Water balanced and wont clear

[chenza]

Pool store told me to empty pool at least 1/2 way and refill with new water because I have a too high level of some type of organic byproduct (cant remember the name). And the water was too old. Pool has been up for 6 years.
Is this possible? It was a green swamp, and I got it clean again, but it stays cloudy.
I can post numbers if necessary, but just wanted to know if this makes sense to those of you that understand pools, because I am obviously a pool chemistry challenged girl!

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, chenza

Please post your test numbers and where they came from.

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

You've been Pool-stored. See, you're learning things already.

They most likely had you drain because of a buildup of cyanuric acid. Also called CYA or stabilizer. It's not some organic byproduct - it's something they had you put in via pucks and powders.

Anyway, short answer is, we need accurate test results to diagnose. Sadly, if those results came from the pool store, they are somewhat suspect.

Start reading Pool School until you feel like

You need understanding, so you can figure things out and fix them yourself. Having someone else tell you what to add has gotten you nowhere but broke. And you still can't swim in your pool!

 

[Isaac-1]

Like Richard said chances are it is CYA build up caused by using dichlor and trichlor based dry chlorine products, this is why we generally suggest using only liquid chlorine / bleach or a salt water chlorine generator for daily chlorination needs, dry chlorine products have their place, but only potentially in careful use while getting the water balanced, even then it is often better to use individual separate chemicals as they are easier to track.

Ike

p.s. this time of year we hear of CYA build up / over stabilization symptoms multiple times per day, usually it involves a green pool that will not clear up, ....

 

[chenza]

It's not CYA. It was so low all along, and it was hard to get it up. Now it's normal on my dipstick and at 2 different pool stores, but will get the recommended tester and post numbers. I remember the guy putting the water into a little device that said it was 20000 ppm and it should be 12000 to 15000?

 

[Isaac-1]

May have been TDS, which stands for total dissolved solids, and if so is a useless test, at one time it was used to indicated CYA and other dissolved solids before there were separate tests for each. Still not sure if that is it, either way, water does not get old, cloudy water tends to be caused by one of two things, algae or high levels of Calcium. We find that dip stick testing is nearly useless, too wide of ranges, and results get thrown off easily, plus they don't age/store well. If you have the pool store numbers go ahead and post them, while questionable, the may at least give us some starting point clues.

Ike

 

[chenza]

That's it! TDS! I knew you'ld know. I'm going to get new numbers from the pool store tomorrow and post. I though tsome thing was fishy about that test! Thank you!

 

[chenza]

OK, just got back from the pool store. Free chlorine is low because I haven't been adding any chlorine in anticipation of emptying the pool.
Here are the numbers:
TC 0.7
FC 0.0
pH 7.0
TA 130
CH 200
CYA 90
TDS (total dissolved solids) 2200
Do I really need to drain 1/2 of the pool? The water is a nice blue color, but very cloudy. I guess the CYA is higher than I thought. Let me know what you think.
Thank You!!!
___________________________________________________________
30x30 round AG - 54 inches deep; 25,000 gal. Hayward pump with a sand filter. ( I just replaced the sand) Vinyl liner.

 

[linen]

I wouldn't trust the pool stores cya tests, they get that one wrong more often than right. I would get your own test kit before draining.

 

[chenza]

OK, I'll order the kit, but if CYA is high, will I have to drain?

 

[linen]

That would be our recommendation. It will make it easier to do the shocking process and then maintain normal chlorine level after you are done with the process.