New guy...cloudy water

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J

JWMoore

Member
May 2, 2016
21
Verbena, AL
Pool Size
29700
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Found this site this year and have read all I can. Began by buying the recommended test kit and adjusting my green water, ph and salt, before doing the recommended slam. Added the require CYA, as mine was zero, then the chlorine. Pool turned from green to cloudy with little drop in chlorine after 1 hr. Brought it back up and it stayed in the slam range for several hours and remained there the next morning, but cloudy. Let the pump run for 2 weeks but never cleared. Still hasn't. So, I retested water today and did another slam after reading most cloudy water conditions are due to an algae problem. 5 hrs later, chlorine is still 25 and cloudy. I Need some help!
Current numbers
FC 25....has been at least 6 for 2 weeks
CYA 60
Ph 7.2
TA 70
salt 3400
Ca 100
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

I think you may have missed the all important M part of the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process.

With a CYA of 60ppm, you need to maintain the FC level at 24ppm until you pass the 3 criteria to stop ... one of which is clear water. This process can takes days to over a week.

Given that your FC does not appear to be dropping much, you might now be having a filter problem. Sand filters are the slowest to clear up the cloudiness.

I would suggest you try Deep Cleaning your Sand Filter and if you do not see daily improvement after that, you could Add DE to your Sand Filter to help clear it up.
 
Welcome! :wave:

I think Jason's got you covered. You need to maintain the high FC levels and possibly clean the filter. And once you know the sand isn't clumped up and channeled, maybe try adding some DE or cellulose. It won't take much, so see if you can beg a coffee can's worth from a neighbor... or the neighbor's pool guy.

It can take a lot of bleach. Hopefully not as much as this guy used.
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Well, I do appreciate the help! After 4 years and never even hearing of this, I'd say I got some filter cleaning to do. Also right in that I kind of missed the M part. I'll try to post an update. Thanks again
 
More problems. Trying to clean the sand dollar filter. Removed cap as video showed. Pipe on the inside will not disconnect from valve on the inside. Which in trying to remove it, I have pulled the pipe upwards a couple of inches, and now it won't return to original position. I'm sure it has sand under it preventing it from going back down. I've tried to go ahead and clean the sand, but can't get to it properly because of all that is in the way. What I have already seen is that it is very dirty and I'm sure it was my original problem. Somebody please help. What are my options?
 
DOH!!!

Well, at this point you are never going to get the stove pipe back attached to the laterals.

So, you now will have to remove all the sand to get the filter put back together. Then put some water in the filter and put the sand back in (or since you have to take it all out and it is dirty, I suppose you could just replace the sand).
 
JW I did the same thing last year! I was just going to deep clean my sand BUT I managed to dislodge the pipe :( I ended up taking it all out using a shop vac. I filled up the vac then dumped the sand into my wheel barrow and cleaned it that way THEN put everything back together. Use great care putting the sand back in. Cover the pipe with a plastic cup so sand does not go down it. Fill the filter half way with water to soften the fall of the sand. Put the sand in by HAND fulls until the lats are well covered.

:hug:

Kim:cat;
 
Thx guys. Got it replaced. After seeing the sand it absolutely could have been used again, but I had already purchased some new sand. Live and learn!

I used a 2" cap over the 1.5" pipe and filled it some with water first. Will update with results in a day or two!
 
Well, I'm running....but still cloudy! Only been about 36 hrs with the new sand though. Should I just wait and see if it clears? I have had no change in psi since restarting so I haven't backwashed. Suggestions?
 

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As of today, current readings.
ph 7.4
FC 7
TA 80
CA 80
CYA 60

water has cleared a little as the days go by. Remains on 24 hrs. I have attempted to locate DE at multiple pool stores in two different cities.....and they all seem confused and of course don't have any. Ordering from Amazon unless others have a better idea. I did want to ask (embarrassed to admit this here), when purchasing sand to replace in my filter the store insisted I only needed 200 lbs and anything more would risk blowing sand into the pool. Even though my filter recommends 350 lbs. now I'm wondering if this is why my pool isn't clearing up!
 
It probably is not the problem, but I'd use the recommended amount. But, I'll say this, it may not need 350. What I do is fill up the filter until it meets the point where the dome starts, I hope that makes sense... when the straight wall begins to curve, that's enough.

Your FC is too low for SLAM. :)
 
Does make sense and I will do that the next time I have the top off. Do I need to perform another SLAM if the water is clearing and the FC is holding steady?
 
JWMoore said:
Does make sense and I will do that the next time I have the top off. Do I need to perform another SLAM if the water is clearing and the FC is holding steady?
Click to expand...

You need to SLAM until you meet all 3 criteria.
You are done when:
CC is 0.5 or lower;
You pass an OCLT (ie overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less);
And the water is clear.

To be clear, this means that you maintain the shock level FC until you meet those criteria. Maintain meaning don't let the FC drop down below shock level. :)
 
I'm sure this question has been asked on this site many times, but I have not seen the answer in the SLAM procedure, or on any other threads. That question is.....In order to stop the SLAM process, how clear is "clear"??

I know that eventually we want the water crystal clear, like looking through glass. But, does it have to be that clear to stop SLAM? Or, are we talking clear enough to see drains in a 8 foot deep end, or clear enough to see a certain sized object in the bottom of the deep end? How "clear" is clear enough to stop SLAM?
 
So, adding the DE worked like a charm. Within a couple of days the pool was clear. I backwashed once when I noticed the pressure required it. Replaced the DE after that and haven't needed to since. I've got so much DE (14 lbs for $25 I think) that I will likely just keep adding DE after a backwash
 

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