Cloudy blue pool

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poolhelp

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Jun 4, 2007
33
New Jersey
Hi,
The pool was not opened last year, when we opened this year, the pool was dark. we vacuumed and shocked alot. now it is cloudy blue with a white foam on top of it in some areas.
I believe the pool volume 33,000
We had a lot of rain over the weekend, here's my numbers:
FAC - 0
TAC - 0
PH - 7.2
TA - 40
Calcium Hardness - 100

Please help, what should I do first. with only 1 return line, I don't get much circulation for the pool. I know we have a lot of leaf on the bottom still since we've been vacuuming blindly. Can you recommend in what order to increase the levels.
Thanks

edit - moved by divnkd101 to "Pool School"
 
first you need to get your chlorine up. Without a CYA value, it is hard to tell you exactly how much you need! But you can start with 2 gallons of ultra bleach (6%) to get you to 3.6 ppm.

Vacuuming blind is better than not vacuuming at all!

Post a CYA value (go to the pool store if you can't test for it) so we can better assist you.
Also post some stats for your pool (size, plaster/vinyl, filter type, etc) to get more personalized info.

Also, run your pump 24/7 to clear the dead stuff (probable source of the cloudiness) out of your pool, and backwash as necessary.

Welcome to TFP!!
 
Your PH, ALK, and CH are all acceptable for now. Later you will want to adjust them. For now you want to bring the free chlorine (usually called FC) level up to shock levels and hold it there for several days. Even without any CYA you can bring the FC level up to 10. If you actually have some CYA you will want to bring it higher than that.

Until you know your CYA level I would suggest testing your FC and bringing it back up to 10 every evening. Once you have a CYA level of at least 20 it is better to do that a couple of times a day. You will also want to vacum and skim as much gunk out of there as you can, even if you need to work blind. While that is happening, run the pump 24/7 and backwash/clean the filter as needed (when the pressure goes up 10) and at least every few days.

You will want to bring your CYA level up to 30 if it isn't there already. If it is zero, as I suspect it will be, you will want to add CYA. The best way to do that with a level of zero might be to switch to shocking with dichlor, which will add chlorine and CYA at the same time. You can also put CYA (also called stabalizer) it in a sock and hanging it over the return, or in the skimmer. Keep in mind that CYA in a sock can take up to a week to disolve.

Good Luck!
 
Thanks for the response. I've gotten my pool to weere it is today because of this BBB.
I have a 20x40 inground pool with vinyl lining-33K gallon of water-sand,Hayward filter(it was too dark to see the size. These are the numbers from my local pool store after I placed 2 gallons of liquid shock and placed chlorine tablets in the skimmer basket.
cl - 4
PH - 7.2
TA - 70
Calcium Hardness - 100
CYA - 30
TDS - 2,000

Thanks

I just broadcast 5 pounds of baking soda to increase the TA

I have pump running 24/7, vacuuming and backwashing everyday

Right now I can't see the bottom of the pool, the pool is cloudy blue with a soap residue on top
 
I really think that you need to shock your pool. Bring your chlorine level up to 15 and hold it there unitl the chlorine level holds overnight for a couple of days. Other than that you seem to be on the right track. Remember that it can take a week or more for the filter to clear everything out of the water. Shock the pool to kill anything that might be growing and break down any complex organics and then give the filter time to do it's job.
 
In a 33,000 gallon pool, each gallon of 6% bleach will raise your FC ppm by 1.82. Measure your FC, subtract that from 15, and then divide by 1.82 to get the number of gallons. If your FC is 4 you would add, 15-4 = 11, 11/1.82 = 6 gallons of bleach, if your FC is 0 you would add 15-0 = 15, 15/1.82 = 8 1/4 gallons of bleach.
 
poolhelp, If your CYA is truly 30 ppm, you can pull the tric-chlor pucks from the skimmer. Those will continue to add CYA and you don't really need anymore, at least for now. At 30 ppm you're getting the bulk of the protection from sunlight that you're going to get. Those pucks will also complicate calculating, albeit to the good side, how much chlorine you need to add to keep your water at shock level.
 
I need help... no improvement with my pool color.
I shocked two times Yesterday. at 2pm I gave it 3 gallons of 12.5 pool store shock and at 9pm another 3 gallon. My pool is not holding on to the chlorine and my ph went down.
Here's my reading tonight
fac - 2
tac - 2
ph -7.0
ta - 80
ch - 230
cya - 30
copper/iron - 0

I didn't shock tonight since I needed to increase my ph back to 7.2. I broadcasts ph increase. pump is running 24/7. What I'm I doing wrong. My water is cloudy blue. I purchased a leaf vac and removed alot of leaf today. how do I keep the chlorine in the pool? Should I put the blue clarifier stuff? thanks for all of your help.
 

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Be patient and keep at it, you are doing just fine. Bring the chlorine level back to 15 as frequently as you can until the FC level holds overnight. The more frequently you can test the FC level and bring it back to 15 the faster the whole process will go. There is probably a lot of organic material in there and it may take a fair bit of bleach to get the job done.
 
Sure, but do seven the first time if you can and then adjust the second addition based on what the FC test shows then. Six gallons won't quite get you from 2 to 15. Before the next addition you should measure the FC again and see where you are at.

You want to backwash when the pressure gague on the filter gets to 10 psi above where it starts right after a backwash. As long as the pool is in bad shape you should probably backwash at least every other day, even if the pressure hasn't gone up. You normally set the valve to waste if you want to vacum up significant debris from the bottom of the pool. There is no point in filling the filter up with crud. If you do that you need to keep an eye on the water level.
 
Thank you Jasonlion. I have a hth 6 way kit from walmart. How do I get the cl to 15, it ends at 5. I read in one of the threads to dilute it with distilled water. can you please explain how to do it. Thanks again for all the support.
 
To test chlorine up to 15 with an OTO test, which is what is in the HTH kit sold at WalMart, you dilute one part of pool water with two parts of distiled water, and then multiply the result by three. Be sure you use distilled water. A shot glass works well for measuring and then you mix it up and then you pour it into the chlorine test block. I highly recommend getting a better test kit.

Having only a single skimmer and return can limit the circulation in a pool that large. You want to make sure that the return is aimed correctly. There should be a fitting on the return called an eye ball that allows you to aim the direction the return points. You want to point it either left or right, preferably towards the deep end, and just a bit lower than horizontal. When the water is clear it is easy to fiddle with it and get it just right. For now, as long as it is more or less horizontal it should be fine.

There are some attachments for the return that allow it to move around, spraying water everywhere. I find that in most pools getting a good circular rotation going is just as good, if not better than that. In some irregularly shaped pools it is difficult to get a circular current going and the changing direction attachment works better.
 
good information. We have been putting the filter on recycle for 24/7 not filter; Should it be running on filter instead? It has been running on recycle for the past 2 weeks on recyle(totally newbies). Also, I was not vacuuming to waste. I normally vacuum on backwash. Is that why I'm still at cloudy and my cl has been dropping? the leaf suction I purchased yesterday picked up alot of leaves from the bottom. Is that because I've been vacuuming incorrectly? Thanks again.
 
poolhelp,
You should run the filter in "filter" mode to filter the water. Baskwash will reverse the water flow inside the filter, to remove trapped particles from the filter media, through the backwash hose and out of the system. Valve in "waste" position will direct water to bypass the filter media, out the backwash hose, and out of the system. Rcirculate (or recycle as you put it) will direct water flow to bypass the filter media, and back into the pool. Normally you should vacuum to waste.

[EDIT]: I meant normally vacuum to waste if you have a lot of debris. Otherwise vacuum to filter.
 
Thank you for the information. Last night I ran the filter on filter. The pool is still not holding on to the chlorine. Yesterday morning I placed 7 gallons of 6% ultra chlorine in the pool, last night when I test my fc was only at 3. Is it possible my pool water is more than Leslie's Pool estimated at 33,000 gallon. I have a 20x40 Buster Crab rectangle inground pool with a diving board (I would think since I have a diving board that the deep end must be at least 9 - 10 feet). Anyway, I placed another 7 gallons of 6% ultra chlorine last night and another 7 gallons this morning. Will test tonight to see if the chlorine is holding up. I'm running filter 24/7.
 
You want to test the chlorine level in the morning. Sunlight will wipe out a good portion of the chlorine during the day. When the chlorine level holds overnight you are done.

33,000 gallons sounds like a very reasonable estimate. If you have a chance to measure the depth at both ends you could get a more accurate number, but it will most likely be something around there. The exact number of gallons doesn't really matter. You will get a better sense of how much of each chemical to add over time. Aim for the correct level as measured by the test kit. Amounts of each chemical to add based on volume are just guidelines, the real goal is to get the test number to turn out right.

Do you have a test kit that can measure CYA? When the water clears you are going to need to know your CYA level. Trouble Free Test Kits has a great kit, and the Taylor K-2006 is also good.

Be patient, this may take a while. It sounds like you have been making great progress so far.
 

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