i had start-up about 8 days ago. when i filled the pool the pebbletec looked great and now i am dissapointed with the cloudiness/haziness. first test done 3 days after start-up gave me this: fc= 0.0 tc=0.0 ca=300 cya=90 ph=8.0 total alk=150. we then added 1.5 gallons of liguid chlorine and 11 oz. of acid. re-tested yesterday and got fc=0.0 tc=0.0 ca=150 cya=60 ph=8.0 tot alk=100. so we added 1.5 gallons of liquid chlorine and 0.5 gallons of acid. i had a bunch of kids in the pool over the weekend and we did get rain. my pool gets total sun as their is no shade. last week i also added jacks magic as pebbletec people suggested this. pool is not clear. i am brushing everyday. is the sun eating my chlorine? should i re-test today? dont i need more chlorine? 14k gallon pool and i am running the pump 10 hours/day. all opinions appreciated.
new pool with cloudy water- help!
- Thread starter shauney
- Start date
Maybe I missed it in the post but what type of pool is it? Above ground, inground vinyl liner? Type of filter ....all of this info will help those here get you the best help. This is by far the best site to come to ....
You need to get your chlorine up. You have something eating your chlorine - probably the beginning of an algae bloom. You will have to take your chlorine up to 25ppms for the amount of cya you have, and keep it there testing 3x a day if possible, and at least 2x's bringing the chlorine back up to 25ppms as often as possible. Keep your filter running 24/7, and brush and backwash often. Do this until the chorine holds overnight. If you let the chorine drop, it will take longer to clear, as not all of the algae will be killed, and then it will continue to grow again till you get cloudy water. After the chlorine holds overnight, you can then start to let the chorine drop down to normal. You will need to keep a minimum chorine level of 5 in your pool with the cya at 60 - 90 to keep it clear and sanitized. The sun is not eating your chlorine - any cya above 30 will keep the sun from eating the chlorine. You will need to keep your ph down with the new pebbletec, and try to keep your calcium at 200-300 for now. If your calcium and alkalinity truely did drop that much, then that could be contributing to the cloudy water as well, turning into calcium carbonate. I would double check the testing - take a sample to the pool store,, and check with your own test kit. Post and let us know the numbers. Feel free to ask any other questions you may have. 
You need to get the PH down. Fresh plaster is going to raise the PH and you need to add acid every day or even twice a day to keep the PH between 7.2 and 7.8.
What kind of test kit/strip are you using? Neither CH or CYA can go down like that, so it doesn't seem like your testing is very accurate. Test strips are like that, the readings can be rather different each time. The best investment in your pool you can make is a good test kit.
You also want to get FC to be above zero. If your CYA is low, as I suspect it is, then it will be difficult to keep FC up. This is tricky to address until you can measure CYA acurately as it is important that you don't let CYA get too high.
What kind of test kit/strip are you using? Neither CH or CYA can go down like that, so it doesn't seem like your testing is very accurate. Test strips are like that, the readings can be rather different each time. The best investment in your pool you can make is a good test kit.
You also want to get FC to be above zero. If your CYA is low, as I suspect it is, then it will be difficult to keep FC up. This is tricky to address until you can measure CYA acurately as it is important that you don't let CYA get too high.
Combine Jason's and Marie's advice and your pool will clear. It is important to understand you don't have nearly enough chlorine in your pool. It is also important to get your pH down in the range Jason suggested.
thanks guys- this morning the pool looked more clear. i went to home depot and got a gallon of liquid chlorine and dumped in pool and ran pump all day. this evening the pool looks pretty clear. in morning i will test water again. i have a local pool supply store do the testing. so the cya should not drop like it did? my start-up instructions say to test the water 3 days after start-up and then once per week after that. does this seem right? they also say i will not see any chlorine on the test right after start-up. i am thinking i will need to add some acid in the morning to get ph down. my start-up instructions also say not to add calcium for 90 days however pebbletec wants the calcium at 200-300 so who is right?
They tell you not to add calcium, because you will get calcium in your pool from the plaster. Calcium leaches out at the very beginning - that is why you have to brush all the time. That's why you wait and see how much is in the water before you start to add. They want you to keep a calcium level of 200 - 300 in the water. So you can see that you have calcium in your water already from your tests. You won't have to add any, but you have a level in the water from the initial build. They said you may not see any chlorine in the water at first, becuase it takes a while for the cya to dissolve. It can take up to a week. You are doing fine - just make sure that the ph is lowered with the acid, and let the water aerate, which will bring down the alkalinity which you want at 80. Everytime the ph goes up to 7.4, add a little acid to bring it back down and repeat this process till you get all of your numbers in line. You may want to invest in a good test kit - it will make taking care of your pool much easier. There is a good one sold here on this site. It is also easy to get help when you post your up to date numbers. Let us know if you have any other questions. You can check out the "stickies" on this forum for lots of answsers and explanations on how the chemicals work in your pool. You are going to love having a pool We will answer any questions you may have - welcome to TFP :!:
We will answer any questions you may have - welcome to TFP :!:thanks guys- here are the numbers from this morning (10 days after start-up).
fc=4.0
tc=4.0
ch=210
cya=50
ph=8.0
ta=70 so i added a bag of alkalinity increaser this morning and then a 0.5 gallon of acid to the pool this evening.
the pool looks so much better now. anybody think i need a little cya? my pool gets no shade and in south florida thats alot of sun. also, i probably should be more aggressive about getting this ph down?
fc=4.0
tc=4.0
ch=210
cya=50
ph=8.0
ta=70 so i added a bag of alkalinity increaser this morning and then a 0.5 gallon of acid to the pool this evening.
the pool looks so much better now. anybody think i need a little cya? my pool gets no shade and in south florida thats alot of sun. also, i probably should be more aggressive about getting this ph down?
No, I wouldn't add any cya right now. 50 is great for you. It will hold the chlorie in sun. The only thing is that with a cya of 50 you need to keep a minimum of 3ppms of chloirne at all times. If it goes lower than 3ppms, your water will be open for soe algae to take hold, so if you keep the chloirne level above 3 you will be good to go. I would shoot for about a fc of 5, this way you will have a little leeway. Everything else looks great With the alkalinity increase, and the acid your numbers should even out. Just keep getting them tested till they are all in balance. Once your plaster is cured, you won't have such a hard time keeping the ph in check, but for the first couple of months you will have to use a lot of acid Just try to keep your ph at about 7.3 - 7.4. . Congrats on the job you are doing :-D
With the alkalinity increase, and the acid your numbers should even out. Just keep getting them tested till they are all in balance. Once your plaster is cured, you won't have such a hard time keeping the ph in check, but for the first couple of months you will have to use a lot of acid Just try to keep your ph at about 7.3 - 7.4. . Congrats on the job you are doing :-D
Shauney,
Where in So FL. I am in South Kendall behind Metro Zoo. I've had my pool for about 5 months and here is what I know about the heat and owning a pool in So. FL.
-Most people I have asked in Miami keep their CYA 70-90 which according to this forum is too high unless you have a SWG. I have kept mine under 50 (according to this forum)and actually average around 40 and have not had a problem. I use about 2ppm of Chlorine a day. for my size pool that is .5 gal of 10.5% chlorine. I mention this because I was confused with what the locals were telling me and they all said due to the sun and heat my Chlorine will not last. So far, no algae, no shocking at all, using BBB method and clear water. If I upped the CYA I will need to up the CHlorine to around 8ppm which is double. Some times I do not add chlorine because it gets to 5ppm which my range is 3-5. In the future I might test higher CYA levels but I have a good foundation and don't want to mess with a good thing.
- The pool stores around my area have great prices and they are some what knowledgeable. The information they give me that contradict this site I take with a grain of salt and ask them to explain why. I then come on this site and verify by searching or asking. People on this site are more open minded, I had to add 6lbs of CYA at start up and asked a Pool guy if he has heard of adding CYA to a panty hose and hold over a return to dilute it faster and he laughed and made a comment as if I was stupid or something. A lot of people swear by this technique on this forum so I tried it any way. Guess what, it worked in front of my own eyes, I feel sorry for that guy and the people who listens to his advice.
- Most important, test your own water. You will be suprised by the different numbers I get from the pool stores. My TA has been 70-80 all year and my last water test at the pool store said it was 11. I checked as soon as I got home and it was 70. Once you learn how to test your own water you will know that even if you made a mistake, there is no way to make a 5-6 drop mistake at such a small number. Also they had my PH at 7.9 after adding 1 gal of acid two days prior, my PH was at 7.2 so as you can see there are sometimes huge discrepencies
Where in So FL. I am in South Kendall behind Metro Zoo. I've had my pool for about 5 months and here is what I know about the heat and owning a pool in So. FL.
-Most people I have asked in Miami keep their CYA 70-90 which according to this forum is too high unless you have a SWG. I have kept mine under 50 (according to this forum)and actually average around 40 and have not had a problem. I use about 2ppm of Chlorine a day. for my size pool that is .5 gal of 10.5% chlorine. I mention this because I was confused with what the locals were telling me and they all said due to the sun and heat my Chlorine will not last. So far, no algae, no shocking at all, using BBB method and clear water. If I upped the CYA I will need to up the CHlorine to around 8ppm which is double. Some times I do not add chlorine because it gets to 5ppm which my range is 3-5. In the future I might test higher CYA levels but I have a good foundation and don't want to mess with a good thing.
- The pool stores around my area have great prices and they are some what knowledgeable. The information they give me that contradict this site I take with a grain of salt and ask them to explain why. I then come on this site and verify by searching or asking. People on this site are more open minded, I had to add 6lbs of CYA at start up and asked a Pool guy if he has heard of adding CYA to a panty hose and hold over a return to dilute it faster and he laughed and made a comment as if I was stupid or something. A lot of people swear by this technique on this forum so I tried it any way. Guess what, it worked in front of my own eyes, I feel sorry for that guy and the people who listens to his advice.
- Most important, test your own water. You will be suprised by the different numbers I get from the pool stores. My TA has been 70-80 all year and my last water test at the pool store said it was 11. I checked as soon as I got home and it was 70. Once you learn how to test your own water you will know that even if you made a mistake, there is no way to make a 5-6 drop mistake at such a small number. Also they had my PH at 7.9 after adding 1 gal of acid two days prior, my PH was at 7.2 so as you can see there are sometimes huge discrepencies
thanks guys- my nieghbor says the first 30 days are tuff and then it gets much easier. it will be nice to use the swg and the robot. i am brushing the pebbletec everyday but i was told its worth it for the long run. i am currently not doing my own testing but i will start. i just assumed the local pool stores would be better. today i got tested at the pool store and bought the alkilinity increaser and a gallon of acid for 3.88! my nieghbor has been going to this store for 4 years and swears buy them. it is the rainy/hot season here so that changes things. lots of small bugs floating dead on the water surface.
here are my latest numbers 2 weeks after start-up.
fc=4.0
tc=4.0
ch=340
cya=25
ph=7.4
ta=140 should i be adding cya with the pool only 2 weeks in? local pool store says leave alone for now.
fc=4.0
tc=4.0
ch=340
cya=25
ph=7.4
ta=140 should i be adding cya with the pool only 2 weeks in? local pool store says leave alone for now.
You may want to use some trichlor pucks for a while. They will reduce the ph (they are acidic), and they will add some cya at the same time. Wow, look how much your calcium went up! That's why they don't want you to add the calcium right away. Seems like you are keeping up with everything 8) - good price on the acid - you'll need it