Cloudy again..

[Newdude]

*also worth noting…….

When people are doing this, they almost NEVER screw up the evening test. We should see plenty of the user error in the evening with a lower FC and magical higher FC in the morning. But we don’t. It’s almost always a good reading at night and a false loss in the morning. We ALL have some level of anxiety and at 9PM we are all cool as ice. Win, lose or draw that day, it’s over and we tried our best and we got through it. In the morning it starts all over with 600 things to clear from the list. How am I gonna juggle it all ? We need school supplies today and Target was cleared out yesterday……. And work…… and the living room is a mess and it’s Thursday so the fridge is mostly empty from the weekend grocery shopping….. and …. And……. And.

So yeah. Running all that stuff through your head while wanting to pass your morning test SO badly…….. no kidding it might be off. You have and extra kid that I don’t and we all know each kid brings 300% more to do and 500% more to think about. They compound like interest.

 

[3kidsAndAPool]

If your water is clear, And I mean STUPID clear, TFP invisible WHERE did my water GO ??? Clear….. and you’ve been holding SLAM with the loss for several days unchanged, it could be tester error. The human side of it affects some people more than others. When you need to make 40 perfect drops to read your 20 FC, it’s REAL easy to miss a few. My own hand gets shakey halfway there.

You can let the FC drift back down to in range and see if it holds. It usually does at this point and you won’t lose any progress if it doesn’t. The whole time it drifts down it is still killing algae, just not as quickly as it was at SLAM level. So at worst it will only be a pause in the process and at best you are finished.

(Sorry if you were done a couple days ago but we always err on the side of caution, on your behalf. Even if it gave you more work, you were better off than re-inheriting the swamp).

Thank you for responding and all of your help, I really appreciate it! I would definitely rather hold SLAM too long than not long enough. I brought it up this morning and then kept it covered a majority of the day, only opening to check FC. I wanted to keep the sun from burning it all off and better see what I was working with. It seemed to hold more steady. I’m going to double check again in the morning and then let it drift back down. I took some pics so you could see the water clarity. Looks pretty dang clear to me! Also, so I need to backwash or do anything with my sand filter? I don’t backwash often because my pressure never really seems to go up? Wasn’t sure what to do after a SLAM. I haven’t done it after slamming before and wondered if maybe that could be my problem?

 

[Texas Splash]

and then kept it covered a majority of the day,

Just be sure to give the pool enough sun exposure so that CCs can be eliminated. A couple hours or so should be enough.

 

[Newdude]

Also, so I need to backwash or do anything with my sand filter? I don’t backwash often because my pressure never really seems to go up? Wasn’t sure what to do after a SLAM. I haven’t done it after slamming before and wondered if maybe that could be my problem?

If you are holding FC and not losing any overnight, have .5 CCs and stupid clear water, your SLAM is done. There still is no harm for holding another day just to be sure. If it does and you filter pressure is good then you can backwash one last time to get any residuals out.

However. I am personally a bit ‘extra’ and would deep clean the filter just to make absolutely sure that there is nothing left.

Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

This post will walk you through the anatomy of a sand filter, and then provide a video at the end for how to deep clean your sand filter. The filter used in the photos and videos is a Hayward S180T top mount sand filter. The images are of a similar filter. Obviously not all filters are...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[3kidsAndAPool]

Thank you for responding and all of your help, I really appreciate it! I would definitely rather hold SLAM too long than not long enough. I brought it up this morning and then kept it covered a majority of the day, only opening to check FC. I wanted to keep the sun from burning it all off and better see what I was working with. It seemed to hold more steady. I’m going to double check again in the morning and then let it drift back down. I took some pics so you could see the water clarity. Looks pretty dang clear to me! Also, so I need to backwash or do anything with my sand filter? I don’t backwash often because my pressure never really seems to go up? Wasn’t sure what to do after a SLAM. I haven’t done it after slamming before and wondered if maybe that could be my problem?

If you are holding FC and not losing any overnight, have .5 CCs and stupid clear water, your SLAM is done. There still is no harm for holding another day just to be sure. If it does and you filter pressure is good then you can backwash one last time to get any residuals out.

However. I am personally a bit ‘extra’ and would deep clean the filter just to make absolutely sure that there is nothing left.

Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

This post will walk you through the anatomy of a sand filter, and then provide a video at the end for how to deep clean your sand filter. The filter used in the photos and videos is a Hayward S180T top mount sand filter. The images are of a similar filter. Obviously not all filters are...

www.troublefreepool.com

It looks like I lost 2ppm overnight and I’m about to pull my hair out. Seriously I’m starting to wonder if I’m not actually screwing up the night test even though you said it’s usually the morning test people mess up. My Cc was .5 and hasn’t gone above that. Water is still clear. I’m not sure wether to stop or keep going

 

[PoolStored]

View attachment 363801

It looks like I lost 2ppm overnight and I’m about to pull my hair out. Seriously I’m starting to wonder if I’m not actually screwing up the night test even though you said it’s usually the morning test people mess up. My Cc was .5 and hasn’t gone above that. Water is still clear. I’m not sure wether to stop or keep going

That's some pretty clear water, but 2ppm is still a lot. Can you post a picture that includes the whole pool with all the features? Did you check and scrub in your skimmers? Like all in and around, take out the weir doors and check them?

 

[Newdude]

K. First things first. You have Phillips screws in your drain covers 7-8 ft down. *THAT* is the stupid clear I was ‘talkin bout.

Bravo. Your efforts have been rewarded.

It looks like I lost 2ppm overnight and I’m about to pull my hair out. Seriously I’m starting to wonder if I’m not actually screwing up the night test even though you said it’s usually the morning test people mess up

I thought of another reason for the shaky morning hand, Cuz you put down the 0dark30 coffee mug to test.

Let the FC drift down to normal in range and see how it does. It will take a few days to get there and you’ll be still killing on the way down. I’m guessing it will hold and/or you do better only needing 16(?) drops to pass.

 

[3kidsAndAPool]

That's some pretty clear water, but 2ppm is still a lot. Can you post a picture that includes the whole pool with all the features? Did you check and scrub in your skimmers? Like all in and around, take out the weir doors and check them?

It’s raining right now, but when it stops I can take another pic. The only feature I have in the pool are 2 bubblers on the steps. I have spent time scrubbing inside the skimmers. Mostly it’s just a blackish sticky/oily substance at the waterline, but it does keep coming back even if no one gets in the pool after I’ve cleaned it off. I don’t see it anywhere else besides the skimmer waterline. I wouldn’t have a clue how to get the weir doors off. Any suggestions?

 

[PoolStored]

It’s raining right now, but when it stops I can take another pic. The only feature I have in the pool are 2 bubblers on the steps. I have spent time scrubbing inside the skimmers. Mostly it’s just a blackish sticky/oily substance at the waterline, but it does keep coming back even if no one gets in the pool after I’ve cleaned it off. I don’t see it anywhere else besides the skimmer waterline. I wouldn’t have a clue how to get the weir doors off. Any suggestions?

Take the cover off the skimmer and look on the bottom of cover, should give you brand. You can look up the skimmer brand and figure out how to take them out and clean them.

If you have the white plastic stairs, your liner was cut around the stairs and some sort of boundary (plastic edge) was put down around stairs to hold the liner in place. My liner stuck out about 1/16" from the boundary. I found a bunch in there when I scrubbed. Scrub that boundary too.

Another thought. Do you use a speedstir? I'm new pool owner. My brother has had a pool for 30 years. We did tests at the same time, me using speed stir and him using his swirl the sample method. We were different by 1ppm. The speed stir really makes my test results reliable and repeatable.

Another thought, when you add the FAS-DPD powder, you should add one heaping, or two level scoops. If you have some particles that have not dissolved, you know you have added enough.

Another thought is the size of the drops. Are you squeezing the bottle to get the drops out? Are you letting them form naturally (i.e. turn bottle upright, turn over without squeezing and let the drops naturally form and drop). Droplet size can also contribute to inconsistencies. I've reverted to putting solution bottle up, then down and let the drops fall without squeezing. Takes maybe 15 more seconds/test, but the drops are big and consistent.

 

[3kidsAndAPool]

K. First things first. You have Phillips screws in your drain covers 7-8 ft down. *THAT* is the stupid clear I was ‘talkin bout.

Bravo. Your efforts have been rewarded.



I thought of another reason for the shaky morning hand, Cuz you put down the 0dark30 coffee mug to test.

Let the FC drift down to normal in range and see how it does. It will take a few days to get there and you’ll be still killing on the way down. I’m guessing it will hold and/or you do better only needing 16(?) drops to pass.

 

[3kidsAndAPool]

I bright it back up to 20ppm this morning, just checked and it’s down to 11ppm. Do you recommend raising my cya? The only thing that makes me nervous about that is how much FC I would have to use to SLAM and since I’m slamming once a month at this point, I don’t know what to do…I’m already using around 10 gallons a day each SLAM. The direct sunlight seems to zap my FC and I don’t really have a consistent “average daily loss” under normal circumstances.

 

[3kidsAndAPool]

Take the cover off the skimmer and look on the bottom of cover, should give you brand. You can look up the skimmer brand and figure out how to take them out and clean them.

If you have the white plastic stairs, your liner was cut around the stairs and some sort of boundary (plastic edge) was put down around stairs to hold the liner in place. My liner stuck out about 1/16" from the boundary. I found a bunch in there when I scrubbed. Scrub that boundary too.

Another thought. Do you use a speedstir? I'm new pool owner. My brother has had a pool for 30 years. We did tests at the same time, me using speed stir and him using his swirl the sample method. We were different by 1ppm. The speed stir really makes my test results reliable and repeatable.

Another thought, when you add the FAS-DPD powder, you should add one heaping, or two level scoops. If you have some particles that have not dissolved, you know you have added enough.

Another thought is the size of the drops. Are you squeezing the bottle to get the drops out? Are you letting them form naturally (i.e. turn bottle upright, turn over without squeezing and let the drops naturally form and drop). Droplet size can also contribute to inconsistencies. I've reverted to putting solution bottle up, then down and let the drops fall without squeezing. Takes maybe 15 more seconds/test, but the drops are big and consistent.

Take the cover off the skimmer and look on the bottom of cover, should give you brand. You can look up the skimmer brand and figure out how to take them out and clean them.

If you have the white plastic stairs, your liner was cut around the stairs and some sort of boundary (plastic edge) was put down around stairs to hold the liner in place. My liner stuck out about 1/16" from the boundary. I found a bunch in there when I scrubbed. Scrub that boundary too.

Another thought. Do you use a speedstir? I'm new pool owner. My brother has had a pool for 30 years. We did tests at the same time, me using speed stir and him using his swirl the sample method. We were different by 1ppm. The speed stir really makes my test results reliable and repeatable.

Another thought, when you add the FAS-DPD powder, you should add one heaping, or two level scoops. If you have some particles that have not dissolved, you know you have added enough.

Another thought is the size of the drops. Are you squeezing the bottle to get the drops out? Are you letting them form naturally (i.e. turn bottle upright, turn over without squeezing and let the drops naturally form and drop). Droplet size can also contribute to inconsistencies. I've reverted to putting solution bottle up, then down and let the drops fall without squeezing. Takes maybe 15 more seconds/test, but the drops are big and consistent.

 

[3kidsAndAPool]

I

View attachment 364006View attachment 364007View attachment 364008

I will work on the skimmer this weekend and see if I can get the doors off. The steps are vinyl lined but the ladder has that “edge” you were referring to. I looked around but there isn’t enough liner to even pick it up to look. I will continue scrubbing around it with my brush. Of course we have ppl coming over tomorrow for my husbands birthday and I’m afraid the whole thing is going to start on me again.

 

[Newdude]

I bright it back up to 20ppm this morning, just checked and it’s down to 11ppm

@Texas Splash what could possibly be consuming this much FC now that the pool is TFP clear, everything has been scoured and checked for residuals and the CYA has held constant ?

 

[3kidsAndAPool]

I am surrounded by crops and know that my phosphates are high. I took a sample into a local store just to double check my testing results a couple of weeks ago and the phosphate test was included. Everything was spot on so I assume their phosphate test was correct also (2000.) I also know that everyone here says that phosphates don’t matter, but do you think that may be a factor here?

 

[Newdude]

2000 would be on the higher side where we might want to lower them. Even so, the algae should be long gone so it’s ‘food’ is kinda a moot point. *usually*. Hang tight while we wait for Pat’s thoughts.

 

[Texas Splash]

Tried to recap this thread. Lots of info. Here are some of my thoughts:
- Crystal clear water. No doubt about it.
- How old is your pool? I don't think I saw that anywhere.
- Yes, you can expect FC to fall a bit after a heavy bather load which is why we often times add 1-2 ppm of FC before or after a swim party.
- I wouldn't be too critical of particulate matter you see at night against the lights. You'll go crazy on that one. Daytime clarity if awesome.
- I did have a concern about covering the pool, and now it makes me wonder it there is something about that cover transferring organics to the water. Since everything else in the pool has been checked, that seems to be the only other item.

So if you are still at an elevated FC level, go ahead and keep it there tonight, but keep that cover off. The water needs to breathe and if there is junk under that cover you don't want it on the water. It's happened before.

I'd pull that cover off right away and leave the water exposed for a day or so and see how your FC responds.

 

[Newdude]

I did have a concern about covering the pool, and now it makes me wonder it there is something about that cover transferring organics to the water. Since everything else in the pool has been checked, that seems to be the only other item.

@Snoobug Had a similar struggle recently. Snoo got any thoughts ?

 

[PoolStored]

Funny I was just thinking cover.'

When I did mine, I was afraid of the same thing, so I just bought a new cover.

 

[3kidsAndAPool]

Tried to recap this thread. Lots of info. Here are some of my thoughts:
- Crystal clear water. No doubt about it.
- How old is your pool? I don't think I saw that anywhere.
- Yes, you can expect FC to fall a bit after a heavy bather load which is why we often times add 1-2 ppm of FC before or after a swim party.
- I wouldn't be too critical of particulate matter you see at night against the lights. You'll go crazy on that one. Daytime clarity if awesome.
- I did have a concern about covering the pool, and now it makes me wonder it there is something about that cover transferring organics to the water. Since everything else in the pool has been checked, that seems to be the only other item.

So if you are still at an elevated FC level, go ahead and keep it there tonight, but keep that cover off. The water needs to breathe and if there is junk under that cover you don't want it on the water. It's happened before.

I'd pull that cover off right away and leave the water exposed for a day or so and see how your FC responds.

The pool is 2 years old. At the end of last season we had to have the liner replaced due to a tear at the seam. So we started out with fresh water and added accordingly.
-I will definitely keep the cover off and see what that does! If it is in fact the cover, how in the world do I go about finding/cleaning that up? It’s an auto cover so there isn’t really room to get under it.
-Do you think I should raise the cya since it’s in full sun every day? Would that even help?
-What I usually see after we have more than 4-5 ppl is cloudy/foggy water at the deep end, especially in front of the light. Should I expect to fail an OCLT every time we have a heavy bather load? Between the sun and lots of swimmers, the FC plummets.
Thank you so much for responding!! I’m at my wits end and I’m going through gallons of LC like crazy!!!