milky looking pool, water feels thick, white film left over

[just_me]

I am new to owning a pool and i'm not liking it so far Its 22,000 gallons, gunite, IG.

Here are my test results from today:

temp: 80
sat index: 10.1
CYA: 103
TC: 10
FC: 10
pH: 7.4
TA: 162
ATA: 131
TH: 175

I think theyre the main results you need to help me, if you can, now my problem

I shocked my pool on friday, 2 lbs of power powder plus. A cloud instantly appeared and is getting worse every day. The week before i had had to adjust my alkalinity, add stabilizer, i used copper algaecide. I also backwashed before adding these.

I added clarifier this weekend and it just got cloudier, today i woke to a milky blue pool so i grabbed another sample and headed to a pool store i havent tried since moving into town 4/5 weeks ago, im waiting on my taylor kit to arrive. They told me i had added too much clarifier, gave the above results, at first recomended i needed to vacuum to waste and power flock? But i told her i didnt have the equipment and she said before allowing me to buy it she wanted to try this:

Brush pool (I stupidly didnt think i needed to do this EVER because i have an aquabot)
Add 6oz algaecide
Clear Skimmers
Backwash for 5 minutes
Rinse for 1
Add 4oz of clarifier to the skimmer
Filter

and wait for 4 days and if still cloudy add a further 4oz of clarifier.........and cross my fingers!

I really like this store, theyre the first to not make me spend a ton on their stuff, they actuallt stopped me spending! I was in the pool removing the aquabot and brushing and the water is so thick and nasty, when i got the aquabot out, white milky water rushed from it, a minute later a white powdery layer had formed over it and its wires.......and the concrete around the pool.

In case this stuff with the pool store doesnt work, anyone got any ideas? I literally cannot see anything....its so MILKY!

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Most of us here will say that there isn't any algae or cloudy issue that cannot be cured with bleach and filtration.
That said, your hardness is too low for a gunnite pool, but I am not versed in such things to tell you what it should be.
Secondly, your CYA is high, which causes you to need a higher level of chlorine to sanitize your water. If you must use a powder to shock and chlorinate, choose Cal-hypo, since you need to get your calcium up anyway.
Someone else will be along to help you shortly!
Welcome to TFP... the right place to get advice for your Trouble-free pool!!

 

[just_me]

Thank you for the fast response. I keep reading about the bleach thing and i am considering switching.....i use a chlorinator....how would bleach work with that? I am so uneducated about my pool its beyond belief!

I think i made a good step in coming online for help though, im learning a lot!

The woman at the store is wanting to work on my milky water issue before telling how to higher the calcium hardness.....?

This maybe a silly question but where is the CYA coming from and how do i lower it?

Thank again!

 

[just_me]

Also, i only use a powder to shock because i havent been told otherwise, what do you recommend?

 

[JasonLion]

Several of your numbers are off, though I am not sure that is directly related to the pool being cloudy. Ideally you should lower TA and CYA and raise hardness (assuming we trust the pool store numbers which maybe we shouldn't given what else they have told you). Keeping CYA below 100 is farily important.

There are three things to try for eliminating cloudiness. First check your filter, backwashed/clean the filter if you haven't in the last couple of days and make sure that the main valve, if you have one, is in filter position. Second, try lowering the PH by 0.2 to 7.2 and see if that has any effect. Calcium cloudiness will frequently go away when you lower PH. Third, try monitoring the FC overnight (measure in the evening and again in the morning) and see if you are losing any chlorine overnight. Algae is almost always green, not white, but if there is any algae it will cause FC loss overnight.

Leslie's PowerPowder Plus is cal-hypo, which can sometimes cause cloudiness, but that normally goes away in a couple of days.