Clarity stuck at 9 out of 10

[Tkkaring]

Hello, outside of my introduction post, this is my first. Hopefully I have done enough homework prior to this to make it simple for some pros on here. I did get the TF 100 test kit, as I have seen suggested in many posts on TFP, and just tested my water with it for the third time this week. I wanted to feel comfortable with my readings. The last couple years I have had trouble opening my pool (getting it to clear up) and this year has been worse. I have not had that "sparkle" water gets when it is perfect, at all this year. It gets close but that is it. I am done with pool store suggestions - they are getting pretty ridiculous. Below are my readings as of this morning. I know my TA is high and PH is low. I have had my jets breaking water for a couple days. PH is improving, but at a snails pace. Likely due to the auto cover being closed most of the day.

FC - 8.5
CC - .5
CH - 700
TA - 140
CYA - 70
PH - 7.0

I should note, I pumped a lot of rain water from cover to the pool yesterday and my CH did lower by at least 250 ppm. TA has also went down from 170-180. I have my pump running at three different rpms for a full 24 hours. Would love to back that off some.
I welcome any advice to get that perfect clarity for my water.

 

[JJ_Tex]

I would focus on your FC/CYA ratio (see my signature if needed) and your filter.

For the FC/CYA ratio, your CYA is a bit higher than recommended, which also causes large FC demands. Your target range for your FC is 8-10 and I see that you are just barely in the target FC range in your results above. Have you kept it steady in that range, or has it dropped below that and could be battling a bit of algae?

For your filter, what type do you have and does it need to be cleaned/backwashed?

 

[Tkkaring]

JJ_Tex, thanks for the quick reply. I do backwash about every 7-10 days. I just bought a gauge to put on to help identify when I need to do so instead of just guessing. I replaced the filter sand last year thinking it would help. It is a Pentair Tagelus sand filter. I have not put in any algecide in a couple weeks and on Monday my FC was down to 1.5ppm, Wed it was 6.5. I will admit I am using a chlorinator with 3" tabs and I have bumped it up a bit due to my CYA earlier in the week. I have looked at the chart for FC/CYA but, stumped a bit on how to bring the CYA down.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Ok, so those tab have a lot of CYA in them. Unfortunately while the FC gets used up, the CYA remains in your pool. Your CYA can quickly build up and cause you to need higher and higher FC. It can be a vicious cycle, which is why we discourage tabs as the main method for chlorinating your pool. Liquid chlorine is much better, since it just adds chlorine.

Here is what I would do:
- Buy 5-10 gallons liquid chlorine and take out the tabs from your feeder. Also, no more algaecide as that usually contains copper that can also build up in your pool and cause issues (staining, green hair, etc.).
- Add enough liquid chlorine to get your FC up to 10, repeat this daily and see if that brings back the "sparkle" to your pool
- Check your daily chlorine losses. I would expect you to lose 3-4 FC per day, but if you have more than this you likely have algae and you would want to do an OCLT to confirm this. If algae is confirmed, you would need to follow the SLAM process. We can cross this bridge when you get there.

 

[Tkkaring]

Ok, sounds like a plan. Thanks for the advice and I will let you know in a few days how things have panned out. Have a great weekend.

 

[Tkkaring]

JJ_Tex, thought I would give an update. It was a bit interesting this week. I decided to wait until last Sunday evening when we were done in the pool to start the SLAM. On Tuesday I was reading up on cleaning the sand in my filter so that evening I decided to do so...well, my valve head pulled up the stand pipe so I had to take all sand out and during the process, I pulled the laterals off and set them on a bucket, knowing full well I should put them on the table so my 10 month old lab puppy doesn't grab one. Well, I should have listened to my gut. She got one but, luckily I have a friend that installs pools and had one on hand for me. Wife stopped and got new sand for me as well. So, I was down from about 5 to 930 that evening but, running great since. I will say that today I feel my pool is back to the clarity where it gives the sparkle I have been missing all year. Thanks for your suggestions and I am sold on TFP process.