Help, my pool is cloudy and the fill dirt is on its way!

[jaduck]

Thanks in advance for your help! I purchased a home with an in ground SWAMP about a year ago and have finally found some time to open this miserable money pit. I have performed the following to get the SWAMP RFW (Ready for water):

1. Drained the SWAMP.
2. Removed 4 60 gallon garbage containers of leaves, 28 bullfrogs (eatin' size), 50 baby bullfrogs, 6 gazillion tadpoles, 1 tree trunk, various screws/motor parts, 1 Bud Light can, and what appeared to be the remains of a Yeti.
3. Pressure washed the pool.
4. Pressure tested return and skimmer lines. The return line was good and the skimmer line had leaks.
5. Dug up concrete and repaired skimmer leaks (brain tells me to get fill dirt, family ask how long until we swim)
6. Checked sand in the filter and it appeared to be good enough for now.
7. Filled pool with H2O and the SWAMP appeared to hold water! (brain tells me nothing is gonna work from here on out, family ask how long until we swim)
8. Check wiring...We have power!
9. Fired up the Sta-wrong pump, wait for it...Sparks commenced and my face caught on fire (I kid). Pump is history.
10. Buy new VS pump motor, wire and plumb that bad boy and we are back on.
11. Prime pump and what do tell? The pump pot has hair a line crack. (brain tells me to get the fill dirt, NOW! Family ask how much longer?)
12. Replace pump pot.
13. Prime pump = Yippee (brain tells me to pat myself on back, family wants to jump in the water!)
14. Recirculate looks good...
15. Switch to filter, wait for it............Water squirting from backwash glass, pressure gauge, and sand pouring out the bottom of the filter! (brain tells me I'm an idiot, family ask if we'll be able to swim this year!)
16. Install a Super State of the Art Hayward XLS Turbo Rambo edition sand filter...It works, It really works! (brain tells me I'm still an idiot, I tell family to zip it!)
17. Now for the easy part...Pool Chemistry

Before you ask, yes I have read Pool School and I enjoyed every twisting and turning minute! BTW, I have a degree in Chemistry/Microbiology so I'm not clueless to pool chemistry, just a little Fe2O3! After getting the mechanical stuff working I head down to Wally World and pick up Bleach (8.5%), Soda Ash, Baking Soda, Cyanuric acid, and quick test strips. I used the test strips to get a general idea of my CH, TA, PH, and FC. Don't worry the TFT kit came a few days later. I threw in some pool shock (left over from previous owner) and let the kids swim. I used the strips just to make sure I had some FC in the water. Anyway below is what I did day by day.

TFT Results Tap Water

pH = 8.0
TA = 80
CH = 75
FC = 1.5
CC = 0.5
CYA = 0
Water Clarity = Clear

Day 1

After filling Pool

Adding CYA per TFP Calculator
Adding Shock from above (just threw some in the water)

pH = 7.2
FC = 7.0
CC = 0.5
CYA = 40
CH = 70
TA = 90
Water Clarity = Hazy from SWAMP remains, frog excrement, and child funk.

Day 2

Pump set 24 x 7 50% Flow
Added CaCl2 & CYA per TFP MATH

pH = 7.2 (little Low)
FC = 5 (Little Low)
CC = 0.5
CYA = 50 (This is the value I was shooting for)
CH = 200 (Looking good)
TA = 90 (Looking Good)
Water Clarity = Un...freaking...believable

Day 3 (This is where my problem begins)

Added CaCl2 per TFP MATH to 300
Added Bleach per TFP MATH to 6
Added Na2CO3 (Soda Ash) per TFP pH to 7.6 (Like a fool I did not wait 24 hours after Cacl2 addition...Only 2/3 hours)

BOOM - Water looks like Low fat milk! (Brain told me to add Soda Ash, Family in state of shock)

pH = 8.0 or better
FC = 6
CC = 0.5
TA = 90
CH = 175

CaCL2 + Na2CO3 --> CaCO3 + NaCl (Correct?)

Calcium Carbonate Precip would be my guess, but not sure how to proceed...(brain said stop what you are doing and ask the pro's, family ask how long until we can swim?)

Any and all suggestions welcomed! I just want the pool to be clear? Please tell me I don't have to drain and refill?

Thanks,

Tony

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! Very entertaining first post, sorry about your problems. First off lower the pH to 7.2, that should clear up the calcium clouding, then recheck your CH test. If you were at 200ppm of CH and added more you couldn't have dropped down to 175ppm without draining water. Mostly likely tester error in one of your CH tests. It is very important to swirly continuously between drops during the CH test, and not to add the drops in rapid fire succession. Many folks like to order the speed stir just for the convenience when doing the CH test.

7.2-7.8 is just fine for pH, you really didn't need to raise it up, and it looks like you overshot your target pH. FYI next time you want to raise pH, you can aerate the pool. You can use a pool fountain or point a return up so it breaks up the surface of the water and mixes in air to raise the pH.

 

[Abigail K]

Welcome to TFP!

Yes, the cloudiness is most likely to be due to the calcium chloride you added.
With pH 8.0, the first thing I'd do is to lower it slightly. pH tends to rise naturally in a pool and pH 8.0/8.2 is the max readable by the test, anything higher just registers as the max.

Edit: Zea replied first. Note to self: hit refresh before replying.

 

[jaduck]

Thanks for the help! I did perform the CH/TA with a speed stir and I've done similar titrations keeping up a Marine SPS reef tank. I did the last CH level, at night, in my screened-in porch. That was probably the cause of the lower CH. Should have just aerated the pool, as I knew better. I just wanted quicker/faster and look what that got me! For those who don't know, please don't add Calcium chloride and Soda Ash close together. I'll bring the pH down with HCL and hope it clears up.