pool cloudy

[my2kidsmom]

My water was great and blue. I added sodium carbinate and now it is CLOUDY! Is this normal? How long should it take to clear up? It should be ok to swim in, right?


FC 10
CC 0
pH 7.4 (being adjusted up)
CYA 100
TA 100

 

[JasonLion]

My guess would be calcium clouding, but there is no way to be sure without a CH test result. You should find out your CH level and post it.

 

[my2kidsmom]

ok, the CH is 110...BUT I've really screwed up...how long does it take for the pH up to get mixed. I have rechecked the pH and I must have added WAY TOO MUCH and not the pH is reading 8 and when I did the drops to see how many it takes to bring it down, I added over 90 and stopped to come post.
Now, what do I do?!!!! Do I start adding MA? and checking pH again?

 

[JasonLion]

How much did you add?

Remember that you need to give the water an hour to circulate with the pump on after adding a chemical, before testing again. If you test too soon you can get a water sample where the chemical is still very concentrated that hasn't mixed into all of the pool water yet.

 

[my2kidsmom]

Lessons learned...1) don't adjust the water until after you swim unless it is absolutely necessary or you might not get to swim. 2) read twice! and test again if necessary 3) until you've done it over and over, don't guesstimate. 4) let the water circulate for 1 hours or more before you test again. and water right at the surface may test higher and 5) don't panic and start adding chemicals to counteract what you did wrong or you may/will mess up more! and 6) don't read the back of pool chemicals you have left over from BBB....come inside and use the pool calculator to really KNOW what to add.

I guesstimated 3 pounds. I added "some" MA (and may have brought the pH too LOW!-- but, I will wait for a hour and test again to see what the level is and will hopefully not make the same mistakes.

Can you tell this is my first spring with a pool.

 

[JasonLion]

If you bring your PH back down carefully and methodically you should be fine. As the PH comes down the clouding should go away.

 

[my2kidsmom]

It's been close to two hours since I added anything. Here are my numbers:

FC 10
CC 0
pH 7.6 (I was really surprised)
TA 100
CH 110
CYA 100

WHEW! The pool is still a bit cloudy. What should I do about that? Also, should I adjust my CH up even though it's a vinyl liner?

Thanks for all your help! I love TFP

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Nope, your CH is fine, and give the cloudiness some time to go away on it's own. Keep filtering.