Please help my water to clear up

[sturner]

Hello Everyone,

I have had my above ground pool (18x48) now for a month. The first 2 weeks was great a then the pool turned green. I brought a saltwater pump, shock the pool and added 3 bags of saltwater Thursday. I can not get my water clear. I even brought ultra bright and put in yesterday. I live in Ft worth TX. HOTTTTT!!!

I have tested pool with hth 6-way test strips I think this is why the water won't clear up. What do I need to do? It is a milky cloudiness.

How do i get my ph,fc and cya up?

Test results:
TH: 200
FC: 0/0
PH: 6.4
TA: 40
CYA: 0

 

[Bama Rambler]

Welcome to TFP.

Begin by reading pool school on the ABC's of pool chemistry. Also read how to SLAM your pool.

The next thing you need is a good test kit.

 

[CGDogs]

Would get that ph up asap. I'm new with pools but read low ph can hurt your liner pretty bad.

 

[Charlie_R]

Since your numbers are off of test strips, they are not to be trusted.

Best value in test kits is the TF-100 from http://tftestkits.net/

Get the XL option, and consider the SpeedStir as well.

When you have the kit in hand, give us trustworthy numbers and we can help you proceed to clean up your pool.

In the mean time, read Pool School, then go back and read it again, several times.

 

[BoDarville]

Welcome to TFP!

Best value in test kits is the TF-100 from http://tftestkits.net/

+1 on that! Would order it today. It is as necessary for pool water management as is having water in a pool. Seriously :!: If this is the only advice you act upon, let it be this. The sooner you order it, the sooner you will have clear water.

Given a green pool, you have algae. You will need to begin the The SLAM Process to clear it up. However, you will need the TF-100 in order to begin this.

Right now, this is a Catch-22 situation. A pH in the 6's is not good plus you need to get some CYA in the pool. However, all your results were obtained from test strips which are not the best products to use for testing. But, the strips are all we have to go on right now and they are better than nothing. Therefore, I'm going to take a stand and recommend the following (in the order they are presented) while you are waiting for the TF-100 (which you are ordering today, right :?. NOTE: I am assuming the dimensions you provided of 18 X 48 means that your pool is 18 feet round and 48 inches deep in determining these dosing amounts.

• 1. Increase pH up to around 7.6 - 7.8. You always want pH to be in the 7's. This will take about 72 oz by weight or 63 oz by volume of Soda Ash.
  2. Given your starting point of 0 CYA, add 31 oz by weight or volume of granular CYA (a.k.a., stabilizer). Look for an active ingredient of 100% cyanuric acid. Place the granules in an old sock, panty hose, or T-shirt. Then tie it off and place in a skimmer or hang it in front of a return. It will take several days for the granules to dissolve, but you can speed it up by giving the sock an occasional squeeze. Also, give the pump some extra run time during this process. This will give you 30 ppm of CYA. It will also lower your pH by ~ 0.56 which is why I'm having you raise it up to the high end of the recommended range in Step 1. When you are done with Steps 1 and 2, your pH should be around 7.1 - 7.3 which will put you in good shape to begin the SLAM process.
  3. Stock up on plain, unscented liquid bleach. You will need lots of it for the SLAM Process. You will be adding supplemental doses 2-3 times a day throughout much of this process.
  4. In the interim, you can add about 5-6 ppm chlorine (liquid bleach) a day to prevent things from getting any worse until your test kit arrives. Admittedly, this is a temporary stopgap measure and not a long-term solution. For your pool, this translates into adding about 60-70 oz of 8.25% liquid bleach daily. I would turn your salt cell off for now until you get your pool cleared up. The salt cell will not be able to keep up in chlorinating your pool with an algae bloom and 0 CYA. Manually dose with liquid chlorine for now (which you will also use during the SLAM process). Pump should be running whenever you are adding any chemicals.

When your TF-100 arrives, I would run a full set of tests and post them here. We can then help you make any adjustments that may be needed prior to beginning the SLAM Process.

 

[sturner]

Thank you soooo much Bo!! Your information is great!!! And yes I have order the TF-100!!

 

[Beens]

I just wanted to butt in for a minute to say something about 18x48 intex pools... I have one of the metal frame 18x48 (not the ultra frame but the white round metal frame) and when filled it is 42" of water as the frame height itself is the 48" measurement and it is not possible to fill to the top.

It makes a big difference in calculating how many gallons are in the pool. I discovered that a few weeks ago when it finally dawned on me that I had put the 18'x48" dimensions in the pool calculator and was using 7600 gallons to calculate everything instead of the 6700 it gives for 3.5 feet. I figure people should know that if they bought the pool (it said it on the original box..42" water or something like that) but it's been so long since I set up the pool that I had forgotten all about it so I wonder sometimes when I see 18x48 if people are sure of their actual water depth or if they are going by the frame height....

I'm not sure how much difference it makes for chemicals and it might not even apply to you or this thread but I figured I'd just throw it out there just in case.

I'll butt back out now. lol