Clear water last night, cloudy this morning

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Reebs

Reebs

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Bronze Supporter
Aug 4, 2008
94
Hebron, CT
This morning I knew something was off right away as I could barely see the white drains in the deep end. This season, my water has been excellent until about July 4th. We started to get some real heat (still here) in CT on the 4th of July and I noticed my water cloud up that day. On the 6th, FC was down to 0 and CC was 0.5. I assume my SWG couldn’t keep up. I added bleach (364oz at 6%) and by evening on the 6th, the pool water was clear. Yesterday (the 7th) it was fine as well.

However, last night I fertilized my lawn and cleaned my white steps with Magic Eraser which works great removing that dirty grey and yellow line that forms at the water line. However, this morning, my pool was VERY cloudy. My water had 0 FC and 0 CC. Is this due to the slight possibility that fertilizer may have gotten in the pool (and if it did it couldn’t have been more than a pellet or two as I am extremely careful at the waters edge) or possibly the Magic Eraser? Or is it just coincidence I did those things and because of several days of 95 degree heat and very high humidity my SWG isn’t keeping up? Any thoughts? All other water tests are testing fine.
 
There's lots of things that contribute but the focus should be on one thing.....maintaining adequate chlorine.

You should never allow your FC to drop to zero....never. Additionally, you should never allow your FC to go below the suggested minimums published in the FC/CYA chart.

If you neglect your chlorine levels for 24 hours and they fall too low, Mr Algae is always willing to come in and help with the pool water management. :mrgreen:
 
When the heat kicks up and there are more people in the pool, it always means testing more frequently and adjusting accordingly. I often bump up my swg hours before/and or after a party or heat wave to ensure I have enough FC to do the job.
 
Pool School recommends completing the shock process when..............

............. you have algae, or the CC level is above 0.5, or the free chlorine (FC) level is zero, you should shock the pool. Many people also like to shock the pool when the FC level falls significantly, as it often does after a major storm or large swim party. This is done even if FC doesn't get all the way to zero, just to be sure everything is all right. If you are maintaining proper FC levels there is no need to shock weekly, or on any other regular schedule.
Click to expand...
 
Reibeling said:
Thanks! If you were to guess- is the issue more to do with a lot of direct sun and very hot temperatures? Shocking the water now...
Click to expand...

Um, insufficient chlorine. Can you post a full set of test results for us? We like to get as many facts as we can to help figure out the problem :wink:
 
Reibeling,

Please don't think I am picking on you but I am a bulldog (and often a pushy one :oops:) on this subject.....

Heat, sunlight, etc...it all requires more chlorine than earlier in the year but the issue was and is very simple. you must keep adequate chlorine in your pool at all times. You cannot let your FC drift to zero regardless of temp or anything else.

90% of the water problems we see on this forum are due to inadequate chlorine. How the pool gets to that point can take different twists and turns but the result is the same.
 
Thanks for the replies. Not pushy at all- you are helpful. I have owned a pool for 8 years now and I seem to get in these situations about once a season. For months I have CRYSTAL clear water and then I get in trouble. When my water is flawless I suppose I think all is fine so I only test my water once a week once the season is under way and I have no issues. This one caught me off guard but I should have seen the Chlorine drop and taken more action. On June 30th I was content with my test but my Chlorine dropped between the 30th and the 4th. I should have seen the trend I suppose.

June 30th water results:
FC= 3.5
CC= 0
PH= 7.7
TA= 100
CH= 30 (I typically don't worry about this with a vinyl pool)
CYA= 55 (I know this is a little low, but I have typically had very good luck at this level)
Salt= 3610 (my normal operating level is 3500-4000)

On July 4th everything else was about the same except FC was 2.5 and water just started to look slightly cloudy- temps also got very hot and humid
On July 6th FC was 0 and CC was .5. I added 364oz of 6% bleach...water started to clear. I trust I didn't add enough as I should have shocked it then.
This morning (July 8th) FC= 0 and CC=0

I shocked the water with a target of 20 for FC
 
I think your original question wasn't answered...yes, sunlight and heat will accelerate chlorine degradation as you get further and further into summer. If you were assuming the FC rate from late spring would continue through July, and didnt adjust SWG run times, yes, this is why FC got so low. Once it got to zero, did something else start to grow which accelerated that process? Probably, but who cares. You're shocking it to take care of it. I also would suggest checking FC more often, if for no other reason than to verify FC is above the minimum and to check your assumptions about FC loss rate.
 
Testing every day with the full kit is a bit of a PITA, I know.

One of the reasons the K-1000 (plastic blue box) is in the TF-100 is so you can use it for daily testing that won't take you more than 2-3 minutes a day.

As long as that chlorine test is a nice shade of yellow, you're good to go. Then you can adjust your FC from the once weekly FAS/DPD test which takes a bit longer.
 

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That makes sense to me...the results on the others are almost always the same. In fact, PH often is the same too, but FC is the only that moves more often and I have a better understanding of why now.
 
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