Not sure what to do next... defeated algae, but still cloudy

[ovranalyzr]

Hi everyone!

I have to broadcast this to the experts. I am not sure what this means. I have been maintaining shock level for about two weeks now and am no longer losing FC at night, but my water is still cloudy. I backwash when needed as well and all my numbers are where they should be. I can post a new set tonight as it has been a few days since I tested everything.

I decided to vacuum my pool the other night and about half way through the process, I noticed I had cloudy water coming out of the returns. I changed the filter over to waste and completed vacuuming. I have noticed before that my pressure gauge only reads about 12 -14 psi. I am not sure if there is a standard, but I was wondering if all this may mean my sand needs to be replaced. The current filter is a Hayward 300 lb sand unit.

My wife and I have only had the house and pool for about two years now. We are not sure if/when the previous owner may have ever changed the sand out. Anyone have any ideas on this one?

Thanks as always

 

[JasonLion]

It can take up to a week for the filter to clear up the water after the algae is all dead. Assuming it has been longer than that since your were able to hold a FC level overnight, then there is probably some issue with the filter. It is possible that the sand has become channelized. When you backwash the filter, does dirty water come out for the first while and then clear up?

Filter pressures are different for every pool. Unless you know what the pressure used to be there isn't really anything to compare to.

 

[ovranalyzr]

I get a little bit of dirty water when I backwash, but not really the amount I would expect. I am still running the pump 24/7 so I will give it a little while longer just to make sure.

Does anyone know if changing the sand is a very difficult task? Thanks again for the assistance.

 

[branchop]

At least for me - getting the pool to blue cloudy is easy - gettting it clear from there is not. It takes time, and I have found it takes less time if you keep the level to shock until it clears.

The first time it took nearly two weeks to clear - but I started with sludge.

We had really bad storms last Tuesday that turned our pool a slight hint of green and really cloudy. The green went away in a day in a half. The pool cleared up yesterday. I kept it at shock level the entire time.

 

[hlemon]

We changed out our own sand when we decided to go with chlorine instead of Baq after a they reinstalled our liner.

If WE can figure it out, it's not that bad of a project! :lol:

It is just time consuming and STINKY! But we only had to take the pipes above the filter apart, take off the top, hand scoop out some sand until my husband could lift it, and then dumped the rest in a wheelbarrow and toted it off. Then it's just a matter of washing that thing out with a water hose and refilling with new sand. Not a hard project at all. jmho

 

[ovranalyzr]

That sounds easy enough. I may give it a week or two more and see if it clears itself up. If not, I may give it a try. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[ovranalyzr]

OK... I have to fess up. I made the comment that all my numbers were right and I thought they were. They were not. I tested again and my TA was 140 which is really high. I read that high TA can cause cloudiness. I have since added muratic acid and my number last night was down to 110 and I can partially see the bottom of the shallow end now. Progress!!!!