Help please!!! Just openned and water is cloudy

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J

Jmendicina

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May 30, 2012
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Hi guys. I am hoping you can help me with my pool. I am a new pool owner...we bought a house 3 years ago with a pool. This is my third season. We live near boston, ma. I have done all the maintenance, open/close myself.

So here is my problem. My pool is extremely cloudy...greyish green. I d a main drain leak this winter...which i fixed. But as a result...my pool was almost empty when i openned it up. I filled it...we have a well. I have begun to shock the pool over the last 2 days. 4 gallons of shock saturday...another 2 gallons yesterday, wednesday. I was filtering...but my filter was clogging (i say that because my return flow slows way down) within an hour or so. I was blowing through DE so right now i have the system in recirc. The water is grey and extremely cloudy. Below are all my chemical results as of 9 am this morning. I am listing what i have...sorry.

32000 IG vinyl
I think the filter is 32
I can tell you the filter is older. It is like a silver cylinder...with a seal around the middle. When i openned it to clean it it has curved fins that kind of wrap around each other.

Fc -10+
Ph - between 6.8 and 7.2
Total alc- 40-50
Stabilizer - 20

Thank you so much for your help and advice!
Jon
 
Hey, Jon,
Welcome to the forum. :lol: A slight drawback to a DE filter is when you have to clean a really messy pool. YOu must put it back into filter and live with the constant clogging up. It will start to get longer and longer in between cycles as your pool gets cleaner. I am not a DE guy but perhaps you can "bump" rather than recharge when your psi goes up?

So, filter aside, you need to continually add chlorine to your pool. read "How to Shock Your Pool" up in Pool School and it will give you the guidance you need.

Cleaning that pool won't go as quickly as you hope but it can be done and you can get your pool crystal clear by adhering to that shock process.
 
Thank you for the very quick response. Unnfortunately, the preasure gauge on my filter was broken and the prev owen just capped it...so I am working only by sight. I am going to follow the shock instructions and I will post as to how it goes. Thanks!!!
 
I want to but i have a bigger issue...the area around the hole for the gauge is rusted. I am affraid that if I take thwe plug out, I will crack the filter cap. If I did, is it replacable? it is a nautilus filter I believe.

SO just to follow up on the filtering. I took my filter apart earlier today...cleaned it out and let it soak in TCP...I think that is what it is called. put it all back together, fed new DE in and it filtered good for about 3-4 hours. Now the main return preasure has gone way down. So do I assume that's it for the DE? Backwash, rinse, DE and start again?

I am in the middle of shocking too. My Alc was low so I added about 12 lbs of baking soda...based on the advice on your site.

Thanks again for the help!!
 
If you can tell your flow is that greatly diminished, then you are probably well past the need to backwash ... a new gauge would be good.

Yes the algae could grow that fast if you are not keeping your FC above the recommended shock level for your CYA.

If your CYA is 20ppm (could actually be lower and you may be loosing a LOT of FC to the sun), then you need to keep the FC > 10ppm.

Do you have one of the recommended test kits? If you are saying FC of 10+, then I guess not.

You should get the FAS-DPD test, raise your CYA to at least 30ppm, and continue the Shocking Your Pool process.
 
Ok great. I actually added stabilizer today...so i am hopingto see those results in a few days. I am going to order a good test kit now...i have the bottled on...like the strips...not the best. I think my issue is i am not keeping the fc up long enough.

On other question...should i be vacuuming? Even if i cant see the pool bottom?
 

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The more gunk you can get out of the pool the better. Either using a net or vacuuming to waste, if you know there is stuff down there, will help as then the chlorine will focus on the algae in the water and not organics sitting on the bottom.
 
Hard to guess. If your CYA is 20ppm, shock level to stay above is 10ppm ... now are the strips correct that you are over 10? That is the question and the reason for a better kit.

Now it does sound like your pool was not green and then went back to green, so you may have successfully killed most of it and then the FC dropped and allows algae to start growing again. You are going to have to start using the filter again to clear the water.
 
I think i know the answer to this but my filter keeps glogging after a couple of hours. Is tha fairly normal if i am trying to clear out the water. Also, what do it domovernight? Run it, recirc, off?? Thanks again!
 
With a dirty cloudy pool, the DE works so efficiently it will clog up quickly ... one of the advantages that becomes a disadvantage trying to clear a pool.

If you are going to be away for awhile (sleeping), switch to recirc ... you always turn the pump off when you move the multi-valve correct?!?!
 
Yes sir...i have picked up a fair bit on my own...we bought this house with the pool about 3years ago...this is my 3rd season. We're in boston...so i only get 3 month of practice a year.

Last question...how much de would you be adding to a 36 sf filter? The bag says 10 lbs but ive been told that's too much.
 
What type/ model is the filter? (Add your pool info to your signature).

Not 100% the normal amount since I do not know what filter you have (many say on them how much to add). I will let you know that if you only backwash (and do not open and spray off the grids completely) then you should only add about 80% of the recommended amount as backwashing does not remove it all.

EDIT: I think the recommendation is something like 1lb for every 5 sqft ... so you would want to start a clean filter with 7 lbs and then maybe add 5.5 lbs after a backwash. But, lets verify for you specific filter.
 
I'll get the signature in tonight. Its a natilus filter...probably about 20 years old i'm guessing. I think it's time for a new filter...i'm no expert but that i think im right on :)
 
Can i ask how long the shock process should take...it has been a few days now...and i cant seem to get past a milky greenish blue color. And now its raining so i think i am suffering a setback...
 
Time is dependent on each pool and how strictly the shocking process is followed. Not uncommon to take a few weeks.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone :)
 

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