I have been taking care of the in-laws pool over the summer and...well, the pool went from crystal clear, when they left a month ago, to a cloudy blue about 2 weeks ago and then yep, Mr. Green moved in shortly after that. I visited a few pool stores and after around $200 in chemicals and no change in the water I started looking for answers online. BTW - A HUGE THANKS TO THIS FORUM!!!! :-D
4 days ago, I went and bought 7 bottles (about 900 ozs.) of bleach and dumped it in, brushed the sides, turned the eyeballs skyward to increase the circulation and the next morning Mr. Green was gone and the water was a pretty sea green/blue but very very cloudy. Nonetheless, Yippee!!
3 days ago, I kept checking the numbers (my CYA was climbing quick, Ph was at 8 ). Kept brushing the sides, did some backwashing and vacuuming. I poured in another 4 bottles of bleach (about 500 ozs.)
2 days ago the water turned a very nice shade of blue but STILL very hazy and cloudy looking. I read that the 3" tablets contribute to your CYA numbers, and for the past few days it has climbed near 100, so I removed all of the tablets from the skimmers. The Ph was down to 7.3, then I did another backwash and more brushing, then added 2 bottles of bleach (about 300 ozs.).
Yesterday, water was still cloudy. I drained a ton of water and added a boatload back in, trying to get my CYA lowered. I ran the little water-jet-skimmer-guy that rolls around on the bottom of the pool and picks up debris, I believe it is a Polaris brand. Numbers are the same from day before. I brushed the sides, and did another backwash.
Today, the water looks the same, a pretty blue, but still very cloudy with no drain in sight and only the top step can be seen on the stairs.
I have the DPD 2006 kit and have been using the 2:1 ratio to measure the chlorine, which is always the brightest red, so I am merely guessing at the actual numbers.
So here goes those annoying Rookie Questions:
1. Is there ANYTHING else I can be doing to clear up the water?
2. Have I over-chlorinated this pool or is that even possible?
3. How long does it take to lower the chlorine level after the water clears, so it will be safe to swim?
Here are my numbers this morning.
CYA - 100
ALK - 125
Ph - 7.3
FC - 15++
Thanks in advance. 8)
4 days ago, I went and bought 7 bottles (about 900 ozs.) of bleach and dumped it in, brushed the sides, turned the eyeballs skyward to increase the circulation and the next morning Mr. Green was gone and the water was a pretty sea green/blue but very very cloudy. Nonetheless, Yippee!!
3 days ago, I kept checking the numbers (my CYA was climbing quick, Ph was at 8 ). Kept brushing the sides, did some backwashing and vacuuming. I poured in another 4 bottles of bleach (about 500 ozs.)
2 days ago the water turned a very nice shade of blue but STILL very hazy and cloudy looking. I read that the 3" tablets contribute to your CYA numbers, and for the past few days it has climbed near 100, so I removed all of the tablets from the skimmers. The Ph was down to 7.3, then I did another backwash and more brushing, then added 2 bottles of bleach (about 300 ozs.).
Yesterday, water was still cloudy. I drained a ton of water and added a boatload back in, trying to get my CYA lowered. I ran the little water-jet-skimmer-guy that rolls around on the bottom of the pool and picks up debris, I believe it is a Polaris brand. Numbers are the same from day before. I brushed the sides, and did another backwash.
Today, the water looks the same, a pretty blue, but still very cloudy with no drain in sight and only the top step can be seen on the stairs.
I have the DPD 2006 kit and have been using the 2:1 ratio to measure the chlorine, which is always the brightest red, so I am merely guessing at the actual numbers.
So here goes those annoying Rookie Questions:
1. Is there ANYTHING else I can be doing to clear up the water?
2. Have I over-chlorinated this pool or is that even possible?
3. How long does it take to lower the chlorine level after the water clears, so it will be safe to swim?
Here are my numbers this morning.
CYA - 100
ALK - 125
Ph - 7.3
FC - 15++
Thanks in advance. 8)