Can't clear up the cloudiness

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J

joconnor316

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Gold Supporter
Aug 14, 2010
33
Ocean County, New Jersey
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Hey Everyone,

Have used the BBB method for two summers since switching over from Baq. Things have gone great until recently. Cannot get rid of this cloudiness.

Current readings are:
FC: 6.5
CC: 0
Ph: 7.8
TA: 110
CH: 80
CYA: 50

Was shocking contiunally for a week with no improvement so I backed off while seeking advice on the forum.

Also, I've been running the filter 24/7 during this time also. I do suspect some kind of problem with the filter because I backwashed it and the water was basically clean. Then I read on the forum the technique of taking the top off the filter and running a hose into it. When I did this all sorts of dirt, dead algae, and brownish, green liquid flowed out the top. After replacing the multi-port on top of the filter, I backwashed again. A lot of stuff came out that time. The next day the pool water was clearer, but it has become cloudy again (as per the picture above). Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Thanks, Guys.

I picked up the DE from a local pool store and brought in a water sample too.

Their numbers differed from mine on a few areas. Most notably they listed the CYA at 13, while my test this morning had it at 50. How much faith do you put in the computerized testing done by pool shops?
 
joconnor316 said:
Thanks, Guys.

I picked up the DE from a local pool store and brought in a water sample too.

Their numbers differed from mine on a few areas. Most notably they listed the CYA at 13, while my test this morning had it at 50. How much faith do you put in the computerized testing done by pool shops?
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None, do not use the pool store for tests, it will only do what it has just done now - confuse you.

Regards
Stuart
 
joconnor316 said:
One other question. Should I shock the pool or wait to see the effects of the DE?
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Your original post said you shocked it for a week. I'm assuming you did it according to the directions in pool school, which means you stopped when you had no CC and passed the overnight test.

It won't hurt anything but your wallet to run the FC up a little higher, or all the way to shock.

Also, make sure you have good circulation, that the return jets move the water at the bottom, not just the top 6". If you don't get the dead algae circulating up to where the skimmer can grab it, it will never filter out.
 
I'm assuming you did it according to the directions in pool school, which means you stopped when you had no CC and passed the overnight test.
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Sort of. I brought the FC up to 15 which was a number I remembered from converting from BAQ. But when I looked at the chlorine/cya chart this morning, it says I should aim for a FC of 20 when shocking.

I think it's probably a good idea to go through the shock process again following the directions more closely. As you said, it can't hurt.
 

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It looks BEAUTIFUL compared to when you started.
What a difference, I love the methods on here!! :-D

I noticed in both of your current numbers that your FC is below shock level.
Make sure you keep it at 20ppm until you pass the 3 criteria listed in Pool School; Pass OCLT of less than 1ppm, water's clear & CCs are less than 0.5ppm.

Is your filter pressure beginning to rise?

Looking beautiful, keep it up! :goodjob:
 
I'm still very new at keeping my water balanced, and maybe what happened to me was a fluke. I had really high CYA, and spent the summer gradually draining water off and filling it back to lower the CYA. Whenever I'd do that, everything would get out of whack. I'd bring the TA back into range and it'd get cloudy, then when I'd raise the CH, it'd clear up. I was very cautious to always keep my CC level at the recommended value based on my CYA level, so I was confident the cloudiness didn't have anything to do with that. I don't claim to understand it, but that was just my experience.
In kind of the same way, if my TA drops lower than 100, the water loses it's blueness. It's not cloudy, but it looks kind of pale & sickly (if that makes any sense at all). So I don't know what it is, but my experience has been that there is some kind of relationship between TA and CH that affect water clarity. And in my case, both tend to drift down. I've never had to intentionally lower either one.
 
LauraJ said:
I'm still very new at keeping my water balanced, and maybe what happened to me was a fluke. I had really high CYA, and spent the summer gradually draining water off and filling it back to lower the CYA. Whenever I'd do that, everything would get out of whack. I'd bring the TA back into range and it'd get cloudy, then when I'd raise the CH, it'd clear up. I was very cautious to always keep my CC level at the recommended value based on my CYA level, so I was confident the cloudiness didn't have anything to do with that. I don't claim to understand it, but that was just my experience.
In kind of the same way, if my TA drops lower than 100, the water loses it's blueness. It's not cloudy, but it looks kind of pale & sickly (if that makes any sense at all). So I don't know what it is, but my experience has been that there is some kind of relationship between TA and CH that affect water clarity. And in my case, both tend to drift down. I've never had to intentionally lower either one.
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It looks like you are using Tri-Chlor tabs, as you have a tablet chlorinator.
Tri-Chlor tabs are very acidic, so they constantly lower your pH, as well as adding CYA, so your levels will get too high.
I would assume they lower the TA as well, since that's what acid does.
But I can't be sure, I'm not an expert on them.

I would suspect most of your problems are because of this, TA & CH do not drift down on there own otherwise. Not to my knowledge anyway.

What is your fill water like?
Test it and report, might want to start a new thread to elaborate on this.
Since you have a sand filter, backwashing and vacuuming to waste causes you to loose some of your pool water, so whatever the levels are of the water you have to fill it with could be effecting this as well.
 
TA and low CH have no affect on the clarity of pool water.

TA does slowly drift lower on it's own.....CH can (but does not always) slowly increase.

Do not start a new thread.....keep your thoughts continuous if you wish to further the discussion.
 
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Fourth day of shocking and things continue to improve. Lost 2 ppm of FC last night, but we did have rain so that may have diluted the pool somewhat. Added bleach to bring it back to shock level just now. Here are this morning's readings:

FC: 18.5
CC: 0

Also, adding the DE to the sand filter has, I think, really helped with clearing up the water.
 

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