We have an above ground pool. It is a 30,000 gallon pool. We have a sand filter. We went on vacation in mid July and returned to a normal pool. Within a week, it started to turn green and within 24 hours of noticing the green tint, it was green and cloudy. We had the water tested and shocked the pool and treated for an algae problem. We now have a blue pool that is completely cloudy. I don't have the exact numbers for all tests, but was planning on taking a water sample to the pool store at the end of the week. We added a bottle of Superfloc to the pool last night, ran the pump for 2 hours on recirculate, then turned it off. This morning, I got up to a clearer pool. I could almost see the bottom. I vacuumed and now it's cloudier than before. Any advice?
Cloudy Water for over 3 weeks
- Thread starter tbcs
- Start date
If you're interested in the BBB method, there are four recommendations:
1. Get a good test kit so you can reliably test your water yourself as often as needed. You'll need to know your CYA (or stabilizer) level in order to know the proper shock level for your water, and you'll need accurate chlorine readings for this process
2. Read Pool School and the articles about defeating algae... pool-school/
3. You need to shock the pool with liquid chlorine to the correct shock level and hold it there until the overnight loss is less than 1ppm
4. Stop putting other chemicals in the water... simple bleach is more than likely what you need right now, and lot's of it.
If you can post a full set of water readings (FC, CC, PH, TA, CYA), you will receive lots of advice from the members here.
Good luck!
1. Get a good test kit so you can reliably test your water yourself as often as needed. You'll need to know your CYA (or stabilizer) level in order to know the proper shock level for your water, and you'll need accurate chlorine readings for this process
2. Read Pool School and the articles about defeating algae... pool-school/
3. You need to shock the pool with liquid chlorine to the correct shock level and hold it there until the overnight loss is less than 1ppm
4. Stop putting other chemicals in the water... simple bleach is more than likely what you need right now, and lot's of it.
If you can post a full set of water readings (FC, CC, PH, TA, CYA), you will receive lots of advice from the members here.
Good luck!
Thank you for the quick responses. I looked through Pool School, but I didn't see anything that will help me with this specific problem. Is there a section I should be looking for?
I definitely won't let the algae problem get away from me if this ever happens again.
The best test results I can give are these:
Total Bromine - 5
Free Chlorine - 3
pH - 7.6
Total Alkalinity - 180
The vacuum we have is a robot vacuum. We also have a suction vacuum. Which would be better to use to help with this problem?
Do you think shocking the pool again would be helpful? I am just at a loss at this point. This is the best time of year to use the pool here and it's just not enjoyable or safe when it's cloudy.
I definitely won't let the algae problem get away from me if this ever happens again.
The best test results I can give are these:
Total Bromine - 5
Free Chlorine - 3
pH - 7.6
Total Alkalinity - 180
The vacuum we have is a robot vacuum. We also have a suction vacuum. Which would be better to use to help with this problem?
Do you think shocking the pool again would be helpful? I am just at a loss at this point. This is the best time of year to use the pool here and it's just not enjoyable or safe when it's cloudy.
tbcs said:
Unfortunately, without a full set of test results, we nor you can be sure you have a "specific" problem.
Pool maintence is more of a hollistic approach that if you take the time to educate your self with all the pool school articles and arm yourself with a good water testing kit as recommended in pool school, you will beat the issue that is causing your cloudiness. (And save a lot of money in the long run
) It just plain baffles me that folks say a $70 test kit is just way too expensive, but they have no problem spending $100 on pool store chemicals that won;t help solve the rrot cause of their issue. Not saying that is you, but investing in a good test kit is the KEY to knowing what's going on with your water and will enable you to have a Trouble Free Pool Too Most of us were in your shoes not that long ago.From the sounds of it, it seems like you developed an algae problem and you now have dead alage in the pool or it may just be a mix of dead algae and new algae. As someone previously noted, read the article related to shocking your pool and ensure you meet the criteria to know when your done shocking.
As soon as you can get a full set of results post them here and we'll try to get you a jump start. In the meantime please add some details about your pool and filtration system, so we can have a better idea of what your dealing with.
Many of us have been in your same position.. just not sure why the water is acting the way it is, and just want it fixed.
Curious why you use bromine in your pool? Bromine can not be stabilized against sunlight so it breaks down quickly outdoors.. chlorine with a certain amount of stabilizer will work much better. Can you tell us how you usually maintain the pool (chlorine/bromine, what form, how often, how do you test?)
With the numbers you've posted, we really can't tell much.. you need to know the CYA level in order to know the proper chlorine level. And you need to be able to test FC and CC, to help with the algae question.
I think you need to shock the pool again, but you really need to know your CYA so you know what level. In Pool School, there are specific articles on Defeating Algae and Shocking Your Pool.
Hang in there!
Curious why you use bromine in your pool? Bromine can not be stabilized against sunlight so it breaks down quickly outdoors.. chlorine with a certain amount of stabilizer will work much better. Can you tell us how you usually maintain the pool (chlorine/bromine, what form, how often, how do you test?)
With the numbers you've posted, we really can't tell much.. you need to know the CYA level in order to know the proper chlorine level. And you need to be able to test FC and CC, to help with the algae question.
I think you need to shock the pool again, but you really need to know your CYA so you know what level. In Pool School, there are specific articles on Defeating Algae and Shocking Your Pool.
Hang in there!
Disregard the Bromine marking on the test, as we are assuming you are only using chlorine (the test checks both). You aren't using Bromine, are you?
With a proper test kit, you can test your own water, and "know" if you are done shocking or not.
If you don't have an FAS-DPD test kit, to confirm the algae is dead, then you must maintain shock level until the water is clear. Shock level is based on your CYA level, so you need to know that too, then you refer to the CYA chart to determine how high you should be shocking the pool to...
Hundreds of TFP members have cleared algae blooms with nothing more than bleach and POP (pool owner Patience). Floc, clarifier, algaecide, etc., none of that is necessary.
With a proper test kit, you can test your own water, and "know" if you are done shocking or not.
If you don't have an FAS-DPD test kit, to confirm the algae is dead, then you must maintain shock level until the water is clear. Shock level is based on your CYA level, so you need to know that too, then you refer to the CYA chart to determine how high you should be shocking the pool to...
Hundreds of TFP members have cleared algae blooms with nothing more than bleach and POP (pool owner Patience). Floc, clarifier, algaecide, etc., none of that is necessary.
tbcs said:
What did you expect to find? floc causes small particles to join together so the filter has a better chance of catching them, (sand only filters to around 20 microns) You need to run the pump in filter mode for 24 hours to let it do its job.
