I'm Getting White Cloudyness

[Chuckiechan]

Bor 80*
Cl 5.5
CC 0.0
CYA not measured. Ran out of reagent
Ph 7.6
TA 50
CH 400


Salt ~ 2600

*We have been getting a lot of rain and I'm surprised the boron is so high, considering salt has dropped considerably due to dilution... Hmmm....

Anyway, I tried some clarifier and that didn't help. It still early in the year to bring everything back up to spec's, but I'm concerned about the cloudiness.

Ideas?

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello Roseville. Well, something that is critical for us is the CYA and FC. It's very possible that your cloudiness is related to an algae bloom, and that your CYA (stabilizer) and free chlorine are not balanced properly. Hard to tell at this point. I certainly wouldn't waste any more money on pool store products until you get the CYA reagent and post the FC and CYA. Posting CC will help as well. I suspect that will be key to finding the source of your problem.

Now I just realized you have numbers in your sig (maybe older tests?) If we were to assume your CYA is up around 75 (round up to 80), your FC target is 6 for an SWG pool. You might be right on the border of low chlorine (FC). I would really like to see those most real-time numbers (FC, CC, and CYA).

 

[Chuckiechan]

The numbers in my sig are what are recommended.

I mislabeled FC as CL - it's 5.5 CC was zero

EDIT:
BTW, isn't an algae bloom green? Mine is white/milky and actually fairly minor as I can see the bottom ok.

 

[Texas Splash]

The start on an algae bloom isn't always green. Cloudiness can in-fact be the beginning of trouble. We see it all the time. But I would like to point-out one thing you noted in your last reply. According to the Pool School - Recommended Levels and Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart, your SWG CYA should be between 70-80. Too low and your SWG works too hard to maintain FC. Too high and you may not make enough FC. Some of your other signature recommended levels have changed recently on our site, so you might want to double-check those.
If we knew your CYA was between 70-80, your FC is fine. But with an unknown CYA, that's really difficult to confirm. Is there any way you can expedite an order of R-0013 reagent? We know the pool store CYA testing is horrible and typically inconsistent, so I don't recommend them at this point. Other than the unknown CYA, your other test readings look rather good. I'm actually surprised to see your CH at such a reasonable level for CA.

 

[Chuckiechan]

I'm ordering reagent. And I dumped in 3/4 gal pool bleach.

 

[Chuckiechan]

New accurate numbers 2/22/16

Pool = 14,000 gallons
Temp 60F
FC = 7.0
CC= 0.0
PH= 7.6
CYA= 75
TA = 75
CH= 375
Salt = 1600 per SWG instant reading
Borate when I closed the pool = 50. My guess today is ~ 30

CSI @ Pool Math = - .42


I added Chlorine a day or so ago, and it seems better and only slightly cloudy.

I'm concerned about TDS (total dissolved solids) and having to drain water and dilute my chemicals.

I think the borate number is high. I tested my strips in tap water, and it went one color above zero borate. Tap water should be zero. So my strips are not accurate.

 

[Texas Splash]

I wouldn't worry to much about the TDS. Your overall numbers look quite good. Getting that FC up to match your validated CYA range was ideal. CSI is a bit in the negative, but a bit early to be concerned as I suspect low water temps could be a contributing factor there. I would continue to do what you are doing and simply watch the water clarity. If things take a turn for the worse in the future, you can always do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to see if there are any active organics consuming your chlorine. Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT) Good job.

PS ~ Don't forget to update your sig numbers at some point so you don't get thrown off track.

 

[Chuckiechan]

I'm really not sure what to put in sig numbers. Ideal, actual, or recommended?

 

[Texas Splash]

Actually, most of us don't put the recommended numbers in there. We have a TFP link/page for that, or we print it out and leave it with the test kit. Just enter your pool info, equipment type, basically some of the things you already have listed. Maybe add the type of pump, make, model, things like that, and anything else you may be using. If it were me personally, I'd just remove the chemical reading info from your sig and use that extra space for describing anything else about your pool that you think may help readers. Once you see a variety of other posters' sigs, you'll see a common theme.

 

[wjr75]

You may have a rip in one of your cartridge filter pleats. It happened to me last summer.... all readings were good but got cloudy. Bought some new filters which fixed the problem in my case. Did you see a slight drop in your filter pressure when this started? I had about a 1.5 psi drop when the problem started.