Cloudy water question

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s1njin

0
Jun 11, 2015
138
Jackson, NJ
Hey Gang,

Long time lurker, first post here. I've learned a great deal from all of you so before I ask my question, first off THANK YOU !!!

Okay, so this is where I'm at.

pH - 7.5
TC - 4.0
FC - 4.0
TA - 100
CYA - 70-75 (hard to say for sure looking for the black dot at the bottom of the test tube)

Salt - 3400
SWG - 35%

Pool water temp - 87
Pump runs 8 hours 10AM - 6PM
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Yesterday I noticed for the first time that my pool water was a little cloudy. Earlier in the week (Sunday AM) I added more pool conditioner to get my CYA up to where it is now (as per the TFP recommendations). I did NOT raise the % on my SWG after I did this. On Sunday my TC was 5.0 and my FC was 5.0

So now I have some mildly cloudy water. The temperatures here have been getting higher, with today expected to be in the 90s.

What I postulate is happening is the warmer pool water and warmer weather in general is making my chlorine break down faster (even though I added the extra conditioner), and with my TC/FC hovering around 4 I'm right on the edge of not having enough chlorine in the water. So yesterday evening I bumped my SWG up to 45%.

Pool is vacuumed 2x a week w/ a Dolphin M500 robot. Filter is not showing any significant pressure gain necessitating a backwash. I DID scrub the walls and floor perimeter on Tuesday evening - perhaps I let some junk loose in the water that just needs time to filter out?

So - until I hear from you guys I'm going with:

1. Need to raise my CL to 5.0
2. Pump needed more than 8 hours the day after I brushed the walls and floor clean (pump had just turned off when I did this, perhaps that was a bad idea as far as timing?).

Natural free-form pool
Vinyl Lined, 6' Deep End, 21,400 gallons
2 hp pump, SWG, Heat Pump, Sand Filter
2 skimmers, 2 floor drains, 10 returns (6 in the pool, 2 in the steps, 2 in the swim-out)
 
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Unfortunately, if you are cloudy you will need to SLAM. The CYA addition should have helped you maintain FC at the same setting. A SLAM will require a lot of bleach, but since you are cloudy now raising FC to 5 might extend the breakout but an algae bloom is inevitable. Unless - it is pollen or something else that is in your water. Do you see a lot of dust/pollen around the pool, i.e. on outdoor furniture, driveway, etc.?

Water temp will not consume FC faster, only sun does that. But warmer water will increase algae growth that will consume FC faster.
 
s1njin said:
Dude. Definitely a dude. :)

I didn't think I needed to SLAM since my FC and TC were the same. :D See? I spent a good amount of time reading/learning before I posted. :p
Click to expand...
Lack of CC doesn't mean lack of algae. That's why it's only one of the three tests at the end of a SLAM. You might actually have some CC forming but sunlight destroys it the way it does FC.

If you don't feel the need to SLAM, at least give the SWG a helping hand and dump some bleach in to quickly raise FC up to 8 or 10. I think a SLAM would be a better idea. If it wasn't necessary, you'll pass all three tests in one day. If it was necessary, you have a one day head start.
 
I'm hoping its the scrubbing but we'll see. With my CL and FC previously being high (5) for the the CYA level I was previously holding (55 or so), I'd be surprised if Algae got a foothold on my pool in one day's time. But, that's why I'm here asking questions. I'll see how my water is doing when I get back from work and go from there.
 
I hope its just the brushing too. You can read up on adding DE to a sand filter to expedite filtering. DE can really decrease the filtering time, but you need to be around to keep an eye on pressure and backwash with a 25% increase over normal. Adding DE to my filter with clear pool water and pollen will require backwash in as little as a few hours. Just be ready to add water and maybe bleach if you use DE repeatedly.

Either way you are on the right track and will narrow it down soon. If you think it might be algae, the sooner the better with the SLAM. Good luck!
 
One other thing that could add credence to my scrubbing issue. Given the large amount of returns in my pool, I went w/ the 1/2" eyeballs in the 6 return jets in the pool proper. My reasoning was my pool contract originally called for 6 jets in TOTAL, however I ended up w/ 10. I figured if the pump was sized for 3/4" eyeballs for 6 jets, I should have gone to 1/2" eyeballs since I ended up with 4 more jets.

Reading up on this forum on eyeball size, perhaps I did the wrong thing here. Maybe I should have kept them all at 3/4" regardless? I wouldn't get the velocity, but presumably I'd get more churn/turn over?
 
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Well, FWIW I dropped a quart of Polyquat 60 in my pool last night. Got up this morning to find no chlorine in the pool. Lesson learned.

Added 2 gallons of liquid bleach to get my chlorine back in line. Kept my SWG at 45% once I decided to add the chlorine.

Ran the pump 3 extra hours for a total of 11.

I now have crystal clear water. :)
 
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