Zero FC-Murky water

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H

hythemr

0
Jun 4, 2014
20
Livonia/MI
Opening my pool this season I can't get things right. Water is murky, even slimy right now. Fiberglass pool 6,000 gallons, cartridge filter.

TC-Good
FC-ZERO
pH-6.5
TA-High

Put 4lb pH Up over 3 days, no change in the pH. Tons of shock and liquid chlorine and the FC will not go up either.
Any help would be appreciated! Thank you in advance.
 
Welcome to TFP!

When dealing with a green pool, you need to keep adding chlorine very frequently. Hourly is not too often at first. What you really need is a test kit that can test the chlorine levels you need to fight algae. Check out Defeating Algae for a description of the process.
 
Welcome to TFP, I hope you find the help we give useful!

One thing I can say is that you want to get rid of those test strips. I assume they are test strips because I definitely don't trust that your pH is 6.5 but your TA is off the charts. Also despite what they chart may say if your TC is anything greater than your FC then it is not good. Total Chlorine is Free Chlorine plus Combined Chlorine, and your CC should equal zero.

There are probably going to be a lot of new concepts you find here, I know I was pretty overwhelmed when I started. I can promise you that the TFPC method is one worth giving a shot. Using the methods and knowledge I got here I have had an algae free pool for years. The article JohnT posted is the one that will help you with your immediate problem and is a good place to start. Check my sig for a link to test kits that will give you FAR better results than strips or pool store testing! It will speed up the process greatly!

And don't be afraid to ask any questions. The only stupid question is the one that isn't asked.
 
Yes, I have been using test strips and I'm ordering a drop kit now. Dumped 10 gallons of liquid chlorine in the past 10 days, 6 shock packets, algecide, still cloudy. What would cause very high Total Chlorine and zero FC?
 
Slimy murky water causes the FC to be consumed and turned in to CC. 10 gallons of chlorine in 10 days doesn't even come close to putting a dent in the algae growth. We can't give specific advice on how much without proper test results. Which test kit did you order, the TF-100 or the K-2006?

While you are waiting for the kit you need to read up on the following:
Defeating Algae
SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain
Handy References
 
hythemr said:
Yes, I have been using test strips and I'm ordering a drop kit now. Dumped 10 gallons of liquid chlorine in the past 10 days, 6 shock packets, algecide, still cloudy. What would cause very high Total Chlorine and zero FC?
Click to expand...

Well, ammonia is the first thing that pops into my mind.

You should stop using 'shock packets' and algaecides. Algaecide is a waste of money for curing problems and can be a problem with staining and/or foaming, which just makes more organics for the chlorine to oxidize.

Best to use bleach/liquid chlorine only.

Welcome to TFP :wave:
 
Went to the pool store today, to confirm my test results and they were the same. Low pH, (hasn't responded to 5lbs of pH up) and zero free chlorine. They recommend 1.5 pounds pH plus and four gallons of liquid chlorine several hours later. Sounds pretty consistent with the advice in the group, I will give it a shot and go from there. They also said the low pH is responsible for the pool not responding to chlorine.
 
hythemr said:
Went to the pool store today, to confirm my test results and they were the same. Low pH, (hasn't responded to 5lbs of pH up) and zero free chlorine. They recommend 1.5 pounds pH plus and four gallons of liquid chlorine several hours later. Sounds pretty consistent with the advice in the group, I will give it a shot and go from there. They also said the low pH is responsible for the pool not responding to chlorine.
Click to expand...

They are clueless and just trying to sell you stuff. The low pH has absolutely nothing to do with the chlorine. You are struggling with chlorine because your pool is using it up faster than you are adding it.

pH up is just overpriced washing soda, which you can get at Walmart. But it raises TA along with pH, so if your TA is really high, you don't want to use it. Low pH and high TA can be fixed by aerating the water. Adjust your return so the flow breaks the surface and you should see the pH begin to rise. Remember that if you get your FC to shock level that your pH testing will not be accurate.
 
The four gallons of chlorine took the Total chlorine and FC over the charts(really high), water is still cloudy. I have some pipes used for winterization, maybe that will do the job aerating. How quickly will the chlorine level stabilize?
 

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4 weeks Very Cloudy water... Filtration?

Merged by moderator. Please keep your questions together for continuity of story. Thanks, jblizzle

I posted a couple weeks ago about having trouble with the pool, and assumed it was chemicals. Chemicals are now fine, but water is just as murky. The pool is so cloudy you would not see your hand after 1 foot of depth. Went last time to the local pool store and they said my water was fine and it was just a matter of filtering and waiting. They said since i started my season with a green pool, the algae had turned white... I purchased some First aid product to help with the clearing. Still in the same boat no clearing. I have a tropic flo cartridge filter and a Jandy 1.25HP pump and the pressure drops significantly after filtering for a few hours and I clean it as little as every two days and as much as twice a day to keep the pressure up (no pressure meter, just no flow.) I'm at the end of my rope and ready to get this thing filled. What am I doing wrong?

CYA 104
TC:1
FC:1
pH:7.6
Total Alk:152
 
Who says your chemicals are fine? Your CYA is way too high and your FC is way too low.

If you want to take control you need to cut ties with the pool store, invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits and then follow the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process to clear up the pool.

Why is there no pressure gauge on your filter? We recommend cleaning when the pressure rises 20-25% over the clean pressure ... as often as that happens.

How much Pool School have you read? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool
 
Its a steel filter, no gauge for some reason, but I feel I have to clean it way too much. I read the articles, this is my third season with this pool and this season just won't get off right. I'm shocking with liquid chlorine and that did the job when my FC & TC were way off. I do use pucks for daily chlorination. Even with my CYA my chlorine levels are constantly up and down. I have to imagine something is wrong for the water to be this cloudy for 4 weeks? 20140617_210213.jpg
 
Your chemistry is really pretty bad, not fine. Your chlorine is way, way to low. You should be keeping it around 12ppm and never letting it drop below 7ppm.

Since your water is still green, you need to consistently keep it at the shock level for your CYA level which is 39ppm, until the water clears.
 
to lower cya you need to drain some water and then refill, there is no viable other way
try mixing half pool water sample with half tap water and then redo cya test, and then double result for a more accurate cya number

drain about one third pool water and then refill and repeat until your cya level is managable
 
Partial drain & refill, then stop using pucks (it's the pucks that raise your CYA). CYA and CH are the two things you can't really "treat", you have to remove.

If you post some details about pool construction etc... (ideally in your signature) the folks here can give you specific advice about draining/refilling without damage... or just do a series of partial drain/refills taking it down a foot or two each time.
 

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