Still seeing a cloudy pool

[rbranch]

Hello All!

First time poster here, but I've been reading the Pool School and the forums on here for two years. I have a 12ft x 2.5ft deep, 2100 gallon Metal Frame Intex Pool hooked up to a 2800 GPH Intex Sand Filter. Its MUCH MORE filter than this little pool needs but because of that, I've been blessed with crystal clear water for two years with very little maintenance. I use the 3" Tri Chlor tabs in a floater (one at a time) and typically only go through 3 tabs all season. Now before anyone judges- we have this little pool because we have two small children. It allows them to splash and play and stand up in water up to their chest, and the adults just lounge in it like a spa. It works. We will however be upgrading to a real, professionally installed above ground pool next year. What I love about this pool is its a great way to practice and make your chemistry mistakes without costing hundreds of dollars to fix. Think of it as a trial pool for beginners.

Anyway- I left for a week and had the pump set on a 6 hour timer. So that means 7 water cycles per day. I have a new tri chlor tab in the floater, the solar cover on, and the solar heater set to run a few hours a day.

I came back and the pool looked a little cloudy at first. I vacuumed a few times but never thought it could be the start of an algae bloom. Two days later I have a green pool. I tried some granular Leslies pool store shock I had laying around (since I only needed 4oz for this size I don't buy much) but that didn't do anything. I read on here that bleach is the problem solver when you have a high CYA. (I've noticed for the last few weeks when I leave the floater out of the pool a few days my chlorine level didn't fall) So... I ditched my basic Taylor kit and am now the proud owner of a K-2006 test kit.

I put in a gallon of 8.25% Clorax bleach two days ago and the next day the green was gone and I now have a cloudy (can't see the bottom) pool. I backwashed and rinsed, and added another half gallon of bleach again. This morning, still the same results with no visual water change. I've been running the filter non-stop for a week and backwashing and rinsing every day at minimum.

Here are the results of my first K-2006 water test.

FC: 48
CC: 2
PH: 7.6
Alk: 100
CH: 125
CYA: 80
Saturation Index: -.25
Temp: 74 F

Its worth mentioning I've been adding well water since a long backwash can drain a few hundred gallons out of this pool which makes a big difference in the water level. We have hard water here and a shallow well so I can't just drain and refill to any significant level.

My question is- why is my pool still cloudy??

Thank you all.

 

[domct203]

Hello and welcome.

Are you trying to SLAM the pool, or just dumping in a bottle of bleach and hoping for the best?
Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

With a CYA of 80ppm, your shock level for the SLAM is 31ppm, and needs to be held there until you meet all three criteria to complete the SLAM. The SLAM would go much easier if you drained and refilled 1/2 your pool to lower CYA to 40ppm.

You should also be brushing often to expose the algae to the chlorine.

Are you planning to drain and take the pool down for winter?

 

[rbranch]

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't able to follow the SLAM method without the arrival of my K2006 test kit, which just came in yesterday. Now that I have it, I can do that method. The point of the bleach to start was knowing beyond a doubt that I needed to get the chlorine levels up to kill the algae bloom so I knew to start there. Also I wasn't confident my CYA was up since I've been using those big 3" tablets in that little pool and I hadn't seen my chlorine fall much over the last few weeks even with the floater out.

I will brush and vacuum to waste again tonight and that should drain about 1/3rd of the water out of my pool. I'll add another few hundred gallons out of the hose and that should get my CYA down to the 50-60 range. With my FC where it is should I even add more bleach or just let what's in there do its job? If I'm at 48 and I need to be at 31 for SLAM levels, is that the right call or should I still add bleach regardless just to keep winning the battle with overwhelming odds?

Thanks

 

[domct203]

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't able to follow the SLAM method without the arrival of my K2006 test kit, which just came in yesterday. Now that I have it, I can do that method. The point of the bleach to start was knowing beyond a doubt that I needed to get the chlorine levels up to kill the algae bloom so I knew to start there. Also I wasn't confident my CYA was up since I've been using those big 3" tablets in that little pool and I hadn't seen my chlorine fall much over the last few weeks even with the floater out.

I will brush and vacuum to waste again tonight and that should drain about 1/3rd of the water out of my pool. I'll add another few hundred gallons out of the hose and that should get my CYA down to the 50-60 range. With my FC where it is should I even add more bleach or just let what's in there do its job? If I'm at 48 and I need to be at 31 for SLAM levels, is that the right call or should I still add bleach regardless just to keep winning the battle with overwhelming odds?

Thanks

Any chlorine above your shock level is just wasted. The algae will die off no faster, and the very high chlorine levels will eventually damage your liner and equipment while lightening your wallet.

If you follow the SLAM procedure your pool will clear. Keep the FC at shock level, testing and dosing 3-4 times a day if needed.

Don't backwash until your filter pressure raises 20-25% over the clean pressure, a slightly dirty filter actually filters better.

With your FC well above 10ppm the pH test is not accurate. Focus on FC right now, then as the cloudyness begins to clear add CC to your testing.

Be patient, it will clear, just keep FC at shock level and brush brush brush!