Pool water just seems to lack luster.....

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G

gtnos

Well-known member
Jun 9, 2013
549
Newcastle, Oklahoma
or am I being picky?

it just has this hazy look to me... especially in the deep middle.

Test results this morning:

FC: 6.5 (goal is 4 -9) CYA is 55. Pool has never dropped below 6

TA: 80

pH: 7.5

perhaps I should do an OCLT tonight....


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Can we get a pic of the whole pool?

How's the filter pressure?
 
it was near 11 psi this morning, normally 10 so I did backwash since it was almost 1 psi over. A little dirt came out but not a whole lot. Pressure is 10 psi now.

see how the center is blurry.. that is not the camera focus, that is what im talking about. pool just isnt sparkling. when you look straight down in it, it is clear, but not as clear as I have seen it before. sun is straight overhead now, and normally it just sparkles like an oasis.

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My guess is your water is fine (especially if FC has never dropped below 6 as you stated). As asked above, have you noted your pressure (clean pressure vs. present)? It may be something as simple as your filter needing a backwash, or adding a bit of DE. But I think you're gong to pass the OCLT tonight, though it never hurts to do one.

EDIT: You answered my filter question while I was writing! :)
 
GreatCanadian said:
My guess is your water is fine (especially if FC has never dropped below 6 as you stated). As asked above, have you noted your pressure (clean pressure vs. present)? It may be something as simple as your filter needing a backwash, or adding a bit of DE. But I think you're gong to pass the OCLT tonight, though it never hurts to do one.

EDIT: You answered my filter question while I was writing! :)
Click to expand...

so what you are saying is my water is dirty. by dirty meaning, it needs more filtration not chemical treatment? maybe im not running pump enough. right now it comes on (low speed) from 8 to 2 every day and then 8-10 in the evening. i think ill suck wind on the electric bill today and let it run all day on high and see what happens. Ill keep tabs on that filter pressure too.
 
Yes, make sure to post back with the OCLT results. I'm guessing that you will pass as you stated that you've never dropped below 6 ppm with CYA level of 55. And it's a good idea to suck up the electrical bill today as you plan to do. That extra filtration combined with the OCLT should give a good start to establishing what is going on.
 
MBG75 said:
Do an OCLT and also when you test FC, Get a CC reading.

In my pool I judge clarity by sparkle and being able to clearly see the Phillips screw heads on my main drains
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sorry, forgot to post it. zero CC as tested this morning.

- - - Updated - - -

Butterfly said:
I also suggest an OCLT and do it tonight at SLAM level FC.

If anything is trying to get started, that will help nip it in the bud.
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yeah, we are not swimming today, so I went ahead and brought it up to SLAM level. Ill keep it there, and do an OCLT test tonight. Im gonna run pump non stop on high til tomorrow morning.

- - - Updated - - -

GreatCanadian said:
Yes, make sure to post back with the OCLT results. I'm guessing that you will pass as you stated that you've never dropped below 6 ppm with CYA level of 55. And it's a good idea to suck up the electrical bill today as you plan to do. That extra filtration combined with the OCLT should give a good start to establishing what is going on.
Click to expand...

will do. thanks.
 

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sigh............. im SLAMMING...... again..... :( after bringing it to shock level, the pool turned ugly, nasty dull brown down deep, and dead algae started forming on the floor. It consumed 4 ppm of FC in one hour. I have the Barracuda in it now, vaccuming it up, pump going full bore 24/7 and im holding shock level. Its already clearing up, will probably be back by morning.

guys, why is this pool kicking me in the neuters? i ran my old intex all last year on the TFPC method.... and I didnt have to SLAM one time, my pool water looked as clear as bottle of Aquafina...

why is this new one doing this? this is the second time I have had to SLAM this pool since I put it in a month ago now. What gives? I test and add my bleach daily. I use the pool calculator with TFP recommended goals. Last time I had the wrong goal (3-7) and it should have been 4-9. But this time, I shoot for 9 and it has NEVER went below 6. So how do I keep losing it? I just rechecked my CYA, it is 55 still. So its not that. I have new DPD powder and new titrate. I doubt its that. My bleach is fresh. I backwash the filter soon as it gets 1 psi above normal. I dont know what else to do.

I know this method works, as I did it last year with no issues. Something is wrong. Any ideas as to what?
 
You might want to stop doing this - - > "I backwash the filter soon as it gets 1 psi above normal."
If your filter is really clean it actually filters worse than a slightly dirty filter. You should wait till it gets 20-25% over it's "clean" pressure.
That and you're blowing a lot of extra treated water out of the pool you don't need to.

Any chance someone is dragging is some dirt/organic/... ??
 
Hi! I am sorry to hear of your problems. That has to be hard to deal with.

There have been some other threads dealing with this kind of thing. I wonder what they all have in common if anything!

I am doing some thinking about this and hope I come up with an idea.

Kim
 
kiss4afrog said:
You might want to stop doing this - - > "I backwash the filter soon as it gets 1 psi above normal."
If your filter is really clean it actually filters worse than a slightly dirty filter. You should wait till it gets 20-25% over it's "clean" pressure.
That and you're blowing a lot of extra treated water out of the pool you don't need to.

Any chance someone is dragging is some dirt/organic/... ??
Click to expand...


I thought the recommendation on here was to backwash when it gets 1 psi over normal? havent heard of backwashing too much until now.

as far as someone dragging in dirt..... well... yeah. i have toddlers. they are dirt/organic.... :p

pool is already back to crystal clear. whatever it was, its history. ill keep shock level up tonight, and do an OCLT. if I dont lose any FC overnight, then I should be good to go.

im gonna up my CYA input on the pool calc to 60 instead of 55 to give a bit of a buffer. my new goal will be 5-10 instead of 4-9. obviously im not chlorinating enough, for whatever reason. Id rather slightly over chlorinate than to keep having this issue.

im just glad both times my eyes caught it early. :D both times too, all tests were good. dang, this stuff can really sneak up on you.

Im gonna find that back door I seem to have for organics to invade my pool..... and im going to nail it shut. :mad:
 
Butterfly said:
Let us know what you find.
Click to expand...

theories are forming....

Since I know the method works.... and I know I have been testing and chlorinating like ive been "trained" ;), the only answer to my problem is im not chlorinating enough.

Theory #1 - Im off on my calculation of gallons for this pool (figured at 20k) which was hard to estimate as it is "custom dug" so its not like there is a spec sheet on the gallons. That could certainly cause underchlorination. I calculated it several times with pool calc and kept getting same results.

Theory #2 - I have gotten a hold of some bad DPD powder / titrate, throwing off my results. I have another new jar of powder, and some new titrate I can try... however, when I tested with the current DPD powder / titrate, and gotten say 6 ppm, I would add the 90 oz of bleach that pool calc says it would take to get it to 9. When I would test again an hour or so after adding bleach, it would be at 9, right where I expected it to be. This leads me to believe that the DPD powder and titrate is fine (plus its new).

Also, the fact that when I add what the pool calc says to add, and when I retest, I get to where the goal is, blows theory #1 out of the pool, so to speak, as if im wrong on gallonage, then how come pool calc and bleach addition measurements add up to the goal?

Theory #3 - im screwing up my test results somehow. Maybe not every day, but as we all know, all it takes is one bad day, and one screwed up test result, to get a cloudy pool. Im gonna re-read the advanced instructions in Pool School for testing again, just to make sure I didnt lose something the last time I slept.

Theory #4 - CYA level is not where I think it is, despite the fact that I have tested it multiple times, scrutinized it under different lighting conditions, all with the same end result. Im running out of theories though, which is why im going to up my CYA # on the pool calc from 55-60 which in turn bumps my FC target range from 4-9 to 5-10 just to make sure. With the CYA test being totally dependant on the eyes to see the dot, its possible im a bit higher than what I think im at. I cant fathom a descrepancy of 5ppm causing this issue though, but who knows.

Theory #5 - I dont know... ive had it with theories.... time to go :swim:
 

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