The cure for milky water is....?

[MLock]

Okay. Will work on it more tomorrow. I went ahead and added four more gallons (10% this time) and 30 minutes later with a test strip because I'm out of reagent, I'm at appx FC 2.

All of your assumptions are correct except I'm out of some reagents (more coming tomorrow) and it is all milk, no green.

 

[MLock]

I'm gonna keep typing to myself here; please feel free to interject as you see fit.

This morning, I added eight gallons of 12.5%. Pre, my FC was at 0.5; thirty minutes after, FC is up to 8. So I think I'm making progress; still not getting to shock level, but closer... I need to go get more chlorine. And I hope my reagents come today, because now I'm out of 0871... yikes.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Just keep pounding at it and when you get the new reagents you'll be able to know what you're doing.

 

[MLock]

New readings after four more gallons of 12.5% and fresh reagents (you da man, duraleigh)...

FC: 12.0 (yyyyeeeessssssss)
CC: 1.0 (even better!)
CYA: <20 (remember, this was 180 at closing last year... yikes)
TA: 250

Still cloudy, but the bottom is becoming visible.

I am going to WIN, I can feel it.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Keep it up, you're getting closer. :-D

 

[MLock]

It occurs to me that I'm trying to do the near impossible by keeping my pool at shock levels 24 hours a day with 0 CYA and heavy sunlight. (I guess the update there is that I can't lose the dot -- it isn't even really fuzzy to see -- even when the tube is completely full in my K-2006 kit)

What's the best way to get my pool up to CYA 20-30 so the sun isn't burning off my chlorine while I try to make this swamp into a reflecting pool?

 

[Butterfly]

Add it via sock method and hang it in front of a return to dissolve.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Buy stabilizer and add enough to get to 30 ppm. Hang it in front of a return.

 

[MLock]

Update. The pool is reasonably clear now; I can see bottom but it is still a bit murky compared to what I want/what I had last season.

FC: 14
CC: 1
pH: 7.0 (assuming this went down when I added stabilizer)
TA: 250
CYA: <10 (guessing based on filling up the tube and being able to see the dot through the cloudy water)

So I still need to add more stabilizer, and I'm assuming I need to continue keeping the water at shock level until it clears. My wife has taken to calling me a mad scientist but I don't care.

The tally so far: 52 gallons of liquid chlorine (most 12.5, some 10%), four pounds of stabilizer, and new reagents. Pool ownership is fun, huh?

 

[TomTinNC]

Its fun winning these battles, and knowing you were able to do it. Gotta keep that glass half full.

 

[frogabog]

If you added enough stabilizer to get to a certain ppm, then assume it's in there and don't add any more till you test for CYA again in a week. It can take that long for it to show up on a test. If you skimped on the stabilizer in the first place, then only add enough more to reach your target. Otherwise, wait...

The filtering will clear the cloudies in time as long as you maintain shock level. All of a sudden one morning or afternoon it'll surprise you and clear right up.

 

[TomTinNC]

Once you kill off all the algae in the pool, you won't be consuming so much chlorine (bleach). When I was shocking my pool, which was an obliteral mess, it was eating a lot of chlorine as well. I didn't look at the bleach as "expensive". I followed the advice given here, which is excellent. I looked at how much I spent on "pool store" cures last year that never worked in comparison with my bleach expenses which did work. I spent far less on bleach than at the pool store, and now I don't have to get advice from them on chemicals. The time and money that it saves me there, far exceeds whatever I have spent on bleach. Once you kill off everything in the pool with bleach, and your CYA levels stabilize....you won't be using much. I buy bleach by the case from Sams Club. I have 3 cases in reserve at all time. I use maybe a gallon and a half a week at most. It'll happen.

 

[MLock]

So then, last season, I switched fairly late to BBB after I found this place. My CYA was 180, so I was keeping my FC around 8. I was surprised that I was adding 1 to 1.5 gallons of 6% a day, since everything I was reading said FC would stick around forever at that CYA level. Now I'm wondering, was I secretly fighting an algae war last year without realizing it? Based on how much you have to add, TomTinNC, it sure sounds like it.

 

[JasonLion]

Yep. With CYA around 180, FC should have been 14+. Your FC level was way too low and you probably had constant algae. At very high CYA levels it is common for there to be algae that you can't see. There is enough chlorine to keep the algae from ever getting out of control, but not enough chlorine to ever kill all of the algae.

 

[MLock]

[attachment=0ew3vd1g]photo (2).JPG[/attachmentew3vd1g]This morning:

FC: 15
CC: .5
TA: 250
pH: 7.2
CYA: 10-20

And as you can see from the picture, I am clear for the first time in 2012. Thanks for your help!

Next steps? I'm assuming:

1. Wait another few days to see if more of the stabilizer shows up
2. Acid to lower TA, bubbles to raise pH, rinse and repeat
3. Swim

 

[TomTinNC]

I think your first step is to pass OCLT...Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. You should not lose more than 1 ppm chlorine overnight, and you should not have greater than .5 CC. Measure at night before you go to bed, and in the morning before the sun hits the pool. For instance: If you go to be and FC's were at 15. When you woke up and measured...they were at 13...you have failed the OCLT, and need to continue shocking, because something in your pool is still consuming chlorine. Actually the chlorine is fighting something and being lost.

Step 2: Get your TA down with Acid/Aeration (after you pass OCLT). Mine was 250, it took me 2 weeks, but I got it down to 80 now.

Step 3: Get your CYA up to maybe 50 or so. I understand you already added CYA, but you won't get an accurate reading on the test until about a week after it dissolved. So don't mess with that for awhile. (You can deal with this even if you're still shocking).....so this could actually be step 2.....depending on whether or not you pass OCLT quickly and can drop to normal FC levels.

My guess is with your high CYA's from last year, the 7ppm of FC you were keeping was allowing algae to grow in your pool. It may not have been visible or causing problems, but it was there, and was definitely consuming your chlorine. Now that your CYA will be inline, you will be golden.

 

[MLock]

Holy cow... I passed the overnight loss test.

Currently:

FC: 6
CC: .5
TA: 250
pH: 7.3
CYA: 25

Water feels awesome. I need to find a way to aerate that doesn't involve humans (so unreliable). Could I just hook up my cover pump on a step, sans hose, and let it blow billions of bubbles?

Thanks to everyone in this thread who has helped me.

 

[Leebo]

I'm gonna suggest to flip what Tom suggested. I would raise the CYA to around 40 first. That should help you hold your FC and keep of algae. After that work on TA.