No longer green, but still cloudy...

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LauraJ

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Gold Supporter
May 23, 2012
16
Tuscaloosa, AL
I'm sure my problem has been addressed in here, but I can't seem to find it. I apologize up front if I'm starting a new thread on a repeated topic!

The problem:
A week ago I had a 10,000 gallon swamp; now I have beautiful blue cloudy water that seems to have stopped clearing up. I've kept it balanced, chlorine demand has stabilized, and the filter had run 24/7 with it like this for a week, but it's still cloudy. How can I clear it up?

The story:
About 1 1/2 weeks ago (while it was still the swamp), I drained & refilled about half of it because last season my CYA was through the roof. After refilling, I started filtering 24/7, got pH to 7.2, TA to 100, Cal to 280. There was no chlorine at the time, and the water was so nasty, I didn't really trust my CYA result of 70.

Last Saturday (3/30/2013) I implemented the pool school article for turning the pond into crystal clear water as closely as I possibly could. Over the course of the day, I used 8 lbs of shock to maintain a FC level of 35. I brushed and backwashed almost every hour, and by evening the green was almost gone. Sunday I continued the same thing and that night there was less than a .5 drop in FC. Monday morning it was blue, but cloudy and it's remained like that since.

I've let the FC level drop, and have tested every night to ensure the loss is still less than .5. My current numbers are:
FC: 11
pH:7.4
TA:115
Cal:280
CYA:70? (Still getting this, but it's really hard to tell - I'd hoped it would be lower!)

This is like losing that last 5 pounds! I'd appreciate any ideas on what I need to do to clear it on up?

Thanks!!
 
Are you using dichlor ot trichlor? You said 5 lbs of shock, which indicates yes. If so, you need to stop. The drain and refill you did to get rid of CYA is on it's way to being negated. Hold the FC at shock level with bleach, and keep at it. Sand filters take longer to work so don't be surprised to see slow progress.
 
Confirm the type of chlorine you were using. Dichlor would be adding a lot of CYA. Cal-hypo would be adding calcium and could be some of the cause of cloudy water.

Would have been best to stick to liquid chlorine to avoid these possible issues.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 
I used di-chlor to shock. So I guess that makes sense why my CYA isn't any lower than it is. So I know that would mean I need to keep the FC level higher for it to be effective, but according to the overnight loss test, my algae is dead. But, you're saying that's slowing the clearing process, too?
 
But, you're saying that's slowing the clearing process, too?
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What is slowing it? Dichlor? Then the answer is no....just don't use it ANY more because it is piling up your CYA.

The shock process involves killing the algae (which you probably but may not have done) and then clearing the small particles out of your water through filtration.

During both parts (killing and filtering) of the process you keep your FC at shock level (28ppm in your case) and run your pump 24/7, backwashing as necessary, until the water is crystal clear.

The last part can take longer than it might seem.....you just have to be patient and keep your FC up and keep the pump running.
 
OH!!! I thought I kept it at shock level until my overnight FC loss was less than .5!! Ok, I'll go load up on bleach, raise it back up and keep it there. Thank you!!!

One more question. I have a solar blanket I'd like to put on. Will that hurt anything?
 

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I agree with Smykowski. Two reasons...high chlorine levels can shorten the life of the cover and the uv light from the sun is your friend to burn off the CC that occurs during the shocking process.
 
Just because I'm curious (and a nerd), what is happening chemically to it right now? I thought the shock just killed the algae and it was cloudy because the algae was dying faster than the filter could process it out. Now I don't understand what the chlorine is doing to clear it up that the filter wasn't.
 
LauraJ said:
Just because I'm curious (and a nerd), what is happening chemically to it right now? I thought the shock just killed the algae and it was cloudy because the algae was dying faster than the filter could process it out. Now I don't understand what the chlorine is doing to clear it up that the filter wasn't.
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Keeping it at shock level at this point is extra insurance to guarantee the algae can't re-bloom. The fact of the matter is that you don't know for sure that it's all dead (although in all likelihood, it is).
 
You're on the right track, keep at it. I JUST went through this same scenario, only difference is that I started out & stayed with liquid chlorine. Keep at it, keep brushing and scooping out anything that is in the water, keep the filter running and keep that chlorine level up until it's clear. if you need some encouragement or reassurance that it WILL clear up:
too-cold-for-algae-wrong-swamp-to-sparkle-in10-days-50-t55062.html
 
LauraJ said:
Just because I'm curious (and a nerd), what is happening chemically to it right now? I thought the shock just killed the algae and it was cloudy because the algae was dying faster than the filter could process it out. Now I don't understand what the chlorine is doing to clear it up that the filter wasn't.
Click to expand...
What is happening is a couple of things. One is that you may not have killed off every little bit of algae and keeping the FC at shock level ensures that it keeps killing it. Two is that chlorine is a strong oxidizer and keeping the FC at shock level helps oxidize some of the stuff in the pool which in turn helps it clear faster.
 
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