Help! Cloudy and not holding chlorine.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Okay, I'm back on here with still more problems :( After draining my 32,000 gallon pool down to a foot in the shallow end TWICE in August I have just refilled again this week and have tested the CYA to find that it is still 200 according to the K-2006 test kit. Needless to say I am sick about the numbers!!!! There is no way I can drain again before summer is completely over here in the north. I am wondering if the CYA dissipates over the winter?

Also, after having drained and refilled once, FC reading of 9 and closing the automatic cover for only 1 day because of cold and rainy weather I opened it up to find that it was yellow/green and very cloudy. UGH!!! (I would typically use another harsher word) Why would covering the pool cause it to turn bad? Could there be algae on the back of the cover? Why does it turn every time I close it a day? We run the variable speed pump on low setting all the time. I don't feel comfortable leaving it open when we are not home because there is no fence around it (rural home). I have now drained it again for the second time and refilled using our well water. After refilling it is still yellow/green and cloudy with a CYA of 200 (I got a reading from using half tap and half pool water for the test).

I am currently shocking and realize that I will need a high level of chlorine due to the still high CYA level and to keep it high. How high should I keep the chlorine and for how long? How long before I should see it clearing? I have been reading and they said that it should turn grey after the algae dies. How long before I should see that? Should I keep using bleach? The bottle of bleach says 8.25% Sodium Hypochlorite what is in the other 91.75%? My husband accidentally bought and dumped the splash-less bleach in the pool - does this have any CYA? I can't believe how high it still is after 2 drains! I am baffled!

One more question (sorry about all of them) - Does any one know if a UV light system works? I stopped at another pool store in a different town and they said with the light cleaning system that it doesn't take as much chlorine to keep the pool clean. We were thinking of having one installed. ?? This store also said the the SWG systems are corrosive to metal and the it wouldn't be good for the auto cover parts.

My readings are:
FC - 20
CC - 1
PH - 7.4
TA - 350
CH - 200
 
Woo, you did have a lot of questions. :) No problem, you've been through a lot it looks like after I read your thread from post #1. So I'll outline some items I'm seeing that you may want to consider:
- No doubt that ANY pool with a high CYA can be almost unmanageable. But it does seem odd that if you drained most of your 32K pool twice, your CYA isn't below 100. That is very odd to me. I don't mean to upset you with this question, but is there ANY chance at all you are mis-reading the CYA test at all? I can't imagine after the refill you adding stabilizer/conditioner back to the water that would increase CYA right? So that is incredibly odd that your CYA appears to be so high still. But no doubt everything you need to do from this point hinges on the CYA reading being below 100 - ideally 30-50-ish.
- Some of your other concerns, yes, a cover can effect FC burn rate and also con effect the condition of your water, especially if it has organic material on it previously. If you have any doubt about the cover, it's best to clean it thoroughly before covering the pool again. Also, if you do SLAM later, don't cover the pool. Let the FC and CC oxidize with the sun without interference.
- Regular bleach is the chemical of choice. Generic is fine. 8.25% is the active ingredient, the rest is mostly inert or water with next to no side-effects on your water.
- As for your last set of test readings.... The FC doesn't help us much because we don't know what your CYA is. :( CYA is that important. If your CYA is still extraordinarily high, then an FC of 20 isn't high enough anyways. Your pH is good. TA is high, but not the most important right now (CYA is). CH doesn't apply right now either. a CC of 1 indicates you still have organic material in the water being consumed by the bleach.
- Here's the icing on the cake ...... you filled from a well. Uhg. Well water typically has metals in it which can make managing your water challenging at times. Metals in the water can make the water look a bit brownish, or emerald green, and if not managed properly can leave stains on the pool surfaces. So watch for anything unusual like that as well.
#1 concern right now still has to be that CYA. Please let us know if you have any difficulties with that test, or if you've added anything to the water that may have contributed to such a high level. We'd like to see that CYA come down so you can press-forward with clearing the water for good.
 
I believe the splashless bleach might cause additional cloudiness or foaming, can't remember what they say happens. You'll just have to wait that part out.

Did you arrive at 200 for the CYA by doing the diluted test?
 
Oops, forgot to put in the CYA of 200. I am as well baffled by the number!!! I have not added anything but bleach and some muriatic acid and after the 1st drain a used about 6/7cups of Lithium Hypo that I had left (after reading didn't think this had stabilizer). There are NO pucks in the skimmers or chlorinator. I can't believe how high it must have been form the start of all this mess! But then again, the pool store had me dump in about 120lbs of ZipChlor which come to find out has stabilizer in it. Does CYA dissipate over time? Winter? At this point I think I will just have to keep dumping the bleach in and keeping it high since we will have to do another partial drain to winterize soon anyway. I can't imagine draining for a 3rd time then a 4th to winterize. I was sick when I tested and saw how high it was after the second drain.

I don't think I am doing the test wrong - I fill the little vial up to 7mm with pool water then with regent to the 14mm line. I mix it up then pour into the tester with the black dot until the black dot disappears. I didn't get a reading so retested with 7mm tap and 7mm pool water that I mixed up on the side and poured that mixture into the little vial to the 7mm line and finished the test.

I may have some metals, but our well has been tested (this year even) and is really good and drinkable. It doesn't have iron and low hardness. We have filled with it at the beginning of the season and it was crystal clear in the pool. Thanks for the reply! This Forum is awesome!
 
Let's compare our CYA testing: Yours:
I fill the little vial up to 7mm with pool water then with regent to the 14mm line. I mix it up then pour into the tester with the black dot until the black dot disappears. I didn't get a reading so retested with 7mm tap and 7mm pool water that I mixed up on the side and poured that mixture into the little vial to the 7mm line and finished the test.
Click to expand...
Are you using a Taylor K-2006 test kit? I have the TF-100, and our CYA testing vile is used differently. My testing is as follows:
Proper lighting is important for the CYA test. You want to test for CYA outside on a sunny day, but keep the skinny view tube in the shade. Taylor recommends standing in the sun with your back to the sun and the view tube in the shade of your body. Use the mixing bottle to combine/mix the required amounts of pool water and R-0013 reagent, let sit for 30 seconds, then mix again. Then, while holding the skinny tube with the black dot at waist level, begin squirting the mixed solution into the skinny tube. Watch the black dot until it completely disappears. Once it disappears, record the CYA reading. After the first test, you can pour the mixed solution from the skinny view tube back to the mixing bottle, shake, and do the same test a second, third, or fourth time to instill consistency in your technique, become more comfortable with the testing, and validate the CYA reading.
Click to expand...

Does anything seem odd or different when you compare the two processes? When you say "You pour and didn't get a reading", does that mean the black dot never went away? If so, then that means the opposite - low to zero CYA. Just want to make sure I'm reading your method correctly.
 
Okay, thanks. Some people have taken the instructions to mean the other way around (dot never disappeared). I was hoping that was the case for you. :( I've never seen a pool that had such an extremely high concentration of CYA that it didn't go down after two very healthy drains. There must have been a tremendous amount of stabilizer in the water to still be testing that high.
 
Does CYA ever go down on its own? Like I said, I can't imagine draining for a 3rd time right before winterizing. :( It is suppose to get close to 90 next week and it would be nice to be able to use our pool for a little while before winterizing. I have spent the day trying to keep the FC at 30 and dumping jugs of bleach into it every hour. See a little improvement. Should it turn grey though? I brushed very thoroughly once already. Do I need to brush every hour as well? What does Yellow Mustard look like?

Anyone know anything about UV light systems? So many questions! Thanks!
 
.
UV systems are not recommended for your pool.

CYA occasionally goes down over the winter. Sometimes with nasty consequences, sometimes not. There is no way to tell if it will or not, so that's probably why you haven't received an answer.

Brush once or twice a day while the chlorine is high.

What do you mean about turning grey? Can you be more specific? After brushing, the water can turn grey/hazy from mixing.

Mustard algae can look like little yellow spots usually against the walls where circulation is lower. Pool School - Mustard Algae
 
There are some scenarios where CYA can diminish such as over the winter if FC is allowed to fall to zero then here can be an ammonia conversion. Some other situations can result in CYA reduction as well. This page Degradation of Cyanuric Acid (CYA)) really gets into that subject quite a bit. In your situation however, if the CYA is still recording as exceptionally high, you may not see the drop you would expect. We know that for someone with a CYA of 100, their normal target FC would be 12, and their SLAM/Shock a 39. That's a lot of bleach for a SLAM. Even higher when the CYA is unknown above that. Very difficult to manage.

Mustard algae is a yellow green color and grows on the walls and floor mostly on the shady side of the pool. The treatment for MA is almost the same as a regular SLAM for green algae. After passing a regular SLAM, the FC level is raised for 24 hours to an even high level. But again, the CYA must be known to accurately perform these actions.

During the course of a SLAM, the water can change from green/cloudy to a gray or white-ish color before finally clearing. A SLAM can take anywhere from 2-3 days, to 2-3 weeks depending upon the accuracy of the tests and consistency to follow the SLAM instructions. Brushing/cleaning the filter is also very important.

Unfortunately, it all starts with two things - the right test lit and knowing your CYA. You have a great kit, so now it's battling that CYA. As for UV lighting, it plays a good role in helping to remove trash chlorine (CC) from indoor pools. But for most outdoor pools, the sun takes care of that so UV doesn't really play a huge factor. When FC and CYA are managed together properly, there is no need for the use of UV lighting. Here are a couple past threads on that subject: uv light and UV System.. Is it worth it?.

Hope some of this helps.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply