Mostly cloudy, chance of Floc?

[Rnsmik]

Hi All,

10 yrs w/o incident. Crystal clear water, even upon opening. Using 6 way strips, A little ph adjustment, some shock and we were good to go. A couple of weeks after we replaced the liner last year, the pool became progressively cloudy. Whitish up close, light green/yellowish from afar. FC was low, so I'm thinking algae. Tried shocking, but looked like it became worse. Visited several "pool stores" and all readings came back fine. Finally flocked, and things seemed to be back to normal. Opening this year water was brown. Storm punctured a hole in the cover. Shocked and was fine. About a week ago, water became whitish again, FC was low, so here we go again. Began shocking with trichlor, then oxy, and finally bleach. All along, looks to be getting worse. Just used 3x dose of clarifier. Filtering 24/7. My test kit should be here Friday, then I could start BBB for good.

FC 8.4
TC 8.4
CC 0
Ph 7.6
Alk 74
CYA 20
CH 20
Copper 0
Iron 0
Phosphates 0

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum. :lol: Post your numbers up when your good kit gets in and we'll all help you get back to crystal clear.

Meanwhile, please read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. It'll fill in some blanks for you.

Be prepared to start the shock process when you post those numbers. read "How to Shock Your Pool".

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, Rnsmik

 

[Rnsmik]

UPDATE- TF-100 results:

FAS/DPD-10.5
CC-.5
TC-11
pH-7.8
TA-180
CYA-40
CH-80

Water- 84*, still cloudy, but not as bad. Added some DE according to school directions earlier today. Hopefully this will help speed up clarity. Keeping an eye on pressure, hasn't risen since initial 1 psi. BTW, in tf100 directions, fas/dpd says (?)x.05, then later says (?) x.5. I believe the latter is correct. Thanx in advance.

 

[linen]

UBTW, in tf100 directions, fas/dpd says (?)x.05, then later says (?) x.5. I believe the latter is correct.

You are correct, should be X0.5.

Have you completed a OCLT yet?

 

[Rnsmik]

Thanks for the help Linen. I'm about to start the initial phase now. No more direct sun on the pool. I'll post results in the a.m.. The pressure remains 1 psi above norm 9 hrs later, do you think filter/pump is oversized, pushing too much volume through? I was reading about that elsewhere on here in regards to poor filtering. Also, bought a Intex swg 54601eg. Is this appropriate for my pump? If I did the math right I may be a little over the 70-4000gph the swg is rated for. The swg hookup will wait until crystal clear water returns for a couple of weeks. Thanks for any future advise.

 

[linen]

The pump is oversized. The filter is slightly undersized (we would recommend a minimum 2 sq. ft. filter and yours is 1.8 sq.ft). The combo still do the job though. The swg does not care as long as the flow is high enough, which it will be from that pump.

 

[Rnsmik]

OTCL

9.5 last night-8pm
7.5 this morning-8am

Stated shock process, 18 ppm now, sunny n hot is the forecast. Should I test through out the day, or wait until later this afternoon?

 

[duraleigh]

Since you are close to passing the OCLT, I would test FC and bring it back to shock value late this afternoon when the sun is off the pool.

Then, redo the OCLT tonight performing your first FC test about an hour or so after the dose above.

 

[Rnsmik]

Wasn't available for the afternoon shock, however, OCLT was:

11.5- 10:30 pm
10.5- 07:30 am

CC-0
TA-100
pH-7.8

 

[Richard320]

Wasn't available for the afternoon shock, however, OCLT was:

11.5- 10:30 pm
10.5- 07:30 am

CC-0
TA-100
pH-7.8

Well, there's two out of three down. Almost done. Is it any clearer?

 

[Rnsmik]

VERY gradual, problem started last Wed or Thurs, at its worst this past Wed.. Tried a little DE one time, pressure only went up 2 psi. Wonder if I should try more with maybe a dose n a half?

 

[linen]

Add enough DE to raise your pressue 1 psi, then keep a close eye on the pressure and backwash when it goes up 25%. See this pool school article:http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/add_de_to_a_sand_filter

 

[Butterfly]

VERY gradual, problem started last Wed or Thurs, at its worst this past Wed.. Tried a little DE one time, pressure only went up 2 psi. Wonder if I should try more with maybe a dose n a half?

Did you notice a difference in the way the water looked after adding the DE?

Have you backwashed since adding the DE?

When is the last time you cleaned the filter?

 

[Rnsmik]

DE was in for about a day before I back washed. I'm back washing everyday. Looked about the same as not having it. Every 24 hrs is a little clearer. Not sure if I should continue the DE. Sand was changed mid season last year. Pressure was fine so I never flushed it. Should I start cleaning sand on a regular basis? Pressure seemed lower b4 I back washed DE, but gauge showed little change. Wonder if gauge is accurate? Tap it, needle moves freely. Around 26 psi, went up to around 28-29 w/de

 

[linen]

Does your gauge go to zero when the pump is off?

If it does, then that is pretty high pressure. I would do a thorough backwash cycle?

 

[Rnsmik]

Gauge is at 8, so that brings us to 16. 18-19 w/24 hrs of DE

 

[Rnsmik]

Took filter completely apart. cleaned rinsed sand. There wasnt that much debris, but rinse was green. Found crack in center pipe where it is seated on the lateral assembly. Replaced with schedule 26 PVC, identical in o.d. and the i.d. eyeballs the same. W/o my micrometer on hand, I can be for sure. It's that close. Lost several hours filtering, water looks unchanged from this morning. Still cloudy. Should I still try the DE? Am I letting the FC come back to normal? Thanks again

 

[linen]

Is the 8 psi when pump is off? What is the 16?

 

[duraleigh]

Yeah, I'm bamboozled by that, too.