New to the site also new pool owner(cloudy water)

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Chaunce6

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Jul 12, 2008
8
I have a intex 14x42 above grnd pool (3700 gallons),the water has been cloudy for days,i've tried the BBB method with no improvement. I purchased from the Leslie pool store some chlorine bright and Ph lowering chemicals called dry acid I believe.
I had the water tested at Leslie' and was informed that the ph was too highand that I needed to add 7 ounces of the dry acid,I also purchased a test kit. My numbers after adding 1/2 a bag of chlorine bright for shock purposes and 7 ounces of dry acid to lower the ph are as follows please help me bring back that cyrstal clear apperance to my pool
ph 7.8
fc 5
ta 120
stabilzer 0
 
HI and welcome. It's the old Intex issue..... :evil:

Here's a very detailed thread about a nice gal on here who has been going thru these same issues as you for about 3 weeks, now and her persistance and POP finally paid off. If you have already read the articles in Pool School, which are a must, this article below is also very informative, especially as it relates to Intex pools....

trying-to-figure-this-all-out-overwhelmed-t7385.html
 
Even if you kill all the algae, it can take quite a while for an Intex filter to clear the water, and that is assuming you clean the filter regularly and it is working, which not all of them do. Still, with a little luck and some persistence the water will clear up.

Do you have your own test kit? There is no better investment in your pool than a top quality test kit! I recommend a kit from TF Test Kits, see the link in my signature. The Taylor K-2006 is also good.

Chlor Brite contains dichlor, which will work well right now, but isn't a good long term choice. Dichlor adds chlorine, and stabilizer (CYA), and lowers PH, all of which you want right now. But long term, if you continue using it, it will raise your CYA level too high.

Do some reading in Pool School and soon you will be taking care of your pool like a pro.
 
JasonLion said:
Even if you kill all the algae, it can take quite a while for an Intex filter to clear the water, and that is assuming you clean the filter regularly and it is working, which not all of them do. Still, with a little luck and some persistence the water will clear up.

Do you have your own test kit? There is no better investment in your pool than a top quality test kit! I recommend a kit from TF Test Kits, see the link in my signature. The Taylor K-2006 is also good.

Chlor Brite contains dichlor, which will work well right now, but isn't a good long term choice. Dichlor adds chlorine, and stabilizer (CYA), and lowers PH, all of which you want right now. But long term, if you continue using it, it will raise your CYA level too high.

Do some reading in Pool School and soon you will be taking care of your pool like a pro.
Click to expand...
I thank you guys for your help. I just came home and tested the pool water wit a AquaCheck test kit from Leslies and the reading is as follows:
ph 7.8
fc 0.5
ta 12
stablzr 100

This was done at 10:15pm, there was also heavy usage today while I was at work. I remember reading somewhere on pool school that it may take some empting of the pool. Is there any other options left for me to take to avoid this if my levels are too far out of whack?
 
My mistake the ta was 120 @ 6:45
The test strips are giving me a small problem,I say that because I tested the water and did not get a proper reading and had to use another strip to get a better reading,the colors were all off.
I have read about reliable testers and plan on getting one very soon,but until then what can be done to gey my numbers on track with the test kit that I have.
 
Chaunce6 said:
The cya is 120.
Click to expand...

Sorry, probably not what you want to hear, but you need to drain your pool to get your cya down to 30-50. Your chlorine is too low according to the CYA chart and you will fight a losing a battle with cloudy water and algae until you lower the CYA. See the chart in my signature for the relationship between the two, you'll see at your level it will take way too much chlorine to be worth it. For a small pool such as yours, it's much easier to just drain part of the water and refill with fresh. Only use bleach to sanitize, no more dichlor or trichlor or adding stabilizer products, anything over 80ppm is just too high. Honestly, intex filters are barely adequate for a properly balanced pool, and recovering from problems such as you are describing they come up short, so your better of draining some of the water. At least half.
 

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Test strips are not very reliable, particularly when it comes to measuring stabilizer (CYA). I wouldn't replace water on the basis of test strip test results. Get a real test kit or go to a pool store to double check the CYA level.
 
JasonLion said:
Test strips are not very reliable, particularly when it comes to measuring stabilizer (CYA). I wouldn't replace water on the basis of test strip test results. Get a real test kit or go to a pool store to double check the CYA level.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry I misread, I thought this was a dropper test he bought at Leslies I didn't realize these were strips..... dirty water can also cause CYA tests to be false-high too....
 
Well I had my water tested today at Leslie's and from what I was told all my levels are fine except the chlorine levels,should I add the chlorine bright. Also the store attendant explained to me with a pool as small as the one I have it will be hard to maintain the clearness that i desire.
fac .5
tac .5
ph 7.6
ta 120
ch 200
tds 600
phosphates 0

The only problem is they were unable tpo test the cya because the chemical for the test had not come in as of yet. The pool seems a little clearer,but not that crystal clear i'm looking for.
Any suggestions?
 
First of all - that is bull hockey that your pool is too small to be clear.

Second of all - without a CYA test it really is hard to know what your chlorine level should be. There are a couple of options:

1) Buy a really good test kit - there are several suggested on this site. Duraleigh sells one called the TF kit

2) Go to Walmart and spend $20 on the blue box kit. It is not great and won't help with elevated levels of chlorine, but it will test CYA - it is called the 6 way test kit. It should tell you on the cover that CYA is one of the tests.

3) Go to another pool store for the CYA testing

In the meantime, I would keep the FC in the 3 -7 ppm range. This is a good middle range to start with. Once you know you CYA, you will know exactly where to keep your FC level.
 
Water clarity depends mostly on proper chlorine levels and the quality of your filter. Some above ground pools come with undersized/inadequate filters. If you have a good filter it doesn't matter how small your pool is. However, small pools are often the ones that come with inadequate filters.
 
Thanks you guy's, the water has cleared up very well, it's starting to look just like it did when I first set the pool up. Now I will start to staying on top of it as sugessted in the Poll School post that I read. I also have been cleaning the filter more often which seems to have been a small part of the problem. I'm still getting small amounts of algae on the bottom,not as much compared to the real ugly stuff I was seeing before. I know I still have to have my cya level checked. I was glad to see my clorine levels held up longer than ever this time...Thanks again for all your help with my cloudy problem. I will definetly be getting a real test kit,probably from Leslie's since theres one up the road from me.
 
Chaunce6 said:
Thanks you guy's, the water has cleared up very well, it's starting to look just like it did when I first set the pool up. Now I will start to staying on top of it as sugessted in the Poll School post that I read. I also have been cleaning the filter more often which seems to have been a small part of the problem. I'm still getting small amounts of algae on the bottom,not as much compared to the real ugly stuff I was seeing before. I know I still have to have my cya level checked. I was glad to see my clorine levels held up longer than ever this time...Thanks again for all your help with my cloudy problem. I will definetly be getting a real test kit,probably from Leslie's since theres one up the road from me.
Click to expand...

The pool stores usually don't sell the kits that have the FAS-DPD test in them. You should have the Taylor K2006 at the very least, but you would get more for your money with the TF-100. More reagents; more tests with one kit, less money....I have yet to see as complete a kit in any pool store.
 
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