Pool clearing but slow

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M

markuszoom5

0
Jul 2, 2014
128
Upstate NY
Hello everybody. I have a approx. 25,000 gallon unground pool w/ Hayward S244T sand filter and a 1 hp Hayward single speed pump. I live in Upstate NY, it was my own mistake for not opening the pool up earlier. I was on vacation and it covered with a hard fabric stretch cover. I opened it on 6/17/16 and it was the most disturbing thing i have ever seen. A thick layer of green and black algae was on the stairs and the whole water was black. I started with 10 gallons of pool chlorine at 12.5% while the pump is running. I then did another shocking the next day with another 5 gal of pool chlorine. Followed by another 3 bags of cal hypo granular shock dissolved in homer bucket for each bag. Then once i felt that everything was killed i added some algaecide to help the chlorine. I then finally went from black to dark green to dark blue then to hazy blue. Since my sand filter has not been changed in 12 years, i changed both the sand and the laterals and re-leveled my filter since it was crooked anyway for some reason. I owned the house for 3 years now. Had pool for the 3rd season now. Last year i opened early may and it was all peachy. I have balanced all my numbers now and the water is clear to where i can see the bottom drain 9 feet down but i have to strain to see it. There is still slight cloudiness to the pool. I have been running pump for 2 weeks now. Pressure is constant due to new sand. I have added clarifier as well a couple times and that probably helped. I hate adding anything other than pool bleach My numbers are balanced. Why is it taking so long? I am holding chlorine well. Everything is dead. Is it because I had so much algae in there? I think by Jul 4 it will be crystal but i don't get why it takes so long with new sand. I don;t want to add DE as this is new and nice sand. I have been swimming and the water smells and fells nice, but not perfectly clear. Thank You for your advice.

ph 7.4
FC - 6
CC -0.2
Hardness 130
Alkalinity 140
CYA - 30 (I know it's low, but have been running 3-4 tri-chlor pucks in skimmer to add CYA since pump is running 24/7. That's how I went from 0 CYA to 30. I like it low and slow...lol.
At this CYA level, i think I am pretty well sanitized, probably too well.
 
Oh darn Marckszoom.... sand never needs changing. But it sure can get dirty and a good cleaning always helps. Adding DE works well too towards the end of a SLAM when that last little bit of schmutz is still hanging about.

WHen you toss in mass quantities of liquid chlorine, the FC is only going to work so well and a lot of that extra will just fade off in to the sunset faster. And your vinyl can take a huge hit and fade with that extra high chlorine level. That you're only using test strips makes things harder to monitor because they can be very inaccurate.
You've got a big honkin' pool...you need a really good test kit like the TF-100.

Floc and clarifiers can gum up your new sand.
 
Thank you YS. I actually have the Taylor test kit but never got to update my profile. My pool liner is 12 years old and it's faded anyway, has one patch and several small sink holes. I am not replacing until it blows. I enjoy the clear water either way. The ocean is not perfectly smooth either LOL. I am sure that I faded about 20 gal of liquid chlorine right into the NY skies, but I was so terrified by the water that I wanted to make sure nothing lives. It made me dry heave it was so bad. Now it's almost clear. Shallow end looks clear but still lightly cloudy 8 feet down where i have to strain to see the main drain. All levels are good IMHO. Hardness does not matter with vinyl anyway. So why is it taking 2 weeks? I guess it's either do I run the pump 24/7 for another week or do I add DE now and clear it faster. I do enjoy the constant stable pressure due to new sand though. I re-sealed all the connections above ground to prevent any air coming in. The skimmer is so strong it can suck you finger in and hurt it.
 
I have shocked with 3 bags of cal hypo from hth this morning just as a precaution. My hardness is low anyway so I figured I can add some salt lol. I also ordered a brand new K2006 just to make sure the old reagents are not old. I think not opening the pool in May but me in the butt this year. I think it will clear it will just take a bit longer. I have seen sand filters clear for 3 weeks but I guess I am inpatient. When the new test kit comes I will see if my numbers now are correct. It makes no sense that blasting it with chlorine w/ sufficient cya already present the pool keeps being slightly cloudy. I don't get it.
 
You have a vinyl pool- it doesn't need any calcium. You don't even need to perform the CH test. Sometimes Calhypo can make the water appear cloudy for a time, just so you're aware and won't freak out. It will pass.

Yes, opening late does give any algae present extra time to reproduce in the warming water. Our rule of thumb around TFP is "Open Early, Close Late!"
 
The pool certainly left me an "algae present" all right. At constant shock levels and running 3-4 pucks in skimmer since my cya is low, I can't see how anything can be alive in there. I have new laterals and new filter sand. No leaks anywhere. I will add some hth clarifier. Will see how that goes today. I am just sick of the water abusing my mind. I might even test for phosphates but that usually does not affect water clarity that much.
 
So the pool is finally almost clear. I can see the main drain at 9 ft down. I think it was really resistant algae. I shocked with a gallon of liquid pool chlorine and then put 5 tablets in skimmer while pump is on to raise the CYA and keep the chlorine level constant without having to add liquid.However the test strips suck as I don't know how much fc I have other than dark purple which means a lot...lol. I ran out of Taylor but another is coming in mail soon. The water is just a bit hazy now but definitely on the appealing side. The bottom has a fine gray mist along the seams and I think it dead algae. Could it be dirt or silt? It brushes right off and disperses. Any thoughts?
 
Nice work so far! That definitely is dead algae. Brush it to the drain if you have one or vac it. Don't put pucks in the skimmer basket. That sends very acidic water into your pool equipment. If you want to use pucks put them in a puck floater.
 

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