Cloudy water, no chlorine, what next?

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L

ltfdrebbin

0
Jun 28, 2014
60
Kent, Ohio
Pool Size
42000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi,
Since we got our pool, I've learned a ton from reading this forum. Thank you all!

I'm at a point now where it seems like my chemistry is getting out of hand, so I'd like to ask for some advice.

My pool is new, and it's only had water since Memorial day (about 8 weeks). It's 42,000 gallon, and a masonry pool. I use chlorine, not salt water. I have an ozonator, and we just started using that about a week ago.
I've got a TF100 test kit.

It seemed I had my chemical readings pretty well under control, but over the past 5 days, our water got really cloudy (can't see the bottom of the shallow end) and our chemistry seems to be out of whack.

TC- 0
FC- 0
PH- 7.2
TA- 150
CH- 170
CYA- close to 10? The lowest the cylinder goes is 20, and I could still see the black dot (although not clearly).

During the past week our water temp has gone from 80 to 87 degrees.

Where do I start?

Thanks,
Sam
 
Hi Sam! Welcome to TFP!!! :wave:

First off, congrats on the test kit!

Second, lets get some CYA in the pool. You need to shoot for 30ppm. You can pick it up at the pool store or wally world. Wally World is probably cheaper and it works great. Throw it in a sock and hang it over your return.

Third... how bout you stop using that ozone thinger and search the forums on that waste of money that will stain your pool and turn blonde and red hair green.

Lastly, it's time to SLAM your Pool. Check it out here :lookhere: SLAMing Your Pool.

I would also like you to read:

ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool
Chlorine CYA Chart

Any questions, just ask!
 
Your extremely low CYA level allowed your chlorine to burn off exceedingly fast. I would imagine you have organic growth in your pool and need to start the SLAM process. Are you familiar with the CYA/chlorine relationship?

EDIT: Casey beat me to it. So I second what Casey said!! :)
 
You are describing the beginnings of an algae bloom.


​


The short technical answer is, add enough stabilizer to get you to 30ish CYA and raise FC to 12 and keep adding to keep it at 12 FC until you've passed three tests. We call it the Shock Level And Maintain process.

The problem is most likely that the CYA level was too low and all your bleach disappeared within hours and allowed the algae to get started. And every day when you add more, it just eats it up and laughs at you, because it's growing faster than you can kill it. Time to turn the tables and kill it faster than it can reproduce. The faster you get ahead of it, the faster your pool will be clear. Nip it in the bud. Don't wait for it to go green.
 
Thanks for all the help, and so quickly, too.

I'll get started by reading and then SLAMming my pool. Would it help, or hurt if I try to use my Vacuum scrubber (Kreepy Krauley thingy)?
 
Welcome to the forum :wave:

Recommended that you sweep and or vac daily during the SLAM. The more you brush and stir it up :stirpot: the better the circulation and the more chance the filter has of taking the small stuff out.

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Thanks for all the help.
I'm reading through all the links (and waiting for the wife to get home so I can make another chemical related trip to Wal Mart), and I've come up with a few questions.

1. I see I need to brush or vacuum the pool daily during the SLAM process. Can I use the Barracuda pool vacuum, or will the increased level of chlorine harm it?
2. In reading the ABC's of pool water chemistry, it says pools that get a lot of direct sunlight should have a CYA of 70-80. We get about 12 hours of direct sun daily. Should I go with the 30 that you suggested, or go with a higher level?
3. I see I should run the pump continuously. What speed should I be running my pump at? I have been running it at 2350 RPM for 18 hours daily.

Thanks again!
 
Late night study session for me keeps popping up more questions. Please be patient.

1. If I have 6 returns, should I hang 6 socks? Personally, I'm excited about hanging all my socks around our new pool :D
2. Do I need to get CYA to my desired number and stabilized before starting with the bleach, or do both at the same time?
3. Should I turn off the chlorine feeder while SLAMming the pool, or will it help me?

Thanks again!
Sam
 

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ltfdrebbin said:
Late night study session for me keeps popping up more questions. Please be patient.

1. If I have 6 returns, should I hang 6 socks? Personally, I'm excited about hanging all my socks around our new pool :D
2. Do I need to get CYA to my desired number and stabilized before starting with the bleach, or do both at the same time?
3. Should I turn off the chlorine feeder while SLAMming the pool, or will it help me?

Thanks again!
Sam
Click to expand...
1) You may do whatever you want.
2) No. Assume the CYA is there and dose accordingly. If you wait, it'll just get worse.
3) That feeder is adding CYA as well, so take it into account. Figure you're sitting at ten at least when calculating the CYA dose. And when whatever's in there dissolves, stop using it. Otherwise your CYA level will just keep climbing and climbing and your shock level may end up at 45 or something. You will definitely need to shut it off when you do the overnight loss test.
 
Hello...Welcome..I am new here also and let the experts give the advise...that being said I can offer this encouragement .
the folks at TFP got me from this to this...oh....we like photos...it really helps...D
slam1_zpsc0ae89d0.jpg
slamdone1_zps41c5176b.jpg
 
Richard320 said:
1) You may do whatever you want.
2) No. Assume the CYA is there and dose accordingly. If you wait, it'll just get worse.
3) That feeder is adding CYA as well, so take it into account. Figure you're sitting at ten at least when calculating the CYA dose. And when whatever's in there dissolves, stop using it. Otherwise your CYA level will just keep climbing and climbing and your shock level may end up at 45 or something. You will definitely need to shut it off when you do the overnight loss test.
Click to expand...

+1 What he said.

The other thing about CYA is that it doesn't get into the water right away. If have been adding within a day or two some times it doesn't show up for up to a week. If you're not careful it's real easy to overshoot and end up with too much.
Cut and paste from pool school: Solid stabilizer can take up to a week to fully register on the test, so don't retest your CYA level for a week after adding some. Solid stabilizer is best added by placing it in a sock in the skimmer basket. The pump should be run for 24 hours after adding solid stabilizer and you should avoid backwashing/cleaning the filter for a week.
 
ltfdrebbin said:
1. I see I need to brush or vacuum the pool daily during the SLAM process. Can I use the Barracuda pool vacuum, or will the increased level of chlorine harm it?
Click to expand...

You can use the Barracuda but I'd still recommend brushing. It helps the water circulate, it stirs up the water so the filter has a better chance to catch stuff and it keeps stuff from sitting on the surface and growing. Not sure how good your Barracuda is at cleaning but usually the brushing does a better job as you can be a bit more aggressive with it. Do both if you can.
 
Thanks for the info on the Barracuda, Kiss4afrog.

Here is an update. I'm adding 9 pounds of stabilizer through the socks. I notice it is dissolving pretty quickly.
I put 6 gallons of 7.86% bleach in this morning. 3 hours later, I did a FAS-DPD 3 hours later and my FC was 2.5, and my CC was 0. I'm thinking I need to add a good amount more bleach, and unless I hear otherwise soon, I plan to add another 6 gallons.

The water is still greenish (my plaster is blue), so cloudy I can't see my second step, and half of the pool is covered in a brown foam. It's hot and muggy and my kids are looking for me to hire a new pool man.

Thanks for all the help, everyone.
Sam
 
Are you using pool math for the additions ?? What you aren't posting is where you were and where 6 gallons took you. Did you post what you are aiming for with the addition of 9 lbs of CYA, what level you think you'll hit and the related SLAM level of FC you need to MAINTAIN ?? Not bring back up to but try as best you can to maintain it. I know you know but we don't.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock

Yes six more gallons would be reasonable if you're looking for a FC of 12-16 with CYA 40 ??
 
kiss4afrog said:
Are you using pool math for the additions ?? What you aren't posting is where you were and where 6 gallons took you. Did you post what you are aiming for with the addition of 9 lbs of CYA, what level you think you'll hit and the related SLAM level of FC you need to MAINTAIN ?? Not bring back up to but try as best you can to maintain it. I know you know but we don't.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock

Yes six more gallons would be reasonable if you're looking for a FC of 12-16 with CYA 40 ??
Click to expand...

Up at the top of this thread, my TC was 0, my FC was 0, and my CYA was close to 10. Casey recommended I take the CYA to 30, and I used pool calculator to determine how much stabilizer I'd need. I went a little higher due to the fact that I get 12 hours of direct sunlight. 9 pounds of powder mixed with my 42,000 gallons is supposed to take my CYA to 35. I also used Pool Calculator to tell me to take the FC from 0 to 12 that I would need 6 gallons. I added that, and then did the test I posted an hour ago, which said my FC had gone from 0 to 2.5, but was still not at the 12 I needed.

Hopefully you are up to speed now, but let me know if you need more info. Obviously I don't know what I'm doing. If I did, the pool would not be green, with brown foam on top!:eek:

Sam
 

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