Cloudy Water

[mikethaisun]

Hello
I recently added soda ash to my pool and the water has turned cloudy I can just about see the top entry step.
I have carried out a full water test this morning and recorded the following results: -
FC - 10
CC - 0
TC - 10
pH - 7.5
T/A - 50
CH - 600+ I stopped adding drops at 60
CYA - 50

The CH level is obviously far too high, what should I do about that and are there any other measures to take concerning the other results.
Regards to all
Mike Court

 

[linen]

I am guessing it is a result of the high calcium in you water reacting with the soda ash and causing precipitation (I think calcium carbonate). I would test CH again, just to see how high it is. Do you have the TF-100 kit or something similar. In the TF-100 extended directions for CH it details a 10 ml sample instead of a 25 ml sample (saves on reagents...which is good when you are as high as you are). See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/extended-test-kit-directions-t25081.html#p206396

I just noticed your FC is a just a little high for normal, is there a reason for that? You might want to try to lower your ph a little, maybe down to 7.2 for now which may help the precipitation to go back into solution (if that is what is going one here). Be careful when at that high of FC when measuring ph, FC over 10 ppm usually causes high false readings for ph. You should be okay at/or below 10 ppm FC though.

 

[mikethaisun]

Hello Linen
Thanks for the information. I do have a TF-100 kit but there are no instructions shown for a 10mm sample, do I just make an approximation for the number of drops to add or is there a more accurate way of doing it.
Regards
Mike

 

[Butterfly]

Hello Linen
Thanks for the information. I do have a TF-100 kit but there are no instructions shown for a 10mm sample, do I just make an approximation for the number of drops to add or is there a more accurate way of doing it.
Regards
Mike

Linen gave a link to the full instructions in his prior post. But, a snippet:

If you expect that your CH level is extremely high, you can do the test so that each drop is 25, instead of 10, to speed up the process and save on reagent usage. Use 10 ml of pool water, 10 drops of R-0010, 3 drops of R-0011L, and multiply the number of drops of R-0012 by 25 to get your CH level.

 

[mikethaisun]

Hello
Thanks for the information. I have tested again for CH using the 10ml method and got a result of 450. The water is clearing slowly and should be clear in a couple of days. Should I be OK with that or is there anything else I should do.
Regards
Mike

 

[frogabog]

Have you tested your fill water? If a partial drain and refill would lower calcium, maybe that's an option for you?

 

[mikethaisun]

Hello
Thanks for the information. I have not tried what you suggest but the water is clearing albeit slowly so if its not clear in a couple of days I'll give it a go.
Regards
Mike