Cloudy Pool HELP

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BrandiLynne

BrandiLynne

Member
May 30, 2022
8
Dayton, Tx
Pool Size
10000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi! Need some help/advice. This is my 4th year with our above ground pool. We just had it releveled and a new liner installed last month. All chemicals are balanced. But I cannot get the cloudy water to clear up. TC 3, FAC 3, CC 0, CYA 40, Hardness 225, Alkalinity 100, ph 7.4. Using Taylor K2005 test kit.
 
Last edited:
Hi and welcome!

The biggest immediate issue is that your test kit does not include a CYA test. Without that test, we can’t know if your chemicals are balanced.

Here we follow the FC/CYA Levels which determines what your free chlorine level should be. It’s possible that it’s far too low, if your CYA level is high.

So step one is to get yourself one of these to supplement your K-2005:
tftestkits.net

Cyanuric Acid (CYA) Test Kit

tftestkits.net tftestkits.net

Once we have that missing piece, we can advise the best course of action to clear up the pool. You’re likely to need to complete a SLAM Process, but that’s not possible until we know the CYA level.

Id also encourage you to read through ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry, it’s a great help in understanding the relationship between chemicals.

We’ll be here for you every step of the way!
 
Good advice above. The K-2005 has limitations, but you can quickly make up for them with those additions. The link below is also quite handy. Welcome to TFP! :wave:

www.troublefreepool.com

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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I have additionally ordered a Lamotte digital testing kit (2086 I believe) but it won’t be here for a week or so.
magiteck said:
Hi and welcome!

The biggest immediate issue is that your test kit does not include a CYA test. Without that test, we can’t know if your chemicals are balanced.

Here we follow the FC/CYA Levels which determines what your free chlorine level should be. It’s possible that it’s far too low, if your CYA level is high.

So step one is to get yourself one of these to supplement your K-2005:
tftestkits.net

Cyanuric Acid (CYA) Test Kit

tftestkits.net tftestkits.net

Once we have that missing piece, we can advise the best course of action to clear up the pool. You’re likely to need to complete a SLAM Process, but that’s not possible until we know the CYA level.

Id also encourage you to read through ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry, it’s a great help in understanding the relationship between chemicals.

We’ll be here for you every step of the way!
Click to expand...
The test kit I have does test for CYA, which is currently 40ppm. This is the testing kit for reference:65F527C7-8800-439C-A9D4-372F74B31F83.png
 
Last edited:
brandirouse86 said:
I have additionally ordered a Lamotte digital testing kit (2086 I believe) but it won’t be here for a week or so.

The test kit I have does test for CYA, which is currently 40ppm. This is the testing kit for reference:View attachment 417148
Click to expand...
Thanks for clarifying; I had your kit mixed up. You do have the CYA test; thanks for sharing the result of 40 CYA.

At 40 CYA, your target FC is 5-7 according to the FC/CYA Levels. 3ppm is the bare minimum you ever want to hit. The odds are that at some point your FC dropped below 3, and you have algae - just not enough to go full green.

The first step I would suggest is an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to confirm. Basically you want to see if you lose chlorine with no sun on the pool, which would confirm the presence of organics like algae. If the overnight test fails, then it’s time to do the SLAM Process.

Both the SLAM and OCLT will require the test that is actually missing from the K-2005, which is the FAS-DPD chlorine test. That test allows you to test above 10ppm and at a resolution of 0.5ppm. The resolution is needed to perform the overnight test; the higher levels are needed to test and bring to SLAM levels.

This is the test you will need-

tftestkits.net

FAS/DPD Chlorine Test Kit

tftestkits.net tftestkits.net

(Or the Taylor K-1515-A which can be purchased from various online retailers.)

Even the LaMotte test you ordered will only test to 10ppm FC, which won’t get you to SLAM level 16 for 40 CYA.

But adding the fas-dpd test to your k-2005 will basically turn it into a k-2006, which is one of our recommended test kits here that includes all the tests you’ll ever need.
 
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In the middle of a SLAM. Water has finally started to clear. However my question is, my CYA started out a 40 a few days ago, now testing today I’m getting 20 on both the Taylor K2005 and the Lamotte digital test kit.

FC:16
CC:0
PH:7.6
TA:100
Hardness:265
CYA:20
 
Update! And more questions. So I’ve been doing the SLAM method for today makes the third day. Water has started to clear significantly. However when testing CYA today, which was previously 40, I’m now getting 20 on both test kits. I thought the only way to reduce CYA was partially draining, which I have not done.
 
Possibly your previous test was invalid. When you have turbid (non-clear) water, a turbidity test like CYA can be thrown off. So if your water was cloudy, it would make the dot disappear sooner and you would interpret it as having a higher CYA than you actually did. I would trust the latest results.
 
Have you been doing a lot of backwashing? I doubt you've backwashed out 4-5k gallons (to reduce 40-50% of your pool water) but it might contribute to some CYA loss as well.
 

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Have you done any backwashes? Water out to waste will do it as well. If not, then it may just be a testing variance. See my note below if it will help.

CYA Testing:
Proper lighting is critical for the CYA test, so you want to test for CYA outside on a bright sunny day. Taylor recommends standing outside with your back to the sun and the view tube in the shade of your body. Use the mixing bottle to combine/gently mix the required amounts of pool water and R-0013 reagent, let sit for 30 seconds, then gently mix again. Then, while holding the skinny tube with the black dot at waist level, begin squirting the mixed solution into the skinny tube. Watch the black dot until it completely disappears. If it helps, pour a little, look away, then look back and pour some more. Some people like to squirt enough solution to go line-by-line for a better feel. Once it disappears, record the CYA reading. After the first test, you can pour the mixed solution from the skinny view tube back to the mixing bottle, shake, and do the same test a second, third, or fourth time to instill consistency in your technique, become more comfortable with the testing, and validate the CYA reading. If you are still questioning your own results, have a friend or two do the same test 2-3 times. Share your results only after everyone is done to see if you came up with the same average results.
Click to expand...
 
IceShadow said:
Have you been doing a lot of backwashing? I doubt you've backwashed out 4-5k gallons (to reduce 40-50% of your pool water) but it might contribute to some CYA loss as well.
Click to expand...
jedigrover said:
Possibly your previous test was invalid. When you have turbid (non-clear) water, a turbidity test like CYA can be thrown off. So if your water was cloudy, it would make the dot disappear sooner and you would interpret it as having a higher CYA than you actually did. I would trust the latest results.
Click to expand...
Ok, so if I’m to trust latest results, and still in the middle of a slam, do I adjust cya now or after?
 
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