I need help figuring out what this clouding issue is.

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totalpackage

Member
May 27, 2019
14
Kingston, TN
So for several years i have had this issue. This white powder settles on the floor of my 10,000 gallon above ground pool. I was using Zappit 73% Cal Hypo Pool Shock and HTH 42034 Super 3-inch Chlorinating Tablets. I was told by our local pool store that they thought the white stuff is a bi-product of the chlorine i was using. I feel my pool is really clear but when you brush it or swim, this stuff clouds it up. I have attempted to clean it out and reclean it out. I have used Floc per there instruction to be able to vacuum it to waste but loose to much water once it drops below the skimmer, i loose pressure to really get it all. I keep my pool running year round but only swim in it during the summer. I tried using a Nautilus Plus cleaner to get it but the filter is not fine enough to catch it, nor is a skimmer sock or my sand filter. It all does catch some, but very little. I am attaching a pic of the 1st time i used the Nautilus Plus a week ago. It caught a decent portion but i would say it is .5 percent of the amount in the pool and no longer picks any of the remaining up. I just switched to another chlorine called DryTec 1-1901-24 Calcium Hypochlorite Chlorine Shock to keep it clean. So i would love to know.....what is this white stuff? Is it a bi-product? Is it from the tablets or shock? How can i remove it without losing water? Is there a fine filter that can help me?

I use Arm & Hammer baking soda also.
 

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totalpackage said:
So for several years i have had this issue. This white powder settles on the floor of my 10,000 gallon above ground pool. I was using Zappit 73% Cal Hypo Pool Shock and HTH 42034 Super 3-inch Chlorinating Tablets. I was told by our local pool store that they thought the white stuff is a bi-product of the chlorine i was using. I feel my pool is really clear but when you brush it or swim, this stuff clouds it up. I have attempted to clean it out and reclean it out. I have used Floc per there instruction to be able to vacuum it to waste but loose to much water once it drops below the skimmer, i loose pressure to really get it all. I keep my pool running year round but only swim in it during the summer. I tried using a Nautilus Plus cleaner to get it but the filter is not fine enough to catch it, nor is a skimmer sock or my sand filter. It all does catch some, but very little. I am attaching a pic of the 1st time i used the Nautilus Plus a week ago. It caught a decent portion but i would say it is .5 percent of the amount in the pool and no longer picks any of the remaining up. I just switched to another chlorine called DryTec 1-1901-24 Calcium Hypochlorite Chlorine Shock to keep it clean. So i would love to know.....what is this white stuff? Is it a bi-product? Is it from the tablets or shock? How can i remove it without losing water? Is there a fine filter that can help me?

I use Arm & Hammer baking soda also.
Click to expand...
Hey there neighbor, Welcome to TFP!

TFP is different than other pool sites in that there’s a specific pool care process to follow. It’s gonna sound weird but follow me here:
1. Test your own pool water with a specific kit so everyone can see what the water chemistry is. It’s been found that pool store testing and test strips are so unreliable that they cause so many people too many problems to give advice based on those. So see if you can get a Taylor K2006C (amazon) or a TF-100 (www.tftestkits.net) test kit and share the test results.

2. The dry chlorine products add both chlorine and either calcium (or CYA). Over time the calcium starts to build up and cause trouble like white powder flaking (scaling) on surfaces. Not sure if that’s what your powered is, but if the pool store convinced you to use floc or some of their other potions, it may be that.

Here’s a link to some of the details on the recommendations TFP has. But the best advice at the moment is to provide some water test results that are trustworthy. It’s possible you’ll need to exchange the water to get rid of the powder but can’t know for sure without test results.
 
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Bperry said:
Hey there neighbor, Welcome to TFP!

TFP is different than other pool sites in that there’s a specific pool care process to follow. It’s gonna sound weird but follow me here:
1. Test your own pool water with a specific kit so everyone can see what the water chemistry is. It’s been found that pool store testing and test strips are so unreliable that they cause so many people too many problems to give advice based on those. So see if you can get a Taylor K2006C (amazon) or a TF-100 (www.tftestkits.net) test kit and share the test results.

2. The dry chlorine products add both chlorine and either calcium (or CYA). Over time the calcium starts to build up and cause trouble like white powder flaking (scaling) on surfaces. Not sure if that’s what your powered is, but if the pool store convinced you to use floc or some of their other potions, it may be that.

Here’s a link to some of the details on the recommendations TFP has. But the best advice at the moment is to provide some water test results that are trustworthy. It’s possible you’ll need to exchange the water to get rid of the powder but can’t know for sure without test results.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Will do!
 
ok, got the TF100 kit, read instructions and felt thoroughly confused being more of a test 8 year test strip user. Watched 10 year old videos from company. Reread laminated instructions and here are the results.
Keep in mind my pool is always clear but has that white stuff sitting on the bottom in certain areas...for 2 years now.
FC is 5.5
CC is 0
Calcium 225ppm
Alkalinity 170
cya 47

That being said i understand i need to add a bit of alkalinity. How many lbs per my 10,000 gallon pool? Normally my guess would be 4 lb per my test strip estimate.
What overall do you think?
My mixer i bought from them does not work either...felling frustrated 4 hours into this today.
 
Please add details about your pool and equipment in your signature. It's very hard to help when we know next to nothing about your pool.

That said, here's a simple trick to test out - take a couple of teaspoons of that powdery substance, put it into a shot glass or small glass measuring cup and add a few drops or teaspoons of white vinegar. If it fizzes a lot then it's calcium carbonate and it's likely coming from your use of cal-hypo.

Also, you don't need to add any "alkalinity" to your water as it is already at 170ppm which is, by any measure, way too high.
 
totalpackage said:
ok, got the TF100 kit, read instructions and felt thoroughly confused being more of a test 8 year test strip user. Watched 10 year old videos from company. Reread laminated instructions and here are the results.
Keep in mind my pool is always clear but has that white stuff sitting on the bottom in certain areas...for 2 years now.
FC is 5.5
CC is 0
Calcium 225ppm
Alkalinity 170
cya 47

That being said i understand i need to add a bit of alkalinity. How many lbs per my 10,000 gallon pool? Normally my guess would be 4 lb per my test strip estimate.
What overall do you think?
My mixer i bought from them does not work either...felling frustrated 4 hours into this today.
Click to expand...
Realize the mixer works by adding the white “pill” into the solution before you turn it on. Without the white pill, it doesn’t do anything.
 
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Ok, did not know the white plastic was metal and a magnet made it dance. The "pill " is now in the shape of an X . When i saw the guy add it in the video, not thinking much about it, i thought it was a chemical of some sort i guess. Also i reread the alkalinity range and see i stated incorrectly needing more.
It is going to be hard to catch that stuff again. The Nautilus vacuum i used was a neighbors and the pic i used was from the 1st cleaning with it. After that, it would not pic up any more even though there is still a lot. Currently the pollen is so bad, that is all i see in my skimmer sock which fills with pollen every day and there is no flow due to this. So i rinse out and get it going again daily. I do believe the suggestion of using Cal-hypo is the culprit but basically still would like to come up with an idea on how to catch and remove this stuff, which puts me back to my very 1st post after buying this test kit. I have always been very hands on with the pool. Brush everyday, vacuum by hand with small battery vacuum..if i cant scoop with a net. But the white "cooking flour" stuff....its been haunting me far to long now.
 
Cal hypo is notorious for causing cloudiness and for creating calcium carbonate dust as it is extremely alkaline when you add it to water (pH of cal hypo solutions can easily exceed 12). If your starting TA and pH are already elevated then you will definitely get fine scaling. A sand filter can not catch that kind of particulate. You can add small amounts of DE to your sand filter to improve its filtration performance but that will not solve the problem. You can also try lowering your pH prior to adding cal-hypo. Over time, cal hypo adds 6ppm to your CH for every 10ppm FC added. Unless your input water is really soft and you can offset your fill water use with rain water, CH will increase over time.
 
totalpackage said:
Ok, did not know the white plastic was metal and a magnet made it dance. The "pill " is now in the shape of an X . When i saw the guy add it in the video, not thinking much about it, i thought it was a chemical of some sort i guess. Also i reread the alkalinity range and see i stated incorrectly needing more.
It is going to be hard to catch that stuff again. The Nautilus vacuum i used was a neighbors and the pic i used was from the 1st cleaning with it. After that, it would not pic up any more even though there is still a lot. Currently the pollen is so bad, that is all i see in my skimmer sock which fills with pollen every day and there is no flow due to this. So i rinse out and get it going again daily. I do believe the suggestion of using Cal-hypo is the culprit but basically still would like to come up with an idea on how to catch and remove this stuff, which puts me back to my very 1st post after buying this test kit. I have always been very hands on with the pool. Brush everyday, vacuum by hand with small battery vacuum..if i cant scoop with a net. But the white "cooking flour" stuff....its been haunting me far to long now.
Click to expand...
Once you get the chemistry under control caring for the pool will be way easier.
 

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totalpackage said:
So i assume the new shock i bought is the same as the old then? How do i proceed to do better? Do i change shock?
Click to expand...
Use liquid chlorine (bleach) to chlorinate your pool. Use
PoolMath to calculate amounts.
Your cya counts as 50 - you cannot extrapolate between the lines. If between two lines always round up.
Follow—> FC/CYA Levels
www.google.com

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.
www.google.com www.google.com
Do you have sand in your sand filter?
 
totalpackage said:
So i assume the new shock i bought is the same as the old then? How do i proceed to do better? Do i change shock?
Click to expand...
One thing to realize is that “shock” is an industry marketing term that doesn’t really mean anything. All of it is just chlorine in different forms. It’s either solid or liquid. The solid versions can cause trouble if used long term so liquid is the only “safe” long term option.
 
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