Cloudy Blue Water After Swimmers

[borjis]

Lower the CYA first, or else you will be buying WAY more bleach.
I would get it down to at least 70. 50 being better, 30 being best if possible
priot to the slam.

The CYA test to be accurate, is best performed in full sun or
at least bright over cast lighting conditions (a Taylor rep said overcast is ok recently)
with your back to the sun, holding the vial at waist level, pour
in solution slowly until it just starts to hide, then look away then look
at the dot, then away then the dot, then pour in more if necessary
til you get a number.

If that reads over 100, you can substitute half the pool water with tap
water, then multiply the result by 2. It won't be quite as accurate, but
will be a better approximation of the true cya value.

I did this once on my first pool after buying a house and it was 300+

 

[Infodamoney]

So, I have started the SLAM process. I only tested FC and CC since it was dark. I brought the water inside and completed the test around 9:00pm. My FC was 27 (I added 5 bottles of 8.25% bleach 121oz around 8:00pm) and my CC appeared to be 0.5, but could possibly be 1, a little hard to tell without the sun, IMO. Last time I tested the CYA (110-120) it seemed still high, but I am going to check it again using the diluted method you suggested in the morning, along with my FC, and add more bleach to keep my FC high. I am curious though. On pool math, it suggests with my high CYA that the shock level should be 43 FC, but it was mentioned on here in this post to get it to 20. Hopefully tomorrow my CYA is lowered because all the fill water hadn't been added back (I'm a little impatient ). Thanks again to all that have posted to try and help me out. I was tempted to cover the pool and be done with it after the whole pool store "junkie" binge I got on . I did change the sand in my filter, then realized I may not have not needed to, but it did finally make my water clear. Then me not understanding the FC vs. CYA problem, after swimmers, my clear pool went cloudy blue to green in no time (2 days). But after finding this website and reading almost everything I can, I feel very confident that I can finally get this pool awesome and maintained. I'm even considering keeping it open year round. I live in Charlotte, NC area. So thanks again, I will keep this thread updated with my progress. My plan is to get the water crystal clear, maintain the FC vs. my CYA level for the time being and keep doing partial drains/fills to get the CYA to 40-50. I just can't stare at a green pool, I understand it may cost a little more in the long run, but nothing as expensive as pool stores and their nonsense.

Brian

 

[sccm_sysadmin]

Personally I wouldn't start a SLAM until I had replaced a good portion of the water to lower your CYA. You're literally flushing money down the drain until you do that!

 

[Infodamoney]

Well, this morning there was a big change for the worst. My pool is completely brown, like rust brown... Here are my numbers, I didn't check the CYA because the sun isn't out yet.

FC - 22.5
CC - 0.5
CH - 375
TA - 150

Now I have no clue what is going on, I mean this thing is rust brown, I have not had my pool looking this bad since I started in May. I just can't believe I had crystal clear water Saturday and I am now looking at the worst it's ever been. What to do now? I'm going to brush and turn the vacuum on and leave it in the bottom of the pool? What else to do other than to keep SLAMming it?

HELP!!!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

By Jove, I'd say you have metals in the fill water! Had you ever filled with that source before??

Calling in the troops! We'll help ya get fixed up.

Maddie

 

[Infodamoney]

I am positive I have metal in the water, I have well water. When I opened the pool this year, water was clear, but liner was stained. I went through cleaning the liner and got the water to crystal clear and liner completely blue. I had swimmers on Saturday, later that day after swimming, it turned cloudy blue, I shocked it and on Sunday was still the same (When I posted on here). On Monday it was green, but I had been going through a partial drain/fill process. Once I filled the water back up, I started to SLAM, I added 5 bottles of 8.25% bleach, to get the FC up high. This morning the water was that, BROWN, very brown. So I am going to head to one of the local pool stores and get a sequestering agent.... Before I did, I wanted to get advice from the PROS. We have a Leslie's, but I have not had good luck with those guys. Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction, Last night after reading TFP articles all day, I thought I had it under control, but woke up this morning and am thinking of getting the cover out and put back on my pool, but I am hoping the pros can offer some insight. I really like owning a pool when it's crystal clear, but I am getting very discouraged.

 

[Texas Splash]

Brian, I would say that once you started adding new (well) water, you increased the iron content in the water. At the same time, you boosted your FC level which caused the iron to precipitate out. In this stage, you should consider placing absorbing material in the skimmer and try to capture as much of that iron as possible. I suspect the color will stay fairly dark as long as the FC is high. If your pH is elevated, it will enhance the color reaction as well. In the end though, as noted above you have to do the SLAM first. Algae has to be gone before you let the FC level drop and begin treating the water for iron management.

Another thing though .... that CYA. Did you ever do the final water exchange? Last CYA was over 100 still right? So the lower you can get the CYA, the lower your corresponding FC will be which could help with the reaction to the iron. But don't waste bleach or anything else in the water until you know the CYA is lower. Me personally, I'd lower the CYA to at least 50, and with that iron, perhaps even 30-40 just so I could maintain a slightly lower FC level for the SLAM and afterwards.

 

[Infodamoney]

Ok, absorbing material? What is that exactly, I was on the way to purchase a sequestering agent like metal out or something along those lines. I did some partial drains and refills, but my liner really does not like for water to be gone.

So my steps now are:

1) Get absorbing material and place in the skimmer.
2) Test the CYA, even if it's still at 100, try to drain more water? I basically have taken 1' foot or more of water out twice and refilled, if I did my math correctly, that should have gotten about 50-60% of the water out.
3) Even with the water brown as it is, I should still be going through the SLAM process, and meet those three criteria, then deal with the iron?

Thanks again for all the help

 

[CJadamec]

The absorbing material they are referring to is poly pillow stuffing. Its the same material whole house sediment water filters are made of just in a different form. The precipitated iron will stick to the poly fill and be removed from the water. As bad as it looks to have a brown pool its actually much easier to removed the iron when it is in this stage as it can be filtered out. Just keep replacing the fill as it becomes saturated with iron. The brown should get filtered out fairly quickly.

Getting the CYA as others have said will also help you not only now to complete your slam but also go a long way down the road to help you keep that pool clean and clear.

 

[Infodamoney]

Ok, so numbers as of 10

FC - 24
CC - 0
CH - 400
CYA - 70-80, lots lower than before
TA seemed kind of funny because of the high FC, but it was around 190

Going to get poly fill now! And I planned to get this from Walmart, unless there is a better choice - Fairfield 10-Pound Poly-Fil Premium Polyester Fiber, White

 

[AftonJeeper]

Brian, One thing that helps me with the iron in my well water is putting a cheap 10" whole house water filter on the end of my hose. You'll need an adapter or two to get from the Hose thread to the female pipe thread. I've used both carbon and spiral bound filters. Hope that helps.

 

[borjis]

If your CYA is now 70-80 that is much more manageable.

Mine was 70 (down from 300+) when I did a mustard slam
and I think it took a full two weeks from start to finish.

Went through roughly 38 gallons of 8.25% bleach.

 

[Infodamoney]

Ok, so here are my numbers as of 5:00pm:

FC - 21.5
CC - 0.5
CH - 375
TA - 160
CYA - 70-80

I have the poly-fil in place and it gets very brown pretty quick.

My only question is at this point, in a post above I was told to get it to an FC of 20, but pool math suggests with a CYA of 80, that I should be at a shock level of 31 FC. So I should go with pool math right?

I can add more, I bought tons of bleach, but just wanted to double check. Also I planned to do an OCLT test tonight/morning, because my FC has only dropped 1.0 FC from about 8-5 today.

So I guess I do have one more question , if you are done with the SLAM when:

1) Pass an OCLT test
2) Have a CC 0.5 or less
3) Water is crystal clear

Number 3 has got me wondering. I'm not sure with the metal problem I have, if I would ever see a clear pool, even if I was actually done with the SLAM. And as stated above I should complete the SLAM, then take care of the iron problem. So I'm kind of scratching my head a little, or I am just not understanding something correctly.

Thanks again for the help.

Brian

 

[Texas Splash]

So I should go with pool math right?

Yes. The SLAM FC of 20 is for a CYA of 50. You're much higher.

1) Pass an OCLT test
2) Have a CC 0.5 or less
3) Water is crystal clear

Yes, but I understand your concern. The brown may turn more of an ice tea clear, but will never be crystal (glass) clear. But you have the process correct - pass a SLAM first then treat for metals once the FC drops back down to normal. Depending upon how much iron you filter out now at this high FC level, the water may change quite a bit after the SLAM, but we'll see. Keep us posted, post a new pic every now & then, and good luck.

 

[Swampwoman]

Brian, I am working late and only have a sec but yippy asked me to take a peek because I muck with metals

- the good news is that if you DO NOT add sequestrant until after slam, you've got a chance to filter some of the iron out via stuffing, your filter, and I'd also recommend a The Slime Bag | The Easiest Way To Maintain Crystal Clear Pool Water. attached to a return. Ths will reduce your overall concentration for easier future anagement.

- never add sequestrant during a lam or right before a slam...the Slam will wear it down. Once you're ready to add sequestrant, try Metal Magic specifically as it may also handle any fresh stains without your having to do another ascorbic acid treatment

- avoid slamming at all in future by following TFP specs in [fc/cya][/FC/cya] - just for future info...I realize tat doesn't hel at th moment.

- there's an addition way to filter it out faster now that its oxidzed...if you have to have a small submersible pump, a bucket and if you get that 10" big blue Pentek filter housing with a 25:1 micron reducing filter.

Tonight. Will try to dig up the successful thread where. Poster did that last year. More after

 

[basod]

Wow Brian you've got some patience with a forum that sent your pool from milky blue to brown in a couple days!
Anyways now you know there is extremely high iron in your fill water. It would be money well spent on a prefilter.

The polyfill works really well on this level of iron there are several videos on YouTube of folks building bucket filters and clearing up quickly. People also have luck with paper towels in the pump basket.

 

[Infodamoney]

Texas Splash:

It does look like tea in the water, I can see the shallow end no problem, and I can at least see all of my ladder steps in the deep end, then it gets darker the last 2-3 feet or so. I've been brushing and vacuuming as much as possible.

 

[Infodamoney]

Brian, I am working late and only have a sec but yippy asked me to take a peek because I muck with metals

- the good news is that if you DO NOT add sequestrant until after slam, you've got a chance to filter some of the iron out via stuffing, your filter, and I'd also recommend a The Slime Bag | The Easiest Way To Maintain Crystal Clear Pool Water. attached to a return. Ths will reduce your overall concentration for easier future anagement.

- never add sequestrant during a lam or right before a slam...the Slam will wear it down. Once you're ready to add sequestrant, try Metal Magic specifically as it may also handle any fresh stains without your having to do another ascorbic acid treatment

- avoid slamming at all in future by following TFP specs in [fc/cya][/fc/cya] - just for future info...I realize tat doesn't hel at th moment.

- there's an addition way to filter it out faster now that its oxidzed...if you have to have a small submersible pump, a bucket and if you get that 10" big blue Pentek filter housing with a 25:1 micron reducing filter.

Tonight. Will try to dig up the successful thread where. Poster did that last year. More after

Are you saying DON'T follow the TFP specs for FC/CYA?
I have not added anything other than the poly-fil at the moment.

I am going out to do one more test when the sun gets down, I will post those numbers then.

Is that Proteam Metal Magic?

Thanks

 

[basod]

Are you saying DON'T follow the TFP specs for FC/CYA?
I have not added anything other than the poly-fil at the moment.

I am going out to do one more test when the sun gets down, I will post those numbers then.

Is that Proteam Metal Magic?

Thanks

She's telling you to avoid having to SLAM at all costs in the future by maintaining your FC/CYA relationship.
Continue replacing the polyfill as it gathers the oxidized iron.

Dont add any metal sequestrants until you've OCLT and CC numbers and the polyfill is no longer capturing precipitated iron

 

[borjis]

CYA at that level your slam level should be the 31 mentioned.

make sure it never goes below that or it will prolong the slam.