Cloudy blue pool water

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Dinifam

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Jun 11, 2012
46
Hi! My name is Amy and I am new here:)
I am desperately trying to clear up my pool. It is an above ground and holds 18500 gallons.
My water is blue. And I can't see the bottom!! It is cloudy and nothing is clearing it up!

Some history: we installed the pool last year and had it sparkling. Then I went on vacay to help my sister for 3 weeks and hubby didn't do anything to the pool:(. It was green black when I got home. We got it mostly cleared up but not all the way.

This year it was a disgusting green brown mud looking pool. We have shocked the heck out of it. Used those filter socks, pool first aid, and some of the white fluffy stuff that u put into the skimmer. We have vacuumed (auto) and run the filter 24/7. Nothing is clearing!!

My latest adventure was flock. But it did nothing. I still can't see to vacuum! I have been to the pool store a zillion times and nothing helps but my wallet keeps emptying:(
I have a Hayward sand filter.
My water was tested yesterday before the flock so I am hoping u can help:). I had put in almost triple the dose of chlorine shock 2 days prior...
Temp 80
Total chlorine 7.5
Free chlorine 6.9
Ph 7.1
Total alkalinity 104
Adj total alkalinity 94
Total hardness 118

I normally buy my stuf from leslies pool and use 4 cups of shock and 3 big tablets along with that blue stuff in a bottle? Some sort of clarifier? I am out of it and dont know the name...sorry

So any advice? Should I replace my sand? It's new last year... I am just frustrated as we have a grad party in less than 2 weeks that the pool is primary attraction.

Thanks in advance!
Amy
 
Dinifam said:
Cya is 34. Sorry. Didn't know what that was:(.
Click to expand...

CYA is also know as stabilizer. It protects your chlorine from UV light from the sun, but it also makes your chlorine less active.

At 35ppm CYA, you should try to hold your chlorine at 12ppm until the problem clears. With the water having a blue tint, it sounds like you are over the hump on clearing the water, but you need to stay on it to finish the job.
 
I'm with John. The majority of the time, a cloudy pool is one with algae growing in it. Find your CYA level and start shocking. You will raise your FC level to a high point where it will kill off all growth you may have.

Find your cya level....buy your own kit......start shocking with liquid bleach.

Welcome to the site!


Edit.....beat me to it!
 
Ok. I can do that. But I have a few silly questions...what type of kit do I buy and can I buy it locally? I have a leslies pool supply. Secondly how exactly does one brush a pool??? And also the pool lady said my ph was low. Do I need to do anything with that or with my alkalinity. And finally. Should I use the pool shock I have or go buy bleach. And if so how much? My maintenance dose is 4 cups. I used ten and it did nothing.... Should I shock it everyday? And how do I know if my sand is ok?
Sorry so many questions but I am such a newbie pool owner!!
 
The ph at 7.1 is a tad low....but it will go up on its on. I wouldn't worry. Many of us on the site use liquid bleach, but liquid "shock" is the same....just more expensive and stronger at times. Post the prices and the strength and we'll find the cheapest for you.

The TF-100 is the kit of choice on the site. It's got every test you'll need for your pool....and with the help on the board will help you run your own pool.....without the pool store prices.
 
Thanks for all your help!!! I have a huge thing of the powder shock from leslies I just bought. Can I continue to use that until it's gone or would straight liquid bleach be better. And where can I buy the tf-100. Locally or do I need to order one? I want to get started today:)
 
What is the chemical of the powdered shock? Calcium Hypo - or Di-Chlor?

Both contain chlorine - but Di-Chlor also contains CYA - which will make chlorine less effective as it builds up in the water.

If your CYA is 35 - I'd guess you are using Cal-Hypo
 

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Dinifam said:
One more thing...do I have a chance in heck to get this cleared by next Friday? And should I just filter or run the auto barracuda vacuum thingy?
Click to expand...

With persistence, you should easily be able to clear it by then. I'd run your cleaner for at least several hours a day.
 
Stupid me....forgot the link.
http://tftestkits.net/TF-100-Test-Kit-p4.html

It's online only, but Dave has amazingly fast elves working in shipping. They'll have the kit there in no time.

I would stay away from using the powder for now. Not only does it add chlorine, but also adds to your CYA level. Stay with liquid for now, and you can use the powder later. To start shocking we can guess our way for a few days. Do you have any test kit?
 
I will go buy massive amounts of bleach then. And order a test kit. I have strips only right now. Is there something inexpensive I could buy to use? Any idea how much bleach we are talking about?
 
You can find a brush at Walmart. Back in the garden section. The biggest plus of a brush is that it helps move the water around more than the pump. Circulating the water helps make sure all parts of the pool gets clean. Brushing the walls as well helps preventing algae from sticking to the walls and growing.
 
Chlor Bright is Di-Chlor - So stay away

That brings up another issue. It is possible that your CYA number is wrong. Without a good CYA test it is going to be hard to determine what your shock number should be. This may actually be your whole issue - you have high CYA (100+) and just haven't had sufficient chlorine in the pool to shock it.

Leslie's test is notorious for getting CYA wrong (I speak from personal experience)

Any idea how much Di-Chlor you've used this year? In terms of oz? A quick estimate based on bags or tubs would help.
 
Total I have used about 1/4 of the big bucket so perhaps 16 cups and then another 10 cups on Friday. I actually went to a different pool place cuz leslies couldnt come up with anything to fix it (treadway pool). And they are the ones who came up with a number of 34
 
You MAY luck out. Here on the board that "stuff" is often a curse of death. Adding 208oz of dichlor raised your cya around 54ppm. Let's hope you were low at the start.

No more powder shock until you learn just what it does. There's been hundreds of problems on the site from that garbage. Plus....it's expensive. :)
 

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