baquacil and cloudy water

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Well we don't have any algae growth that I can see...not green tint or slime, or black stuff, etc.The pool store told us that the phosphates were what was making our pool cloudy...is this true? should we go ahead and use what they sold us.?

Also is baking soda compatiable with our baquacil? will that be okay and if so how to add per 11000 gallons? or should we purchase the Baqucil TA adjuster?Should we get the TA up first before we try anything else.

what do you think is making it cloudy, since we have the ph fixed???????

what do you recommend we do next-
try the phosphate product first- then adjust the TA and add more sanitizer to 50ppm?
what about our oxidizer level at 2?

or should backwash, add more oxidizer, top up sanitizer, and add the algicide? like we do for our normal weekly matinence and see if that works? and then just floc it? HELP!!!!!

I am sorry for needing so much help but at this point I don't know if I can rely on my pool store for help. I will take your advice and rely on it and follow any treatment plans given by tfp.com

Thanks
 
No phosphates do not make the water cloudy. Phosphate remover, on the other hand, will make the water cloudy. I would avoid it completely. Take it back to the store and get your money back.

Your TA is only very slightly low, not really a problem at all. Baking soda is just fine. The Baquacil labeled product contains baking soda, it just costs more. You can use my Pool Calculator to figure amounts.

Your sanitizer level is low, and has been low. You want to avoid letting sanitizer go below 40 if you can. You need to add sanitizer, should have already added sanitizer.
 
okay will take the phosphate stuff back! We did add more sanitizer but was still at 40, will add more 1.75 pints! to get it to 50. should I add more oxidizer to get it higher since it is at a 2 and the range is from 0-200?

what about the floc should I try that?
 
we re added sanitizer/algastat tonight and oxidizer so hopefully this will help....if you have been reading my readings my oxidizer was at 2 and my pool place kept saying that was fine! I finally just took what I have been reading and added more today so hopefully this will help..any tips/advice are welcome!

we added 1 1/2 gallons of oxidizer
2 pints of sanitizer
1 1/4 oz algistat

will re check levels tomorrow morning and re add as needed!

being that my oxidizer level was at 2 can any advise if 1 1/2 gallons will be enough or if i should add more?
 
I added oxidizer based on what the test strip said...since it was on the white side and said to add intial dosage that is what I did just followed the start up instructions per the baquacil book :)

Should I retest in the morning and if the sanitizer is still low should I add more?
 
update...after topping up everything I checked pool this morning, it was still cloudy but sanitizer levels were good and so was the oxidizer, ph, and TA. BUT still cloudy.

WE ARE NOT GOING TO USE THE Crud THE POOL PLACE SOLD US FOR PHOSPHATES per TRP advice...instead we are leaning towards just floc...any suggestions as to if this will clear of the haze/cloudiness since all levels are normal?

or any other suggestions as to what we might try..
FYI we have looked into a different pool store..when we told them we were on baquacil they just laughed and said they "hated that Crud" and that we need to switch to Chlorine....!!!" Obiviosuly we are going to do that next summer but need to get this fixed b/c our summer season ends soon.

I really appreiciate everything TFP has done...:)
 

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I used Baquacil for 14 years, and have used the Floc stuff before.
It always made the water cloudy for a day or two,
but it did clear things up temporarily.

I completed my conversion 6 wks. ago, and couldn't be happier!
I've only had to add clorox bleach, and I've only been to the pool
store once.(for a new solar cover)

Good luck next season. :party:
 
Thanks patrick for the floc update....when you say temporarily what do you mean length wise...did the cloudyness just return..

another update....
check levels this afternoon around 4pm everything looked good but oxidizer was low still so ended up added another gallon....

I did notice when I looked into the water there was tiny little white things that looked like grains of salt..not sure what that is? maybe air bubbles or matter that the filter can't get? any advice on what that maybe?

Note on the cloudiness- solid white can't see the bottom, but there is NO green,yellow or black algae anywhere?

Need advice on weather or not to floc, plan on doing this tonight and letting it sit?
 
I could keep it clear with mass quantities of Baqua - Shock for a couple weeks.
But I was fighting a chronic case of white water mold for the last 4 or 5 years.

Is your filter maintaining psi. I was to the point where I was backwashing 5 times a week.
 
I can't answer your Baq questions as I purchased my house and converted when I opened last year. However, it took only a few days to convert (Saturday with 30 BAQ to Wed clear water). I spent less than $75 on chlorine for the year. I also bought a container of stabilizer at Walmart, and of course, a good test kit.

How much time have you already spent unable to use your pool? You've paid for the BAQ already, but you could maybe unload it on ebay or craigslist. It's a sunk cost, but you might be able to recover some of it, and might get more enjoyment out of selling it if it's not working for you.

It won't take that much time for a clean pool, and won't cost much to convert.

Just a thought.....

Here's my conversion:
another-baq-to-chlorine-conversion-with-de-questions-t6708.html
Good luck with whatever you decide!

Sue

bearclaw20 said:
Thanks patrick for the floc update....when you say temporarily what do you mean length wise...did the cloudyness just return..

another update....
check levels this afternoon around 4pm everything looked good but oxidizer was low still so ended up added another gallon....

I did notice when I looked into the water there was tiny little white things that looked like grains of salt..not sure what that is? maybe air bubbles or matter that the filter can't get? any advice on what that maybe?

Note on the cloudiness- solid white can't see the bottom, but there is NO green,yellow or black algae anywhere?

Need advice on weather or not to floc, plan on doing this tonight and letting it sit?
Click to expand...
 
It doesn't sound like you have any major issues, if your filter is maintaining psi.
I always went with Robarb Super Blue (as directed) before I tried Baquacil Flocculant (plan B).

I spent a lot of years trying different combinations of chemicals to keep my pool clear.
At this point, you might not want to hear it, but bleach is working well.
 
Did you use the baqua shock? Your level said 2 in your post. That is way too low. Use a full bottle of shock- the hydrogen peroxide shock, not chlorine based shock and run your filter for 24 hours. As said before, one time it took me three bottles of shock to clear the water. It should clear your water if your pH is in range. I know with baqua I always had to keep my calcium hardness up too. Our source water is very low. I'm not sure how often you have to add water to your pool, but I had to add hardness increaser every time I added water which was once a week.

I only converted because I was getting the mold after 7 years of baqua useage. I did have trouble with algae in the high heat which is much easier to control with bleach. I'm glad I converted, but it did take several weeks to accomplish the end goal for me. I totally understand your frustration. My answer is shock, shock, shock. Unless you have lots of swimmers or something( leaves, bird droppings, etc) falling into your pool, I'm not sure why your sanitizer levels keep dropping. I only ever had to add sanitizer once every week or two.

When was the last time you changed filer media? With baqua I had to buy a new cartridge every season. In baqua defense however, we have had many huge fires in our area that really mess with pool chemistry. I used the floc stuff before and it did work. It does help to change media after the flocculant though. What type of media do you have; cartridge, sand, DE?
 
Since last Tuesday, I have added around 5 gallons of shock (oxidizer) seems to be holding as well as sanitizer...so far

we never shut our pump off it runs 24/7 since we have had it, except when it was shut down for the winter. We did have around 10 swimmers about 3 weeks ago so maybe that is why it got low...not sure..at this point should we keep dumping the shoci (oxidizer) even though the test strip is bright aqua...we don't feel up with tap water b/c we have had a really wet season her in East TN.

we went ahead ad added the floc tonight to see if it will gather any small particles.

we have a sand filter and haven't replaced the sand b/c this is only our 2nd season using it.

Please let me know what you think,,,thanks:)
 
I'm not sure about what strips you are using that measure the shock/oxidizer levels. In CA I could never find strips to test that, only santizer, pH, total alkalinity; always had to take water to the pool store that is 8 miles away to get oxidizer levels checked- yet another reason I converted to chlorine. Anyway, are you positive it measures shock levels? What strips are they, can you tell me?

They did tell you to turn off your filter pump when you added the floc, right? The gunk sinks to the bottom and you vacuum it up. Since I can't vacuum to waste, I went through a cartridge a year. I'm not sure how you get the gunk out of a sand filter, someone else will have to help you there. Anyway, it might get you through the rest of the season. Then convert next year :whip: You will be glad you did. :wink:
 
There is no reason that you should be running your filter 24/7.
the Baquacil 4-Way Test strips that I had tested for Oxidizer,
but would only tell you "add initial dose" or "add maintence dose" which was always.

Listen to Horsegal's advice when keeping your filter off when adding Baquacil Flocculant.

I do not have a sand filter, but from what I've been reading you might want to clean or change out the sand.
 

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