Sodium Bicarb turned crystal clear pool cloudy

[cullendw]

Hi All,

I bought a new house which has a 40k litre salt chlorinated pool (which was crystal clear). I have been using hth dip sticks to check the various levels (FC, TA etc) and the results showed that my alkalinity was really low. I went and purchased an alkalinity booster (which was just overpriced sodium bicarbonate) and I added around 600 grams to the pool. Unfortunately my crystal clear pool has gone cloudy - I think this may be the result of me adding the sodium bicarbonate too fast. The hth dipsticks are still showing my alkalinity is low and my pool is still cloudly 3 days later. Will the cloudiness dissappear over time?

Thanks again

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome to the forum!

We really need to see some more numbers of other parameters cullend. Is there any chance you can obtain a test kit to get a full set of results? Unfortunately, the dip sticks or test strips you are quoting are notoriously inaccurate.

 

[cullendw]

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for the welcome and the speedy reply!

I will purchase a test kit tonight and post the results (thanks for letting me know about the test strips, I will never use those again)

Regards
Daniel

 

[onBalance]

Adding sodium bicarbonate should not cloud the water. Make sure you didn't add sodium carbonate (soda ash).
And make sure you have a good chlorine level.

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, cullendw

I will purchase a test kit tonight and post the results (thanks for letting me know about the test strips, I will never use those again)

All test kits are not created equal. Take a look at this pool school article on appropriate test kits: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison Many of us have the tf-100 since it is the best value. It is rare for people to find any kit with the fas-dpd chlorine test locally (not to be confused with the dpd chlorine test).

 

[cullendw]

Adding sodium bicarbonate should not cloud the water. Make sure you didn't add sodium carbonate (soda ash).
And make sure you have a good chlorine level.

I would not put it past me to mix up the names, I will double check when I get home. I have not purchased the testing kit yet, but the strips show that I do have the correct free chlorine level (but I will hopefully get the full results up tonight)

Thanks again

 

[cullendw]

Welcome to tfp, cullendw

I will purchase a test kit tonight and post the results (thanks for letting me know about the test strips, I will never use those again)

All test kits are not created equal. Take a look at this pool school article on appropriate test kits: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison Many of us have the tf-100 since it is the best value. It is rare for people to find any kit with the fas-dpd chlorine test locally (not to be confused with the dpd chlorine test).

Thanks for the welcome and advice

Luckily I have not bought the testing kit yet (sick children took priority) but I will try today using the guide.

Thanks!

 

[cullendw]

Hi,

unfortunately, all I could find was hth 4 in 1 test kit. It turns out the results sort of matched the dip stick (not sure if that says anything though ). The pool seems to have cleared up a bit since my last post, but from the results posted below, it seems I really need to increase my TA. The product I added initially did contain sodium bicarb (please see attached pic) but this was recommended because I have a fibre glass pool - my next question is : do I continue to use this or should I use soda ash?

FC : 1.5
TA : 20 ppm
PH : 7

Thanks again

 

[linen]

That sure looks like sodium bicarbonate, but there description is very incorrect about "raises ph in fibreglass pools". Raising ph in a FG pool is the same as all other pools and< unless ph is very very low, Sodium Bicarbonate is not going to move it much.

600g of Sodium Bicarbonate is not going to move your TA much...only about 9 ppm. I would add enough Sodium Bicarbonate to get up to 60 ppm TA (use the PoolMath calculator near upper left of page and make sure you select "metric" for units), I get that you need about 2600g more to get to 60. Then recheck your ph and TA. At that point if you need to raise ph, use soda ash or borax. If you need to lower ph, use muriatic acid.

Your mentioned you have a 4 in 1 kit, is it drop based and what is the fourth measurement?

I just noticed you are in South Africa where it can be hard to get a good test kit. There is a thread going with a poster from Zimbabwe that is also having a hard time getting an appropriate test kit: http://www.troublefreepool.com/no-way-to-obtain-fas-dpd-test-t71335.html

 

[cullendw]

Hi,

Yes, it is a dropper test and the fourth measurement is Acid Demand if your ph is really high (it provides a lookup table to help you determine how much to use). As you mentioned, we are not spoiled for choice this side (I stay in Johannesburg).

I think what I did wrong initially is sprinkle the sodium carb around the pool, but I only started the pool pump a couple of hours later. Next time, I will add it to the Weir (obviously while the pump is running ). Thanks for pointing out the calculator, I would run through the calcs and add more sodium bicarb.

Thanks again for all the assistance!
Daniel

 

[linen]

We recommend adding Sodium Bicarbonate by:

Baking soda can be added by spreading it across the surface of the deep end of the pool.

When adding chemicals the pump should always be running. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/recommended_pool_chemicals

 

[cullendw]

thanks for that, will always make sure the pump is running!