Help with Stubborn Cloudy Green

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I did actually drop 1 cup of DE in last night, and pressure shot up from 20 to 30+ between 8-10pm, so I backwashed before bed and PSI went back down to 17-18, which is my standard clean running pressure. I can't do rounds of this all day since I have to work (how dare they get in the way of me clearing my pool!), but I don't have anything going this evening so it's possible I could get 2 or 3 cycles in this evening ...
 
madyogi said:
I did actually drop 1 cup of DE in last night, and pressure shot up from 20 to 30+ between 8-10pm, so I backwashed before bed and PSI went back down to 17-18, which is my standard clean running pressure. I can't do rounds of this all day since I have to work (how dare they get in the way of me clearing my pool!), but I don't have anything going this evening so it's possible I could get 2 or 3 cycles in this evening ...
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Awesome! Try adding 1/4c, then going from there =) As much dead algae is in your water, it shouldn't take much!
 
splashpad said:
Awesome! Try adding 1/4c, then going from there =) As much dead algae is in your water, it shouldn't take much!
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Yeah, I usually add 1 cup in 1/4 cup increments. Based on previous cycles before changing sand and discovering clogged MD, somewhere between 2/3 cup and 1 cup gets my PSI up by 1-2 notches, and from there really seems to get the pressure going up quickly over the course of a couple hours.

I'll probably put my duda bags back in service too. After this adventure, I've got just about all the tricks in my arsenal ready to go!
 
madyogi said:
Yeah, I usually add 1 cup in 1/4 cup increments. Based on previous cycles before changing sand and discovering clogged MD, somewhere between 2/3 cup and 1 cup gets my PSI up by 1-2 notches, and from there really seems to get the pressure going up quickly over the course of a couple hours.

I'll probably put my duda bags back in service too. After this adventure, I've got just about all the tricks in my arsenal ready to go!
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New sand = new routines! Gotta love change eh? =D Sounds like a good plan of attack to me!
 
Time for a post-lunch update! I've been working a bit with Tex via PM to make sure we have as much info as possible without having to make this thread any longer than necessary ... too late, I know! I managed to get home under partly cloudy skies and found the perfect time with sun popping out full to do the CYA test with 3 drops of R-0007 in there to neutralize the chlorine, and it HAS to be either 40 or 50. I lean toward 40, but I wouldn't call baloney sandwich if you said it was 50.

Here are some photos of other items:

20180523_120350.jpg
Bucket test for iron, get a gallon of pool water, add 2-3 cups of bleach, and see if it stains or changes color.
20180523_124131.jpg
Skimmer test for iron, throw some paper towels in the skimmer for a while, and see if they stain brown.
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Pool from pool deck.
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Pool from upstairs bathroom.
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Closeup of stairs/shallow end.

I stuck the duda bags back in and isolated those returns while biasing the intake from the MD. I feel like things are progressing, but I've felt that way once or twice before over the past month, and I'm thoroughly fatigued by my natural propensity toward optimism.

Thoughts?
 
In the first picture below the skimmer or 3rd down from top, is that your shallow/deep end break line that I see there? Seems color goes from lighter to darker very clearly right there. Or it's a light trick from the sun/clouds.

I feel you on the optimism thing, I know it's hard to tell but I Believe!
 
Here is the latest pic, after adding the union on the return and changing out the sand. There are individual ball valves for skimmer and MD on the intake side, and 4 valves on the return side, one for each of my 3 wall returns and one for the 2 returns on the stairs.

20180519_152837.jpg
 

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Next time you take photos, can you do with your leaf rake in so we can see how far down visibility goes?

I still lean towards CYA 50. Anytime someone isn’t sure between 2 numbers, I tend to think it is the higher number. I know you’ve been keeping FC at 20, so that is good.

So looks like you don’t have iron. Are you checking for copper too?
 
I haven't performed any "experiments" like the above specifically for copper, but I have had the pool water tested several times at the one pool store locally I "trust," and also had my fill water tested there, and they detected no copper or iron in either source. I did mention this over private message but might as well post here too, regarding my fill water -- we are on city water in Little Rock, but we occasionally have a day or two where bath water turns a light brown/yellow color. I don't know why it does it, and it's not common, but it tells me my fill water chemistry probably isn't totally consistent.
 
When that happens around here, they tell us it is tannins from leaves. :suspect:

Nothing else has been added to pool, right? Like, no family members snuck out in the middle of the night and dosed it with something, right? LOL

No accessories with copper innards?
 
madyogi said:
I haven't performed any "experiments" like the above specifically for copper, but I have had the pool water tested several times at the one pool store locally I "trust," and also had my fill water tested there, and they detected no copper or iron in either source. I did mention this over private message but might as well post here too, regarding my fill water -- we are on city water in Little Rock, but we occasionally have a day or two where bath water turns a light brown/yellow color. I don't know why it does it, and it's not common, but it tells me my fill water chemistry probably isn't totally consistent.
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Does the city sometimes use well or spring water to supplement water supplies?
 
Yeah, they say something like they must have turned the lake over, whatever that means. We get water from lake maumelle.

And no, we have no sleepwalkers prone to tossing minerals in the pool, at least none i have caught.

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zea3 said:
Does the city sometimes use well or spring water to supplement water supplies?
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Not sure about that, but it does come from a treatment plant at a local lake. How would i find out such details?
 
We get an annual water report here. In fact, I just got one yesterday. It might be online as well.

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You know, if you were feeling scientific, you might throw some pool water in a bucket and put a sequestering agent in and see what happens.
 
Good to know, Tex. Thanks for doing the research! Not sure what we can glean from that report regarding the state of my water, but it's more information to add to the case file.

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I am still holding out hope it has been a combination of excessive rain/debris in the pool over this winter, an under-sanded filter, and a clogged main drain. But there goes my optimism again ... not sure I can trust it at this point, at least regarding my pool.
 

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