Cloudy water

[bizeliz]

Hello! I'm new here and need help.

We have 26,000 gallon pool. Salt water system. Our water is cloudy. We've been through the ringer this year. Our salt cell died and we didn't know - so we kept dumping salt in the pool. We've dropped the water 18 inches and filled it with fresh water. Replaced our cartridge filters a week ago. We have a polaris pool vac and are running it with our filters 24/7 to get the water correct. We've been taking the water to get tested at Leslies Pool Supply and all appears ok now (tested last night) he said the phosphates were a bit high but I needed to get it clear before I worried about anything else.

I've bought two types of clarifier and followed the instructions both times. Last night at 7pm I used the "best" stuff Leslie's had and hoped to see some improvement this morning. I didn't.

So to date:
-Replaced Salt Cell a week ago
-Replaced Cartridge Filters a week ago
-Water tests ok
-Salt is measuring at 3500 right now
-Used clarifier last night

We have a party on Sunday. When we planned it we had no idea it would take this long to clear the water up. Its been one problem after another. I know we are missing something I just don't know what.

You can see the second step in the shallow end and that is it.

Any advice?

 

[tim5055]

Welcome to TFP!

Unfortunately, the "best stuff" a pool store sells is really good for their profits and poor for your pool. We teach a method of pool care that not only keeps you out of the pool store, we generally recommend you not go there at all.

We base our system on accurate testing, and pool store testing is notoriously bad. We recommend you get your own quality test kit and this will allow you to know what is going on in your pool. Here is our list of recommended test kits. I will caution you that they are generally only available ordered over the Internet. Pool stores do not generally stock them because they want to offer the free testing service to recommend what you need to buy to fix your water. Pure marketing. You get what you pay for in free pool water testing.

Pool School - Test Kits Compared

I can almost guarantee you have stuff growing in that water. As algae begins to grow the pool starts to get cloudy, goes gray then green. If you catch it in that cloudy state unless you use sufficient chlorine for a long enough time you never rely get rid of the algae. We call this process a SLAM.

Pool School - Defeating Algae

To be blunt, a pool party Sunday is probably not going to happen. One of the tenets of our system is safety, and we do not recommend allowing anyone in the water if you can not clearly see the bottom of the deep end.

 

[Texas Splash]

Bizeliz, welcome to the TFP site. You'll receive tons of great info and help here from the experts. Here's what you will hear many times over:
1 - Stop going to the pool store for testing or their quick-fix chemicals. They are counterproductive and usually not correct.
2 - Please obtain one of the recommended test kits as noted by TFP (see my links below); you MUST test the water on your own - it's not difficult
3 - You should begin reading the Pool School and other links in my signature below. Given the condition of your pool (without knowing your readings), I suspect a "SLAM" is in order. You'll want to read how that works.

You CAN have a crystal clear pool, but you must have a good test kit to show us where your water chemistry really is at. The store kits and strips are useless. Let us know if you have any other questions. Others will chime-in soon I'm sure.

 

[bizeliz]

I will order one right now! Thank you so much for your help. I'll post what my numbers are as soon as I have them.

 

[tim5055]

I will order one right now! Thank you so much for your help. I'll post what my numbers are as soon as I have them.

TFTestkits.net ships out of Raleigh so you should be able to,get it quickly.

 

[Azgirl71]

Welcome to TFP! Glad you are getting a test kit that is recommended. TFP will have you swimming in no time salon gaston follow the methods and advice.