Cloudy again..

Jump to latest Follow Reply
3kidsAndAPool

3kidsAndAPool

Well-known member
Apr 17, 2021
129
Kentucky
Pool Size
25500
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Ok guys, I need some help. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong here. So far I’ve had to SLAM my pool in May and June and I think I’m about to start again. I’m new to pool ownership and new to the BBB method. When my water has been clear this year, it is crystal clear! It seems as though, every time there is more than 4 people in the pool the water gets cloudy by the end of the day. Is that normal? Adults and teens. Of course I tell everyone not to pee in the pool, but you know. I bring it up to shock level that night and then always fail my OCLT. Is that normal? What do you guys do after a heavy bather load? My cya is at 50 and I have been getting my FC up to 9 every night which is actually over the recommended amount. My pool is in full sun all day long. Some days I lose 2-3ppm FC and some days I lose 5ppm. I’m just at a loss at this point. When I say my water is cloudy, it’s mostly when the light is on at night that I can see it. Nothing green and no visible algae. Does anyone have any advice or tips? Thank you so much!
 
3kidsAndAPool said:
Ok guys, I need some help. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong here. So far I’ve had to SLAM my pool in May and June and I think I’m about to start again. I’m new to pool ownership and new to the BBB method. When my water has been clear this year, it is crystal clear! It seems as though, every time there is more than 4 people in the pool the water gets cloudy by the end of the day. Is that normal? Adults and teens. Of course I tell everyone not to pee in the pool, but you know. I bring it up to shock level that night and then always fail my OCLT. Is that normal? What do you guys do after a heavy bather load? My cya is at 50 and I have been getting my FC up to 9 every night which is actually over the recommended amount. My pool is in full sun all day long. Some days I lose 2-3ppm FC and some days I lose 5ppm. I’m just at a loss at this point. When I say my water is cloudy, it’s mostly when the light is on at night that I can see it. Nothing green and no visible algae. Does anyone have any advice or tips? Thank you so much!
Click to expand...
 
Hey 3KaaP !!! First off, great job for keeping the FC up where you have some wiggle room.

If you’re seeing cloudiness with the light and after prolonged bather loads, it’s probably body oils and sunscreen. What size filter do you have ? You have a lot of gallons and a smaller filter might struggle to keep up with the bather load. I kept a 3 pack of tennis balls in mine at all times and tossed 3 more in for get togethers. They soak up a lot of oils before they need to be filtered. They usually lived in the skimmers but a kid or two would find them and play with them for a few minutes before they found their way back.
 
Newdude said:
Hey 3KaaP !!! First off, great job for keeping the FC up where you have some wiggle room.

If you’re seeing cloudiness with the light and after prolonged bather loads, it’s probably body oils and sunscreen. What size filter do you have ? You have a lot of gallons and a smaller filter might struggle to keep up with the bather load. I kept a 3 pack of tennis balls in mine at all times and tossed 3 more in for get togethers. They soak up a lot of oils before they need to be filtered. They usually lived in the skimmers but a kid or two would find them and play with them for a few minutes before they found their way back.
Click to expand...
I honestly have no idea on the filter size, where do I look? I do use skimmer socks and scum bugs, which I change out several times a week. My first thought was body oils and sunscreen, at least I was hoping. I may give the tennis balls a try as well. Last night I got the FC up to 20.5 then closed the cover due to impending rain. Today around 10:30 my sample was at 15ppm. That is considered a fail, right?
 
3kidsAndAPool said:
Last night I got the FC up to 20.5 then closed the cover due to impending rain. Today around 10:30 my sample was at 15ppm. That is considered a fail, right?
Click to expand...
It’s most likely a fail but the sun was on it until 10:30. 4.5 is a lot to lose that early though so you should SLAM Process and keep the upper hand before it gets worse.

Sorry for the ongoing issues.
3kidsAndAPool said:
honestly have no idea on the filter size, where do I look?
Click to expand...
Post a pic of the label on the filter or whatever stamping is on the filter. I don’t know sand filters that great but plenty of folks do. :)
 
I just don’t understand the chlorine loss. I get average loss until someone gets in the pool and then it plummets! Is this something I’m going to have to worry about every time we have company? I’m getting frustrated to the point I can’t even enjoy our pool because I’m constantly worried about the levels and whether or not I’m going to have to SLAM again.
 
It certainly does sound like you have algae growing somewhere. If you're not seeing any on the pool walls themselves, do you have a ladder or light? Those are two of the most common places for algae to hide and grow. If so, remove them and clean them out well before reinstalling.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Krysib
jeffchap said:
It certainly does sound like you have algae growing somewhere. If you're not seeing any on the pool walls themselves, do you have a ladder or light? Those are two of the most common places for algae to hide and grow. If so, remove them and clean them out well before reinstalling.
Click to expand...
My ladder doesn’t come out, it’s set into the side wall. I do have a light! How do I go about checking that?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
3kidsAndAPool said:
do have a light! How do I go about checking that?
Click to expand...
If it has a metal trim there will be one screw at the top of the trim and the whole light fixture will come out. Do. Not. Drop. The. Screw. :)
3kidsAndAPool said:
Could that be something
Click to expand...
Probably sunscreen, body oils and/or cover grease. Clean it as often as you see it as it's sludgy.
 
Newdude said:
If it has a metal trim there will be one screw at the top of the trim and the whole light fixture will come out. Do. Not. Drop. The. Screw. :)

Probably sunscreen, body oils and/or cover grease. Clean it as often as you see it as it's sludgy.
Click to expand...
What is the best way or product to clean that off? I guess I’m going to try to take the light out today. It has a plastic ring with several screws around it (which I assume holds it up against the liner) then one screw at the top on the inside by itself. I just unscrew and pull it out? Wipe the inside clean? Sorry..I really don’t know what I’m doing 😕 I failed my OCLT even though the water is completely clear. 20 ppm last night and 16.5 ppm this morning.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3kidsAndAPool
Newdude said:
That’s the one. (y) The other screws will keep the whole thing together when you pull it out.

yup. Wipe and clean. Let the water sit in there for a while. Pull the light up on the deck to clean with a spray solution.

That’s why you have us. :)
Click to expand...
Is there a certain spray solution I should use?
 
Newdude said:
10:1 bleach water should be plenty and also user friendly. Use the pool water, obviously :ROFLMAO:, at the niche itself
Click to expand...
Ok, I got the light out but the cord would not pull out to reach the deck. So, I scrubbed it out (didn’t really see anything) and I have it just hanging there. How long should I leave it like that?
 
3kidsAndAPool said:
So, I scrubbed it out (didn’t really see anything) and I have it just hanging there. How long should I leave it like that?
Click to expand...
3kidsAndAPool said:
I’m now thinking I should leave it open until the SLAM is over?
Click to expand...
It won’t hurt to leave it out. You also didn’t have anything crazy going on in there. You would have known if it was bad.

So……. Leave it out, Put it back….. either way. But don’t lose the screw. :ROFLMAO:
 
Newdude said:
It won’t hurt to leave it out. You also didn’t have anything crazy going on in there. You would have known if it was bad.

So……. Leave it out, Put it back….. either way. But don’t lose the screw. :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
Still working on this SLAM. I did replace the light and managed not to drop the screw 😂 Still at a loss as I don’t see anything anywhere, yet clearly something is eating up my FC..Any other ideas??
 
3kidsAndAPool said:
Any other ideas??
Click to expand...
If your water is clear, And I mean STUPID clear, TFP invisible WHERE did my water GO ??? Clear….. and you’ve been holding SLAM with the loss for several days unchanged, it could be tester error. The human side of it affects some people more than others. When you need to make 40 perfect drops to read your 20 FC, it’s REAL easy to miss a few. My own hand gets shakey halfway there.

You can let the FC drift back down to in range and see if it holds. It usually does at this point and you won’t lose any progress if it doesn’t. The whole time it drifts down it is still killing algae, just not as quickly as it was at SLAM level. So at worst it will only be a pause in the process and at best you are finished. :)

(Sorry if you were done a couple days ago but we always err on the side of caution, on your behalf. Even if it gave you more work, you were better off than re-inheriting the swamp).
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply