Cloudy Pool underestimated heat!

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N

NCSalt

0
Apr 26, 2009
120
Raleigh, NC
Hi All!

After enjoying a great summer thus far, our pool suddenly went cloudy, and checking the chemistry the mystery was solved!
The chlorine dropped from a 5.0 to 0 within 2 days. I totaly underestimated the influence of heat on the pool. We had turned up our heater to about 89 because we had friends with babies over and wanted to assure the pool temp was warm for the babies...anyway, that screwed the entire chlorine level and I of course did not pay attention until when I saw the cloudiness.

Todays Readings:
Temp: still 88 but heater is off
FC: .05
TC: 1
Blue Kit: CH-1.5isch Ph-7.4
T/A: 80
CYA: 100
Salt 3200

I've added yesterday about 3 jugs of bleach raised it to about 3, the today low again so I added two more earlier today!
I need to get Borax to raise PH will do that later on.

Does anyone have suggestions how I get rid of the cloudiness?
Thanks!

Cloudy in NC!
Cheerio,
Tanja
 
Higher water temp means higher chlorine demand - it just gets eaten up a lot faster. In the heat of the summer I have to set my SWG at 55-60%, whereas in fall just before I close even 10% keeps the chlorine level very high. I'm assuming what happened was that the OP didn't readjust the SWG output to account for the higher water temp, which meant the chlorine levels went down and (yes) an algae bloom resulted.
 
chazas said:
Higher water temp means higher chlorine demand - it just gets eaten up a lot faster. In the heat of the summer I have to set my SWG at 55-60%, whereas in fall just before I close even 10% keeps the chlorine level very high. I'm assuming what happened was that the OP didn't readjust the SWG output to account for the higher water temp, which meant the chlorine levels went down and (yes) an algae bloom resulted.
Click to expand...

Yes, the OP did not do her job...darn three days of ignoring the pool is biting me in "the-you-know-what"... :grrrr:

Thanks guy's!
Readings now:
FC 4
PH 7.4

Added 96 oz of bleach
Added 26 oz. of Borax

Use the pool calculator to figure out what to add and how much!
Hope this will control the algea bloom.

Any suggestions are welcome!
Thanks!
Tanja
 
You said CYA is 100, then you are nowhere near controlling a pool that was starting to turn green.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock

Minimum 7 ppm, Target 12 ppm, and Shock at 39 ppm -- per the CYA chart

You might test CYA again, just to be sure, as it will make a difference in the chlorine you need. If it is really that high you ought to consider draining and refilling to get it to something more like 30-40-50.

And why is it that high anyhow??
 
anonapersona said:
You said CYA is 100, then you are nowhere near controlling a pool that was starting to turn green.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock

Minimum 7 ppm, Target 12 ppm, and Shock at 39 ppm -- per the CYA chart

You might test CYA again, just to be sure, as it will make a difference in the chlorine you need. If it is really that high you ought to consider draining and refilling to get it to something more like 30-40-50.

And why is it that high anyhow??
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info...I know the CYA is high, drained about 2 feet early in in the season, added fresh water the CYA had dropped to about 80 and I was ok with that but when I tested it today it was back to 100....!

Should I drain the pool (well part of it) regardless of the algea right now? I already added the bleach so I don't want to waste that either!

I still have so much to learn, over and over again, :hammer: , but overall having a pool is awesome :whoot: , I will not let this issue get me down, it's not like that I can't conquer it anyways...all in due time!

Thanks for the help :-D
 
NCSalt said:
Thank you for the info...I know the CYA is high, drained about 2 feet early in in the season, added fresh water the CYA had dropped to about 80 and I was ok with that but when I tested it today it was back to 100....!

Should I drain the pool (well part of it) regardless of the algea right now? I already added the bleach so I don't want to waste that either!
Click to expand...

If the pool is turning green you will probably see that the FC is gone soon anyhow as it works on the algae. So the prior bleach is gone, but the question is how much more might you need?

Take a moment to play with the Pool Calculator to see what reducing the CYA will do for the oz of bleach required to get you to Shock Level. Drop the CYA by half and the bleach goes down by half. And remember that you will be adding bleach several times, maybe even many times, not just once. The $ and effort adds up.

The best advice is to drain and refill, up to maybe half if you can manage it. Or do less but expect do a repeat after testing to see where you are after the first drain and refill.

I suspect that the rising CYA (assuming you did not use dichlor, trichlor, that is pucks or certain shock products) is just that there was some CYA that had been stuck in the filter or someplace that went back into solution when you lowered the CYA in the pool. It may be a one time thing, or not, I dunno. In any case, no point draining more than you need to, or less either, for that matter.

But, do retest the CYA before you drain. I am wondering if, since FC may have gotten to zero (.0-anything is suspect IMO) and there may have been ammonia introduced from babies and children (or beer-drinking adults) there might have been a loss of CYA as well. (Let's see if the pros can comment on this, I am beyond my actual knowledge with the idea that 0 FC may lead to dropping CYA values.)
 

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There are two possible approaches here. One is to hope that the algae really hasn't gotten going yet and the CYA level isn't too high. In that case raising FC up to around 20 right away might be enough to catch it and keep things from spiraling out of control. This might not work, but it will save you a lot of trouble if it does work.

The other is to lower the CYA level to around 80 first and then do a full shock treatment, which is sure to work but is much more trouble.
 
Hi All!
I think Jason may have been right, the algea was not in full bloom yet! :mrgreen:

Added lots of bleach, overnight it already changed to a lighter green and the pool is not cloudy anymore. There is visible dead algea floading around, and I backwashed this am.

Drop Test Chlorine: approx. 24 (added more bleach to reach a shock level of 35)

Thanks for all the help and re-assurance!
Tanja in NC
 
one more thing: the only challenge I have now is that I'm leaving town today until Saturday so there be no watching over the pool chemistry until I return. Let's hope I nipped it in the butt enough to sustain until I return!

Any suggestions?

Tanja
 
Your CYA level is fairly high, so the FC level should be fairly stable once the algae is all dead. I would raise FC up above shock level before you leave. Given your description of the water looking better today, that should take care of things for a number of days (given your CYA level).
 
Thanks Jason for the assurance :-D ...I've added more bleach a few mintues ago and I'm def. above shock level right now :mrgreen: ...but as you've said this way I hope it will hold until I return.

Thanks for the support!
You guy's are great, this place is my saving grace :goodjob:

Cheerio,
Tanja in NC
 
anonapersona said:
You said CYA is 100, then you are nowhere near controlling a pool that was starting to turn green.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock

Minimum 7 ppm, Target 12 ppm, and Shock at 39 ppm -- per the CYA chart

You might test CYA again, just to be sure, as it will make a difference in the chlorine you need. If it is really that high you ought to consider draining and refilling to get it to something more like 30-40-50.

And why is it that high anyhow??
Click to expand...

The CYA levels for SWG pools are still 60-80 I think, unless something changed while I wasn't looking. :-D
 
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