Cloudy Water - All Tests are Good

[KSpoolguy]

We put our pool in last July and was having many problems for the first 3 weeks. I found this site and switched to bleach and everything has been great. Crystal clear every day all day. I did run my pump 24 hours a day.

About 3 weeks ago, I switched to 12 hours a day manual (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.). The pool stayed clear. About a week and half ago, I purchased a mechanical timer and had it installed. For the first week, everything was fine. Last week, we had tons of rain, so I only opened the pool on Wednesday to test the water and add chlorine. All readings were great. On Thursday, the same. I opened the pool on Friday and found cloudy water. All the readings were fine, except the chlorine as slightly low at 2.0 (pool math shows 3-7 for me). I ran the pump 24 hours a day until Sunday, brought the chlorine up to 8.0 on Thursday and kept it there until Sunday and everything was clear again (was a slow process). Mind you, my CC's were and always have registered 0.0 to 0.5.

So I ran the pump again 12 hours a day starting on Sunday (once the timer was installed I have been running it 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.). Now it is Tuesday and water is cloudy again:

Here were my full test results from today:

FC 3.5
CC 0.0
TC 3.5
PH 7.2 (my PH has been at 7.5 everyday since I can remember with a slight change when I added the boric acid about a month ago)
CH 150
TA 110
CYA 40
Borates 40


1. What is causing my PH to lower? I have a waterfall that we use a few days a week and have my returns pointing upwards.
2. Does the cloudy water have anything to do with the split schedule I am running on my pump? If not, could some rainwater be getting in there, or enough to make a difference?
3. Should I run the pump for 12 hours on, 12 hours off regardless of its impact?

To be clear, you can still see the bottom, it just isn't crystal clear like it normally is. And I have noticed that I am going throuhg more chroline daily than normal, was using about a bottle a day of 96 oz. 6%. The norm lately has been 2 bottles a day. Also, the water has been in the high 80's, but cooler temps have brought it down to about 78 in a pretty short period.

Thanks in advance for any help you all can give me!!

 

[Butterfly]

You probably need to do the SLAM process. You can go ahead and get to SLAM level FC and do an OCLT test tonight.

That will rule out/in organics. If it turns out organics, which I suspect, you will have a jump on the process.

 

[KSpoolguy]

So even though my CC's are registering 0.0, there is still a possibility of organics in the pool?

 

[Smykowski]

Yes. It's very common in swamp-to-clean scenarios to see zero CCs th entire time.

Don't be afraid to run your FC a little higher. Redose at 4 instead of 3, and target 6 or 7. I keep my pool on the high side to give myself a little bit more of a buffer and stay away from the min.

 

[Butterfly]

Did you do the OCLT?

You have cloudiness and the chlorine demand has doubled. I suggest the SLAM process. Nip it in the bud!

Are you keeping the pool covered?

1. What is causing my PH to lower? I have a waterfall that we use a few days a week and have my returns pointing upwards.
Anything acidic. Are you using any tabs, pucks, etc?
2. Does the cloudy water have anything to do with the split schedule I am running on my pump? If not, could some rainwater be getting in there, or enough to make a difference?
I don't think so. Split schedules are a good thing. Rainwater will have almost no effect on a properly balanced pool; however, if you are getting runoff from the yard, that would be a problem.
3. Should I run the pump for 12 hours on, 12 hours off regardless of its impact?
There is a "Determine Pump Run Time" article in Pool School. That should help.

 

[KSpoolguy]

I did the OCLT.

Last night after dark I brought it up to shock level:

FC 15.0
CC 0.0
TC 15.0
PH 7.5 (Probably higher than what it really is due to the high amount of chlorine - still trying to figure out why my PH suddenly dropped to 7.2)

This morning I recorded the following readings:

FC 14.5
CC 0.5 (probably closer to 0.0 - the faintest of pink)
TC 14.5
PH 7.5 (Again, probably artificially high)

Looks like I don't have organics as I only lost 0.5 over a 12 hour period over night.
Yes, the pool stays covered most of the day (only uncover when swimming or testing chemicals).

- - - Updated - - -

Just to be clear, running my pump 24 hours before cleared it up (I only raised the chlorine up to 8 before). What is also weird is that my filter has barely risen in pressure (17.5 to 18.0 since I last backwashed a week or so ago). Brand new guage from TFtestkits (the good one). I will say the pump pressure rises so slowly that it would probably take me a month or two before I need to backwash (based on a rise of 25 percent of pressure). I probably am backwashing way more than I need to.

- - - Updated - - -

Could it have anything to do with not getting enough sun?

Or pump run time? I'm baffled personally, because running the pump manually 12 on and 12 off before didn't have any effect on the clarity. Although maybe a coincidence, this all started shortly after installing the timer and running the pump on a split schedule.

 

[Butterfly]

I suggest you uncover it for a few hours every other day or so and let it breathe.

It could be that the FC dropped below minimum at some time. Also, the water is warmer & the pool is being used = more chlorine demand.

Probably just keeping the FC at the upper range would cure that problem. iow, target 7 and make sure it stays above 4.

Just monitor as usual and enjoy

Happy Swims

 

[Smykowski]

Food for thought....if you have any standing water on the cover, are you dumping it in the pool when you uncover it? That would make the pool temporarily cloudy, but not screw up the FC (because you have an otherwise clean, properly chlorinated pool).

 

[KSpoolguy]

Yeah, I always pump the water off the cover before opening it. Though I am sure some still gets in there.

Since SLAMing, the pool is clear again even with my pump schedule. Crazy!! Lesson learned to not let the FC get below the minimum target. I'll probably just keep it at 6 or 7 and maybe bump it a litter higher on the weekends! Thanks again!!