HELP!!! Frustrated newbie with a cloudy pool

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manda12981

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Jul 8, 2011
7
Cloudy water for 2 weeks, have added enough bleach to kill an elephant. Still cloudy, but maybe slightly better. I have vacuumed the bottom, cleaned the filter. I am at a loss. Here are today's readings.

CYA - 30
pH - 7.6
TA - 250
CH - 220
FC - 10
CC - 0.5

I have not done an overnight test, and won't be able to until next week. I will be on vacation and will have my husband on pool duty when I am gone. At this point I don't know what to tell him to do.

Also, is it safe for the kids to go in?

Any help is appreciated. I am on a cartridge filter, and we have changed the cartridge every 5 days with a new one, and rinsed 1-2 a day.
 
I don't know what caused the cloudiness, other then over use. 5-8 kids in it all day/every day. I don't know exactly where my levels were before, since I finally just got my kit today. However, when I would dilute the water to test for FC/CC I got about the same readings.

I have only used bleach, nothing else added.
 
Yeah, that gives a little better picture and I think your diagnosis is correct. The pool is simply very heavily used and that usage is more than the flimsy Intex pump and filter can manage.

Post after post on this forum tells us that the Intex pumps and filters are very, very marginal for the size pool they are attached to.

If you are not running the pump 24/7, you need to start. Don't turn it off until the pool is clear. I would also boost the FC up to around 14ppm or so and hold it there for a few days at least, if not longer. I think you will begin to see some improvement.

I would let the kids swim in the pool.
 
I'm certain my pool wouldn't be ok if I ever turned the pumps off. I run two Intex style pumps 24/7. They keep the water clear for the most part despite daily dirt from the air. Still working on battling that with the crummy filters Intex sells.

Also, you don't need to buy new filters every week. Rinse/blow them off with high pressure from the hose. They actually work a little better when they aren't new. To clean them, soak in a bucket of water with dishwasher detergent overnight or longer. Had some in the soup all winter actually, they work as well as they did last year but still not good enough to catch the heavy fine particles before they drop to the floor.

Can't say I don't have enough flow though, with both pumps running the water is moving quite fast. Note... TWO pumps. One would never accomplish this.
 
Sorry, forgot to mention that with CYA at 30, you will need to dose to 7ppm at night, and expect it to be around 3-4ppm the next night. Steady 3ppm is only minimum, and that means if you loose ANY chlorine you're falling below minimum which can bloom algae. Dose to target every day, even in the am if you forget the night before so that you will have enough through the day to loose and still be above minimum after sun/swimming eats it up.

You might also be missing shock level. Shock for 30ppm CYA is 13ppm. 10ppm isn't quite hitting it.
 
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