Hello,
I am stumped.
I opened my pool for the first time about four weeks ago (it was built last summer). Shocked it, cleared up the water-crystal clear. However, I had iron staining at the winter water line along the side of the pool, confirmed with ascorbic acid test. I have a 37,000 gal pool and cleared the stains by eventually adding a total of 5 lbs of ascorbic acid (2 weeks ago) after letting the chlorine level go to zero. I also placed a CuLator 4 ppm Power Pack in pump basket. At this point, or after I added Jack's Magic Purple stuff metal sequestrant a few hours later, it started to become cloudy. I realized after I added it that Purple Stuff is for not intended for salt water pools. I called Jack's Magic office and they said it simply won't work in salt water pools, not that it will harm anything. They recommended the Pink Stuff. I eventually got another metal sequetrant made for salt water pools with chlorine generators (not "Pink Stuff"- "Metal Free" I think) and added the appropriate amount of this to the pool according to the instructions. Water still cloudy. Not green or discolored, just not clear- a milky appearance. Iron stains have not reappeared (yet).
About a day after I added the ascorbic acid and the first sequestrant (purple stuff), I added liquid chlorine bleach to chew up the Ascorbic acid, which it did and I got sustained chlorine levels of 1-3 ppm for about a week. Through this the water remained cloudy. Then, with the warm and sunny weather we had over the last week the chlorine dropped to virtually nothing- zero or close to it Friday evening. I checked the cyanuric acid for the first time this season and it was essentially zero. I have been adding CYA gradually over the last few days to bring it up to a target level of 50-60. It was up to 25 yesterday before I added more CYA. I shocked the pool with 5 gallons of 8.25% bleach 3 days ago (Friday) at 10 pm at night and shut off the chlorine generator. The next morning, pool still cloudy, measured chlorine with test kit. I tested the following morning, this past Saturday. To my surprise, after shocking the pool with all that bleach 9 hours before, free chlorine was 0.5 or less, combined chloramines were 0.5 or less, and total chlorine thus one or less. I retested three times. Unfortunately, I was lazy and didn't take the same chlorine measurements before shocking, so I am not sure where it was when I started. I know now I should have.
Hardness a little low at about 200. Will add calcium to bring it up. Salt level fine for the chlorine generator- 3200. pH between 6.8 and 7.4 over last week.
The pool remains cloudy. Again, there is no green discoloration whatsoever- it doesn't look to me like algae. What should I do? Should I shock again? Add a clarifier? Algaecide? I am out of ideas.
Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I am stumped.
I opened my pool for the first time about four weeks ago (it was built last summer). Shocked it, cleared up the water-crystal clear. However, I had iron staining at the winter water line along the side of the pool, confirmed with ascorbic acid test. I have a 37,000 gal pool and cleared the stains by eventually adding a total of 5 lbs of ascorbic acid (2 weeks ago) after letting the chlorine level go to zero. I also placed a CuLator 4 ppm Power Pack in pump basket. At this point, or after I added Jack's Magic Purple stuff metal sequestrant a few hours later, it started to become cloudy. I realized after I added it that Purple Stuff is for not intended for salt water pools. I called Jack's Magic office and they said it simply won't work in salt water pools, not that it will harm anything. They recommended the Pink Stuff. I eventually got another metal sequetrant made for salt water pools with chlorine generators (not "Pink Stuff"- "Metal Free" I think) and added the appropriate amount of this to the pool according to the instructions. Water still cloudy. Not green or discolored, just not clear- a milky appearance. Iron stains have not reappeared (yet).
About a day after I added the ascorbic acid and the first sequestrant (purple stuff), I added liquid chlorine bleach to chew up the Ascorbic acid, which it did and I got sustained chlorine levels of 1-3 ppm for about a week. Through this the water remained cloudy. Then, with the warm and sunny weather we had over the last week the chlorine dropped to virtually nothing- zero or close to it Friday evening. I checked the cyanuric acid for the first time this season and it was essentially zero. I have been adding CYA gradually over the last few days to bring it up to a target level of 50-60. It was up to 25 yesterday before I added more CYA. I shocked the pool with 5 gallons of 8.25% bleach 3 days ago (Friday) at 10 pm at night and shut off the chlorine generator. The next morning, pool still cloudy, measured chlorine with test kit. I tested the following morning, this past Saturday. To my surprise, after shocking the pool with all that bleach 9 hours before, free chlorine was 0.5 or less, combined chloramines were 0.5 or less, and total chlorine thus one or less. I retested three times. Unfortunately, I was lazy and didn't take the same chlorine measurements before shocking, so I am not sure where it was when I started. I know now I should have.
Hardness a little low at about 200. Will add calcium to bring it up. Salt level fine for the chlorine generator- 3200. pH between 6.8 and 7.4 over last week.The pool remains cloudy. Again, there is no green discoloration whatsoever- it doesn't look to me like algae. What should I do? Should I shock again? Add a clarifier? Algaecide? I am out of ideas.
Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
