Cloudy Pool

[natalie]

hello, I have been having trouble with a cloudy pool, last year, and now I am one week into it, and not any improvement, the water, is cloudy, I have a 24ft round, above ground with a paper cartridge filter. I have put 7- 8 bags of shock in this week,( started with 2 the first day, and one everynite since. 5 lbs. of alkalinity up (day 3 of pool start up , 5lbs. of stabilizer(this has been in for for 4 days),
May 24th numbers from a test at pool store
Total chlorine-7.0, Free chlorine 0.0, ph-6.7, total alkalinity 70, calcium hardness-250, stabilizer-0, chorine shock-7.0-they said to add alkalinity5 lbs, and shock it
May 27th-
Total chlorine-3.0, free chlorine, 0.0, ph-6.8, total alkalinity120, calcium hardness-160, stabilizer, 10, chlorine shock-3.0-pool store said to keep shocking
I went in the pool, and still had some leaves to clean up, it was a rough winter here, and some of this fell in the pool, it it good as far as anymore debris, but I had this problem last year...please what are your recommendations, I added a 1/2 cup of ph increase and shocked again last nite...my skin is burning from going in there...

 

[JohnT]

I think you are being yanked around a little by your pool store. Their testing is suspect, since they measured your calcium hardness at 250ppm one day, then 160ppm a few days later. If you can figure out how to do that without draining the pool, you'll be rich.

Don't add any powdered chemicals. Your CH and TA are fine for now.

I'm very suspicious of your pH reading as well. With 120ppm TA, you should see some increase in your TA. I'd suggest you find a different store to test your water and compare the results. Eventually, you are going to need to do your own testing, since clearing a pool will require testing the water several times a day.

I'd recommend you start reading in Pool School

You can probably start with these articles, and if you have questions, return to this thread and ask them here and we'll get you on your way. Run your pump 24/7 until the water clears.

ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry

Shocking Your Pool

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Is this an Intex pool?

 

[zea3]

Have you cleaned your filter lately? I also would recommend the TF100 or Taylor K2006 test kits. You will have much more accurate results with one of those. They are well worth the cost and will save you money in the long run.