Trouble with chlorine level in new pool

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anita.h

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Jun 9, 2015
6
Arvada, CO
Hi everyone. I've just bought a house with an in-ground pool that I am trying to get up and running, but I am having some trouble. I would really appreciate help.

The pool is an in-ground fiberglass pool that holds 33,000 gallons. When we got the house the water was completely cloudy, you couldn't see a foot down. The pH and alkaline solids levels were good, but the chlorine and cyanuric acid were at 0. I am in sunny Colorado and don't have a swimming pool cover yet (it is on its way).

I have been adding chlorine every other day, and cleaning the pool, but it is still a bit cloudy, and the chlorine level is registering somewhere between .5 and 1. Yesterday evening I added 4 lbs of chlorine. This morning the chlorine level was > 5, and by the afternoon, it was down between .5 and 1.

I have not added cyanuric acid yet, as I am waiting for my chlorine level to be correct before I do. Is that right, or should I go ahead and add it?

I'm not sure what to do. How do I get my pool crystal clear, properly chlorinated, and ready to swim in? Please help! The weather is hot and I can't wait to jump into that pool!

Thanks so much in advance.
 
Hi Anita, welcome to TFP, assuming the CYA is correctly read to be 0, you can definitely add some now as per the proper procedure.
Solid cyanuric acid should be placed in a sock, and the sock put in the skimmer basket. After adding solid cyanuric acid you should leave the pump running for 24 hours and not backwash/clean the filter for a week. Solid cyanuric acid can take up to a week to fully register on the test, so it is best not to test the CYA level until one week after adding some.
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You don't have to wait for the chlorine level to be in range, in fact, it will be harder to get in range without CYA as your rocky mountain sun will burn it off quickly.
 
poolnoob.ca said:
Hi Anita, welcome to TFP, assuming the CYA is correctly read to be 0, you can definitely add some now as per the proper procedure. You don't have to wait for the chlorine level to be in range, in fact, it will be harder to get in range without CYA as your rocky mountain sun will burn it off quickly.
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Thanks so much. My money has indeed been all evaporating in the rocky mountain sun, I just tested and my chlorine is at 0. I will add CYA and more chlorine tonight.

I also just got a new testing kit, and it is showing that my water hardness is super high, around 800. I tested my tap water and it's showing as not being hard at all, so this seems very strange. Is this the reason my water is cloudy? What can I do?

Thanks,
Anita
 
Welcome Anita,

Have you been using powdered Chlorine? Some has Calcium in it which would add hardness to the water. High Calcium hardness can contribute to cloudiness, but you may be seeing the start of an Alagae bloom from to little Chlorine.
 
Actually, I just tested again, and with this strip test, it's very hard to differentiate the colors for the hardness. It could be anywhere from 400 to 800, it's hard to tell. I will order the TF-100 and get a proper reading soon. If the hardness is too high, what should I do?

- - - Updated - - -

I have been using hth granulated chlorine. Does that have calcium? If so, what should I use instead?

Thanks!
 
Never mind, I just retested with my more expensive test, and it is showing hardness at 400. It is also showing chlorine at 1. I will add cya tonight and some more chlorine. I still don't understand why my pool is so cloudy though. In the past week, we have dumped a combined total of 11 lbs of granulated chlorine into it. It has cleared up a lot, but is still quite cloudy. Should I add clarifier? I bought some, would that help? Or is cloudiness always a water chemistry problem?

Thanks so much to everyone for the help. I'm so excited about this pool. I really want to start swimming in it, and to understand how to take care of it properly.
 
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