New pool is cloudy

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AbelR1

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May 23, 2009
7
Central Texas
Hey all,
I just got an Intex 15'x42" above ground pool. I filled it up on Wednesday, shocked it on Friday. I am now plagued with green/grey water. I cant see 2 feet deep!

I thought that perhaps I needed to shock it again...no luck. I used two of the super shock & swim bags(Calcium Hypochlorite 52%) to ensure it was shocked enough. Did not help a bit. I have bought Ph Minus(Sodium Bisulfate 92%), Metal Control(Hydroxyethylidene Diphosphonic Acid), and Clarifier(Cationic Polymer). Nothing has helped!!!! I did get into the pool yesterday. The bottom and sides felt fine, so I don't believe that it is an algae problem. Any help would be appreciated!

Here are the latest test results:
TH: 360
TA: 260
Chlorine: 4
Ph: 7.5
CYA: 0

The pool is about 4600gal and vinyl.
 
Welcome to TFP!

I'd recommend against any powdered chemicals in the small Intex pools. The filter just can't handle clearing the water. Use liquid chemicals whenever you can.

How are you chlorinating the pool? You don't have any CYA, so the sun is going to consume all of your chlorine. Unless you frequently add more chlorine, you are on your way to algae.
 
I am using the HTH Dual Action 1" Tablets in a floater and I am placing them in the filter. As of right now, I'm leaving the pump running 24/7.

For the Ph minus, I have been putting the powder in a container and mixing it before I put it in the pool, so I'm not adding it directly to the pool. I am also rinsing the filter out daily....at least until I can get rid of this cloudiness.
 
There are two separate issues to understand here.

1) You need to maintain an appropriate FC level to prevent algae from growing. That will be very difficult to do without a little more CYA in the water.

2) Even if there isn't any algae, it can take several days, or even several weeks, for the filter to clear up the water. The small Intex cartridge filters are especially bad and sometimes don't filter much at all. Make sure you are cleaning or replacing the filter any time it gets really dirty.
 
CYA is sold under various names: stabilizer, conditioner, cyanuric acid. It is available in the pool section of some big box stores and at pool stores. You want to raise your CYA level to at least 20, preferably around 30.

There are two separate things to do, one is to be sure you don't have algae, and the other is to clean up the water. Cleaning up the water may take weeks, depending on how well your filter is working. But before you do that, you need to make sure you don't have algae. If you have live algae, the water will never clear up.
 
I am not an expert.. but can tell you about my experiences. I have been on the BBB method for about 5 years. I never close the pool.. but it does get a bit out of shape in the winter,.. mostly due to my neglect.

Each spring.. first thing I do is make sure I have Chlorine in the pool.. and make sure I have a grip on controlling CL with the proper amount of CYA.

I make sure I have three days to stay around the house.
Scrub the walls and floor (from outside)
I probably over-kill.. but it works for me. Raise the CL to about 22 -24ppm (with bleach)
Measure the CL about every 3 hours (while the sun is up). For at least 2.5 - 3 days I never let teh CL get under 15-18ppm.. NEVER! This has always resulted in an algae free environment.. if not.. I would keep the CL level up awhile longer.

Then I start working on the other levels and vacuuming and cleaning the Crud outta the pool...etc etc

I said all that to say this.. during this procedure the water goes through different color configurations.. don't be discouraged. After I have finished the vacuuming.. my water will be kinda cloudy (white). I bring the CL level back up to about 10ppm and let the pump run around the clock.. My water will be cloudy for a day or two.. but then amazingly becomes clear. That's where I am now.. water just cleared yesterday afternoon.

For me.. being patient is the key.
 
I am posting 2 pictures of the pool water.

Is it possible that algae would grow that fast? The pool doesn't feel slick or nasty, so I don't think it is algae. I could be wrong though. Could the TA be causing the cloudiness?

P.S. Thank you all for your responses. Yall have been quite helpful!
 

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One more thing that I forgot to mention...when I have cleaned out my filter, there is an orange residue on it. It appears to be rust. The water I used to fill the pool is from well water, so I am assuming the rust is from a high iron content in the water. I have used metal control, but it hasn't seemed to help.

One more question... I have been considering buying a saltwater system. I've alread spent a LOT of money on chemicals. Do yall think a salt water system is good? And would it clear up the cloudiness?
 

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Try lowering your PH to between 7.0 and 7.2 and see if it changes at all. It that does have anything to do with your high TA, lowering the PH should clear it up at least temporarily. If it does clear up, we can explain how to avoid that problem in the future. If it doesn't clear up, then it must be something else (like algae).
 
Ok, the pool is actually starting to clear up. Its nowhere near perfect, but i can kinda make out the bottom. I just got cyanuric acid today and added one pound. I also cleaned the filter. Again, it had a LOT of rust colored stuff on it. Should I add more metal treatment? I'm going to leave it alone until tomorrow morning. I was planning on adding a cup or two of muriatic acid tomorrow morning.

Any thoughts about changing it to a saltwater system?
 
I think your money might be better spent (this year) on one of the recommended test kits, and perhaps a better filter/pump combo.

SWGs are great but they aren't a magic fix for pool water chemistry. The only way you'll take control of your pool is with a good test kit, balanced water and adequate filtration. :wink:
 
Just an update....

I drained the pool and refilled it using a different water source. The water is fine this time. I think that the problem originally was that it was filled with well water. The water had a lot of minerals and iron. When I shocked it, the chlorine oxidized the mineral causing the cloudiness. The filter wasn't able to clean the gunk out of the water because it is so small.

I got it going now though. I appreciate everyone's help!
 
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