VERY CLOUDY No overnight FC Loss

[Dkoucky]

Fc:4
Cc:0
Ph8.2 (big spike from yesterday)
Ta:90
Ch:200
Cya:50

Pool has been VERY cloudy the past couple of days. It started last weekend there was some particulate all over the floor of the pool it looked like pollen but it seems a little late in the season. I vacuumed out what I could but stirred up quite a bit; after a day the sand filter didn't seem to be doing much so I added some DE. Another day went by and it was still cloudy so I turned the filter off to see if it would settle again after 24 hours it had settled somewhat, I put the spring filters on the robot and gave that a shot to not much avail. Levels were staying normal very little FC loss over night, maybe 1 PPM per day

Last night and this morning there was a decent storm and my PH spiked, I am attributing it to the rain but could be multi-faceted (I have not been checking PH everyday because it was normal at the start of this problem and I don't usually have much trouble). I am pretty much stumped. I added some muratic acid and 2 more bottles of bleach.

Ideas???

This is my second season of using TFP and it has been very easy up to this point.



Thanks!!!!

 

[pooldv]

Did you test to confirm that PH dropped? What did you target and what was it after adding acid? Lower PH to 7.2 and bump FC to 10 or 12 ppm and do the OCLT again. And call me in the morning! LOL!

 

[Dkoucky]

Added the acid less than 15 min ago. I will go ahead and add 3 more bottles of bleach and spike the Chlorine then test both before bed.

The PH was off the chart so I just eyeballed a little more than 1/4 a gallon, but now that I plug it in looks like I need closer to 1/2

Do you run 7.2? I have always gone for 7.5...

 

[pooldv]

7.5 is usually good, but sometimes calcium precipitates at higher PH and lowering it will help. You can go 7.5 first if you prefer. 7.2 to 7.8 is acceptable range.

 

[Dkoucky]

Also I know you guys say stay away from all but the necessary chemicals but what about trying powerfloc or clarifier of some sort to try and get this stuff to settle again?

 

[pooldv]

Also I know you guys say stay away from all but the necessary chemicals but what about trying powerfloc or clarifier of some sort to try and get this stuff to settle again?

Ack! Nope! Need to get the PH down first to see if that solves it. And do a higher FC OCLT to rule out organics.

 

[Dkoucky]

With an est. 60 oz of muratic acid in the pool an hour later the PH is still bright pink, That was the last of it so I will buy a new bottle tomorrow. Chlorine is measuring 11.5, I am going to leave the pump running all night and see if the PH drops at all in the morning.

 

[Richard320]

With an est. 60 oz of muratic acid in the pool an hour later the PH is still bright pink, That was the last of it so I will buy a new bottle tomorrow. Chlorine is measuring 11.5, I am going to leave the pump running all night and see if the PH drops at all in the morning.

WHOAWHOAWHOA

If FC is above 10, your pH will read falsely high. Check the pictures: Accurate pH test during shock levels with R-007?

You still have DE in that sand filter, correct? Because that should help filter out fine stuff. Do what you can to improve circulation in the deep end. Point the returns down. Open the main drain if you have one. Maybe connect the vacuum head to the hose and set it upside down in the deep end to act as a main drain. Anything you can do to grab particles and get them to the filter will help.

There's been too may horror stories here about gummed up filters after using floc and clarifiers. Don't take the risk.

 

[Dkoucky]

This morning chlorine had dropped by 1 drop (0.5PPM) to 11 PPM, so there might be a little biomatter but I don't think it justifies a slam.

How do I check if there is still DE in the filter? What is too high for the pressure? I honestly don't know what it normally runs at maybe 35 PSI??? It took not quite 2 cups of DE last time, does it help/hurt anything if I add a little extra?

 

[Richard320]

This morning chlorine had dropped by 1 drop (0.5PPM) to 11 PPM, so there might be a little biomatter but I don't think it justifies a slam.

How do I check if there is still DE in the filter? What is too high for the pressure? I honestly don't know what it normally runs at maybe 35 PSI??? It took not quite 2 cups of DE last time, does it help/hurt anything if I add a little extra?

If you haven't backwashed since adding DE, it's still in there.

35 sounds awfully high for a clean system. Maybe it's time for a thorough cleaning and then a fresh load of DE on top. Pay close attention to the clean pressure after cleaning but before the DE is added. That is your baseline.

 

[Dkoucky]

I think Richard320 found the solution!!! She was a little dirty in there