High chlorine consumption, cloudy water

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L

ltfdrebbin

0
Jun 28, 2014
60
Kent, Ohio
Pool Size
42000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Last year my water turned green, and I came here for help. You expertly guided me to clear water using the SLAM process.

Well- I'm back.

Our water has been cloudy, but not green. It gets a little more clear, and then a little more cloudy.
We are in Ohio, and have had tons of rain this year. Tons :(
Our moderate temperatures have kept out pool temp between 79-81 for the past 3 weeks.

This week, I decided to take our chlorine level from 4 to 8-10 to kill any algae that may be present and get our water back to clear. Due to the fact that the water was not green, I hoped this would work.

I started dumping lots of liquid chlorine in the pool. I've taken the level as high as 11, and never let it get under 5. I've used at least 25 gallons of chlorine this week doing this (the pool is 42,000 gallons). Now I'm wondering if I still need to slam.

At 8AM, the chlorine was 10. At 7 PM, it was 6.5.
My CC has remained at .5 for most of this week.
TA 160
CH 270
CYA 85

Do I need to SLAM, or can I get by without closing the pool?
Notice the barely visible white drain cover in the bottom of this blue plaster pool.

Thanks!

pool2.jpg
 
Seeing that you have used the methods described here, you do realize that you have a high CYA level, correct? I would get that level down by doing partial drains/refills. If not, you will have to maintain a shock level of 35 ppm FC. Once your water has cleared you will need to maintain 7 - 10. So, basically you need to SLAM at 35, or dilute that CYA to a more manageable level and SLAM at a lower FC level.

When you get a chance can you post a full set of results or post a current pH?

Also, do you use that chlorine feeder?
 
I do realize the CYA is much too high.
Those readings are current.
I was using Tri Chlor pucks in the feeder all summer. When the water got cloudy, I decided to let them run out and only use liquid chlorine.
I do understand Tri Chlor adds CYA.
 
For a Non-SWG pool such as yours, and with a CYA of aprox 90, you should never be dropping to FC 5. That's going to let something grow annoyingly.

Your absolute minimum is 7, with the target of 10, and shock level of 35.

You say you've taken it up to 11, but have you *Maintained* it there long enough to pass the 3 criteria to end the SLAM process?
 
You do need to SLAM but no need to close the pool. We SLAMed a few weeks ago and swam for hours every day. Our CYA is 70 and we had FC between 25 and 28 at all times. Chlorinate your pool based on your CYA and the Chlorine CYA Chart. It is safe to swim when FC is between minimum and shock level.
 
I e been slamming the pool for 6 days. I've tried to maintain the FC at 31 as best I could, but sometimes I have to work. I've left my automatic cleaner in the pool except for when people were swimming. The CC never went above .5, and the FC drop gradually got lower, as it should.

Last night, I ran out of reagent. It's been 6 days of SLAM, and a ton of bleach. I never reached the SLAM goal for chlorine loss overnight, but the water is now clear, and consumption is much lower.

What to do?

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Still struggling.

The water is crystal clear. Beautiful!
I started the SLAM 9 days ago. Due to the high CYA, my slam # (FC) is 31.
We ran out of reagent after 6 days of SLAM, and still dumped a lot of chlorine in the pool, but I can't say exactly where my FC level was.

We got more reagent yesterday so I was able to start testing again. I had to add 6 gallons of bleach to get back to 31. Last night at 11 I added another gallon, and then at 12:30, I was still at 31 FC. We have not swam, or taken the solar blanket off of the pool in 2 days. Our automatic cleaner is busy working under the blanket. Our CC's have registered 0 for at least 5 days. This morning at 7:30, the FC was down to 28, so I added 256 ounces of bleach. The CC was still 0. At noon it was 21.5 FC, 0 CC, so I added 5 more gallons of bleach. The water is still crystal clear.

It seems to me like our consumption is high given the 0 CC for so long, the fact that the pool has remained covered, and the clear water.
What are your thoughts?

Thanks
 

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I do have wedding cake stairs, 2 ladders, and a light.
I thought the very high chlorine levels for such a long time would have killed everything alive in the pool, and the CC being at 0 for so long was proof of that.
On the other hand, I'm still using quite a bit of chlorine.

Other thoughts?
 
Algae has this (sort of amazing) skill in that it can produce a biofilm that covers it and keeps it protected from the chlorine. That's why brushing the pool is so important as it disrupts that biofilm and allows the algae to both get in contact with the chlorine but also get it into circulation so the filter can help pick it up.

Stairs, lights and other good hiding places are notorious for harboring algae.
 
Yep, my SLAM was the same way. My water actually was crystal clear for 3 years and never got cloudy at all. 0 CC the whole time. I foujd algae behind the light and inside my pool cleaner. Banned the cleaner and cleaned behind the light and the slam was done right away.
 
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