Murky pool after rain

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bobfloyd

0
Oct 16, 2014
45
Australia
Hi.

40,000 litre pebblecrete concrete pool, sand filtered, swg, was nice and clean...

Then it poured down rain washing dirt and clay silt into the pool.

So a project over winter is for me to work on the drainage around the gardens and pool.

I have added salt to the pool,have got the chlorine levels to where they should be and the pool is now a blue colour again, but the water is cloudy.

I have added about a litre of clarifier progressively and it seems to have helped a little but but not much.

What should I try now?

De in the filter? Floc and vac? More clarifier? Could I put a fine filter in the skimmer basket to help catch the particles?

Cheers.
 
I wouldn't add anymore floc, clarifier or anything else of that nature to the water. It can in some cases make it worse. Let your filter do it's job.
It sounds like you need some more filter time. At times sand filter's may take a little more time to filter out fine particles. You can help it by Adding DE To A Sand Filter.
A skimmer sock over the basket may help also depending on what size the particles are. Could you post a full set of test results and what kit your using to make sure everything is ok on that end ?
Do you have everything vac'd up ?
 
Hi pwrstrk,

Thanks for the help.

Perhaps my expectations of how long the filter should take to clear the water are too high....

I can only just see the bottom at the deep end, which is 1.8m deep. The filter has been running for 3 days, at 12 hours per day, so about 36 hours so far.

Should I be expecting this to clear in a week? A month?

I haven't vacuumed anything yet as I hadn't used floc, but I notice that there is some gunk settled to the bottom. How long should I wait to vac if the water body is still cloudy?

Cheers.
 
Hi back at ya !
It may take a week or a little more to totally clear. Can't say for sure. The DE can help with that.
Test results ? Just to make sure everything is ok. What type of vac do you have ?
 
Hi,

I don't have my test results on hand...is there anything specific that could be contributing to the problem?

So the DE in the filter trick helps? How is this different to letting the sand filter build up with dirt?

Also, whether the DE makes the sand able to catch the smaller particles vs making the particles bigger via the clarifier - what is the difference?
 
Something that can contribute to the cloudiness is FC out of range for the CYA level, or other chemistry issues. That's why I asked for some accurate test results. Hard to say with out them though.
The DE helps by the structure of the DE. It'll catch finer particles. You are correct that a slightly dirty sand filter will filter better. The DE just helps the sand filter out. You don't have to do this if don't want too. Just another avenue to take.
As for the clarifier's we don't usually recommend using them. They can work in some cases and in some cases they can make things worse. As for the science behind it I don't have that answer. Somebody else could answer that. Sorry I can't give a better answer on that. Just going by what I have seen happen on the forum.
 
I've had similar, best way imo is don't touch the pool for a week, let it all settle out, then hand vac it. Cut your filter back to normal run times as well and it might take a few vacs to get it all, but eventually it will settle out. Not sure what your weather is like atm but it has been cold and rainy here for weeks so it is easy to leave the pool alone! Crazy for February, our hottest month of the year!
 
Yeah that's right about Februrary!!! It hasn't been that hot up in Brizzy! Temps in the high 20's, rainy etc.

FC is fine, there is plenty.

Perhaps I'll give it until the weekend and see where it's at; I may need to vac some of the settlement out.

The pool is otherwise safe to swim in correct? (FC is good).

Cheers for the help from all posters above.
 
Hi bobfloyd,

We cannot comment as to wheter your pool is safe to swim in or not without knowing your test results of FC and CYA. We base our recommendations and provide comments based upon reliable test results of the water chemistry and not assumptions. Assumptions will get you nowhere fast, except to the poor house and the hospital.

Any pool is safe to swim in as long as the FC is sufficient to sanitize the pool, AND, the FC is not above the FC/CYA raio for shock level.

The sanitizing effect of chlorine is depenendent on the CYA level.

Here are the recommendations and FC/CYA chart for your reference.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/134-recommended-levels
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock



bobfloyd said:
Yeah that's right about Februrary!!! It hasn't been that hot up in Brizzy! Temps in the high 20's, rainy etc.

FC is fine, there is plenty.

Perhaps I'll give it until the weekend and see where it's at; I may need to vac some of the settlement out.

The pool is otherwise safe to swim in correct? (FC is good).

Cheers for the help from all posters above.
Click to expand...
 

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Yep - Cyclone Marcia is responsible for making my pool murky!!!

Everything else at home is fine, but boy did all that rain make a mess of our pool!

Looking at it yesterday afternoon, it look like a layer of gunk is settling on the bottom, so, I'll try vacuuming it on Saturday morning.

Can this gunk stain the bottom?

Scott.
 
bobfloyd said:
Yep - Cyclone Marcia is responsible for making my pool murky!!!

Everything else at home is fine, but boy did all that rain make a mess of our pool!

Looking at it yesterday afternoon, it look like a layer of gunk is settling on the bottom, so, I'll try vacuuming it on Saturday morning.

Can this gunk stain the bottom?

Scott.
Click to expand...

Ah bummer, it was heading straight down here to us but luckily changed direction and headed out to sea. Yeah let it settle then vacuum and keep at it!
 
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