Help! Terribly Cloudy and won’t clear up

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Hi, Flower! Not to worry, we will have you clear soon, and then we will teach you all about the SWG. It really is a great way to chlorinate your pool.

Regarding the skimmer hack, if you are going to drain water to lower your CYA I would recommend that you do the skimmer install at that time. It’s easier to do it when the water is lower than where you’re going to put the skimmer. I’ve done it myself and it’s really pretty easy.

I also used the over the wall skimmer in the past and actually it didn’t bother me at all. It works pretty well. The main thing is keeping it at the right level for the water, and making sure that you tighten the screws periodically. It helps if you keep it close to one of the poles so that you can use a zip tie or some other method of keeping it from moving around a lot. So if you’re a little overwhelmed about all the things we’ve told you, you can certainly wait to do a through wall skimmer.
 
kellyfair said:
Hi, Flower! Not to worry, we will have you clear soon, and then we will teach you all about the SWG. It really is a great way to chlorinate your pool.

Regarding the skimmer hack, if you are going to drain water to lower your CYA I would recommend that you do the skimmer install at that time. It’s easier to do it when the water is lower than where you’re going to put the skimmer. I’ve done it myself and it’s really pretty easy.

I also used the over the wall skimmer in the past and actually it didn’t bother me at all. It works pretty well. The main thing is keeping it at the right level for the water, and making sure that you tighten the screws periodically. It helps if you keep it close to one of the poles so that you can use a zip tie or some other method of keeping it from moving around a lot. So if you’re a little overwhelmed about all the things we’ve told you, you can certainly wait to do a through wall skimmer.
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Hi Kelly, thank you so much for the helpful advice! I think I'm going to wait on the wall skimmer for the time being simply because it's already mid June and the kids haven't been able to swim once yet. I may wait until the start of next season to mess with that, simply because of time, but that's a great point to do the install while water level is low. Thanks!

Our hanging skimmer works for now, so I'm going to press on with that for this year, but that's a great point about lining it up with a pole. I'll have to check it's location. Thank you so much :D
 
Well, I started the SLAM process this past Friday night. I’ve been very diligent to maintain shock level, checking it every two hours and adding bleach as needed. As of this morning, the FC did not drop overnight, but the CC came up to 1.5, and it’s not much clearer than when I started this process. Color is still the same, and still incredibly cloudy. How do I gauge how much bleach to add if I’m spot on target FC range for shock level? And how long does it take to begin clearing up?
-incredibly frustrated this morning :rant:
 
I would remove the floating skimmer and let the pump draw water from a little deeper in the pool. That's where all the yucky water is, but the floating skimmer just draws right from the surface. Be sure and stir it up real well when you brush too.
 
Sorry you are frustrated with the process but it sounds like you are making progress if your overnight loss is minimal. Continue to maintain your FC at SLAM level for your CYA. The cloudiness will start to clear with filtration.

What is your current full set of test results?
Have you been brushing/vacuuming the pool to get the dead algae and much into the filter?
 
jeffchap said:
I would remove the floating skimmer and let the pump draw water from a little deeper in the pool. That's where all the yucky water is, but the floating skimmer just draws right from the surface. Be sure and stir it up real well when you brush too.
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I was wondering about that myself. Thought about hooking up the vacuum and just letting it filter from that off the bottom instead of the skimmer. Thank you!
 
CJadamec said:
Sorry you are frustrated with the process but it sounds like you are making progress if your overnight loss is minimal. Continue to maintain your FC at SLAM level for your CYA. The cloudiness will start to clear with filtration.

What is your current full set of test results?
Have you been brushing/vacuuming the pool to get the dead algae and much into the filter?
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I had not been testing the full set of chems over the weekend because I assumed they would be altered due to the high chlorine level. I brushed/vacuumed both Friday and Saturday, as well as this morning, but I did not brush or vacuum Sunday.

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mknauss said:
Only need to test FC until your water is clear.
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Ok great, that's all I have been doing all weekend. Thank you! :)
 
In the past 24 hours I’ve only had to add 2 cups of bleach to maintain shock level, and the CC was down to 0.5 this morning. Here’s a photo of today though (4.5 days into the SLAM process). Is this normal to have such a minimal change after nearly 5 days of maintaining at shock level? I just felt by this point we would be close to clearing it up. 176FE3C1-2942-4977-ABEB-194DFF83B762.jpg65452074-A070-4A70-8B4D-BED00B13EC5B.jpg
 
I scanned through this thread and did not see a discussion about metals. Do you have iron in your water? Have you used products in the past with copper in them (can be indicated with 'Blue' in the name)?
 

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mknauss said:
I scanned through this thread and did not see a discussion about metals. Do you have iron in your water? Have you used products in the past with copper in them (can be indicated with 'Blue' in the name)?
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Oh, I’m not sure about iron...? How would I check for metals? I used a double dose of a product called “Back to Blue” about two weeks ago per the pool store advice.
 
Back to Blue appears to be Cal-Hypo with a clarifier.

Most pool stores can do iron testing. I would suggest taking a sample of pool water and of tap water.

Just do not buy any of the potions they attempt to sell.

Another idea is to put an old t-shirt or some white socks in the skimmer. See if they turn brown.

Take care.
 
Yikes, Mandy! Time for another set of test results, minus the PH if your FC is over 10. I’m particularly interested in your CYA level.
 
CYA is measured in the 10s, so round up to 60. You are at right SLAM level for 60 CYA, so keep that up!

That is so weird about that white stuff. Your CH isn’t out of control...

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Is the pole the only place where you have that weird stuff? Thinking it may be some interaction with the pole itself.
 
Well today marks a full week I’ve maintained the high chlorine level and yet still no progress. I’m brushing the sides and bottom twice a day, vacuuming as needed, adding bleach as needed (usually checking early am before sun hits it, mid day, and evening after sun goes down). What gives?! If it had been full swamp mode, I wouldn’t be so frustrated, but a week at this level and no progress??? 4E0AB83A-09C5-4055-B1BF-9D2216F4F19B.jpgAC414CC2-5445-4B2F-82C7-D6B1EA740ADE.jpg
 

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