Pool will not hold chlorine, CYA level extrmely low. cloudy.

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B

Bzer

0
Jul 10, 2016
3
Campton,Ky
The pool is about 30ft holds almost 25,000 gallons. I had the pool crystal clear everything was perfect, then we had a day of bad storms. it blew a lot of leaves and stuff off tress into it. the next few days its was extremely hot in the 90s pretty humid. and algae started coating the bottom. After a day or so I vacuumed it all out, the water got really cloudy i figured it was from me stirring it up. But it never unclouded. and after a few days the algae came back. I put in a decent amount of algaecide. re-vacuumed it all and added a little clarifier. after almost a week it was still about the same with some improvements on the algae. I changed sand in the filter. this whole time i was also struggling keeping chlorine in it. the skimmer constantly has the super chlorine tabs in it from hth, and i was putting several bags of shock in per day it would raise the FC level to about 2 or 3 but within a couple of hours it has back at 0. I bought some liquid chlorinater and added it and it took the levels to normal but not for long within a few hours it would be back at 0. I read online it may be CYA level, i checked it and it was at 0, i added 4 pounds of stabilizer and almost half a gallon of the liquid chlorination and it seemed to do okay at first but i checked the levels before bed that night and it was back at 0. I've never had to put the stabilizer in any pool ive ever had, and kept them all crystal clear. after putting the stabilizer in a week later it still reads CYA at almost zero maybe 1. The water seems clear you can stick your hand down in ir and see it find, but you cannot see the bottom, almost like a slightly blue greenish tint. the algae is coming back a little but not nearly as bad, ive been keeping it vacuumed out. I don't know how to fix it and Ive spent a lot of money on chemicals. I read on one forum that i should maybe buy bleach and put in it.? I've never had this much trouble out of a pool before, always been able to get them to clear up. but i cant do anything with this. I'd much appreciate any help, Ive been using test strips but have ordered a water drop kit, all levels are where they need to be except for FC and CYA.. and ive never worried with the CYA really.20160710_121600.jpg20160710_121608.jpg
 
Hi and welcome to TFP

Your pool isn't holding chlorine because you have algae consuming it. The process you need to follow to clear it up is what we call SLAM. It is a process not a one time addition of "shock."

Shock
Level
And
Maintain

You need to raise your free chlorine to shock level for your CYA and keep it there until you pass three tests
1. Clear clean water
2. CC of less than .5
3. Overnight chlorine loss (OCLT) of 1 ppm or less

You will need a FAS-DPD chlorine test to check chlorine levels high enough to be at shock level. Here are some links to read and post questions if you have them.

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart
Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain
 
Welcome to TFP, Bzer :) Glad to have you here! I suggest you start by reading this: ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

And next I would ask how you're testing your water?? There are only two test kits on the market that we truly feel are most accurate and provide the test results we need: The TF-100 and the Taylor K-2006, both available from TFTestkits.net or on Amazon. The most important thing is that they include the FAS-DPD test which tests chlorine levels up to 50 (fifty!)ppm, which is important if you want to clean up that cloudy pool.

Algaecides do NOT kill algae, they are a preventative. Pool Stores don't explain that to customers enough I suspect. CYA stabilizer "buffers" the chlorine and holds it in the pool to do its job when normally the sun's UV rays cause chlorine to disappear.

It sounds like you never had enough of either of those, in addition to the unnecessary algaecide so you've been fighting a losing battle. Get a test kit and provide us with the following:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

Tell us all about your pool and equipment in a signature line (up right under the <Settings> drop down tab) so we know what you're working with. How have you normally chlorinated your water up to this point??
 
What the others have said is spot on. I will just add that first, stop with the algaecide and shock. Pool chemicals, in my opinion are overrated and over complicate a fairly simple problem. First thing you need to do is kill that algae. Dump in enough regular bleach (not splashless or scented) to get to shock level and brush that pool top to bottom, you will probably have to get in but it will be ok. Walls, steps, bottom and everything in between, brush it all and brush it good. Check your Chlorine after sweeping and bring it back to shock level. You will use a lot of bleach during this time but you have to kill that algae or you are just starting over every time. After this you will have a whole new respect for the resilience of algae, I promise. lol

The water will turn from green cloudy to blue/white cloudy, that is a good sign. That cloudiness is the dead algae. Maintain shock level Chlorine and brush daily until it clears up. Then you can address the CYA and get it up to normal, I like 50PPM personally but I am at 100 right now with crystal clear water and low chlorine consumption. Follow the steps in the SLAM and keep it brushed and it should clear up. And under no circumstances are you to allow it to return to 0PPM FC.
 
^^This

Also, in your opening post you stated"....After a day or so I vacuumed it all out, the water got really cloudy i figured it was from me stirring it up. But it never unclouded. and after a few days the algae came back....."

Just so you know, the algae didn't leave. Once you had the algae the first time you needed to follow the steps outlined by the above posters. It can be tedious, but it's the only sure-fire way to make sure you get rid of your algae. Good luck!!

GC
 
Bzer said:
So i can use just like regular Clorox ? and it wont hurt my liner or anything?
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Yes, you can use regular Clorox, but make sure it isn't scented, etc. Just plain old bleach. I get the Walmart store brand in 121 oz size. I also decant into a measuring cup first so I know how much is being put in the pool. That also prevents splashing and spots on my clothes. :)
 
Bzer said:
So i can use just like regular Clorox ? and it wont hurt my liner or anything?
Click to expand...
Nope. It's fine. As a matter of fact you will most likely have less chance of harming the liner using regular bleach than "pool chlorine" - due to the usually higher concentration in the "pool chlorine". Both are sodium hypochlorite, and works the same in sanitizing your water. But household bleach will usually save you money. But as crokett said, make sure it's unscented, plain bleach.

GC
 
If you are using strips to measure your CYA, it unlikely to be accurate. Of you have had "super tabs" in the skimmer for more than a few weeks, along with the powdered shock (depending which type it is) you very well had high CYA. You haven't mentioned, that I saw, how you were testing?
 
Okay, so here is what I've done. Yesterday i went and got a 3-way water test kit at ace, since i concluded how bad the strips are. 3-way is all they had. ordered a 6 way should be here tomorrow. The alkalinity was 20ppm I added about 32 pounds of baking soda, the alkalinity is now reading between 90-100 ppm. the PH was reading at 8 (the highest on the scale) so I added around 4 pints of PH minus (according to the acid demand test on my kit) the chlorine was reading about 1 so i added a bag of shock. I tested it this morning and the levels were all good. So i added I unplugged the pump around 4am and let it set a couple hours so things would settle, I vacuumed the entire pool and walls. I back-washed the filter, put 2 of the super tabs in the skimmer. then took a brush and got in a brushed everything the floor, the walls and the steps. I added 3 bags of hth ultimate shock and about a half a gallon of Clorox. I added 3oz of algaecide 60, and I added 2 pints of PH minus to get it back down to 7.4 area. the last test i done showed alkalinity between 100-110ppm,PH was 7.2-7.4 area (the colors are very similar), the chlorine was reading 3, I figured it would need a lot to kill the algae. The pool had already made a huge improvement to a blue/white cloudy look and you can see to the bottom step now. should I add any clarifier?

index.jpg
 

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Please read Pool School and the posts above and you will see that the method promoted by this site does not advocate the use of algaecide, shock products, clarifiers, and tabs only in limited situations.

And what we do use, primarily chlorine bleach, we add only in the amounts prescribed by accurate testing results. It looks like you are blindly dumping "stuff" (and money) into your pool in the hope that it will work. You may get lucky and it'll clear up, but it may not. Or it may turn cloudy again in a few days.

You need to learn what to put in your pool, why to do it, and exactly how much. Otherwise you are wasting time, effort, and money.
 
Step 1 is to get a proper test kit as recommended (such as the TAYLOR TECHNOLOGIES INC K-2006 TEST KIT). You can get it Amazon prime and have it there in 2 days.
Until you can properly test your water, I'm sorry to say, it is impossible to manage it.
Step 2 is get rid of the tablets and the bags of shock. They have a bunch of stuff you don't need. All you need is Bleach, possibly Cyanuric Acid (aka stabilizer), and muriatic acid and/or baking soda to manage the Ph.
Once you have the test kit, report back here with a full set of test results. Until then, no one here can really help you. While you're waiting I guess you could bring the Chlorine way up with bleach to get a jump start, but it's impossible to tell exactly how much to add until you get good test results.
Sorry if it sounds inflexible, but doing it this way will get your pool in great shape and I think you'll enjoy it more.
Good luck and please report back on your progress!
 
I would not add anymore stabilizer or conditionerror OR tabs for a week.

You really need to stop throwing chemicals in the water and only add what your pool needs.

I urge you to just stop and read the SLAM and the ABC'S of Pool Water Chemistry articles in Pool School and buy a TF100 so you can properly test the water and know without a doubt your levels.
 
Since finding this website, I only put 2 things in my pool every year. Salt and CYA. Salt at first fill, and CYA usually twice. My SWG does the rest. All I do is use my TF100 a couple of times a week and adjust my SWG run time to maintain proper CYA/FC levels and my water stays CRYSTAL CLEAR all year. I have NEVER been to a pool store. These people know what they are talking about. You should listen to them. You won't regret it.
 
Bzer said:
Okay, so here is what I've done. Yesterday i went and got a 3-way water test kit at ace, since i concluded how bad the strips are. 3-way is all they had. ordered a 6 way should be here tomorrow. The alkalinity was 20ppm I added about 32 pounds of baking soda, the alkalinity is now reading between 90-100 ppm. the PH was reading at 8 (the highest on the scale) so I added around 4 pints of PH minus (according to the acid demand test on my kit) the chlorine was reading about 1 so i added a bag of shock. I tested it this morning and the levels were all good. So i added I unplugged the pump around 4am and let it set a couple hours so things would settle, I vacuumed the entire pool and walls. I back-washed the filter, put 2 of the super tabs in the skimmer. then took a brush and got in a brushed everything the floor, the walls and the steps. I added 3 bags of hth ultimate shock and about a half a gallon of Clorox. I added 3oz of algaecide 60, and I added 2 pints of PH minus to get it back down to 7.4 area. the last test i done showed alkalinity between 100-110ppm,PH was 7.2-7.4 area (the colors are very similar), the chlorine was reading 3, I figured it would need a lot to kill the algae. The pool had already made a huge improvement to a blue/white cloudy look and you can see to the bottom step now. should I add any clarifier?

View attachment 51911
Click to expand...

So, you did what you want instead of reading these posts? You can’t do what you want then ask us for the next step. You are creating a whole new set of parameters when you do that. Actually, what you did was waste a lot of money. As long as you have that algae your numbers are not accurate. Not sure what pool store you are listening too but you can do what they recommend or what this site and its members recommend but do not do both. You are looking for a quick fix to a problem that takes time to fix. I won’t explain it again, see above or follow your pool stores recommendations. Keep in mind, they want your money, we don’t.

- - - Updated - - -

Casey said:
I would not add anymore stabilizer or conditionerror OR tabs for a week.

You really need to stop throwing chemicals in the water and only add what your pool needs.

I urge you to just stop and read the SLAM and the ABC'S of Pool Water Chemistry articles in Pool School and buy a TF100 so you can properly test the water and know without a doubt your levels.
Click to expand...

+1000
 
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