New in-ground vinyl salt pool, 20K gallons, green and cloudy after every rain. Added 2 gallons of muriatic acid, full strength, and it cleared up over night. TA was still high, FC 7, CC 0, TA 160-180, pH was around 7.0. Bad rain last night, green and cloudy again this morning. No algae, just green and cloudy. Will I have to buy 3 gallons of muriatic acid every time it rains, or is this just part of balancing the chemistry in a new pool combined with lots of rain?
Cloudy water after every rain
- Thread starter Jdking
- Start date
- Mar 24, 2014
- 2,455
- Pool Size
- 32000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool SJ-55
That is enough acid to drop your pH by ~3.0 Something isn't right.
What is your CYA?
What is your CYA?
Read the resources here, pool school and ABC’s of pool chemistry, before you do anything else. You need to SLAM your pool and clear up the algae. The cloudiness and green tint is definitely algae.
I am finishing up a SLAM now after all the rain we have had and a minor outbreak where dead algae was on my pool floor (which looks like dirt / dust).
It sounds like something is getting into your pool during the rain, perhaps ground water flowing in?, which the filter than removes.
Muriatic acid doesn't treat green. It treats pH.
Muriatic acid doesn't treat green. It treats pH.
I dipped a quart mason jar as deep as my arm would reach and the glass came up clear, no particles at all. The walls and the bottom are not slimy. No sign of algae.
That is not accurate. You’re equating a swamp to having algae, when there is a very graduated process of algae growth and presence.
What is your free chlorine and what test kit are you using?
FC is 7, CC 0, TA is 160-180, CYA 30, pH is 7 using the tf-100 test kit.
SLAM it, then raise you CYA to 70-80, and I you will have almost invisible water. Good luck and be patient !
Jdking, when you say "green", can you describe the color with more precision? A pretty clear jade green, with little to no brown mixed in?
A swampy green-brown mixed-looking color?
A pale milky green like the color of (plain) Crest toothpaste?
Something else?
...
I gotta say ... any kind of strong green color in pool water clearing up overnight with any kind of treatment seems incredible. You're saying that after the muriatic acid, the water was crystal-clear the next morning? Not even a hint of haze?
A swampy green-brown mixed-looking color?
A pale milky green like the color of (plain) Crest toothpaste?
Something else?
...
I gotta say ... any kind of strong green color in pool water clearing up overnight with any kind of treatment seems incredible. You're saying that after the muriatic acid, the water was crystal-clear the next morning? Not even a hint of haze?
Just throwing stuff at the wall:
Jdking, any chance you're dealing with copper in the water?
EDIT: The hills of Eastern Tennessee are rich in copper, and were once the center of a rich copper mining industry. I wonder if there is a significant amount of copper in the ground around Nashville, and if it gets into the water supply. Jdking, you didn't fill the pool with well water by any chance?
Jdking, any chance you're dealing with copper in the water?
EDIT: The hills of Eastern Tennessee are rich in copper, and were once the center of a rich copper mining industry. I wonder if there is a significant amount of copper in the ground around Nashville, and if it gets into the water supply. Jdking, you didn't fill the pool with well water by any chance?
Last edited:
If there was a haze, it was very minimal. I kept the pump running, brushed the walls and the floor of the pool to the drains, backwashed and rinsed, then added two gallons of full strength muriatic acid, and in the morning, it was totally clear.
I’m confused. Every forum I’ve read says to only shock if the FC is low or my CCs are above 0.5. My FC is 10, CCs 0, pH is 7.9-8, TA 170, and CYA 40. Are these appropriate SLAM levels? Here is a pic of the pool.
Attachments
Do an OCLT tonight, and I can almost guarantee it will show you the need for a SLAM. But just to answer everyone's opinions and provide as much information as possible, let us know what your overnight loss is and we can go from there.
In that photo, there seems to be some haze obscuring the pool cleaner. Is that a pic before or after you added 3 gal of muriatic acid?
For all that muriatic acid, a pH of 7.9-8.0 (post #16) seems quite high. That was a day after your pH tested 7.0 (post #1)?
Ok, we made it! Just to clarify, the pool was clear up until this last Tuesday. We had a big rain Monday night and when I woke up, the pool was super cloudy. I backwashed and rinsed, left the pump running all night, brushed the walls and tanning ledge and vacuumed nonstop, and added two gallons of muriatic acid Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, it was clear as a bell. Numbers were still a little skewed, but I’m sure that was because of the muriatic acid.
Wednesday night, it rained even harder, and the pool was cloudy again. Yesterday, my FC was ok, no CCs, TA was 170-180 and pH was around 8. CYA was around 30, but I had good chlorine.
I went home from work, added another gallon of muriatic acid and some cleaner. An hour later, my TA was 130, pH was around 7.2, FC was 10, no CCs, and I could tell a change in the clarity. This morning, after pump running and vacuuming all night, we have a clear pool.
It seems the major problem was dirt washing into the pool from around the patio. We are installing a French drain this afternoon to try to mitigate the problem, but the dirt seems to be the root of the cloudiness. Have not tested the levels this morning, but everything looks good for now.
Ok, we made it! Just to clarify, the pool was clear up until this last Tuesday. We had a big rain Monday night and when I woke up, the pool was super cloudy. I backwashed and rinsed, left the pump running all night, brushed the walls and tanning ledge and vacuumed nonstop, and added two gallons of muriatic acid Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, it was clear as a bell. Numbers were still a little skewed, but I’m sure that was because of the muriatic acid.
Wednesday night, it rained even harder, and the pool was cloudy again. Yesterday, my FC was ok, no CCs, TA was 170-180 and pH was around 8. CYA was around 30, but I had good chlorine.
I went home from work, added another gallon of muriatic acid and some cleaner. An hour later, my TA was 130, pH was around 7.2, FC was 10, no CCs, and I could tell a change in the clarity. This morning, after pump running and vacuuming all night, we have a clear pool.
It seems the major problem was dirt washing into the pool from around the patio. We are installing a French drain this afternoon to try to mitigate the problem, but the dirt seems to be the root of the cloudiness. Have not tested the levels this morning, but everything looks good for now.