Cloudy blue water and brownish stuff . . .

[bjthon]

It's been a great summer so far . . . but for health reasons (where's my cane?) I had to neglect my pool for three days. Now it has lost it's sparkle - especially in the deep end. Cloudy but not green. There are also brownish marks that aren't stains and brush off easily. I was thinking the dreaded mustard algae but the spots appear in the bright sunshine areas of the pool - shallow and deep end. Pollen from close by pine trees and other trees? I've been vacuuming and brushing and now think it's time to shock - which I've never done - New pool - first season. I just added some bleach and the FC is 5 - it was probably close to 0 because it hadn't been done in a few days.

Here's my test results:

FC 5
CC 0
TC 5
pH 7.6
TA 90
CH 270
CYA 22

Read in Pool School that I will need to shock to FC 15.

What do I do first? Increase CYA to 35? Do the OCLT? Shock?

I love this forum!
Billie

 

[Richard320]

I'd raise FC to 12, then recheck it every couple hours and keep raising it back to 12. About sunset, take a reading so you can try the overight loss test

If it passes, then your problem is probably not algae, but something else. Like pollen. Or dust. Look at the car and the patio furniture and the window sills? Are they dusty?

Be sure you have good circulation at the bottom of the pool, aim the return down if it's not.

If it doesn't clear up, you might consider adding DE to your filter. But be sure there's no algae bloom before you try that.

 

[bjthon]

I'd raise FC to 12, then recheck it every couple hours and keep raising it back to 12. About sunset, take a reading so you can try the overight loss test

If it passes, then your problem is probably not algae, but something else. Like pollen. Or dust. Look at the car and the patio furniture and the window sills? Are they dusty?

Be sure you have good circulation at the bottom of the pool, aim the return down if it's not.

If it doesn't clear up, you might consider adding DE to your filter. But be sure there's no algae bloom before you try that.

Richard ~

PPM went down 2 last night. Guess that means I need to shock. Or should I retest?

Thanks! Billie

 

[Butterfly]

Not sure of the starting FC at the beginning of the OCLT test last night, but if the pool lost 1ppm or more overnight, then you should start the shock process.

 

[bjthon]

Started to shock. Can I vacuum while in the shock process? I just got through brushing. There is a lot of yellow/light brown dust on the bottom in no particular pattern. Just looks like fine dirt. The sides are clean. The shallow end is clear. Deep end is cloudy.

I'll be back . . .

 

[Richard320]

Yes, you can vacuum.