Pool won't hold chlorine and water is cloudy

[singer04166]

We have a 24 round above ground pool. In the last 4 weeks we have put 45 lbs. of shock in our pool. We didn't put a cover on our pool this
year which was a mistake. Our pool looked like swamp water. Our pool store has been testing our water and told us that we basically didn't have anything in it. The ph was the only thing that had a reading and it was very low. We have vaccumed our pool twice even though we can't see the bottom. The water is very blue now but still won't hold a chlorine reading and the water is very cloudy. We have also used a whole bottle of clarifier to try and clear the pool. It didn't work. I went back to the pool place and they suggested that we shock the pool with 5 lbs. every 8 hrs. for a 24 hour period. Example-If we shock on Saturday afternoon at 12 our chlorine reading is gone by Sunday afternoon. We cannot get it to hold a chlorine reading after 24 hrs. of shocking. They did check our phosphate levels and it did read that the level was a little high. We need help. 45 lbs. of shock in the last month is a bit much. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[257WbyMag]

Welcome to TFP!

Please don't buy or add any more clarifier. It will not help your problem and will just cost you money that you don't need to spend. Please post a set of test results for us to include FC, CC, CYA, CH, pH, and TA. We will guide you from there.

 

[JasonLion]

The correct place to start is a complete set of test results and some reading at Pool School.

I agree, 45 lbs of shock is way too much. Do you know the brand name of the kind of shock you were using?

Phosphates have nothing to do with it. If you do everything else right the phosphate level doesn't matter.

 

[singer04166]

Super Shockwave is the type of shock we have been using. We have been getting it from our pool store.
I am going to take a sample of water tomorrow to be tested. Will send you those results tomorrow afternoon.
Thank you

 

[Richard320]

Super ShockWave – Calcium Hypochlorite

Pool Season takes ShockWave to a new level with 70 percent available chlorine.

I'll bet the CH reading is astronomical now.

 

[singer04166]

What is the CH reading?

 

[Richard320]

Calcium Hardness. There's a dictionary in Pool School

 

[singer04166]

The test strip isn't showing any stabilizer. Should we buy some tomorrow when we have our water tested? I will post our
water test results as soon as I get them. Thanks

 

[Richard320]

You should have some stabilizer, that will help maintain chlorine during the shock process.

There's really only one solution for you, and it will cost money, but not any more than you've already wasted. Order a test kit (http://tftestkits.net TF100XL) and follow these directions.

Had you found this site first, you'd already have clear, sparkling water. Stop being Pool-stored.

 

[ob1quixote]

These folks will get you straightened out, they know their stuff! Take a deep breath, post some water testing results, soon you'll be OK.

signed,
Pool dummy with really nice pool water!

 

[supertune]

I'll second that! I went through the same thing!
Got pool stored to death and my pool was never clear! Spent way too much $$
Got my TF-100 kit, did my tests, posted results like Pool school said to do. (I think I did it in getting started forum)
Read, Read and read some more, I'm a little slow at learning, but one day it just came all together!
Now I have a perfect pool all the time!
The best thing is NO more pool store other than maybe a tool or fitting part!
TFP saved me!!

 

[singer04166]

Had water tested today and here are the results.
Free chlorine- 0
Total Chlorine- 0
CH- 248
CYA- 0
PH- 7.41
TA- 129

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[RobbieH]

You need to shock the pool according to the instructions in pool school:
pool-school/shocking_your_pool

If you can add some CYA while you are at it, add enough stabilzer to bring your CYA up to about 25-30 until you are done shocking. This will help hold your FC level during the day.

You can use http://poolcalculator.com to get your quantities.

If you have some floaters for tablets and some trichlor tabs, put those in while you are shocking. They will release a little more CYA and assist in holding your chlorine level up.

I strongly suggest you get your own test kit, as you are going to need it during the shock process to know whether or not you are holding shock level. Check out http://tftestkits.net, you need one with the FAS chlorine test.

 

[ob1quixote]

Put your test numbers and the water capacity of the pool into the Pool Calculator
http://www.poolcalculator.com/

Set the suggested goals to TFP.com, then hit "calculate"
for right now, pay close attention to the "Suggested FC" and CYA fields.

Adjust the FC goal {top field, right hand box} to 15 and hit calculate again. It will show you how much bleach to get to Shock Level.

Since you have no CYA, you will be fighting the sun and the microbes to keep that level of chlorine. You need to add CYA, it is like sunscreen for the chlorine, makes it last and keeps levels more stable. Add the proper amount of CYA {Pool Stabilizer at Walmart} to a sock and hang it in front of the pump discharge. You can squeeze it to help it disperse quicker.

Sounds like you dont have a test kit, oughta get one. Until then, I would probably apply the shock level amount of bleach morning and evening for 2 days, then revert {readjust the goals on the calculator} to a normal level of 5 ppm FC.

Test kit is your most important tool!

 

[singer04166]

Thank you for all the information. You have been a great help and answered my questions in
a quick timely manner. Let me know if I need to pay you anything for your help.
I will let you know how everything goes over the next couple of days. Once again
thanks.

 

[Richard320]

Thank you for all the information. You have been a great help and answered my questions in
a quick timely manner. Let me know if I need to pay you anything for your help.
I will let you know how everything goes over the next couple of days. Once again
thanks.

Clear the pool. Post before and after pictures, then stick around and help convince the next wave of pool-stored seekers.

And then there's always this.

 

[supertune]

Thank you for all the information. You have been a great help and answered my questions in
a quick timely manner. Let me know if I need to pay you anything for your help.
I will let you know how everything goes over the next couple of days. Once again
thanks.

I got my Lifetime Banner for the help I got here!
Life is all good now never having to deal with shocking my pool every week like the pool store made me do until I learned better. (got a TF-100 kit)
I keep my pool balanced and now I don't need to ever shock and best of all, pool is always ready and begging for us to come swimming!

Chuck

 

[singer04166]

Added stabilizer (4 lbs) and shock on Monday. Held chlorine levels until this late this afternoon.
The Total and Fee chlorine are back to 0. All other levels are ok. We also added a tablet to the skimmer and one
in our floater. Pool is very blue but still extremely cloudy. I had my son put his goggles on and he went to the bottom
and said there was nothing on the bottom. Should we add more stabilizer?

 

[zea3]

Please read defeating algae and how to shock your pool or read it again to refresh your memory. You need to bring the pool to shock level and keep it at shock level until you pass the the overnight test. You never want to let the FC (free chlorine) drop to 0! Do not add more stabilizer, at this point all you need is chlorine and a good quality test kit, such as the TF 100 or the Taylor K2006. Keep the filter and pump running 24/7 until the pool is clear.

If you could add your pool and equipment information to the signature area that would be helpful for us. Thanks!

 

[Usual Suspect]

I also have a 24' round above ground and also had the same problem. Left the cover off over the winter, had to clean up a swamp, pool was super cloudy,got pool stored a few times...etc. What my problem ended up being was that my TA was way too high and i had a major chlorine demand issue. I put 2lbs of lo and slo in per day and used store bought bleach to shock it and keep the chlorine level up. 4 days later my pool was clear and i have chlorine in my pool. Kids are swimming and im a little more stress free due to the information on this site. Oh... and my Tf100 kit is on the way!