Well then don't take our advice. But getting a test kit helps you manage your milky water.
Cloudy/muddy water problem.
- Thread starter The Pool Nerd
- Start date
The Pool Nerd said:
I don't think that is what any of us are saying.
We are simply stating (and 1000s of members here will agree), that to maintain a clear pool for the least amount of money, you need to know your chemical levels accurately and repeatably. To do that, the FAS-DPD chlorine test is the only one that works since you are not trying to match colors and only counting drops, it gives FC and CC, and the test reads up to 50ppm+ FC.
Add that test to your current kit and you will "almost" have the equivalent of the K-2006 or the TF-100 ... you just may run out of some of the reagents faster.
You can trust us, that have no vested interest in making money off you, or your local pool store. But, trying to mix the advice will likely result in confusion and more money spent.
How in the world would it help??? i never check the hardness, because i heard it doesn't matter much in a normal above ground pool. I know my ph and alk is high, my test tells me that. it also tells me when my chlorine is gone/low. what more do i want?! 
OK here is an example.
Your CYA is 25ppm (call it 30ppm). According to the CYA/FC chart in pool school the minimum FC level you should ever allow is 2ppm (if you go less than this algae can start to grow). You test can certainly check this.
Now your water is cloudy, which may or may not be due to algae. If it is algae, you need to go through the shock process (see Pool School), the shock level for your 30ppm CYA is a FC level of 12ppm. Can your test accurate keep the FC at 12ppm?
To confirm if it is algae, you can do the OCLT (see Pool School), which required you to accurately measure the FC drop over night. Can you definitively differential a 1ppm difference on your chlorine test?
Your CYA is 25ppm (call it 30ppm). According to the CYA/FC chart in pool school the minimum FC level you should ever allow is 2ppm (if you go less than this algae can start to grow). You test can certainly check this.
Now your water is cloudy, which may or may not be due to algae. If it is algae, you need to go through the shock process (see Pool School), the shock level for your 30ppm CYA is a FC level of 12ppm. Can your test accurate keep the FC at 12ppm?
To confirm if it is algae, you can do the OCLT (see Pool School), which required you to accurately measure the FC drop over night. Can you definitively differential a 1ppm difference on your chlorine test?
Also to address your comments.
CH does matter in vinyl pools if it gets too high ... you can get scaling / cloudy water.
If you pH and TA are know to be high, why have you not adjusted them?
Finding out your FC is gone, is too late as algae has already started to grow. You must maintain it above the minimum FC level for you CYA level.
Also, we generally recommend a CYA between 30-50ppm to protect the FC from the sun. IF you were at 50ppm, the minimum FC is 4ppm which does not leave much margin on your test.
CH does matter in vinyl pools if it gets too high ... you can get scaling / cloudy water.
If you pH and TA are know to be high, why have you not adjusted them?
Finding out your FC is gone, is too late as algae has already started to grow. You must maintain it above the minimum FC level for you CYA level.
Also, we generally recommend a CYA between 30-50ppm to protect the FC from the sun. IF you were at 50ppm, the minimum FC is 4ppm which does not leave much margin on your test.
Low CH (calcium hardness) is not an issue for a vinyl pool, but high CH can be. As has been mentioned, we suspect your CH (calcium hardness) is very high possibly due to your use of cal-hypo, which is likely the cause of the white stuff in your filter and possibly the water quality issues....i.e. it sure would be nice to know what your CH is. If indeed it is high calcium as part of the cause of your issues, you will need to be able to measure CH, TA, and ph to manage your water to avoid calcium build-up and scaling.The Pool Nerd said:
The more and more i think about it, the more and more i think it is calcium deposit from it. it settles like sand, does not dilute easily, and seems just like the stuff we have to remove from our water heater. (we have a lot of calcium in our water already.) But i did try the CH test again, and after about 23-24 drops, it turned red. Then i thought, if it turned red, it will turn blue after x amount of drops. now, i don't want to use all of my CH up, so i didn't continue.linen said:
My CYA is about 30ppm. I have been trying to adjust the ph and alk, but it never seems to go down. No matter how much acid i add.jblizzle said:
That may just mean that the pH is VERY high ... that acid must be having an affect and eventually the pH will drop into range.
The TA will take work to get it to low ... see the process in Pool School. But, the TA is not a high priority.
Add about 8 oz of 31% muriatic acid (should drop about 1.0), let circulate for an hour, re-test. If still shows 8.2 add another 8 oz. You may be needing to add acid every couple days, which is not necessarily that unusual.
The TA will take work to get it to low ... see the process in Pool School. But, the TA is not a high priority.
Add about 8 oz of 31% muriatic acid (should drop about 1.0), let circulate for an hour, re-test. If still shows 8.2 add another 8 oz. You may be needing to add acid every couple days, which is not necessarily that unusual.
My test has total chlorine that goes like this, .5, 1, 2, 3, and 5ppm. I don't know why the numbers don't go higher, but thats what i have. Most tests i also saw, also only went up to five. that was in a pool store. Even the guy who does the tests for free for me, his also only goes up to five. am i missing something, or am i doing something wrong?And, i no longer think i have algae, because the chlorine is now remaining the same. Plus, i think it may be milky because i over nuked it with the cal-hypo, putting too much calcium in my pool making it the colour it is. and, and, as in over nuke, on my test the total chlorine was was red, when my test ends at a dark yellow. But now, my chlorine is staying at that dark yellow and has been there for the last few days now. I think i may just have to get rid of the extra calcium in the pool.jblizzle said:
well, i have about a half a gal. of acid left, guess i will use it up and go buy some more at Lowes...jblizzle said:
The thing you are missing is that you have the OTO test (I think) and the DPD test also only goes up to 5ppm. That was my point. The FAS-DPD test (that you likely would have to order) is not a color matching test. You count drops until the pink water turns clear. It can go up to 50ppm+ and each drop can be 0.2ppm, but usually 0.5ppm accuracy is good enough. It is the key to accurately knowing your FC and CC and the ONLY test that is accurate at the higher FC levels that are needed for elevated CYA levels or when you must fight algae.
Oh good! I got the Ph down to 7.2 and the alk is 190. the chlorine did drop though, 3 ppm
How much acid did you just add? I certainly hope it was not the entire half gallon at once 
Make sure the FC does not drop below 2ppm given your CYA level.
Make sure the FC does not drop below 2ppm given your CYA level.
I don't have Free Chlorine! I only have Total Chlorine. and no, i added about 2.5~3.0 cupsjblizzle said:How much acid did you just add? I certainly hope it was not the entire half gallon at once
Make sure the FC does not drop below 2ppm given your CYA level.
Right ... well, as far as that test is concerned, you have to assume that TC = FC.
Why so much acid? That is triple what I calculated from the poolcalculator and recommended you should add. That could have dropped your pH by 2.5-3.0 points. I hope you are not now too low which could be damaging to your pool and equipment.
Why so much acid? That is triple what I calculated from the poolcalculator and recommended you should add. That could have dropped your pH by 2.5-3.0 points. I hope you are not now too low which could be damaging to your pool and equipment.
Well, i tested it today, the total chlorine went down, 2ppm. Will be nuking it... The ph went back up to 7.6.
"Nuking your pool" (not sure exactly what that means) is dangerous to your pool. You do not want to raise your FC above mustard shock level which is FC of 19ppm for you CYA of 30ppm. If you due you are likely to start bleaching out your liner.
The FC shock level you should be targeting and maintaining is 12ppm.
The FC shock level you should be targeting and maintaining is 12ppm.
By nuke, i mean shock.... And i add one pound of shock to my pool.... it raises it to about that level.jblizzle said: