Cloudy Pool

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lwick74

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Feb 10, 2015
29
Pompano Beach Florida
Hi guys,

I recently bought a house that has a old 10,000 gal marcite kidney pool. The pool had brown stains on the sides and bottom and need some cleaning up. I followed my local pool stores advice and they had me add a bottle and a half of muriatic acid into the pool to remove the staining. It worked but know my pool has been coudy ever since I started adding chemicals to bring it back in balance. Every time I go in to the store, they have me buy soda ash, pool tonic, metal remover, cya booster, you name it and my pool is still the same! The walls and floor are slightly slimy and when I clean the filter cartridge white cloudy mix comes out of the filter. I can barely see the bottom of the pool on the shallow end but its too cloudy to see the deep end.After reading the forum I ordered and finally received my Taylor 2006 test kit.

This is my first time doing this but I had a few issues with the testing. When I tested for chlorine, I wasnt able to get the water to change pink with the R-0870 dipper. All I could get it to do was turn murky. I assumed I had no chlorine. My CYA test didn't seem to go as well. I was able to cover the black dot well below the 100 line.

I'm extremely new to this so any help is really appreciated.

Thanks,

Larry


Here are the numbers I have so far.

FC: 0
CC:.0?
TC: 0?
CH: 550 PPM
TA: 230
PH: 7.6
CYA: more then 100 PPM
 
Welcome to TFP!!:handwave:

100 is the limit of the CYA test, so at this level we are unsure if it is 100 or some number above 100. Don't equate “just a little over 100” to a number, the tube is not marked for such extrapolation. At this point I would recommend at least a 33% water exchange to get the CYA down into a measurable level. South Florida has a high water table, so lowering the water too much can “float” the pool out of the ground. The water exchange will bring down that high CH you have also.

I'm a Davie/Cooper City guy, but I'm sure Pompano Beach has multiple pool stores that you can get chlorinating liquid. Most places down there call it liquid chlorine and sell it in 2.5 gallon containers that you leave a deposit on. I wish I could get it here in South Carolina. When you buy it, ask what % it is. Some places sell 10% and others 12.5%. Florida is one of the few places where the pool store folks understand maintaining a pool with liquid chlorine.

Once you get the CYA to a reasonable level read the directions on SLAMing your pool in the How To section of Pool School and follow that procedure completely to the end.


  • CC is 0.5 or lower;
  • You pass an OCLT (ie overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less);
  • And the water is clear.

When all three are true, you are done SLAMing and can allow the FC to drift down to normal levels.
 
Well I finally was able to remove at least 33% of the water today. I'm filling it up know but I have a quick question. I had some left over test strips that show CYA levels up to 300. I tested my water and its showing 150 cya on the test strip. I played around with the calculator and it was recommending a 67% water change to lower the CYA to 50. I was thinking of pumping out some of the water while I was filling it in order to cycle some of the old water out. Do you guys think this is a good idea?
 
Here's my update. After 13 hours of draining and filling, here are my results. I'm estimating I replaced about 50% of my water. I can now see the bottom of the pool but know the water has a green tint. Here are the numbers.

FC: 8
CC: .5
PH: 7.4
TA: 120
CH: 310
CYA: 60

I'm a little worried about the Green tint to the water. Should I SLAM now or drain some more to get CYA to below 50? I'll update my equipment in my signature now. My stuff is old and most of the labels are faded. (here is what I have..10,000 Gal kidney shaped marcite pool. Filter Hayward C800, Hayward pool pump .75HP)

Thanks again for everyone's help!

Larry
 
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Azgirl71 said:
Larry you can SLAM at 60 CYA if you want but it will require larger amounts of bleach.
Click to expand...

I'm going to go ahead and SLAM it. I picked up two 2.5GAL containers of 12% liquid chlorine per Tim's suggestion. I know my Ph is just inside the range of slamming, do you think I should try to lower it to 7.3? Looking at the CYA slam chart, I'm planning to add 1 gallon 1 quart 1 cup of liquid chlorine to the pool to raise FC to 24. Does that sound about right?

Thanks,

Larry
 
You can lower PH to 7.2 with a little MA it would be better.

Just use Pool Math to determine how much you add.

Remember once FC is above 10 PH test will not register correctly.
The only things you need to test for are FC and CC during the SLAM
 
I cleaned the pool and lowered the PH to 7.2 and started the SLAM! I added the chlorine required from the calculator to bring me to FC:24. It's an hour later so I just checked the numbers:

FC: 23.5
CC: .5

I can't believe how accurate that pool math calculator is! :D I just added 5oz and I'll check again tonight.
 
I have a few quick questions. I cleaned my filter this morning and noticed it was a dull green. the spot where I cleaned it left a white powder residue. Is that normal? How often should I clean the filter during the slam? I've been using my hayward navigator during the process to keep the bottom clean. Is that ok or should I be on the skimmer only?

I woke up this morning and the green tint is gone but now its cloudy/white but I can still see the bottom. My FC loss was only .5 and this afternoon my CC level was 0 on the 10ml check. I also ordered a new Filter Cartridge that should show up today. I had no idea how old it was and one of the bands was broken on the cartridge, it was time.
 

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