Hi all! I live in Central Texas and we have been getting a lot of rain lately, almost as soon as I get the leaves and pollen out of the pool and crystal clear for swimming it rains and I have to start the process over again. As it is late in the summer and temps are cooling off I decided to see if I could begin the closing process before it rains again! According to the weather channel there is no chance of rain until Wed. So I started the cleaning process Sunday (Yesterday) The water was cloudy with a yellow/green layer of pollen on the floor. I used a concentrate liquid to help bind the debris and make it easier to vacuum up. I recirculated for 4 hours and a pile of debris formed in the center of the pool and I vacuumed it up. Pool was still fairly cloudy and still a little yellowish/green. I tested the water before doing anything yesterday and everything was within normal range except the CYA was zero, I tested it again after recirculating and vacuuming and again all within range except CYA zero. I tested again this morning after letting the pool sit overnight and again all readings are good except the CYA. Now I don't have any super fancy test kit I have this Poolmaster Essential Collection Chemistry Case (22260) 5-Way Swimming Pool & Spa Water Test Kit, Small, Neutral , and I also have 7 way test strips that I use daily, then if the readings look off I use the chemistry case above. It has worked for me all summer, no issues with any algae, or weird cloudiness, until the rain started. And again nothing a little time, vacuuming, and sweeping doesn't cure. I also used EasyCare 30064 PoolTec Algaecide, Clarifier and Chlorine Salt Cell Booster, 64 oz. Bottle once a week and again had zero issues. So couple questions, First, would the lack of CYA be causing the cloudy water? Second, since I am in the process of closing the pool do I need to add CYA and bring it back up? I purchased a Chlorine Free Winter Kit from In The Swim along with a liner pillow as we occasionally get light ice accumulation in the winter. I will be using the cover and tie downs provided with the pool by Intex. I would love to get a better cover with cover clips but am finding it very difficult to find many products for my size and model of pool, so I will see how the factory one works this year. My frame has round poles so none of the clips work and the closest to 20ft cover I can find is for a 24ft pool. I purchased a leaf net in a 24ft and it is huge hangs over nearly 3ft all the way around when on my pool.
Sorry for the long post but basically, I have a clean but cloudy pool with a yellowish tinge to it, and all levels are testing fine with the exception of CYA which is at zero. I am fairly confident that I can get the water clear sans chemicals with a few more hours of sweeping, vacuuming, skimming, etc. But need help in pin pointing why my CYA dropped and whether I need to bring it back up for closing.
Sorry for the long post but basically, I have a clean but cloudy pool with a yellowish tinge to it, and all levels are testing fine with the exception of CYA which is at zero. I am fairly confident that I can get the water clear sans chemicals with a few more hours of sweeping, vacuuming, skimming, etc. But need help in pin pointing why my CYA dropped and whether I need to bring it back up for closing.