Need a little advice

[Guest]

Guys,

I have an interesting situation. My pool is cloudy but I cannot figure out why... here are my current numbers:

FC 7
CC 0
CYA 45
PH 7.6
CH 80
TA100

The water is very clear in the shallow end (3') but cloudy in the deep end (8'). You can see the main drain but just barely! When the pool first became cloudy I shocked, then I did the OCLT last night and FC dropped from 7 to 6.5 while CC remained 0. To me that means I don't have organics... maybe this is a filter issue? I tapped on the exterior of the filter with a rubber mallet last night but that doesn't seem to have had any effect. The next thing I was going to try was adding DE to the filter... here are some photos:

 

[Richard320]

How's the circulation? Is there a main drain and is it drawing?

Personally, I'd keep it at shock level for another day at least, as you haven't passed the 3rd test - "the water is clear".

If you sure you have good circulation in the deep end, and the chlorine is high, then put some DE in there. Expect pressure to rise quick, it filters out really small stuff.

 

[duraleigh]

I am only posting to agree with what you both are saying. I think you need some more filtration but I would keep it at shock one more day sorta' being extra safe...like wearing a belt and suspenders.

(Nice Largemouth, by the way.)

 

[Smykowski]

How long have you been doing the shock process? Sand takes awhile, and it sounds like you just haven't given it enough time to work.

 

[Guest]

Circulation is fine - main drain is working well, skimmer is pulling well through skimmer socks changed daily, and I've backwashed regularly when the pressure gets high.

The thing is, I don't think its algae... the pool became cloudy with 5ppm of FC in it. Algae can't get a foothold unless the FC gets below minimum levels, right? I think that there is dust/pollen that the filter is not trapping, and when the pool cleaner runs it kicks it up causing the cloudiness, but I could be wrong

 

[duraleigh]

Perform an OCLT to eliminate algae as the source.

 

[Guest]

I did the OCLT last night: FC dropped from 7 to 6.5 while CC remained 0. I'm beginning to wonder if my filter sand is channeled...

 

[duraleigh]

Sorry, I missed that. It is definitively not algae then. filtration is all that's left. Some people use a clarifier with great success....others have no luck at all. Your call.

When did you last inspect your sand bed?

 

[Guest]

I've never taken the multi-port valve off and visually inspected the sand bed... I'm exhausting all my other options first

 

[findog42000]

What's the filter pressure reading?

 

[Guest]

Just got home and was greeted by a green deep end :-(

Tested water and FC is 4, CC still 0! I only lost 1.5ppm of FC during the day today and nothing in the pool is consuming chlorine, how can this be?

 

[Smykowski]

Sounds like you never completed the shock process. With a CYA of 45, you need to get the FC up to 16ppm, and keep it there (adding as much bleach as often as necessary), until you pass all three criteria.

 

[Guest]

All right, I took the bull by the horns and brought the FC up to 20ppm. Then I added enough FiberClear to the skimmer to raise the filter pressure by one pound. Be interesting to see what she looks like in the morning

 

[linen]

All right, I took the bull by the horns and brought the FC up to 20ppm. Then I added enough FiberClear to the skimmer to raise the filter pressure by one pound. Be interesting to see what she looks like in the morning

If you haven't yet, I would test tonight to get a good number for another OCLT. Measure CC as well.

 

[Guest]

Checked before I left for work this morning: FC dropped to 16ppm, CC still 0. I added more bleach to Filter pressure was up about 4psi from last night. Hard to tell in the pre-dawn, but it looked like the pool cleared overnight!

 

[Guest]

Got home from work, pool has cleared, not crystal yet, but much better than it has been. FC dropped to 8, so I added bleach to get back to shock level. I will do an OCLT tonight. Filter pressure was sky high, so much so that little water was coming out of the returns. I backwashed/rinsed a couple times, then when I set it back to filter and the system primed up I had pure green water coming out of the returns for the first few seconds! Was this algae that had collected in the pipes due to the reduced circulation? Pics from tonight:

 

[Richard320]

Got home from work, pool has cleared, not crystal yet, but much better than it has been. FC dropped to 8, so I added bleach to get back to shock level. I will do an OCLT tonight. Filter pressure was sky high, so much so that little water was coming out of the returns. I backwashed/rinsed a couple times, then when I set it back to filter and the system primed up I had pure green water coming out of the returns for the first few seconds! Was this algae that had collected in the pipes due to the reduced circulation? Pics from tonight:

Did you use the rinse cycle? What you probably saw was the crud that hadn't finished being backwashed suddenly getting reversed back into your pool. At least you know you're filtering something out!

 

[Guest]

Yes, I rinsed after each backwash... how long do you typically run the filter on rinse for?

 

[Richard320]

Yes, I rinsed after each backwash... how long do you typically run the filter on rinse for?

I don't. I have a DE filter without a multiport valve. It's either filtering or backwashing, no other choices.

 

[linen]

I run rinse until water is clear...ends up being 30 seconds or so.

Good luck on the OCLT (make sure you test tonight and not just assume a level due to how much chlorine your adding)