Pool recently became cloudy and murky??

[Stang Guy]

This seemed too happen out of no where. It's been clear for months and now all of a sudden it's cloudy and murky. I check the chlorine levels everyday and add as needed. I always keep it at the higher end of the recommended rand. I use bleach. There was a weird film on the bottom around the pool, it was a greenish color (algae?) I've been vacuuming it everyday and I scrubbed the entire thing yesterday. The filter cartridge was green also (I've been cleaning it often now during the SLAM)

The pool is a beltway seasonal pool 12' circle appx 1500 gallons.

Anyhow, so yesterday I started a SLAM. Found my shock level was 20ppm so i've been keeping it at that and checking it every so often. OCLT was about 4ppm from 8:30 last night to 6am today. CC was .5

I checked it this afternoon and the FC was 14ppm and the cc was either 0 or .5, it was too bright to tell.

Rest of the test results are CYA 50, TA 110 and PH 7.5 (Test kit is the TF-100)

Why and how did this happen if my levels were always kept good??

 

[robertmee]

It doesn't take much for algae to get a foothold...with the extreme hot weather FCs are dropping more rapidly and unless you're checking every hour there's a possibility that FC dipped below minimum. Good news is that your SLAM should only take a day or two as it sounds like you caught it quickly.

 

[Stang Guy]

I think another issue is, the filter that came with the pool isn't too great. You can barely feel it flowing from the outlet. It's only 330 gal/hr.

I test the water everyday and add however much bleach is needed to keep it at the higher end of the range so i'm still unsure how this happened? Only thing I can think of, was we never really scrubbed the pool and I did start to notice a olive greenish film on the bottom edges of the liner.

 

[Texas Splash]

It's also possible the dynamics of a smaller pool might be influenced a bit more by factors such as heat (water temp) and UV exposure on top of already limited water circulation. But since this is a small seasonal pool, have you considered simply draining, cleaning, and refilling as noted on the Pool School - Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools page? Just thought it might save you some time & effort. Certainly up to you though.

 

[Piolin]

You can really empty the pool and start all over, or if you will upgrade to a bigger pool in the future, do a slam and practice it really take small addition of bleach like 20 - 25 onces only, I say go for it, good luck and post some pictures

 

[Stang Guy]

Not seeing any real improvement. Been adding bleach multiple times a day, vacuuming it, running the pump 24/7 and its still murky looking. I don't understand, it was perfect this weekend then all of a sudden monday/tuesday it started looking murky/cloudy out of no where.


Should I buy a better filter pump? If so what should I get thats a direct replacement for the junky one it came with? I do plan on a bigger pool but not this season. I've been using this pool as a practice pool. Should I drain and refill?

 

[Texas Splash]

I really think that with a pool that size, you would be saving yourself a lot of headache to just drain, clean, refill, and adjust the chemicals as noted in the season pool guide link above.

 

[Stang Guy]

I will drain, scrub and refill it. I may 'upgrade' to the intex 1000 gph filter to replace the junky 330 gph it came with. I don't think the poor flowing filter is helping much. I do seem some green stuff in it but not much.