Cloudy. Algae? Pollen?

[cj133]

Hi all

Looking for some thoughts..
Over the past 2 months my pool hasn't had much loving.

The water temp hasn't gone above 65 or so but I've been on top of my chemicals. My FC never dropped below 3ppm, my pH is a solid 7.6 and my cya is 30.

I have a 2 speed pump and a 250lb sand filter I run on low speed 24/7.

For well over a month I've had a greenish dirt on the cove of the pool and the bottom had a fair amount of dirt. This seems to happen every fall here so I was pretty certain it was pollen so I ignored it. Chlorine consumption has been low.

Sunday I vacuumed it finally and took my time. And got it pretty good. Whatever was on the cove and bottom vacuumed up very easy. Afterwards I backwashed good and rinsed,I only rinsed using low speed which may have been a mistake. When I switched back to filter I put the pump on high and had a nice cloud blown back into the pool. Not for long, kind of like it was laying in the return hose when I was vacuuming.

I still felt it was pollen but now 3 days later it's still fairly cloudy I'm getting worried. My FC was 8.2 ppm Sunday and it's down to 6ppm tonight after 3 days so that still seems very reasonable to me. My filter pressure isn't climbing or anything odd.

What gives? Is it pollen and I just stirred it all up by vacuuming and the filter can't capture it?

I have to assume it is algae I'd be using more chlorine than this?

Should I go up to 12ppm?
I use 10% bleach.

No other additives other than acid for pH and 100% cya.

 

[Mdragger88]

Have u done an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test? You could go ahead & take it slam level then do it. It could be quite telling. If u pass then cool brush, vac, filter & maintain the high target for your cya but if not u know it’s SLAM Process time for sure. It’s possible that is just an area with poor circulation & the fc was a little lower there since no one is using the pool or mixing up the water etc.

 

[cj133]

Have u done an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test? You could go ahead & take it slam level then do it. It could be quite telling. If u pass then cool brush, vac, filter & maintain the high target for your cya but if not u know it’s SLAM Process time for sure. It’s possible that is just an area with poor circulation & the fc was a little lower there since no one is using the pool or mixing up the water etc.

I didn't do an actual test but the fact it only dropped from 8.2 to 6 in 3 days including sunlight etc is a pretty good indicator no?

That's only 2.2 in 3 complete days.

 

[Newdude]

the fact it only dropped from 8.2 to 6 in 3 days including sunlight etc is a pretty good indicator no?

It is a great indicator. But. Anytime you suspect anything chemistry wise, you OCLT. Not wait and see, but ASAP. Then you come in saying things were a bit wonky but you passed an OCLT and just wanted other thoughts.

 

[cj133]

It is a great indicator. But. Anytime you suspect anything chemistry wise, you OCLT. Not wait and see, but ASAP. Then you come in saying things were a bit wonky but you passed an OCLT and just wanted other thoughts.

Ok over night it seems like I didn't loose anything, at most I'd say 0.2 ppm.
But the water's also very cool, high 50's at best.

 

[Mdragger88]

Anytime i have an inkling of organics I go ahead to slam level to be on the safe side. That’s your call since u passed the oclt but it definitely won’t hurt anything.
Sand filters can also take a bit of time to clear cloudiness.
You can also try adding a little de to help the filtering process if you’re available to periodically monitor pressure.

Add DE to a Sand Filter

A clean pool filter will increase the efficiency of your pool! ... your filter are to backwash it, clean the manifolds and grids, and add new DE.

www.troublefreepool.com

Skimmer socks can also be helpful.

 

[cj133]

Anytime i have an inkling of organics I go ahead to slam level to be on the safe side. That’s your call since u passed the oclt but it definitely won’t hurt anything.
Sand filters can also take a bit of time to clear cloudiness.
You can also try adding a little de to help the filtering process if you’re available to periodically monitor pressure.

Add DE to a Sand Filter

A clean pool filter will increase the efficiency of your pool! ... your filter are to backwash it, clean the manifolds and grids, and add new DE.

www.troublefreepool.com

Skimmer socks can also be helpful.

Hmm.
Which works better for fine stuff, skimmer socks or a slime bag?

 

[Texas Splash]

Skimmer socks are basically the fine netting we put in the skimmer to catch small bugs and stuff. The slime bag is more designed for oils and lotions. Not sure if those would make a difference with your cloudy issue. I agree it's odd that with next to no FC demand it would be cloudy unless the cold water is slowing growth you might otherwise see in the summer.

Curious ... when was the last time you deep cleaned your sand? Perhaps the filter itself is not filtering efficiently? Are you still seeing this greenish dust all around your property like you did the past month or so?

 

[cj133]

Skimmer socks are basically the fine netting we put in the skimmer to catch small bugs and stuff. The slime bag is more designed for oils and lotions. Not sure if those would make a difference with your cloudy issue. I agree it's odd that with next to no FC demand it would be cloudy unless the cold water is slowing growth you might otherwise see in the summer.

Curious ... when was the last time you deep cleaned your sand? Perhaps the filter itself is not filtering efficiently? Are you still seeing this greenish dust all around your property like you did the past month or so?

I've haven't done anything with the filter, though it's not really shown any signs of having an issue either until maybe now.
I think the pollen is coming to an end finally, at least going by my allergies. I can hope.

The cold water is what I've been wondering about.
I don't know if I've noticed algae behavior in cold water mentioned much if at all on here? Does the stuff still consume chlorine if the water is cold? I would assume yes, until it's dead?

I have no problems bringing the FC up to 12 for a while. I suppose my biggest concern is I hope to get a cover on this in the near future and I refuse to cover a cloudy pool, that's just uncivilized.
Over the next month our temperatures should be dropping into the 30's consistently. I run the pump 24\7 so I'm not worried about anything freezing, but come January we often see below 0F temperatures.

 

[Texas Splash]

Probably a bit too chilly to worry about the sand cleaning now. Maybe next spring. When do you plan on closing? An increase in FC may be warranted to be safe and still give it time to fall just a bit before you cover it up. Algae can live in colder water, but it's activity and growth is much slower. So even if this is just something odd in the local area and not algae (yet), the water could benefit from the additional chlorine to ensure it doesn't become an algae issue later.

 

[Newdude]

+1. With next time no loss/demand, whatever you put in will stay there. So $10 (?) in chlorine will be well worth the peace of mind.

 

[cj133]

How high can I go on FC without causing concern of damaging the liner over the long term?

I.E. covering with 20ppm of FC, could this cause damage over the winter?

Just trying to feel things out.

 

[Newdude]

Ok over night it seems like I didn't loose anything, at most I'd say 0.2 ppm

And see ? Now we know for sure. A 2+ loss over 3 days could have been evenly spread throughout, or 0/0/3.

How high can I go on FC without causing concern of damaging the liner over the long term?

Up to and including Slam per the FC/CYA Levels is safe for all swimmers and equipment.

 

[Newdude]

* you knew all of the above. But once something is relevant to you, being gently reminded makes it stick hard and forever.

You just leveled up my friend. Well done !!