Cloudy water advice please

[zoobie]

28,000 gal plaster pool with a SWG
Using TF-100 test materials

It was clear a week ago. It suddenly became cloudy and slightly green, and running the filter 24/7 isn't working. I can't see the drain cap in the bottom of the deep (8.5 ft) end, but can see the vacuum. Filter is less than 2 years old and was cleaned a month ago. It's not saying it needs cleaning again. We vacuum with a Polaris 280.

FC 5.5
pH 8 (up from 7.2 on Sunday?)
TA 60
CH 200 (down from 260 on Sunday?)
CYA 50

It has rained a bit but not any large or unusual amounts. The water almost looks as it does during the worst of pollen season (we have a very pollen-y backyard), but nothing else is coated in that mess any longer, thank goodness. At least we can breathe.

The CH drop is odd. We repeated it 3x with water mixed around and from deep in the pool just to make sure. The pH increase seems strange too. After the 7.2 result, we added less than half the recommended amount of Borax from the pool calculator because that was all I had in the laundry room. The only thing else that was added was 80 lbs of salt (Splash Ready Dixie Crystals brand) on Friday. Our SWG has been acting up, but we used liquid bleach when it wasn't working and haven't had a drop in chlorine levels. It seems to be working again. We are adding the recommended amount of acid tonight to increase pH and will add some calcium, but I don't want to add too much in case there's something crazy with the test. The materials are maybe a year old (from TFTestKits directly) but have been kept indoors and seem fine otherwise. We waited to make sure the test didn't turn back to red. It went blue easily and stayed blue.

Any ideas? My husband is starting to slightly paranoidly jokingly wonder if the pool company (with whom we are having issues due to the pool not being 100% complete after TWO years) added something odd when they came to check on it last week. Thanks so much for your time!

 

[laveenmoose]

Hi Zoobie,

What part of the country are you in (city and state), this will help the experts on here with their analysis? Also, what equipment are you using - pump, filter, etc., please add to your signature by going to Settings at the top right of the page after you log in. Have you tested you salt level, and what is it? If you can post your latest, complete results, we can help. It looks like you have an algae problem. What chemicals have you put in your pool? You'll need Muriatic Acid to get your PH down.

We'll need:

FC
CC
PH
TA
CH
CSI
Salt
Water temp

Plug your results into Pool Math Also set your pool type under Suggested Goal Levels at the bottom of the calculator (yellow box at the bottom). This will give you suggested levels to help you balance the water in your pool. You may need to SLAM Shock Level And Maintain Also read Pool School, this will help you understand how the TFP process works.

Hope this helps, and keep asking questions

 

[Casey]

If you're going green, you need chlorine!

As previously noted, please add your location and equipment to your profile and signature. It helps us help you.

 

[zoobie]

Hi Zoobie,

What part of the country are you in (city and state), this will help the experts on here with their analysis? Also, what equipment are you using - pump, filter, etc., please add to your signature by going to Settings at the top right of the page after you log in. Have you tested you salt level, and what is it? If you can post your latest, complete results, we can help. It looks like you have an algae problem. What chemicals have you put in your pool? You'll need Muriatic Acid to get your PH down.

We'll need:

FC
CC
PH
TA
CH
CSI
Salt
Water temp

Plug your results into Pool Math Also set your pool type under Suggested Goal Levels at the bottom of the calculator (yellow box at the bottom). This will give you suggested levels to help you balance the water in your pool. You may need to SLAM Shock Level And Maintain Also read Pool School, this will help you understand how the TFP process works.

Hope this helps, and keep asking questions

Thank you--I've updated things I believe... I've been studying the Pool School and using the Pool Calculator for the 2 years we've had the pool. It's incredibly helpful. The calculator has kept the water in balance when the SWG goes wonky.

FC 5.5
CC 5.5
pH 8.0 (up from 7.2 on Sunday)
TA 60
CH 200 (down from 260 on Sunday)
CSI -.62
Salt (we are out of test strips for this, but the SWG says 3000)
Water temp 82

 

[laveenmoose]

Splendid. You might want to invest in the Taylor K-1766 Salt Water Test, it will help you verify your controller's reading of your salt level. Looking at your results you need to get your PH down with MA to 7.2 so you are ready to SLAM (check the CYA/Chlorine chart for the recommended SLAM level for FC - looks like you need to be at 24ppm FC for your shock level. Follow the instructions in the SLAM article, and you should have a clear, sparkling pool again.

Those with more experience than me will add additional help. I just went through this myself a month ago.

 

[laveenmoose]

One more question, have you performed an OCLT - Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. This will tell you if your problem is organic or something else.

 

[zoobie]

One more question, have you performed an OCLT - Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. This will tell you if your problem is organic or something else.

No, but thank you for the suggestion. Will do this tonight! I've been doing it in the morning instead of at night and in the morning.

It's looking much more clear, but the pH dropped again to 7.2 and we added Muriatic per the pool calculator to get it to 7.4. Our pool has more than 29,500 gal because that was the figure before we added another foot of width to the design. I like precise and my husband is more of an eh that's close kind of guy, and he handles the adding of the chemicals. He usually follows directions pretty well though.

Ordered the K-1766 test as well. Thank you for your help! I appreciate it.

 

[laveenmoose]

You're very welcome. I've been through this myself, the only difference is that my wife's eyes glaze over when I talk about the the process and what I have to do ;-) Do your overnight test, and if you drop more than 1ppm take it back to shock level per the Chlorine/CYA chart until you pass the OCLT. Once you pass that, you can let the FC drift down to normal levels for your CYA level and then balancing the water. Don't forget the M in SLAM - Maintenance. I test my pool every morning and evening, and it's a sparkling jewel now, makes me happy and empowered. You're right there on the cusp, don't stop now. Great job so far.