Pool is still cloudy........but better than before

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TamithaSue50

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Jun 6, 2018
184
Parkersburg, WV
So I posted on here awhile back about my cloudy pool about to drive me over the edge and was advised that I needed to get a good testing kit..which I haven't got yet but am hoping to get in the next week or two. Couple questions. First about my cloudiness and then about test kits. Short background on it....pool was originally cleaned and set up late last summer.....left water in it over the winter....was still clean and clear but when we were getting ready to open it up this year there was some dirty water on the top of the cover that got spilled into the pool. It was yucky green but we got that cleared up pretty easily but every since then it has been real cloudy......so cloudy to where you couldn't see the bottom of the pool. Well here about a week or two ago I noticed that you could see the bottom good enough that I could barely see where a little pile of debris was laying and I was excited about that because I had been been vacuuming it out without being able to see what I was vacuuming. Well sadly the pool is under two trees so I think leaves and etc are going to be a daily problem but last night when I went down to look at the pool it looked way clearer then it had since this all began about 2 months ago LOL I could not only see a small pile of debris (again) I could see pretty much the whole floor and it was kinda clear around the outer edge and just a little cloudy in the middle of the pool....no I vacuumed out the pile I seen and then decided to get in and vacuum it out too......well in the process of me being in there it ALL got real cloudy again and for the most part I couldn't see the bottom of the pool except in little areas here and there. So I'm wondering if me being in it could make it go from very little cloudy to way more cloudy and if so why? Just stirring up dirty/debris on the bottom or what? Any suggestions? Or do I need to get a good test kit before anything can or should be done to try to fix the cloudiness? Which leads me to my next question.....

What type of test kit do you recommend...the least expensive. What all does it need to test for. I know with the strips it tests for Total Hardness, Total Chlorine, Free Chlorine, Alkalinity and Stabilizer. I think I was advised before that you don't need to know total chlorine but you need to know combine chlorine which isn't on the test strips so if some people could give me names of tests that are good but not too expensive I would appreciate it.

BTW....my pool is an above ground pool.......I believe it's a 15X42 (it's my b/f's so that's why I'm not 100% sure) and it is a vinyl on with a sand filter pump on it.

Thanks for anything anyone has to offer me :)
 
I'm sure your activity in the water stirred-up everything. There's usually much more stuff in the water than we generally see right away with the naked eye. Your pool still needs a good SLAM Process to remove the algae. Which brings us to the test kit. We always recommend either the TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C. Yes, they are a slight cost for some (~$75 or so), but last all season and could last longer is used wisely. Accurate testing generally saves you more money in the long run. But if you are just too strapped for that, you need at a minimum the FAS/DPD Chlorine CC's test to test your FC at higher levels for the SLAM. For the other tests, you can get by with an HTH 6-way drop tester like at Walmart for about $30. But if you add it all up, it gets close to what the TF-100 would've been anyways. SO it's your call. I would ditch the test strips. Of all testing, those have to be the worse. Stick to reagent "drop" tests. Hope that helps.
 
Texas Splash.....I have actually done everything in the SLAM part before so wouldn't that have gotten rid of the algae? At least the part of the SLAM listed here:


  • Brush and/or vacuum the entire pool once a day
  • Backwash or clean the filter as needed
  • Vacuum up debris as needed

But I guess the other 2 parts:


  • Test the FC level and add enough chlorine to bring FC up to shock level (see here for correct shock level)
    Test and adjust chlorine levels as frequently as practical, but not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day. Chlorine additions should be frequent, especially at the beginning. Algae and other organic debris will consume chlorine very rapidly at first. As things progress, you will lose less chlorine each cycle and can add chlorine less frequently.

I probably can't do until I get a good test kit right? If I'm doing these with the test strips and the water is still cloudy then it's probably that the test strips aren't showing me the right stuff right? So even though I do all the other things if I'm not getting accurate readings then it's not working to make the cloudiness go away, right?

Am I understanding all this right?
 
You are correct. Without the pinpoint accuracy of the FAS-DPD testing for FC, you are just kind of "in the ballpark" but not quite close enough. It can be frustrating because you find yourself nickle & diming yourself with products over time getting nowhere. At the very least though, the FAS-DPD will help get your SLAM back on track. You can get by with the HTH pH and TA test for now, and probably with a good CYA test too. But the elevated FC level requires that FAS-DPD.
 
This is the pool school page that compares test kits. Pool School - Test Kits Compared It's worth the investment. I'm helping a friend work through a first time SLAM, and she doesn't have a great kit, but it's getting her started, for now. My experience in SLAMming my swamp was that I needed the quality kit to really speed it along and finish the process. Spend money on the kit, and then you can be more cost effective with your chemicals. Have you seen the chlorine calculator? I love using to shop the best deals around me.
 
What is the Chlorine OTO test?
Click to expand...
It looks like this:
OTO.JPG It helps provide an estimated (low) chlorine presence, but is by no means accurate. You'll still want the FAS-DPD for the SLAM. For any chemical measurements and dosage amounts, always use the PoolMath.
 
So I don't need that test them right? And I've tried using the Pool Math but wasn't sure how to do it. The first one I think I understand is the goal. What you want it to be. Right? But what does not setup mean? Is that what your test results are?

BTW what are the goals for each test??
 
Right, you'll be better off wit the FAS-DPD. As for the PoolMath, here are a few pointers:
- At top, enter your pool gallons
- On the FC row, make sure to type in the WEIGHT field the % strength of your chlorine (i.e. 6%, 8.25%, etc)
- The remaining rows you enter the NOW (your current test result) and the TARGET (what you hope to achieve)
- The last row (Suggested Goal Levels), use the drop down to select your pool type. Use Troublefreepool.com for the first one.
- The goals for each item? The Recommended Levels (link below in my sig).

That should help.
 

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Well I don't use just regular chlorine....most of the chemicals I use I get from the pool store and/or Walmart. Should I be using just regular bleach that you use for laundry or what? I'm clueless when it comes to using anything other than chemicals from a pool store or Walmart.....any advice on that stuff would be greatly appreciated too.
 
Should I be using just regular bleach that you use for laundry or what?
Click to expand...
Definitely! We are here to coach you through the best products to use that are easy on the water AND easy on your checkbook. For chlorine, you have a couple choices .... you can buy liquid chlorinating liquid that is labeled and packaged for pools (i.e. Walmart's pool section), or you can buy regular household bleach. It's the same thing. The only difference would be the strength (%) value - 6%, 8.25%, 10%, etc. If you buy household bleach, just make sure of the following:
- No splashless
- No scented
- No fabric/polymer added ingredients
- Make sure you see a "Julian Date" code on the bottle. It should look something like "18-170" which stands for 2018 - 170 day (19 Jun 18). If you see a bottle with an old date (i.e. 18-030 - 30 Jan), don't get it. Blech can weaken over time of when it's left out in the heat. Walmart's pool section should also have stabilizer (Cyanuric Acid) if/when you need it. Of course they have baking soda all over the place.

You can get muriatic acid (to lower pH) from most hardware stores. Sometimes in their paint section. Look for the bottles marked 20 Baume 31.5% strength.
 
Texas Splash said:
Definitely! We are here to coach you through the best products to use that are easy on the water AND easy on your checkbook. For chlorine, you have a couple choices .... you can buy liquid chlorinating liquid that is labeled and packaged for pools (i.e. Walmart's pool section), or you can buy regular household bleach. It's the same thing. The only difference would be the strength (%) value - 6%, 8.25%, 10%, etc. If you buy household bleach, just make sure of the following:
- No splashless
- No scented
- No fabric/polymer added ingredients
- Make sure you see a "Julian Date" code on the bottle. It should look something like "18-170" which stands for 2018 - 170 day (19 Jun 18). If you see a bottle with an old date (i.e. 18-030 - 30 Jan), don't get it. Blech can weaken over time of when it's left out in the heat. Walmart's pool section should also have stabilizer (Cyanuric Acid) if/when you need it. Of course they have baking soda all over the place.

You can get muriatic acid (to lower pH) from most hardware stores. Sometimes in their paint section. Look for the bottles marked 20 Baume 31.5% strength.
Click to expand...

Okay I have been reading alot online since I've been having trouble and I thought regular household bleach was what some people were talking about but wasn't sure. Thanks for helping out. Now is that used when you are shocking the pool or just to raise the chlorine levels? And as for the other stuff. I have used Walmart/pool store's stabilizer before when my stabilizer was reading zero FOREVER....now it reads 50 but of course that's with the test strips so not sure if it's right but I do know what you're talking about when it comes to the stabilizer stuff. Now as for the other stuff........you said to us muriatic acid (instead of PH down I assume) to lower PH, how about if you need to raise PH? And what about when it comes to raising and lowering Total Hardness and Total Alkalinity? And is there anything else that the "good" test kits test for that I might need to know what to use to raise or lower it?
 
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