Sequence of adding chemicals...cloudy results

[Lrooth]

My pool water was sparkling clear last night, dispite the 4 inches of rain that fell in one day the day before! I tested my water and used the pool calculator. Added bleach, PH increaser, and water hardness increaser. When I added the chemicals, I noticed clouds begin to form in the water that quickly spread. This morning I woke up to cloudy water...about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being crystal clear.

Is it wrong to add these chemicals all at the same time in my 10ft deep end? note: I don't have a drain, so the deepest part can take longer to circulate.

READINGS NIGHT BEFORE
FC 2.8
CC 0
PH 7.2
CYA 75
CH 170
TA 120

I added 3.78 quarts of 8% bleach,1 jug (home depot germicidal)
I added about 2 pounds of PH INCREASER
I added 10 pounds of calcium hardness

NEXT MORNING -pump running all night - it's cloudy

FC 3.2
CC 0
PH 7.5
CYA 75
CH 180
TA 120

I want my chlorine to hold at 5, but am struggling. It wants to be between 2 and three. For instance I have added three jugs this week of 8% bleach and it's still at 3.2.

Thanks... You all have been a good support network! Appreciate it!

 

[Butterfly]

With 75 CYA, you should aim for higher maintenance level, say 6 to 11 and never below 6.

However, based on your description, I think you may be on the verge of a bloom. You should do the OCLT to determine if organics are the problem.

If your entire pool is painted, then you can treat as vinyl surface for CH levels (& all recommended levels). But, if you have any exposed plaster/grout, it should be higher as for plaster.

It is hard to determine why the pool is cloudy. Could be algae bloom or calcium clouding or any number of things. We recommend adjusting CH on a day when you are NOT adjusting anything else.

When was the pool last painted?

Does the water cloud with normal pool brushing?

 

[Richard320]

I suspect it's the pH Increaser and the Calcium Increaser clouding your water. You'll note the CH only went up by 10 - not much of a gain. It's probably just not dissolved yet. Open a can of POP. Pool Owber Patience. But do raise the FC level; it won't do anything for cloudiness, but it will keep algae at bay, and who knows what oprganics got washed into the pool with the rain?

 

[kcindc]

Most containers of calcium/hardness increaser (CH) indicate that you shouldn't add other chemicals (namely PH increaser) within 4 hours of adding CH increaser because it can cause cloudiness. Also, it is recommended to break up the CH increaser into a few doses.

As Richard, suggested, you need POP... it should clear up on its own after a day or two.

 

[Lrooth]

Thanks everyone! It's not the first time I have had temporary cloudiness after dumping two or more chemicals in at a time. Ph and chlorine did the same thing. I didn't add calcium hardness that night and I still had a cloud erupt. I WILL NOT add chemicals at the same time! I am always in a hurry!

I really want to increase my chlorine, but three jugs in four days still has it at 3.2. I have been starting out at 2.5, with no drop overnight, but a small increase the next day. I'll check the pool calculator and plug in 10 as a target to see what dose I should be using. I Maybe 2 jugs at a time, until I identify the amount that will keep it at 6 - 11.

I do have a paint problem, but after brushing and brushing during spring start up, I get most of the loose paint off and filtered out. The remainder of the season is OK. Very little clouding with brushing after that.

I painted my pool with a 15 year guarantee paint (no name at this time) at the tune of about $2,000 in paint costs. In just three short months (not 15 years) the paint began powdering dramatically. With a heavy bather load, the water turned to milk! The manufacturer, under the guarantee, supplied two more applications over the next five years. The last application did the same thing. They are refunding my money, saying it is my pool chemistry , because no other pool has had this problem. Since they are located in my area, they actually had their chemists and president visit my pool after the first failure and had their professional painters paint it so as to leave application error out of the equation. After reading this site recently, I thought maybe my calcium hardness should be a lot higher and maybe that it would stop the paint deterioration. I have always kept it at about 180...the PS said that was OK, not to worry. So I did. NO more blind believing!

Do you think certain paints are sensitive to lower levels of calcium hardness? I am also worried about painting over this product, but that is next year's challenge!

 

[jblizzle]

You have a big pool ... so each 121 oz jug of 8.25% bleach will only raise the FC by 2ppm. So at a minimum once the pool is confirmed clean, you will likely need a jug every day.

 

[Lrooth]

Ok... Just put my last jug in the pool. Will increase the volume and get to the right rythum. Thanks.

 

[FamilyGuy]

Noticed your using bleach with "germacidle" additive not sure but might contain something thats causing cloudiness

 

[JamesW]

Ever since they changed the paint to Low VOC, it has been horrible. I wouldn't paint a pool. Every painted pool that I have seen since they changed the formula chalks and clouds the water.

I would avoid using pH increaser. Why is your PH constantly low? Are you using Tabs? If you are, then your CYA is high enough and you should stop using tabs. If you use only bleach, your pH should begin to rise without any help.

 

[Lrooth]

Yes, I have been using PH up quite a bit this season. I am assuming because of all the rain we have had in the northeast. Haven't used any tabs for over a month. No problem, I'll switch to plain Clorox. I haven't done the store equivalents of soda ash, but planning a trip to get some and do that switch today.

What do you suggest I do next Spring regarding the concrete pool surface, if I don't paint? So calcium hardness levels of 180 most likely would not have affected paint deterioration?

Thanks for you feedback.

 

[Lrooth]

It took two days of POP! is sparkling this morning! BUT... I was puzzled by my high CYA. I have had a leaking pool, where 2 inches of water was added everyday. I stopped using pucks over a month ago. Used up my chlor-hypo granules for startup in May....

I re-read pool testing for CYA in the detailed instructions in pool school. Went outside to test, looked straight down at the testing tube. I got a reading of 35!!!! Not 70! Big difference. But I tend to think the 35 makes more sense. I have enough reagents to do one more test.

 

[kcindc]

A leak that size will cause you to loose your CYA. This could be a reasonable assumption as to why you went from 75 to 35 so soon. What is the surface area of your pool? This could help calculate the amount of water you are replacing.

Maybe someone with more experience would chime in, but pucks might not be a bad solution until you get your leak fixed.

Do you know the source of your leak? Depending on the location of your leak, you could be introducing organics constantly which will mess with your pool chemistry. Also, 2 inches of new water daily will need increase the need to constantly balance the new water.

 

[Lrooth]

Hi... Exactly! I haven't had a chance to relax until a few weeks ago when I discover that when my system was shut down, the pool leaked dramatically more... 3-4 inches by the next day! When I mentioned this on this site, I was told it was a suction side leak. After trying a couple plug scenirio, I found that the pool stopped leaking when I put a gizmo in one of two skimmers. I am waiting for A PB to come and fix.

Pool is 19 x 44, 10 ft deep, 4 ft shallow.