Water Still Cloudy

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fmcardenas

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Jun 14, 2010
15
I have had my pool open for 5 weeks and still have cloudy water. I have tried everything and it still will not clear. This is the first time I have ever had a problem like this after opening. The pool is clean since I have blind-vacuumed the heck out of it and have ran my robot at least 10 times in it and the bag comes up clean. We have even changed the sand in the sand filter. Although after opening the filter I could tell it did not need it. We moved forward anyway. So now my pool store tells me I have cholromites. Ok great, did'nt have them before but I do now. So I have been superchlorinating today, every three hours with 3 bags of shock since 7am. Its now 5:30pm. We have been cholorinating like this in an effort to generate free cholrine which has NOT happened. My test results are below. Any suggestions on clearing this pool would be greatly appreciated. Right now, as you can imagine my chlorine is through the roof. :cry:

TC: Seriously?
FC: .5
PH: 7.5
Stabilizer: 50
Alkalinity: 130

___________________________
22K Gallon In-Ground
Hayward In-Line Chlorinator
Hayward ST44 Sand Filter (75GPM Flow Rate)
 
How did you get those numbers? If you don't have one. You really need a good test kit.

You need to shock and not the pool store version of shocking either but real shock. The only way to do that properly is to be able to test FC up to shock levels.

You can get and keep your pool clear if you're willing to follow our advice. Not only will it be clear but you'll save lots of money and frustration.

First thing to do while you're waiting on your test kit is to stock up on bleach or liquid chlorine.
 
What does the water look like (color, murky/cloudy)? And has it changed much through the last few weeks, or stayed more or less the same?

What chemical is contained in the "bags of shock" that you are using? Some of them add CYA, and others add CH, neither of which you really want right now.

I suspect you mean chloramines, not cholromites. Either way, that doesn't really tell you anything. It is just a big word to say that TC is a lot higher than FC.
 
The water is cloudy blue. It has improved a bit since about a week ago. The chemical in my shock is 99% Dichlor . It may be adding CYA since I have seen an increase in this test today. And yes, I mean chloramines. Here are my test results:
PH: 6.8 (this has been decreasing today)
FC: 0.5
CC: Just finished shocking so its off the charts
TA: 120
CH: 200
CYA: 80
TC: 5
 
First you should adjust your PH to around 7.4 to 7.6 while your FC level is low.

The dichlor has added a lot of CYA, which is going to make things more complicated. You are going to need to raise FC up to about 30 all at once, and this time without using any dichlor, and then maintain FC at 25 to 30 until you can hold your FC level overnight.
 
Ok here is the million dollar question. How do I get my FC up to 30 without using dichlor bag shock. I am willing to try anything since it does not seem that the dichlor is working anyway. And should I try adjusting my PH now? With all that shock in the pool? I do still have my in-line chlorinator going also.
 
A little lesson if you don't mind. First, with a FC of .5 there is no shock left in the pool and second, Shock is a process not a product.

Now to answer your questions.
You get your FC up to 30 by adding 7.5 large (182oz) jugs of bleach as quickly as you can pour them. Then test again in an hour and add as much as it takes to bring it back to 30. Do that until it starts keeping the FC between 25 & 30. THen you can test and add every two then every three etc until you can hold FC overnight.

You figure out how much bleach to add by using the Pool Calculator. See my sig or the top right of evey page for the link.

Come back and ask questions as you need to.
 
I'm gonna suggest a different path...

Your CYA level is now too high to be practical, since you have no SWG, but rather an inline chlorinator.

If you desire to continue using tablets (which lower PH/TA and raise CYA) then you need to do a partial drain and refill to get your CYA level down to about 30. That way you can use tablets for the remainder of the summer.

So first, partial drain/refill - recirculate, retest the CYA and repeat if necessary. If you want to add a little liquid chlorine each nite instead of tabs, lower your CYA level to 50. If you want to use tabs, lower it to 30.

Then, when your CYA is in range, adjust your PH up to 7.2-7.4. If you plan to use Tabs, adjust your PH to 7.8 :
Recommended Levels

Then when the PH is in range, shock your pool but NO MORE Dichlor. Use liquid chlorine for shocking the pool.

Shocking Your Pool

Hope this helps :)
 

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We had this exact same problem last year. We ended up having a high level of cyanuric acid (builds up over the years when using chlorine tabs to chlorinate pool). When this level gets too high, your water is cloudy and will not clear. The only way to lower your CYA (cyanuric acid) is to drain water from the pool and replace with fresh water. Depending on the level of your CYA you may have to drain a bit of water. I understand your frustration :rant: You will get this figured out and things will be better :party:
 
Ok.. well its already 9pm. Tomorrow is another day... Do you guys know why it may be dissapearing like this? I added what you told me and I feel like by the time I'm done I will be swimming in Cl*r*x..
 
fmcardenas said:
Ok.. well its already 9pm. Tomorrow is another day... Do you guys know why it may be dissapearing like this? I added what you told me and I feel like by the time I'm done I will be swimming in Cl*r*x..
Click to expand...
Yep, as cheddar said, it is being used up by something in your water. I don't recall seeing a FC/CC water test except that "CC is off the charts", which we can only assume that means that the CC is high.

Having a high CC could be because the CYA in your pool was converted to ammonia or perhaps fertilizer got into your pool. Regardless of the reason, the cure is still to shock your pool. The only thing is that if it is an ammonia problem, the shocking can take longer.

Maintaining shock level (as often as every hour) is the fastest way to clear your pool. You will not be "swimming in Cl*r*x.." as it is being used up rather fast in an effort to kill nasties and restore balance to your pool :)
 
Ok. Added some more bleach today. (about 3 jugs of 182 oz.) and left for my son's graduation in the morning. Came back two hours later and AT LAST had from FC in the pool. I have been testing every two hours since 10am and its still holding FC. I can see a real improvement in water clarity but, its still cloudy but, definetely better. So the latest water chemistry is as follows:

CC: 3
FC: 3
PH: 7.2 (still needs to come up a bit)
TA: 120
CYA: 40
CH: 175

Thanks for hanging in there with me everyone!
 

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