Cloudy Pool in Sunny Henderson - any help?

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cheri

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May 26, 2015
34
Henderson
I have a 4,800 gallon above ground pool (53" x 9' x 18'). Right now I only have the simple test kit. I ordered the more elaborate kit and I'm hoping the six-part test will be here by Thursday (two days from now). Anyway, the chlorine (about 4) and ph (7.6) look fine. But the water is still very cloudy. I can't see beyond about 1.5 feet into the depth of the pool.

The filter is just from last year, is a 1 hp and sand filter. It's pulling in plenty of water and has good strength.

I had the water tested a few days ago at Leslie's pool and they showed

CH: 400
CYA - 40
TA - 110
TAC - 5
FAC - 5


I'd just "SLAMMED" the pool because when the whole process started the pool was pretty green. So, the chlorine was high at the time. But now it is totally within range. That CH seems high to me. Should I add water to dilute?

I have some chemical that says "Conditioner." When I look at the details it says 35% monosodium cyanurnate monochrydate. Am I supposed to use something else. Is that 40 CYA reading within reason or do I need to add?

I have an auto pool vacuum that's been spinning around the bottom doing its thing a couple hours every day. But without being able to see more than a few feet deep, it's hard to say what it looks like at the bottom.

This is my second year with the pool but last year it was only up for a few months and I never had any problems with clarity or color. I let it just sit over winter with a pool cover on. It was pretty green and had some bug babies in it that grossed me out a bit. Took in a sample to Leslie's and they said it didn't have any algae or anything and suggested I just fill it up with water and bring it in again to retest. All I've put in since then is a little bit of conditioner, muriatic acid, and bleach.

I could wait until Thursday when I hope to get the bigger kit. But if anyone has advice about what to do before that, I'd appreciate it.
 
Welcome to TFP!

I would suggest that you add nothing until you receive your test kit. Do NOT trust the pool store results. If your CYA IS 40 that is in a good range. But like I said don't trust the pool store results.
 
Welcome to TFP! Test strips and pool store test results aren't close enough to be worth doing.

Get one of the Recommended Test Kits, I use the TF100 from tftestkits.net.

When you get it give us some test results and we'll see if you need to SLAM Your Pool.

Here are some of my fave Pool School articles in case you missed any of them.
TFPC for Beginners
ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry

Here are the Recommended Levels for your pool.
Here is the Water Balance for a saltwater pool.
Here are the Recommended Pool Chemicals and how to add them.
Use PoolMath to figure out how much to add.
 
I bought the six-way tester kit from Taylor. I though that was enough. We'll see. It doesn't arrive until Friday and I was crossing my fingers there was something I could do. I have the simple two part test and I could go to Leslie's until Friday. I just don't want to see it get worse.
 
If I just buy that kit you mentioned (FAS-DPD Chlorine Test) along with the Taylor 6 way test, is that then enough? I will buy it if this will complete my test. But if I need to buy the $50 kits listed elsewhere on this site, I'd like to know if I should just bite the bullet and buy one of those or if I should buy this test you mentioned instead.

In other words, will this allow me to avoid buying this: TFTestkits TF-502
 
If I just buy that kit you mentioned (FAS-DPD Chlorine Test) along with the Taylor 6 way test, is that then enough? I will buy it if this will complete my test. But if I need to buy the $50 kits listed elsewhere on this site, I'd like to know if I should just bite the bullet and buy one of those or if I should buy this test you mentioned instead.

In other words, will this allow me to avoid buying this: TFTestkits TF-502
 

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That is missing the CH test which does not matter much to you. The CYA test, which is important as it determines the required FC level. And has the DPD chlorine test which is the worst of the 3 drop based chlorine tests, IMO.

If you want it nice by Sunday, then I suggest you drain it and start over and follow the guide I linked to previously.
 
In reading the advice about the pool kits, I was under the impression that I just needed to make sure that i had a test kit that measured the following:

There are five chemical levels that every pool owner needs to keep track of:

  • FC - Free Chlorine - A sanitizer which keeps your pool water safe and free of germs. Chlorine must be constantly replenished. (level depends on CYA)
  • PH - Acidity/Alkalinity - Needs to be kept in balance to prevent irritation and protect the pool equipment. (7.5 to 7.8)
  • TA - Total Alkalinity - Appropriate levels help keep the PH in balance. High levels can cause PH to rise. (60 to 120, sometimes higher)
  • CH - Calcium Hardness - Appropriate levels help prevent plaster damage. High levels can cause calcium scaling. (220 to 350, vinyl lower)
  • CYA - Cyanuric Acid - Protects chlorine from sunlight and determines the required FC level. (outdoors 30 to 50, SWG 70 to 80, indoors 0 to 20)

The Taylor test I bought covered these, so I thought it would be acceptable.

I am willing to buy one of the following:

Taylor K-2006
TF-100 Test Kit

What I'm now trying to avoid is buying one of the above kits and then being told I need something else. Jason, does this kit also cover what you'd suggested above (the FAS-DPD Chlorine Test)? If there's a significant difference between the two above tests, I'd appreciate people's input before I purchase.

I have given up on my Sunday goal. I can't get the pool drained by then anyway. I'll post the numbers I have tomorrow, as the kit is now scheduled to come then. Right now, I'm feeling weak and might end up back at Leslie's Pools. I'm just not making any progress at all and that's frustrating.


 
According to the link you provided, the K-1005 does not have the CH or the CYA ... and the FC is lacking.

The K-2006 and TF-100 are very similar and use the same Taylor reagents. Either is adequate, but we find the the TF-100, while more expensive, is a better value because you get more of the reagents that you actually need so you do not need to buy refills as soon. The chart in the Recommended Test Kits link shows the comparison.

Again, though, your pool is small, so draining and starting over is not very costly if you want to get by with a simpler kit like you have. But there is certainly nothing wrong with having one of the good test kits and fully taking control either.
 
Okay. You've convinced me to buy the TF-100 and it is in the mail. Luckily, it looks like I could potentially return the other one, if I so chose.

I'll post some numbers when I get them and in the mean time, I'll just keep monitoring my chlorine and ph levels with my sad, simple kit. I'm trying to at least avoid it going green again.
 
Welcome to TFP!

I think you're really going to be happy with the kit. Store it inside and it will last you a while. :) I have the same kit and I have ordered refills for the chlorine portion a couple of times but everything else lasted me with no problem. I bought the kit in 2013 and this spring I ordered a full refill set for it for the first time (because they have a really good sale for spring!) and not even because I ran out but because I wanted to be sure my stuff was fresh.


Use your basic kit to make sure you keep some chlorine in the pool and hopefully you can keep it from getting worse. When your TF-100 arrives...first take a deep breath and try not to get overwhelmed...there's a bunch of little bottles in there! Then, read the instruction card for the tests and post your results here. Any questions....just ask! FYI, the bottle labels are color coded in there...example: The bottles you use for the alkalinity test all have a green label. ;-) I didn't realize that for a while. lol

BTW, where is henderson? (Should I know? I'm feeling dumb because I don't. lol Must not be near me!)
 
Hello everyone,

I got the kit and did all of the tests. Here are my numbers:

Chlorine - between 1 and 2 ppm
PH - 7.3

Chlorine Drop Test
1 ppm FC (Free Chlorine)
.5 ppm CC (Combined Chloramines)
1.5 ppm TC (Total Chlorine)

650 - CH (Calcium Hardiness - it turned purple at 550 and then more truly blue at 550).

110 - TA (Total Alkalinity)

70 - CYA

I'm not confident in my use of the calculator yet, but here's my reading of what's it's telling me to do.

Raise chlorine to 4 ppm - Add 96 ounces of 6% bleach. Is that ideal? I thought the goal was 1 to 2. Do I add all at once?

I think my PH is within normal range, so I won't do anything with that.

I've heard Vegas water is heavy with calcium, so I don't want to follow the suggestion of replacing the water. Plus, I just added quite a bit of water earlier today. Is there anything else to do to lower the calcium level?

My total alkalinity seems fine, so I won't do anything with that.

My CYA is 70 and the sheet that came with the set says my goal should be closer to 40 to 50. To lower this, I should replace some water? Is 70 that big of a deal?

The pool is still cloudy. I got in it the other day briefly, just to check it out and see if the bottom is slimy. It actually feels fine. But I'd like to clear it up. I'm trying to avoid having to re-fill it because I'd have to buy a pump and don't even know where to begin or where to send the water. We don't have a good drainage system in my neighborhood. The pump/filter appear to be working fine. I backwashed today until clear in the little bubble.

If anyone can confirm that I should add bleach (96 ounces) and if there's any other way to lower the calcium and CYA, I'd appreciate the input.

Thanks,
Cheri
 
Since the pool is still cloudy, you need to follow the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process, which requires a FC level much higher than 4ppm.

The required FC level for the SLAM and then for normal maintenance is a function of your CYA level ... see the FC/CYA Chart.

Given your questions, does not sound like you have been reading all the links in post #4 above in the week waiting for your test kit :whip: :D
Take a look at those again.
 
Sorry, jblizzle. I'm doing my best. I've read a lot, and learned a lot, for me anyway! :D I've reviewed the materials again. I'm trying to not get so demoralized that I end up back at Leslie's.

Here's my current point of confusion. I'm looking at the chlorine CYA chart. When it says Shock FC, with a CYA of 70, it suggests that I put enough bleach in there to get up to a Free Chlorine level of 28. But, since my CYA is so high, should I try to drain the pool some and re-fill first and try to get that to a more reasonable CYA number before I start adding chlorine?

And is it okay to add 96 ounces all at once or should I do this in intervals, testing my FC between additions? If my memory is correct, I need to wait at least a half hour after adding the bleach before I test the FC level again.
 

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