Cloudy water but stumped

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C

ccurtis74

Member
Jun 17, 2022
15
St. Johns Michigan
Pool Size
17000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Looking for guidance here! I’ve been on the TFP method for 2 years with my pool and it has been flawless other than fighting with pollen or something settling and making me think I had something else. But loving it and has made me love the pool again.

Fast forward to yesterday. Friend called said. Man I need some help. I can’t figure this pool out. He’s not a TFP member. Had been going to local pool store for test results. Doesn’t have good test kit. So I stopped this morning to check it out.

Water is super super cloudy. Can’t see 8” down. He opened the pool 2 weeks ago. Said it was cloudy then. So he added 4 gallons of liquid chlorine like he always does and ran the pump 24/7. After a week it was still cloudy. So he assumed it was a filter issue. Changed his sand in filter. Backwashed it a few times and ran pump. It’s still super cloudy this morning. So I stopped and tested. Here’s what I came up with.

FC - 18.5
CC - .5
PH - 7.1
TA - 130
CH - 450
CYA - 0
Water temp 65.

I could not get it to show any CYA on my K-2006 kit. I checked it twice. I could not get the dot to disappear.

I did figure out this morning he has a frog style system for chlorine. So I was expecting CYA to be sky high. So I was shocked when it was 0.

So this is a problem I have never ran into. I am not sure where to direct him to go. Can anyone help guide here.

Thanks!!
 
What size is his pool? Is it in ground or above ground? He is probably going to need to slam the pool but a little more info about it will help us guide the process better. Is he willing to join TFP and let us help him directly? He will need a recommended test kit in order to complete the slam process.

I am assuming that he has been using cal-hypo to chlorinate his pool since the pH is fairly high and there is no CYA. If he hasn't added any chlorine in a week without any CYA and still has at least 18 ppm FC then some of what you may be seeing is calcium clouding. If that is true then you just keep the pump running and let the FC fall on its own.

Run an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to see if he loses any FC overnight. This will determine if there is a need to complete SLAM Process. I want to emphasize again that a good test kit is key to keeping his pool balanced and clear. If you still using the 5 way kit I assume you bought a seperate CYA test. If he needs to slam it will be cheaper in the long run to get a TF100 from TFtestkits.com or a K2006 from Taylor Technologies. It will have all the tests he needs for a slam and enough reagents to run the tests many times.

Good luck helping your friend. Giving advice on pool care is kind of like discussing religion or politics. A lot of folks have their minds made up one way or the other and aren't going to budge an inch on their beliefs no matter how much proof you give them.
 
I agree on the pool advice. Normally I just send people to TFP and let them figure it out.

It is a 10x26’ above ground. 42” deep. So about 13,000 gallons.

He has ordered a K-2006 kit just like I have and is waiting for it to arrive. Luckily he lives right around the corner for me so I was able to help out and test and can test till his arrives.

He has a Frog chlorinator system. Which I told him he needs to remove asap. From
Personal experience and reading on TFP they are garbage. But he has the dial cranked to 9. So that’s why it has so much chlorine reading on the test.

Do you think he should raise CYA before doing Overnight test or do it right away without doing anything else?
 
He can do the OCLT before raising the CYA. Has the water been tested for metals? Can you get a photo of the frog kit he has? If it is the kind that uses mineral packs there may be metals in the water that should be drained before treating the pool. I don't want to advise adding anything before knowing whether or not we know he needs to do any draining.
 
Ok. I would want to drain out the copper or at least get it below .03 A partial drain and refill of about half the water should do that if he does't want to do a full drain and refill. Does he have well water?

If he has well water and replacing a large volume of water would be too much strain on his system you can add sequestrant to keep the copper in suspension. I would advise draining as much of it as can safely be drained. An AGP can be safely drained without damage to the liner as long as the pool is refilled immediately. You can't drain an AGP and let it sit empty for days without the liner shrinking.
 
You would also want to check the iron levels of the well water if he decides to go for a full or partial drain and refill. Is getting trucked in iron free water a viable option in your area?
 
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