that I did wrong throughout the process, please let me know. Any tips that you can share are greatly appecated!
Thanks in advance for your help. I look forward to learning more with everyone here.
Happy Father's Day to any Dads out here!
Have a great day! Thanks.