I have been working on this pool off and on all summer due to some injuries keeping me from really dedicating myself to it. I'm back on my feet and trying one last time to get my pool clear. I have been shocking it and running the filter non-stop. It went from green swamp to now a milky blue with some white foam on top.very cloudy. I ran some tests with my test kit(TF-50). My PH is really low. About 6.2 (I used the ph test strips) and when I went to run my TA the water never turned green. Just turned right to red. When I ran the FC test the water never turned pink at all. I have been shocking it with bag after bag via friends recommendation. I am completely lost and have no idea where to go from here. Please help!
Numbers all crazy. Milky water. Please help!
- Thread starter Slyons81
- Start date
Can you get a full set of numbers from your test kit posted so we have an idea what's going on? Stock up on liquid chlorine if you haven't already because it sounds like you are going to need to SLAM your pool.
You need to raise your PH pronto. Enter the results in PoolMath, put PH Now at 6.5 and PH Target at 7.2. Add what it says, pump running, brush a little and test in 15 minutes, repeat until PH shows up on the test. It is important to maintain PH between 7.2 and 7.8.
Thanks. I'll be adding borax tonight to raise the ph and going to buy some more shock in order to slam my pool. Just going to keep working on it. Do you think the ph is what's creating that milky water? What else would you suggest?
I would suggest you not buy the "shock" you are buying and buy liquid chlorine instead. The "shock" may be causing your cloudiness.
To get you up to speed, read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. Then read how to SLAM your pool because that's what you need to do next but post your test results first, please.
To get you up to speed, read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. Then read how to SLAM your pool because that's what you need to do next but post your test results first, please.
Here are my numbers this morning. I added the amount of borax pool math said and added chlorine to the water as well.
PH 6.5
FC 5
CH 175
CYA 20
TA 0
Anybody have any ideas to give me a hand? The water is looking better each day but still cloudy. i was using the powder shock though. Is bleach the way to go? Thanks
PH 6.5
FC 5
CH 175
CYA 20
TA 0
Anybody have any ideas to give me a hand? The water is looking better each day but still cloudy. i was using the powder shock though. Is bleach the way to go? Thanks
Do another dose of borax to go from 6.5 to 7.2. What type of chlorine are you using? If it's the powdered stuff, please stop using it and go buy some plain old bleach. It can be the kind from the laundry aisle (no splash-less, scented or outdoor variety, just plain concentrated bleach) from Clorox or store brand that should say 8.25% on the bottle in the ingredients. Or the pool aisle at your favorite big box store should have some liquid chlorine, probably 10%. Whichever is the better deal.
You'll also want to get some stabilizer to bring your CYA up to 30ppm. A reading of 20 may actually be lower since that's the bottom of the test limit. Using pool math, dose enough stabilizer to go up by 10ppm at a time then test after a couple days and do it again to get to 30ppm.
Get familiar with PoolMath (link at the top of the page). Put your pool volume of 10,000 gallons in the top left box. The left column is your current numbers. The right column is your target numbers. Hover the mouse over the boxes to see the volume needed. Looks like just over and half gallon of 8.25% chlorine will give you a 5ppm bump in FC and 1lb of stabilizer will give you a 12 ppm increase in CYA.
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Get familiar with the SLAM process as duraleigh said above as you most likely need to.
You'll also want to get some stabilizer to bring your CYA up to 30ppm. A reading of 20 may actually be lower since that's the bottom of the test limit. Using pool math, dose enough stabilizer to go up by 10ppm at a time then test after a couple days and do it again to get to 30ppm.
Get familiar with PoolMath (link at the top of the page). Put your pool volume of 10,000 gallons in the top left box. The left column is your current numbers. The right column is your target numbers. Hover the mouse over the boxes to see the volume needed. Looks like just over and half gallon of 8.25% chlorine will give you a 5ppm bump in FC and 1lb of stabilizer will give you a 12 ppm increase in CYA.
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Get familiar with the SLAM process as duraleigh said above as you most likely need to.
There are at least 4 different kinds of powdered "shock". That is why we often use quotes, because "shock" should not be used as noun in Pool Care because it doesn't actually describe any of the many different products that is labeled "shock". Shocking right! 
More here, Pool School - How to Chlorinate Your Pool
It is important to keep PH between 7.2 and 7.8 at all times.
More here, Pool School - How to Chlorinate Your Pool
It is important to keep PH between 7.2 and 7.8 at all times.
So I have been slamming my pool for a handful of days and I'm hitting a rough spot. The water is blue and looks clean but I have little while flakes floating my my pool. I'm talking millions of them creating a cloudy effect. They are too small and not being filtered out. Anybody have any ideas on how to get past this road block? Thanks
Possibly filter problems. Have you cleaned your filter since you started your SLAM?
SLAM is a process.
Shock
Level
And
Maintain
Based on your chorine number above you aren't at shock level for your CYA. You want to raise it to shock level and keep it there testing often to raise it back up. Can you tell us what test kit you are using to test CYA?