Stumped...

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Sissy907

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May 22, 2008
43
Florida
Ok, so ALL my stats are in the perfect range (I do need to add a little chlorine tho its a tad on the low side)
But the pool is still cloudy... Not as bad as it was, I can certainly see the bottom, but it is still quite noticeably cloudy. Is it ok for the kids to jump in and swim anyway??
They are freakin out at this point. Its the first day of summer break and the pool is still being stubborn. I dont see a mess on the bottom of leaves and gunk (there is a bit but nothing that cant be scooped in one scoop) And as I said the water stats are very very good for what it has been. HELP! MOM IN DISTRESS! lol

pH 7.2
CL 1
TA 130
CYA 90

Alli~
 
For your very high CYA (consider partial drain and refill to lower it 90 is too high), you would need your chlorine to be much higher than 1, maybe 8 or more, to avoid an algea outbreak, and the cloudy water is an indication that all is not quite right.

I think it would be okay to pour in some bleach, wait a 1/2-1 hour and let them in to distribute it. I would think 1 whole jug of 6 % bleach wouldn't hurt and would raise your chlorine to where it should be.

So yeah, get some bleach in there and let em in!
 
Edited to add: Yeah, what FPM said.

With your high CYA, you should maintain your chlorine at 7ppm. The low chlorine is very likely letting algae start, possibly causing your cloudiness. It would be helpful to know your calcium hardness as well, as this can cause cloudiness. I'd refrain from any powdered chemicals to reduce their contribution to the cloudiness.
 
I didnt check cya today I need to order more chemical and was trying to conserve. (I will order some later today)

It (the pool) has been cloudy for WEEKS. I have been fighting this for ages and the chlorine was very high (27 ppm) until just the last few days it started coming down. I will re run every test in a few minutes and re post.. I am trying feverishly to get the pool cleared up so they can get in and its taking AGES and doesnt make sense why its still cloudy and everything is in the right ranges...

Alli~ Re post of stats in 3 minutes....
 
For cloudy water there are three places to look. Low chlorine, which you have and need to resolve before worrying too much about the other two. Filter not working right, worth checking into. And the calcium level, which you didn't post.
 
Alli,

You do not have to retest for CYA unless you have drained some water out of the pool and refilled with "new" water. Your high CYA (90) is keeping your FC from being effective at levels below about 7. You will use less chlorine and be able to maintain a lower FC level if you get your CYA down. You need to drain at least a foot (water level) of water before you retest for CYA.
 
Ok tested the Calcium and it is at 60 ppm which I know is low (I have a vinyl pool so I thought I didnt need a whole lot of that anyway) It did turn blue but there were little pink/red particles floating around in the mixture which I am assuming is whatever is clouding up the pool..
I added about a gallon of chlorine and let it sit a bit and tossed the kids in which were thrilled to be able to get in... I will test the chlorine again later tonight to make sure there is enough chlorine in it over night and then check the water again tomorrow to see how it looks. We took the filter out and sprayed the ever loving Crud out of it (it was full of gunk-but not terrbily so)
I did drain some water out after the borax fiasco but I guess it wasnt enough to make a difference on the CYA as it is still 90...

Question 1, If the chlorine is at 7 or 8 ppm is it still safe for the kids to swim like that?

I have decided to go ahead with a complete draining of the pool, but not til a little later this month, to level out the ground back there and get it ready for grass seed and a deck on the back half of the pool. which is why I have been holding out on fussing with the water to much, (not lack of chemicals, but that is the main reason why I was holding off on the cya testing -cause I wanted to save a bit when I refill the water) I am just gonna order a bunch extra so I dont have to worry about it again..
I already have a base test of the water that comes out of the hose...

Ch .5
pH 7.8
TA 180
CYA 0
CH 40

Question 2, What would you guys suggest, knowing I will be emptying and then refilling the pool, I be ready to add or do when it comes time to refill? (I want to stick to the bbb method)

Question 3, What do you use (looking for suggestions that you have tried) around the outside of your AGP to keep the grass from growing up close to the sides? I was thinking red mulch but I hate how it gets into the grass.

Thanks again!

Alli~
 
I know some people won't approve But hubby just sprays total vegitation killer around the pool perimeter so we just have 6 inches of sand/and or mud. Looks terrible. We've been talking about putting something there for 6 years now and have done nothing....

As for the cloudiness...I recall reading the intex pools the filters aren't great for clearing the last of the goop. I thought I read on here about a "clarifyer" or something that binds the particles together so that you can vacume to waste to get rid of the last of it....

It's a thought.

Were you asking if it is safe for them to swim in high clorine or if it is safe if it gets too low. I'd be more worried about too low. We've swum (is that a word?!) in 10+ and just rinsed afterward, no ill affects and our swimsuits were fine.
 
A weed barrier with some rocks over it is what a lot of people do. We are having ours done in a week or so. How is the drainage around the pool? If it isin't good, you may have to dig a trench around it and put in a drainage pipe. You can check out the slide show for some ideas also.
 

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I used some brick edging from The Home Doodle Shopping Googleplex.
Mine are red and have convex 1/2 round edges on one side and 1/2 round concave edges on the other side, and are 12 inches from 1/2 round peak to 1/2 round peak. Thanks to Pi I figued and bought exactly 50 of them to go around my 15' Intex. I plopped them down on top of the blue tarp that is provided with the pool and all is well in the world of lawn maintenance around the pool.

Sissy907 said:
Question 3, What do you use (looking for suggestions that you have tried) around the outside of your AGP to keep the grass from growing up close to the sides? I was thinking red mulch but I hate how it gets into the grass.

Thanks again!

Alli~
Click to expand...
 
For what it's worth -
The only thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, that worked when I had the same problem
POP - Pool Owner Patience.
I got so frustrated at one point, that I just shut off the filter, put the vaccuum away and spent a day doing other stuff.
the next day I found that the water was Pretty clear! and a lot of "stuff" had settled to the bottom. I vaccumed that up
and everything started to come together after that. That assumes that you have done all the other chemical requirements and are just battling the cloudiness that won't go away.
 
FWIW, I used edger blocks to come out about 18 - 24" around the pool, sprayed the enclosed area w/ Roundup, put down weed mat, and then covered it with white marble.

Here's a picture of my SWG that shows the marble chips and the edging.

intex1.jpg
 
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