Mystery Cloud

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rockyboy

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Jul 13, 2007
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Pool water just hasn't sparkled so far this year. Reading from a week or so ago when I had water tested:
Chlorine: 2.0
Free Chlorine: 1.0
PH: 7.6
Alkalinity: 60
CYA: 30
salt: 2900
* They advised to add 8 cups of baking soda every 4-6 hours, three times.
After that is when I noticed my water seemed kind of cloudy. Took sample back on Tuesday and got:
Chlorine: 3.0
Free Chlorine: 2.0
PH: 7.6
Alkalinity: 100
CYA: 30
Salt: 2900
Bought a clarifier and ran pump overnight but water was still cloudy next afternoon and walls/floors could have stood another brushing. Store owner thinks maybe fine particles are going right through the filter and settling again. Also said that may be getting more dirt this year since it's windy in Oklahoma and there is construction in the neighborhood althought that has been true for several year. Doesn't think we have algae or bacteria based on chemistry and said our readings should produce a clear pool. Bought some DE and put a couple of cups into each skimmer to help with filtering and have run pump and dolphin robot cleaner non stop. Wife says water is starting to look better. Just wondering if anyone could think of a reason why this is a problem all of the sudden? Water temp in the high 70's, 33k gallon vinyl with autopilot SC-60 chlorine generator. It's the fourth season for the sand in our filter. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!!!
 
You are showing a CC of 1.0, which indicates the need to shock, possible algae or organics in the pool. Not sure how they don't see that based on those numbers! Do you have the ability to test the water accurately on your own? You need to perform the OCLT and see where you stand.
pool-school/overnight_fc_test

You didn't need baking soda.

Your CYA is too low for your SWCG. You need to be in the 70-80 range. That's probably why your FC is 2, it needs to be at least 3 on a daily use basis.
 
Thanks for the help. I have a TFP test kit so I can do the overnight test no problem. I guess I was thinking that as long as we had FC between 1 and 3, we wouldn't have a problem with algae or organics. Still learning I guess. Should I just turn the pump off or just set the SWG to 0% for the test? Not sure if the autopilot would raise the output on it's own or not in that case.

I have a bottle of stabilizer (granular kind) that I just got but wanted to make sure I didn't have to vacuum to waste or anything. Your thinking that I should do the overnight test BEFORE I shock? Thanks!!!!
 
Let the pump run, turn SWG off.

Yes, I'm thinking do the OCLT first, because you may not need to shock if you pass. I still believe you can have cloudiness from the slightly high TA and the addition of all that baking soda.
 
OK...I haven't seen the pool today but the wife says it's clearing up. The thing that gets me is that I brushed everything and let the pump run (backwashed first) and by next afternoon (yesterday), there was a layer on the walls and bottom again. Wife says it's not green but more of a brownish/yellowish color...almost like dirt. Put the dolphin in and you could clearly see where it had been. So something the filter didn't work worth a darn or something grew in it's place.

Sounds like I need to get the CYA up quick. The granules take forever. Should I go buy that liquid version? It's pretty expensive around here...maybe $35 a gallon. 4 lbs of granules about $18. Just trying to get an idea of the urgency. I don't want to lose a pool! Thanks!
 
Sounds like I need to get the CYA up quick.
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I'm not sure I understand.....you need to get your chlorine up (ie shock your pool) but I'm not sure why you want to adjust CYA?

Your chlorine has been too low for too long and you have visible algae. read "How to Shock Your Pool" up in Pool School and follow those instructions to the letter and your pool will sparkle again soon.
 
I'm probably the one that's lost...or lost it :-D RobbieH had said my CYA should be 70-80 and mine is 30 so I took that to mean I needed to get it much higher. He never actually said "quick" :oops: Probably would keep the SWG from running at such a high percentage if the CYA was where it needed to be. I am home and the FC is 2 with no CC. I can definitely take care of shocking the pool. Off to Sam's Club! Thanks!
 
Oh no, don't raise your FC until you are done shocking... it'll be much easier to shock at 30. Once you are done shocking, get it up to 70. But, that's all determined by whether or not you pass the OCLT.
 

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Rockyboy,

Shut off your swg and pretend it isn't part of the equation during the shock process.

Now, you have a regular pool and shock value for 30 CYA is around 12ppm or so. Shock to that value but, again, do so precisely according to the directions in the article in Pool School.

Once you have completed the shock process, you can restart your SWG.
 
I didn't see in the thread that you tested your overnight chlorine loss but maybe I just missed it?
If you have not test your fc after sundown then test it again early in the morning, best to test just before sunrise but I usually don't get a chance to test till about 8-9 am and it's always been fine for me at that time.
If you lose less ~1 fc you wont have to shock but since your pool was cloudy you might? Cant tell without doing the overnight test if your pool is now clear?
 
I went ahead and brushed and shocked yesterday evening and FC was 16 with no CC. This morning, the pool looked waaaaaaay better but the FC was 14 and no CC. In this case, the shock guide says to bring the FC up to shock level again but since I went over the target (12) to begin with, do I treat again to get to 16? With the SWG off, do I test several times today and maintain the shock level until I can do the overnight test again? Just making sure I understand what I read in pool school about shocking. Thanks!!!! Pool is getting there!!!
 
shock value for 30 CYA is around 12ppm or so. Shock to that value but, again, do so precisely according to the directions in the article in Pool School.
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Your shock value is 12ppm....that is your target. Test accurately and dose accurately and you will be rewarded with a crystal clear pool. :lol:
 
Already looks 200% better than last night. This is fantastic....makes me want to get in!!!! So if I maintain 12 today...at 14 now but i'm sure sun will consume some since we have zero shade....I can do the overnight test tonight. If I lose 1 FC or less, then I turn SWG back on and I'm good to go???? Thanks for all the help!
 
Pool continues to clear but CC level was down to 7 from 14 at lunch. Just wondering if that's normal if the SWG is off and the pool is in the bright sun? I added more bleach to get back to 12 and hoping I will have enough bleach to keep that level until the sun goes down so I can do the overnight test again.
 
rockyboy said:
Pool continues to clear but CC level was down to 7 from 14 at lunch. Just wondering if that's normal if the SWG is off and the pool is in the bright sun? I added more bleach to get back to 12 and hoping I will have enough bleach to keep that level until the sun goes down so I can do the overnight test again.
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Assuming you meant FC was down to 7 not CC? Remember, your chlorine is also being consumed by the organics your are in the process of killing off so it is not surprising that it is dropping. Some of it is sun some of it is organics.
 

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