Cloudy Blue water issue need help

[chrisp]

We open the pool a few weeks ago and had a bad algae issue, shock the pool and still could not clear it up, went to local pool store and they suggested floc and algacide. IT seem to clear up the green issue and now i have cloudy blue water and can not see the bottom.

I usually used the BBB method but my wife took care of the pool this year and now I am back trying to clear it up. I put in 4 gallons of bleach and box of borax last night and here are my numbers. It seems that my FC is 0 and not moving.

CYA 52
Tot. chlorine 10
Free chlorine 0 !!
PH 7.4
tot alkalinity 85
adj. total alkalinity 69
tot hardness 48

The pool store told me I have chlorine block!!! I now there is no such thing but they suggested i drain 2 feet of water or add chem out(not doing), or 27 bags of shock!!

I purchase 8 gallons of bleach and was going to dump all of it in. I been vacuuming to waste once a day and 24/7 filtering.

what should be my next steps?

thanks

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I think you have the right idea by posting here and ignoring their advice of "chlorine block" - what kind of shock did they recommend, Dichlor? LOL

You just need alot more chlorine.

You need to put your specs in your signature - go to User Control Panel, then Profile, then Edit Signature.

These look like pool store test results. Do you have your own kit? I highly recommend you get one, to tackle this issue you will need to be able to do frequent chlorine testing and perform the overnight FC loss test, which can only be done with the FAS-dpd test.

There is an article in Pool School that compares the two kits we recommend.

So with a CYA of 50 your Shock level is 20 - you need to add enough chlorine to reach 20 and hold it there with frequent bleach additions until the FC holds overnight, the CC is .5 or less and the water is clear. This could mean testing hourly and adding bleach, but as often as you can the sooner you'll defeat the problem. If you add x amount of bleach, and you don't reach 20, add more until you do. Use the Pool Calculator each time to calculate exactly how much to add.

Hope this helps.

 

[chrisp]

At this point should I dump the 8 gallons in?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I don't know how big is your pool?

 

[chrisp]

Sorry

16x32 IG Vinyl 3-6' deep kidney

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

mkay...be right back - do you know your exact gallons of your pool?

Also bleach isn't sold in gallon sized jugs - do you have the small jugs or the large jugs?

 

[chrisp]

15000 gals

large size bleach bottles

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I calculated 3.4 large jugs to reach 20. So add them, wait 30 minutes test, if you aren't at 20, recalculate with the pool calc, target 20, and add more. Do you know how to use the pool calculator?

 

[chrisp]

New numbers from yesterday

Still cloudy but got the free chlorine up from 0

CYA 22
tot chlorine 10
free chlorine 9
PH 7.1
TOT ALKALINITY 66 is low need to add baking soda

what should be my next step

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

For now, ignore the TA.

Keep your FC up to 10 with bleach additions.

Have you tried using the Pool Calculator yet?

 

[JasonLion]

How are you testing? You reported CYA of 52 yesterday and 22 today. Either that is a typo, or there is something wrong with your testing. Likewise TA was 85 yesterday and is 66 today. Neither of those levels can change that dramatically in one day. If you don't have reliable test results, you aren't going to have good water quality.

 

[chrisp]

Unfortunately I did not get my kit yet!! So i am using the local pool store computer print out from biogaurd.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Then there isn't much you can do other than trying to keep the FC up to shock level until your water clears and you can test it yourself. Pool Store tests can be wildly inaccurate, that's why you shouldn't adjust the TA until you can confirm on your own what it actually is.

 

[chrisp]

borrow my neighbors Taylor kit

cya around 30
alkalinity 130 ( added 4 ILbs of baking soda about hour ago)

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Ignore the TA for now and focus on shocking the pool.

If your CYA is 30, your shock level is 12.

Keep your pool at shock level thru frequent bleach additions, until the water clears and the FC is holding overnight.

I highly recommend you order a testkit of your own.

 

[chrisp]

actually i just found my test kit from last year but need to order some more chemicals. Any recommandation for getting refills?

thanks

 

[PaulR]

The pool store ought to have refills; or if it's a Taylor kit, tftestkits.net has everything you really need (but not in Taylor-size bottles).
--paulr

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

The only pool store in our area, and there are 5, that carries reagents would be Leslie's and I've only been there once and didn't notice if that store stocked them. Not all pool stores carry reagents, though they usually carry a simple oto/ph test.

 

[chrisp]

I was wondering at what point can we start swimming? The water is still cloudy but getting better and the Free Chlorine os holding. Do I have to wait to the water is clear before the kids swim? They are getting impaitient and driving me crazy to swim)

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Nah, go ahead and let em swim. You can boost the FC later when they're done.