cloudy water after algae

Jump to latest Follow Reply
M

melmommy

0
May 15, 2010
63
El Dorado, AR
Here is my long story short! Last summer we put in a new liner, sand filter, and installed a SWG. Yeah! Our Hayward 1 1/2 hp pump died again in the fall. This was our 4th one in 9 years. We put in a 2hp this time hoping it would help problem. Thinking was our pumps are so far from the pool we needed more hp to keep it from working too hard. Fingers crossed! Anyway - that's why we lost our pretty water again!

We installed the new pump and cleaned out debris 2 weeks ago and started the shock process. The green went away in a few days leaving the water very cloudy. I know it takes time but I wanted to make sure I was on the right track. We brush the pool at least a couple of times a day. I have not done the overnight FC drop test yet. I am posting my numbers below. When we started 2 weeks ago, our CYA was 0. I have been trying to bring it up slowly. I would say it is almost a 20. My pH has been high i have added muratic acid, but I see I need to add more. We have the SWG turned all the way up thinking it will help keep the FC up. Thank you in advance for your advice. :)

FC 17
CC .5
TC 17.5
pH 8.2
TA 150
CH 60
CYA <20
salt 4600
 
It can easily take a sand filter a week, sometimes two, to clear up the water. You should be able to see a visible improvement each day, though it might only be a small improvement. If you don't see any improvement day to day there may be something else going wrong.

You want to raise CYA into the 30 to 50 range. Otherwise you lose too much chlorine during the day and it is difficult to maintain shock level.

Also, the next time FC is below 10, check the PH again and adjust if needed. The PH test isn't reliable when FC is above 10.
 
Just checked and the FC is down to 12 and the pH is 7.2. I did not add any bleach when i tested earlier because 15 was still in my shock range. I did add muratice acid to lower pH. I backwashed before adding the acid and I will put more stabilizer in a sock to keep raising the CYA. So, is there anything else I should do besides brush and wait?? I can't really see any difference in the cloudiness. I will do the overnight test tonight.
 
melmommy said:
Alrighty, thanks for info. I am off to try and scrub the underside of ladder. I have a feeling there is algae there. I will keep FC up and try to be patient!! :)
Click to expand...

You bring up a very good point. Most people find this forum because they want to take control of their pool and save a little money while they're doing it. Pool Owner Patience (aka POP) and scrubbing are worth their weight in gold.
 
Don't waste your time or reagents on the OCLT. You run that test only when you suspect that your shock process is finished (crystal clear pool)

For now, keep your FC @ 16-20ppm. Don't add anymore CYA, either, unless you know exactly how much you are adding and how much it will increase the ppm in your pool.

Check you FC at least twice daily and continue to calculate and add more....keeping your FC in the 16-20 range.
 
That was based on the assumption you had raised your CYA up to 40-50ppm.

If you are still less than 20ppm for CYA, you FC shock level is 10ppm ... you do not want to raise it above 14 ppm as that can start to be damaging.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
That makes sense. I have not added anymore stabilizer sense my testing this morning. I was going to do it this evening. I will check FC one more time before bed and make sure it is at least 10. So just to be clear, I still need to add stabilizer to raise CYA? I know it takes a while to register and I can't backwash for a few days, but it needs to come up right? Starting to get a little confused. Sorry for all the questions!! Thanks in advance! :)
 
You will loose less FC to the sun if you raise the CYA some at least to 30ppm.

Best to put the CYA in a sock hanging in front of a return jet to get it dissolved into the water. Once dissolved assume it is working even if it may not show up on the test right away.
 
You dont mention the size or shape of your pool, or how well it circulates. Upping the HP on your pump can actually hurt filtration by forcing water through the filter and not allowing the filter to do its job. If you up the HP on the pump you should up the size of your filter. Most pools rarely need more than a 1hp pump to maintain proper water rotation. You may need to floc the water and vacuum whatever debris is in the pool out. It takes about 24 hours for the debris to settle to the bottom, then you begin vacuuming. Works wonders and it will save you a lot of time and money on wasted shock.
 
We generally do not recommend floc as it seems to cause more problems much of the time if the directions are not followed exactly. Pretty sure you have to have killed everything first for it to even help.

The filter will clear the pool if you have patience.
 
Anything can cause more harm than good, if improperly used. After 2 consecutive weeks of shocking, there is an underlying problem. Now without pictures it makes it even harder to diagnose. Knowing what kind of algae or the water fill conditions (well water) would be beneficial.
 
Here is a pic of my water. Still cloudy. I'm sure you see the top step is discolored. It will come off when you scrub really hard. This has never happened before in our pool. There were a lot of leaves in the water over the winter. Could it be mustard algae and not just stained? Also, I made a mistake on our pump size. We went from a 1 hp to 1 1/2 hp. I will change that in my signature. Here are our numbers.
This morning - FC 15
This evening - FC 7
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    59.4 KB · Views: 118
Could it be mustard algae and not just stained?
Click to expand...
Not likely. Mustard algae typically has a greenish-yellowish cast and brushes away instantly like dust (only to grow back the next day without chlorine)

That looks like tannic acid to be but I have only seen it wheree the leaves contacted the surface directly. Were the leaves on the steps?

Regardless, your best bet is to scrub it and get it removed as soon as you can.
 
That looks a bit like tannins to me as well. In addition to scrubbing, continuing to keep your FC level up close to your shock level will also speed up the removal of the stains if they are caused by tannins.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply