Cloudy pool that just won't clear

[SwimGirl1965]

Hi. New here and boy, am I learning so much!

I need help with a cloudy pool that has never cleared after opening for the season.

About a week after opening we took a water sample to the pool store because the water had a slightly cloudy haze that wasn't clearing. Diagnosis: phosphates. Treated it twice because the levels were not coming down. After treatment #3 the water got severely cloudy.

So we flocced it, which brought back to the original haze. We've tried algaecide, clarifier, and keeping the chlorine high to no avail. (Now I know the chlorine was not high enough in relation to the CYA).

I found this site on Tuesday. I took the chlorine up to 5 ppm and did the OCLT, with a .8 ppm loss. I have since raised the chlorine to 7.2 ppm.

Cloudiness seems to get worse when vacuumed or swam in.

I'm at a loss as to what to do next. Wait for the increased chlorine to work, SLAM, partial water change? Here at my current stats:

pH 7.6
Chlorine 7.2
CC .2
TA 80
CYA 60
CH 160

I do have a mineral system that's getting yanked out this weekend.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hi there SwimGirl1965, sorry to hear about the cloudy pool.

STOP putting in ANY chemical the pool store tells you to buy. You've spent a fortune on chemicals we'd never recommend, yet I see no mention of plain liquid chlorine in high enough levels to oxidize whatever is in your pool (along with all those potions).

Brush, take your FC up to SLAM levels and keep it there all the while filter, filter, filter.... then it just takes patience to clear. Directions for SLAM--> SLAM Process

Don't add calcium to a vinyl pool, it doesn't need any. Your TA and pH are fine. Your CYA is a little too high unless you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator?

Maddie

 

[SwimGirl1965]

Hi there SwimGirl1965, sorry to hear about the cloudy pool.

STOP putting in ANY chemical the pool store tells you to buy. You've spent a fortune on chemicals we'd never recommend, yet I see no mention of plain liquid chlorine in high enough levels to oxidize whatever is in your pool (along with all those potions).

Brush, take your FC up to SLAM levels and keep it there all the while filter, filter, filter.... then it just takes patience to clear. Directions for SLAM--> SLAM Process

Don't add calcium to a vinyl pool, it doesn't need any. Your TA and pH are fine. Your CYA is a little too high unless you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator?

Maddie

Not, not SWGC, and I have stopped buying chemicals or taking advice from the pool store, except for 12.5% chlorine I purchased last weekend!

OK, so slam it is. Question, at what level is the FC not safe to swim, because I'm going to have to go up to 24 ppm. My son will be heartbroken that he has to stay out of the pool this weekend.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

OK, so slam it is. Question, at what level is the FC not safe to swim, because I'm going to have to go up to 24 ppm. My son will be heartbroken that he has to stay out of the pool this weekend.

Safe to swim in up to SLAM level. I'd wear an old suit just in case though.... ?

Maddie

 

[Husky25]

CYA = 60 is not necessarily high for maintenance, but it is for a SLAM. You may want to consider replacing some water to bring it down. Assuming you can see the bottom of the pool, it is safe to swim in up to FC = Shock level, though don't wear your Sunday's best swimsuit and the SLAM may take a little longer.

 

[SwimGirl1965]

@YippeeSkippy Lordy, we've got plenty of those! @Husky25 Will do. How low to go on CYA - will 50 work? Thanks for the help. Will post updates...

 

[Husky25]

Sure. 50 is better than 60.

Make no mistake that a SLAM at CYA=60 is doable, but it is at the top of the range advised by this site. To get your pool to SLAM level, it will take a full two gallons of 12.5% LC to go from 0 to 24ppm and you don't know how long it will take, so you don't know how many gallons you'll need for it. On the other hand, there really is no harm in overbuying liquid chlorine until about mid-September, IMHO.

 

[SwimGirl1965]

Sure. 50 is better than 60.

Make no mistake that a SLAM at CYA=60 is doable, but it is at the top of the range advised by this site. To get your pool to SLAM level, it will take a full two gallons of 12.5% LC to go from 0 to 24ppm and you don't know how long it will take, so you don't know how many gallons you'll need for it. On the other hand, there really is no harm in overbuying liquid chlorine until about mid-September, IMHO.

I can get it pretty cheap. Maybe cheaper than water from my city to get the CYA down. And my water pressure is not the greatest, so there's the time factor...

 

[SwimGirl1965]

Update: at day 3 of the SLAM, we saw no improvement. Ugh. Remembered something about being prepared to clean out the filter in the directions. We did a filter deep clean and OMG, it was clogged with cottonwood from the trees. It took about 40 minutes to clean it all out. 8 hours later there was a noticeable difference. 20 hours later, its crystal clear. Thanks for your help and so glad I found this site!

 

[sccm_sysadmin]

Update: at day 3 of the SLAM, we saw no improvement. Ugh. Remembered something about being prepared to clean out the filter in the directions. We did a filter deep clean and OMG, it was clogged with cottonwood from the trees. It took about 40 minutes to clean it all out. 8 hours later there was a noticeable difference. 20 hours later, its crystal clear. Thanks for your help and so glad I found this site!

Great, glad to hear you're in business.