Small AGP - Water Volume Causing Weirdness?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Oakstone

Oakstone

0
Aug 30, 2017
80
Victoria, BC Canada
Pool Size
11550
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Heyo,

Each year I seem to get slightly cloudy water literally the day after I get everything set up and balanced. All the chemicals seem to be in good ranges. Thing is, it's a small volume of water at 1100 Gal, so I'm wondering if just using it is causing the issue because there's not much water overall.

My 8 year old son swims in it up to 5 hours a day, sometimes with friends, sometimes not. We have to clean the filter (2500GPH Intex) every day. By the end of the day, water flow has noticeably slowed such that the skimmer isn't pulling much. We lose about 1/2 the FC from morning to evening, then I top it up. We then lose 1/2 again overnight. I would guess some sort of algae or something eating the chlorine, but the water is like 2 days old.

I don't mind doing the maintenance, but it's frustrating when the water just isn't "crystal clear" year after year. If that's just the way it is with such a small pool, I'll take the bee out of my bonnet lol.

We think we'll do some excavation in the yard next year and do an Intex XTR, so it's not a huge deal for the next 6 weeks of good weather, but I'm more curious if there's something in my methodology that's messed up.

Thanks!
 
Oakstone said:
Heyo,

Each year I seem to get slightly cloudy water literally the day after I get everything set up and balanced. All the chemicals seem to be in good ranges. Thing is, it's a small volume of water at 1100 Gal, so I'm wondering if just using it is causing the issue because there's not much water overall.

My 8 year old son swims in it up to 5 hours a day, sometimes with friends, sometimes not. We have to clean the filter (2500GPH Intex) every day. By the end of the day, water flow has noticeably slowed such that the skimmer isn't pulling much. We lose about 1/2 the FC from morning to evening, then I top it up. We then lose 1/2 again overnight. I would guess some sort of algae or something eating the chlorine, but the water is like 2 days old.

I don't mind doing the maintenance, but it's frustrating when the water just isn't "crystal clear" year after year. If that's just the way it is with such a small pool, I'll take the bee out of my bonnet lol.

We think we'll do some excavation in the yard next year and do an Intex XTR, so it's not a huge deal for the next 6 weeks of good weather, but I'm more curious if there's something in my methodology that's messed up.

Thanks!
Click to expand...


What are your numbers?
pH, FC, CC ? When you say you lose half of your FC, how much is that?

When I was using an intex sand filter I found it needed backwashing every week or two, certainly not every day and that was on a 15' 48" intex pool.
 
Sorry should have put more details!

I have a Taylor 2006 for testing.

FC target is 5, so I hit 2.5 on each test and top it up. I would keep it at 3, but thought maybe having a slightly higher target would help keep it sanitized with the heavy use.
PH 7.4
CC I will test tonight.
CYA 40 after a day, need to reconfirm since I don't know if it had fully dissolved on my first test after 24 hours in the stocking.
TA 40
CH Pretty much zero
 
With a CYA of 40 ppm, the target FC is between 5-7ppm. A minimum of 3ppm and a SLAM of 16ppm. You are edging way to close and below minimum FC. Also, you say you are loose good amount overnight
You should elevate FC to SLAM levels for a couple of days and that should help get he hazy out before an algae outbreak sets in. When it’s clear for a few days, do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to see if it’s time to stop the SLAM Process.
Based on your volume and use, I’d consider you pool heavily used.
you can still use the pool as long as pH is in range, you can see the bottom and your FC is at or below SLAM levels.
 
The only time I ever went cloudy was when we approached 1000 gallons per person, and you are at that ratio with one person. If you think about it that is only about 2-3 hot tubs each. Sweat, sunblock and body oils would cloud that up quickly too. So your filter needs to work overtime, which of course takes time to do its thing. Sometimes it will even take a day or more with the smaller index style equipment. It works great for the price, but its not exactly commercial grade either.
 
Thanks all! To clarify (pun intended) it's not that cloudy. It's just that it's only 3ft deep and I figure it should be crystal clear to the bottom. It's like when I look at something on the bottom of the pool like a mask or something the kids dropped, it isn't perfectly clear.

I'll double check CYA tonight and adjust FC to match recommended. I'd prefer not to slam if I don't have to, but will if I keep losing overnight. So funny how it's a tiny pool with a bunch of maintenance. haha
 
Tiny aquariums are not recommended for people getting their first aquarium, as the small water volume means things can get out of wack much faster. Big aquariums are better for new aquarists. The bigger the bette, within reason. I think the same is true for pools.

The only advantage a small pool really has is if something gets screwed up, you can drain and refill in an hour or two, no big deal. But with my 15,000 gallon Intex, draining would likely take 24 hours or more, a fill takes about 25 hours, so I'd have to find a two day stretch with little to no wind (or else it'd blow down or away) and spend $100 or more in water replacement costs. In short...not something I'd want to do, but I wouldn't blink on doing that for a 1000 gallon pool.
 
Oakstone said:
So funny how it's a tiny pool with a bunch of maintenance. haha
Click to expand...
Alot of people massively upgrade their equipment on the smaller pools, but yours is among the smallest so it would kinda really be cost ineffective. But hey !! Its hot out and your pool is wet. It might get bigger, but it can't get any better than that.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Ah ok that makes sense @Teald024. I thought I couldn't let the kids swim during SLAM.

I lost 1.5 FC overnight so it seems I'm right on the edge. I'll pick up more bleach today and SLAM it.

Thanks again for the assist :)

@Newdude I have upgraded to the 2500GPH pump/filter and added a skimmer. At least I know I can turn over all the water in the pool several times per day compared to the terrible pump/filter that came with the pool.

Here’s a pic from this morning. Seems totally clear which is a good sign. Maybe it’s just from the use?
EC33941B-7F15-43AF-B071-F3A84BE9665A.jpeg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Newdude
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply