Help, Help, Help- Cloudy pool

[odie6941]

Hi Guys,

Please Please help! Here is what I have going on.

I have a 16 x 32 inground vinyl liner- sand filter and heater. I just bought the house and had the heater installed around a week ago. I hadnt done much in the way of water testing, and the pool heater installer read me the riot act regarding ph- chlorine , all chemical need to be good.... so I got the pool tested and basically had no chlorine, ph was 6.2, 0 alkalinity, hardness was 100. So this past week I put 60 lbs of alkalinity in and got that to where it needed to be, the ph came up along with that. the chlorine also started to register after the alkalinity and ph were normalized. I also had a copper issue, had copper in the pool (because of the low ph and alk) so i put in mineral remover which got the copper to acceptable levels. I have been putting in the chemical (I think calcium chloride, little pellets) to get the hardness above 200 where they recommend it. It has come up to 160 or so. After all of this, the pool was alittle cloudy, shallow end not too bad but deep end more cloudy. So my levels were good and I decided to add a clarifier to clear it up, went to the pool store and even though the bottle said use maybe 2-4 oz they said you cant use too much so put the whole bottle in. Well, now I have a very very cloudy pool, and have been kicking myself for a day. -- Not ever going back to that pool store.

So--- if I put too much clarifier in, if you can put too much in. if that is the reason my pool is cloudy, is there anything I can do to make the pool clear again? Please help!! I have been reading online and have heard everything from bleach to a ton of shoch to flog to pretty much everything.

Please help!

 

[JVTrain]

Start here with the ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry. It will give you an idea of what each chemistry level means and how it affects your pool. In order to clear your pool, you'll need to follow our SLAM procedure (see my signature). Cloudy pools are most of the time sanitation issues (not enough chlorine) rather than anything else. In order to properly test and perform the SLAM process, you'll need a recommended test kit. The TF-100 from tfttestkits.net is the best value and has all the tests you need to care for your pool. The Taylor K-2006 is passable, but has less reagents for the money.

With your heater, you need to make sure the pH never drops to below 7.0 for any length of time. It can quickly degrade heater elements at that low pH.

 

[odie6941]

Hi JV,

Thanks for getting back to me so quick! I just ordered the Taylor K-2006 and should receive in the next few days. So I should probably just hold off until I get that test kit and then SLAM the pool?

 

[Mr Bruce]

You could
- Add a little bleach every day
- Fill out your signature
- Add a state (country?) to your location
- Read Pool School over and over

 

[JVTrain]

Yes. Wait til you get your kit to move forward fully. Best thing you can do now is to fill out your signature on the forum with more details about your pool so it's easier for folks to help you out. Edit Signature Figure out an approximate volume of your pool. You can do this on the Pool Math page link above. Toward the bottom of the page there is an Estimating pool volume tool you can use. Make sure to use an average depth, for example: deep end 8 ft, shallow end 3 feet = 5.5 ft average depth. Adding your state to your profile helps too with some recommendations.

Also familiarize yourself with the rest of the Pool Math page. Understanding how to use it along with your test results is the foundation of how to dose your pool and determine what it needs.

After you've checked out the ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry, the rest of the links in my signature as well as Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals are great reading to tide you over until you have your test kit.

You could add up to half a gallon of plain, unscented bleach to your pool each day until the kit arrives but don't over do it.

 

[odie6941]

ok, thanks again. Do you think the bleach will help with the cloudyness?

 

[odie6941]

Also, do you recommending SLAM for my pool

 

[JVTrain]

Yes. It needs to be SLAMed. In the meantime, the small amount of bleach added per day is intended to only prevent it from getting any worse until you can properly test the pool.

 

[odie6941]

also, I assume that bleach and liquid chlorine are the same, correct.

 

[JVTrain]

Yes. Bleach comes in many flavors and strengths. Household strengths are usually 5-8.25%. Dollar store can sometimes be 3% or less. You can buy liquid pool shock at pool stores and even some stores like WalMart, Home Depot, Lowes and other large regional home improvement stores like Runnings. They typically range in strength of 10-12.5%. Keep in mind, bleach does lose strength over time, so the saavy buyer will check the production date on the bottle. Never buy bleach that does not list the strength or % hypochlorite on the bottle.