Cloudy water wont uncloudy ..

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From ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry:

CC - Combined Chlorine

Combined chlorine is an intermediate breakdown product created in the process of sanitizing the pool. CC causes the "chlorine" smell many people associate with chlorine pools. If CC is above 0.5, you should shock your pool. CC indicates that there is something in the water that the FC is in the process of breaking down. In an outdoor pool, CC will normally stay at or near zero as long as you maintain an appropriate FC level and the pool gets some direct sunlight.

Potassium monopersulfate (a common non-chlorine shock) will often show up on tests as CC. There is a special reagent you can get to neutralize the potassium monopersulfate so you can get a true CC reading.
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ok thank you for the clarification. How fast will levels come down? Im asking this b/c as soon as I got your responses I added bleach to my water and a little bit of the acid to bring my ph down a little bit. Even though it read 7.5 on my test this morning, at the pool store testing it was reading high. so just to be sure I added just a little bit to help bring it down.

But I just went out and did some new readings on the following only:

FC 5 added 10 drops
CC 1.5 3 drops
Ph 7.2 now
CL 5+ it was real realy yellow
TA at 40 got it to turn a hot pink..still no red

Im going to continue reading and adding bleach and now head over to the calculator. I have a feeling I need to add more chlorine just need to figure out how much to add based on these new readings. any suggestions would help
 
It looks good, your chlorine is being used up as it kills the algae. If you can test every hour and redose that will make this go the fastest.

guardwife2 said:
TA at 40 got it to turn a hot pink..still no red
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Hot pink is fine, so your TA is around 400 ppm...which is pretty high, but we will deal with that later.

No need to use the K-1000 kit for now...just the FAS-DPD test for FC and CC.

Also, no need to test TA, again until you are done with the shocking process.

Only test ph when your fc is below 10 ppm, the ph test is not accurate above that.
 
when using a floc, your gonna get much better results with dead algae. Which means your gonna have to shock, and be diligent about your free chlorine levels. Algae multiply fast, and by the looks of your photos, the kill rate seems to be much lower than they are able to multiply. Like any opponent, you have to know their weakest point, in order to defeat them. Algae, being a plant species, can only multiply in sunlight due to photosynthesis. So, this means the time to attack is at night, especially if you want to get a good head start. Sundown is the best time to start a good "shock" therapy on your pool. Before you start, the most IMPORTANT thing to add to your pool right now is PATIENCE, and realize this process may take anywhere from 24 hours to a week to accomplish optimum results and levels. Also keep your filter/pump running 24/7 during this process. So, here we go. TA (alkalinity), CH (hardness), and CC (combined chlorine) are not going to be important right now. The two things your gonna need to keep in check is PH and FC. You want to get your PH down to 7.2 and no higher. Do this at least few hours before sundown tonight, and test it every half hour to make sure its holding steady. If it rises, add muriatic acid. Use the chart on http://www.poolcalculator.com/ for how much, based on your pool size/water volume. You may find yourself adjusting PH quite often during this battle. DO NOT ADD any chlorine yet, until sundown. Now, at sundown. Prior to adding any chlorine, do a CYA test. Once you get your CYA level, use this page http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock to find out your shock level. This level is going to be your FC (free chlorine) level, and you're going to have to maintain it constantly. Once again, use this site http://www.poolcalculator.com/ to find out how much bleach to add, to achieve shock level. Double check the chlorine % on the bottle when using the calculator, so you can get an accurate dose. Use liquid bleach, no tablets, or powder. After adding recommended amount of bleach, wait about 20 mins to half hour, and test again. PH first. Now, this is where it may get weird. Some drop tests are sensitive to high chlorine levels. You may get a false reading depending on how high your FC level is. Don't worry if you get a low PH reading after adding the bleach. Liquid Chlorine will not cause a drop in PH, it's just your test being sensitive. But, if your test is not sensitive, you won't experience this. In fact, you may see a rise in PH, due to the organics being killed by the bleach. If this is the case, adjust PH accordingly (7.2). Again, use the pool calculator. After PH is adjusted or confirmed to be no higher than 7.2, test for FC. If FC is lower than your "shock" level, adjust accordingly. Use the pool calculator. Now, before going to bed tonight, do another PH and FC test, just like before. Adjust accordingly. Once again, you've got keep the filter/pump running overnight and 24/7, so keep it running. Tomorrow morning. The optimal time for tomorrows test would be just before sunrise, or before any direct sun exposure to your pool. So depending on your schedule, plan for an early rise ;). We're gonna do the same PH/FC test like last night, and the same adjustments also. You're going to have to keep on this, which means every half hour to hour, testing the water. I would recommend every half hour while the pool is under direct sunlight. The monotony will pay off in the long run. :) It may be wise to show some in the family what your doing, in the case you cannot be home during the entire process. Also, keep in mind, just PH/FC right now. What we are looking for is a change in your water color. Once the algae is dying your water is going to go from cloudy green to cloudy white/blue. This is normal. Don't use any floc during your shock treatment. You may be able to use it down the road for a quicker cleanup, but we want to make sure the algae is dead first. Let me know how it's working and if you have any questions.

Ken

P.S. I just noticed the posts on CC, and had to add this. The reason I stated that CC is not important in the beginning of shock treatment is the fact that it is a given you will have a high CC reading do to the organic burnout. CC will start dropping once the FC is winning the battle with the algae. Once we get to the point where the algae is mostly dead (cloudy white water), then we can test for CC. Until then , in my opinion, it's a waste of test fluid. Also with TA and CH, you're not going to get an accurate test result with FC at shock levels.
 

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Not that you should test it again...but I see your cya is 30. Was that you target, or just what you measured? If it is not your target...what was it and how long ago did the cya disappear into the pool?

For a cya of 30 ppm, poolcalculator.com gives a shock FC level of 13 ppm, I would wait until FC gets down to 13 then dose it up to 14-15 and test again in an hour.
 
mod squad:

in the beginning of the post I couldn't even get a good reading on the CYA so one of the site admins took a guess at a 10 as the reading b/c I would get the black dot to a gray but never completely covered it...so I have been slowly adding stablizer to it..I just got a reading of 30 on it today....im not sure the cya was ever in the pool. When we opened it water was pretty clear a little cloudy but clear. I went on vacation and asked my husband to add chlrone and he didn't...so we ended up getting terrible algae. This was in June and I have been trying to get it clear since then. the first time I was able to see my pool on the sides or bottom was when I flocked it. but like I said every time I vacuum to waste it gets stirred up again and it ends up looking like it does in the pictures.
 
CYA of 30 is fine right now. I wouldn't any more stabilizer. It takes a while to dissolve, so you may be higher than what your testing at right now. Once you get to the point where you can't see the dot any more, that is what your level is. You don't want it higher than 50, as that is where the shock levels will jump higher. As a result, you'll need to use more chlorine to achieve shock level.
 
ok..so Ill wait till about dusk go out and check FC and PH and CYA...see where they are. add chlroine if needed and then test about every 30 min. I wont add any more stablizer at all but will add chlorine at dusk time. My neighbor is picking me up more bleach today while she is in town so Ill have a stock ready for tonight if needed. sounds like i will be pulling an all nighter but that is ok...Im up for the challenge. Ive been working on this so hard that i want to see it to the end or die trying. LOL

thanks for the help....Ill keep posting test results when I have them.
 
Sounds good! Your persistence will pay off in the end believe me :) I've been there too, and completely understand the frustration. We inherited a pool from the previous owners, when we bought our house 7 years ago, and received zero guidance from them. I found this and another site called the pool forum, and the people here and there (a lot of the same members) have helped me out tremendously with various problems I've had through the years. I also have made a couple friends who work for a local water treatment facility, who have given me a lot of info and advice on the technical/chemistry side of things. I have learned a lot from all here and my friends, and can't thank them enough. I should be on the forums more, but when I do go on, I try to return the favor by helping others. I will be checking this thread often, so let me know how its working out.

Ken
 
guardwife2 said:
ok..so Ill wait till about dusk go out and check FC and PH and CYA...see where they are. add chlroine if needed and then test about every 30 min. I wont add any more stablizer at all but will add chlorine at dusk time. My neighbor is picking me up more bleach today while she is in town so Ill have a stock ready for tonight if needed. sounds like i will be pulling an all nighter but that is ok...Im up for the challenge. Ive been working on this so hard that i want to see it to the end or die trying. LOL

thanks for the help....Ill keep posting test results when I have them.
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If you're not at shock level, don't wait till dusk. Replenishing Chlorine at night is more effective because you're not competing with the sun. All the Chlorine at night is killing algae etc. But if possible keep at or above shock level during the day. That's when you're more likely to fall below shock level. Don't be afraid to overshoot your mark up to 19 ppm.
 

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