3rd year pool owner

[dtober]

Hi everyone,


This is our third year owning a pool. We have an inground, 18x36 rectangle with a salt system. The first year we had issues opening up the pool, the home we purchased came with a pool, the water locked up due to bad advice from the local pool company. Started service with another pool company we got the pool cleared up and everything was fine for the remainder of the season. Last year I didn't keep a watch on the salt level and it got too low, which caused issues with the water. Had to a shock and the bounced right back. This year we are stumped. All of our numbers are great but the pool is cloudy to the bottom, we did a complete sand change on the filter, liquid floc yesterday. Today it looks worse but the floc is not working. It likes a pool of milky water and you can't see the bottom. Frustrating beyond words. Any advice?

Thanks!

 

[PAGirl]

Welcome! Here are a few places to start:

Pool School - Getting Started

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

And then:

Pool School - How To

In order to test properly you will need a quality test kit:
TFTestkits.net

Do some reading, then take a look at a few threads about clearing a pool so you get an idea of the process. It works wonderfully if followed precisely. You won't need to spend ridiculous amounts on pool services or at the pool store.

 

[dtober]

I have my latest water test results, here are the numbers for our salt water system pool.

TDS: 2700
CYA: 56
Tot Chlorine: 5.4
Free Chlorine: 5.4
ph: 7
Tot Alkalinity: 109
Adj Tot Alkalinity: 92
Tot Hardness: 292
Salt: 2765
Borates: 38
Copper: 0
Iron: 0.1
Manganese: No
No Algaes
Ammonia was negative

 

[PAGirl]

Was that from a pool store?

 

[dtober]

Completely Cloudy Water

Our pool is so cloudy you can't see the bottom. We have tried, Smart Shock, Pool First Aid, Pool Remedy, and we used Liquid Floc yesterday. Nothing is working. All water tests have come back in range but yet we can't clear the pool up. We did a complete sand change in the filter 2 days ago. I would appreciate any advice you could give us as we are at a loss. We've gone to our pool company for help and yes our numbers all match, from testing at home and testing at the pool company.

I have my latest water test results, here are the numbers for our salt water system pool.

TDS: 2700
CYA: 56
Tot Chlorine: 5.4
Free Chlorine: 5.4
ph: 7
Tot Alkalinity: 109
Adj Tot Alkalinity: 92
Tot Hardness: 292
Salt: 2765
Borates: 38
Copper: 0
Iron: 0.1
Manganese: No
No Algaes
Ammonia was negative

 

[tim5055]

Re: Completely Cloudy Water

Mixing pool store advice/testing with TFP methods is just another recipe for disaster and that is exactly what you are doing. Now is the time to make a decision, keep following the pool store and dropping lots of money there or follow our methods.

I say you stop buying all the stuff the pool store wants you to try and take control.

What test kit do you have that you have matched the numbers?

Have you conducted an Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)? That is the key to finding out if organics are clouding your water or something physical like calcium.