Cloudy, milky water will not clear.

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K

ksninew

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LifeTime Supporter
Aug 2, 2008
31
Woodstock, IL
Hi,

I'm new to the forum and this is our first summer with a pool.

I have been struggling all summer trying to get the water clear. It has ranged from really cloudy (milky) to almost clear, like it is now. I have been using pool store chemicals and test strips to try and figure it out, but haven't been able to get a handle on it. After reading this forum for the past few days, I see I needed a good test kit, as I want to start using the BBB method now. I have shocked the pool several time and have always kept the FC in the 3 to 7ppm range.

This is the result of my first test with the TF-100:
FC 6
CC 1.0
TC 7
PH 7.6
TA 190
CH 350
CYA 40
Temp 80

I see that my TA and CC is high, but I'm not sure what to do first?
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

Take care of the CC first by shocking!

If you pH stays reasonably stable, then I wouldn't worry to much about the TA unless the ph starts to creep up on ya. If it does, you can bring it down with Muratic Acid.

Welcome to TFP!
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

Hi ksninew

Welcome to the forum! :wave:

First, congratulations on reading TFP and purchasing your TF 100 Test kit!

I agree with Casey, you need to shock your pool. You can find an article on "Shocking Your Pool" in Pool School. You will learn that when you shock your pool, it is a process and not an event. The process is complete when you meet these three criteria :

A. You hold FC loss to 1.0 or less overnite
B. Your CC's test .5 or less
C. Your water is sparkling

Use Jason's Pool calculator to find the correct doses for your pool, link in my sig, in Pool School and on the home page.

Post back here with your progress and any questions you may have. We are glad to have you. :-D
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

You should be shocking your pool to 16 ppm every night until the following criteria is met

1) You have a FC loss of less than 1 ppm during night time hours after shocking the pool
2) You have NO CC during water testing
3) Your pool is sparkling clear

So you need to get some bleach and lots of it !

Ideally you TA should be between 90- 110. We can get that lowered after your pool is cleared up.

There is some great reading in our pool school section (see link in my signature) about clearing up a green pool.

If you can, please post some pictures so we can watch your pool clear up ...

Good Luck !
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

Thanks for the great replies.

I started shocking the pool at 10pm last night and have been keeping the FC at 16ppm. It's been about 18 hours and the CC has dropped to .5 and the pool looks a little better.

I will keep up the shock until the CC is 0 and the pool is completely clear.
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

Its also very important that you start a daily regiment of brushing your pool a few times every day to keep the algae stirred up as it dies so it can be filtered.Also I would suggest back washing your filter every other day.

Your biggest freind now is going to be POP !! better know as pool owners patience. Getting your pool to clear up wont be an overnight thing !

Post pics if your able to
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

Here are a couple pictures I just took after 20 hours of shocking.

[attachment=0:342p0d3j]pool 005.jpg[/attachment:342p0d3j]

[attachment=1:342p0d3j]pool 002.jpg[/attachment:342p0d3j]

If you can tell it's still milky looking.
 

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Re: Not sure where to start?

Well it's been 5 days and I'm still shocking the pool and working VERY hard on my "POP". There has been no improvement, the pool is still as cloudy and the pictures. I've been adding chlorine several times a day to keep it at 16ppm.

The numbers haven't change the past 2 days:

FC 16
CC 0.0
TC 16
PH 7.6
TA 190
CH 350
CYA 40

It is taking less chlorine to keep the level at 16ppm but the chlorine loss is 2ppm overnite.
I'm wondering if I'm still on the right track or I just need to keep working on my "POP"?
 

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Re: Not sure where to start?

I agree with FPM , your on the right track. Right now POP is your best friend !! As youve noticed yourself its taking less and less chlorine to keep you pool at shock level. That means there is less and less algae in the water that the chlorine is consuming.

I know its frustrating ... but be patient!! :wink:
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

I would try bringing the PH down to 7.2 and see if that improves anything. Your CSI is a bit high, though not yet dangerously so. It is possible you have calcium clouding. Lowering the PH should take care of it if that is the problem. Longer term you probably should bring down your TA because of your fairly high CH level.

Another place to look is the filter. Have you been backwashing/cleaning the filter? Does it appear to be working correctly?
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

Ok, I'll start working on the PH and TA levels. If I replaced some of the water with soft water would that help bring down the CA?

I'm not sure how to check to see how well the filter is working? This is a new pool so the filter has only been used for a few months. It takes 2 or 3 days for the pressure to go up about 4 or 5 psi at the filter, so I backwash and rinse every couple days and after I vacuum. I did have some questions at the beginning of the season because the pool would get cloudy after I would vacuum, but the pool contractor told me that was normal and that the filter was working properly.

Thanks for all the help and encouragement.
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

Replacing water will lower most of your levels. Some fill water is high in TA and/or CH. You might want to test your replacement water to be sure. If you have a water softener then the CH level will be low.

From your description the filter is probably working well. Careful vacuuming won't make the pool cloudy, but it is easy enough to stir things up when vacuuming and turn the pool cloudy. It is unusual for a large filter like that to need backwashing that frequently, which does suggest that your problem is algae.
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

Day 14 progress report:

I've been shocking the pool for 14 days. I've also been adding muriatic acid and doing some aeration to start bring down the TA level. I've also replaced some pool water with softened water to help bring down the CA.

The test results today are:

FC 16
CC 0.0
TC 16
PH 7.4
TA 160
CH 270
CYA 40

I'm still loosing 2ppm FC overnight and after 2 weeks of giving it the "shock treatment" it has clear only a little. If you can see by the picture it's still pretty cloudy.

Any way to speed this up?
 

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Re: Not sure where to start?

The filter has been running 24/7 all summer. I've been adding chlorine twice a day, first thing in the morning and than early evening. I've been testing the water and using the Pool Calculator and adding enough chlorine to raise the FC to around 17 or 18 ppm.
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

Bob, sounds like you have done everything correctly and enough time has passed that your water SHOULD be sparkly!

You said your pool is new and you have been working all summer to get it clear. So, it has never been clear?

Perhaps this is a filter issue. Maybe it's time to call back the pool contractor? just my .02
 
Re: Not sure where to start?

Butterfly said:
Bob, sounds like you have done everything correctly and enough time has passed that your water SHOULD be sparkly!

You said your pool is new and you have been working all summer to get it clear. So, it has never been clear?

Perhaps this is a filter issue. Maybe it's time to call back the pool contractor? just my .02
Click to expand...

Well to make a short answer long, it hasn't been clear this year but, last year when the pool was opened in mid September it was super clear. I remember being just amazed how beautiful it looked after being filled with my crappy well water. The pool was only open for about a month last year but it behaved very well. It used very little chlorine and I would vacuum it by hand every few days and it was always crystal clear. I remember thinking to myself that is going to be super easy. Then about a week before the pool contractor closed the pool I noticed that sand had started to come out the discharge pipe when I would backwash. I asked why it would start to do that after it hadn't done that for a month and was told it was ok and probably just over filled with sand.

So, I've been struggling with it all this summer. Sand stopped coming out of the filter discharge after about 3 buckets full of sand came out. Every time I vacuum the pool it gets cloudy. When I asked the pool contractor about it again I was told the filter was working ok and to vacuum the pool to waste, so I did and lost about a foot of water, after refilling the pool it was still dirty. I've put "Tons" of chlorine in it this year. Following advise I've gotten to shock with 6 gallons of pool shock, than 12 gallons and than 18 gallons and at the same time using about 75 lbs of powder chlorine and keeping the autofeeder full of 3" tablets. Then I tried the Nature2 but can't tell if it helped.

After doing all that I'm so thankful for this forum and that I don't have to go back to the pool store for more advise :-D Now I feel I'm close to the end of the learning curve.

What can I do to figure out if my filter is work properly?
 

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