25 lbs. of pH Up Later = cloudy water

[McElvain]

Hello TFP Community,

So, as the title suggests, one of my dad's friends went and added 25 lbs. of pH Up (100% sodium carbonate) to go from, what he claims, a pH of 2.9 to 7.6. (pH measured with a SafeDip meter). Later, he called my dad and said that he needed help because the pool was cloudy and has been so for over a week. My dad redirected that help to me.

I gave my dad's friend a call back and told him that sodium carbonate will cause a cloudy water due to the calcium present in the water and that it would go away with time. He asked if I'd come take a look at it and see if there was anything I could do. I offered to sample the water and tell him where his chemistry was.

I went over to his house, sampled his pool, and asked a lot of questions about his pool. Here are the details:
-3 year old above ground vinyl pool (~18,000 gals)
-Has a sand filter with a sand replacement called "Rx Clear Luster Filter Media" (Can't use clarifiers with this product)
-Pool filter reads ~22 psi
-Says he uses a chemical blend called "EZ Pool Concentrated Pool Blend" on a weekly basis (Pool Store recommendation)
-As stated earlier, he used pH Up (100% sodium carbonate)

I sampled his pool with a Taylor K-2006C. My results were:
FC: 10.5 ppm
CC: 0.0 ppm
pH: 7.5
TA: 130 ppm
CH: 200 ppm
CYA: 110-120 ppm

I informed him that the Pool Math app recommended levels were:
FC: 8.0-13.0 ppm
pH: 7.2-7.8
TA: 50-90 ppm
CH: 0-650 ppm
CYA: 30-60 ppm

He then sampled with his SafeDip meter. His results were:
Chlorine: "Good"
temp.: 83F
pH: 7.5
Salt: 600 ppm
TDS: 800 ppm
ORP: 699 mV

So, since I'm no pool professional, I'm keeping all my thoughts and recommendations to myself (I don't want to be held liable for owner's wrong doings and potentially sued). I further directed him to this website to learn about pool chemistry and the TFP way. Additionally, I informed him about the Pool Math app.

However, what can you all, the professionals, recommend to help this man?
Is there anything that he can do to clear his pool up?
Is there anything that you all recommend he does to improve his overall pool performance?

Any advise with be relayed to the owner and I'll keep you all updated.
Thanks TFP Community!

 

[Oly]

Send him this video.

 

[mknauss]

Well -- drain at least half the pool volume. The EZ Pool is a mixture of all kinds of magic. One being copper. And it has clairfier in it.

I doubt you will convert him to a daily liquid chlorine regimen. Most people accept mediocre water conditions. They have been told that is good by pool stores for ever. Get your dad's pool TFP clear and invite them over.

 

[JamesW]

What is the pool size?

Assuming a pool size of 22,000 gallons, the TA would have been about zero and the pH would have been about 4.5.

This condition is almost always due to excessive use of tabs.

The CYA is probably way higher than 100.

They will need to dilute to get the CYA down to a reasonable level.

Note that the site is for homeowners and mostly by homeowners.

No one is charged for advice and no one is paid to give advice.

People share what they know on a volunteer basis.

 

[JamesW]

Here's what's in EZPOOL as far as I can tell:

It's a mixture of the following:
1) Potassium persulfate (potassium peroxydisulfate)
2) Sodium bisulfate
3) Ammonium chloride
4) Calcium chloride
5) Sodium Bicarbonate
6) Aluminum chloride (possibly Aluminum chlorohydrate, which is what is in HTH Green to Blue).
7) Copper sulfate.

Watch out for a purple residue, which is copper cyanurate from high copper and high cyanuric acid.

 

[mknauss]

James -- where are they getting the FC from if that is all he adds to the pool?

 

[JamesW]

James -- where are they getting the FC from if that is all he adds to the pool?

They're probably using tabs or dichlor.

At this point, we really don't know for sure what's being added.