We were away for an extended period and had someone taking care of our pool ... which they forgot and then panicked and ended up shocking and then floccing the pool. BTW - I was a member of this forum quite a while back when we set up our pool and have never had a problem with it until now. So, now it has been 3 weeks and I've been vacuuming and chlorinating and running filters ... long story short the pool is still cloudy. I can at least make out the bottom now and I am assuming that I just need to stay this course until it is clear. My question is that I read that you should not swim with floc in the pool ... is that true? I just ran tests and my FC is 4, cc 0, ph 7.2, TA is 70 and CYA 0 ... I added 2 cups borax - I added stabilizer but it isnt registering yet ... all of the vacuuming to waste and adding water has kept it pretty low ... I'm hoping that I'm done with that now
Caretaker flocced pool ... ugh
- Thread starter Aprilspool
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I added my signature ... I'm really just wondering if the residual floc is toxic ... all the numbers seem to be ok ... by my teenager is asking to swim. ... This weekend it is gonna be 90!
I think I would have left the ph alone for now.
I’ve never used floc, but I would think after vacuuming for three weeks, it should be gone by now! Are you vacuuming to waste? Have you backwashed your filter lately? Have you done the overnight chlorine loss test?
I’ve never used floc, but I would think after vacuuming for three weeks, it should be gone by now! Are you vacuuming to waste? Have you backwashed your filter lately? Have you done the overnight chlorine loss test?
April, have you turned the filter off and tried to just let it settle and drop for a day or so? Do you know how much and what type of floc was used?
I personally might avoid swimming until the pool was clear. While alum is approved by the fda for use in pickling, deodorant, etc., there is a school of thought that believes bioaccumulation of Aluminium is tied to neurological degeneration, eg Alzheimer’s. I don’t know if the science is solid on this.
Trace amounts of alum are not likely to be problematic and many recreational waters (ponds and lakes) are treated with same to reduce phosphates. In ph neutral conditions, these alum treatments are not toxic to wildlife. But very low or very high ph can change the composition of the alum and increase toxicity.
Since it’s a complex topic with a lot of variables and unknowns, it truly might be best to try and let the floc settle and slowly vacuum it to waste.
I personally might avoid swimming until the pool was clear. While alum is approved by the fda for use in pickling, deodorant, etc., there is a school of thought that believes bioaccumulation of Aluminium is tied to neurological degeneration, eg Alzheimer’s. I don’t know if the science is solid on this.
Trace amounts of alum are not likely to be problematic and many recreational waters (ponds and lakes) are treated with same to reduce phosphates. In ph neutral conditions, these alum treatments are not toxic to wildlife. But very low or very high ph can change the composition of the alum and increase toxicity.
Since it’s a complex topic with a lot of variables and unknowns, it truly might be best to try and let the floc settle and slowly vacuum it to waste.
It is something that can be added to the water. It "binds" the suspended stuff in the water so that it sinks to the bottom of the pool. It is NOT a good thing for most pools. You have to have a way to vacuum it up and out without going through the filter or you will be cleaning your filter every time you turn around.
I probably should have immediately vacuumed to waste when I first got home since there was a green cloud, but I didn't know that floc had been added for about a week ... so I just started the slam process and did that until I got the algae under control. Since then I've left the filter off for two periods of 48 hours and the vacuumed to waste but I haven't seen an actual cloud to vacuum. I've passed the overnight test for the last week, but I finally started to add stabilizer because I was just adding bleach constantly. The water is still very cloudy and I can see stuff floating on the top - I only have one skimmer and one return, so it is just not very efficient. I've been backwashing but maybe not enough ... I have seen some improvements ... I could only see 2 steps and now I can actually make out all 4 steps.
I think I've managed to get most of the floating floc off of the top of the pool ... I don't know where the option is to post picture ... I am not sure of the exact brand of shock or floc that was added to the pool, I just know that they got it at walmart. They added the shock and the floc at the same time which is why I am guessing I had a green cloud and not a white cloud. Although I'm reading that the shock products add calcium ... so maybe I should test for that. I have a vinyl liner and have never added calcium, and never tested for it after I got my TF test kit initially. I probably just need a big ol dose of POP!
Hello and Welcome (back?)
If your pool was green from algae, it is probably residuals from dead algae that is making your pool cloudy. Floc doesn't float and will cause the stuff in the water to combine and sink to the bottom. If you want to make sure it is gone, turn off your pump for 8 hours and then slowly vacuum to waste. Go slow to not stir up the bottom.
Are you following the SLAM article to the letter?
Please post up a full set of test results and the method used to get them.
What products are you using to add chlorine to the water?
With the sand filter, backwash when the filter pressure goes up 25%. Don't backwash too often, a dirty filter cleans better than a clean filter.
Finally, you need to be able to see all the way to the bottom or it isn't safe to swim in.
If your pool was green from algae, it is probably residuals from dead algae that is making your pool cloudy. Floc doesn't float and will cause the stuff in the water to combine and sink to the bottom. If you want to make sure it is gone, turn off your pump for 8 hours and then slowly vacuum to waste. Go slow to not stir up the bottom.
Are you following the SLAM article to the letter?
Please post up a full set of test results and the method used to get them.
What products are you using to add chlorine to the water?
With the sand filter, backwash when the filter pressure goes up 25%. Don't backwash too often, a dirty filter cleans better than a clean filter.
Finally, you need to be able to see all the way to the bottom or it isn't safe to swim in.
I have a TF test kit and yes I followed slam until the overnight loss was within the parameters ... I only use bleach to add chlorine. I actually held the level to the slam level for 5 additional days since the water was staying so cloudy and that was when I found out about the floc ... because I was trying to figure out what was going on. If it isn't floc floating on the top of the pool, then I don't know what it is ... but my test results as of today are FC is 7, cc 0, ph 7.5, TA is 80 and CYA 30 (not registering yet, but I added enough stabilizer from the pool calculator to bring it to this amount). I am currently adding additional water so that I can attempt to spray the particles floating on top to the skimmer and turn the filter to waste ... I can see to the bottom today and can almost make out the pattern of the liner on the bottom of the pool ... so things are improving. Just taking longer than I am used to.