Cloudy Water - have tried what I think is everything!!

[gmiller0909]

Hello - first time pool owner and going grey trying to get my pool right.

I have had cloudy pool water the past two weeks. Tried shocking, super shocking, clarifier, Algaecide 60 (had some small mustard algae I think). Anyways my test results from today are below. I did just change the sand in my sand filter. I have an inground pool / 18x36, 4ft shallow end and 9 ft deepend / Sand filter / single speed pump. Circulation seems good, no air bubbles in pump and I have a heater.

I shocked it with TurboShock (6 lbs) and Algaecide 60 (whole bottle) two days ago. Was that a mistake, hadn't shocked it in over 3 weeks prior. Wanted to kill what little algae I had.

FAC - 2.45
Total Chlor - 2.71
pH -7.8 (just dropped some 31% Muriatic acid in as recommended)
Alkalinity - 100
Calcium Hardness - 316
CYA - 52
Copper - 0.3
Iron - 0
Phosphates - 104

I'm going to run the pump for 48 hrs to see if it will clear the water. I use non-stabilized chlorine tablets in the skimmer baskets because my CYA was over 100 and the 3" sanitized tablets were increasing my CYA.

What am I missing????

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to the TFP.

You are missing your own test kit for accurate reliable water tests - either the TF-100 Test Kits or the Taylor K-2006C.

Then you need to follow our SLAM Process exactly step by step with no shortcuts.

What brand tablets have you been using?

Your copper levels are at the level where you can have copper staining and turning blonde hair green.

I suggest you read ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

 

[Dtkokay]

Hi there and welcome! You have been throwing a lot of unnecessary chemicals into your pool, I'm guessing based on what the pool store is telling you. The only things you need to fix your cloudy water are an accurate water test (see the post above) and liquid chlorine.

Assuming your CYA of 52 is accurate, you have been running waaaaaay too low chlorine. At that CYA level, your minimum FC level should be 4 at all times, and ideally 6-8. As CYA goes up, your FC level needs to go up also. Read the ABCs link posted above.

Your cloudy water is a sign of algae, which I think you already know. After you get a real water test kit, you need to SLAM the pool, which means raising your FC level to a high level and holding it there until the water clears up and you pass what's called an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test (OCLT).

So the bottom line is your FC level has been too low, allowing algae to grow. You need to kill with algae with a high sustained level of chlorine (SLAM). Pure chlorine, NOT shock, not algaecide, not clarifier, etc. You can get pure chlorine as liquid chlorine at Walmart or your local hardware store.

 

[carnivalday]

If the cya is 52, you need to round up to 60. At 60 cya, your minimum FC level is 5....that is bare minimum. Recommended target is 7-9 Chlorine / CYA Chart - Trouble Free Pool.

 

[gmiller0909]

Thank you everyone, truly! I am going to lower my pH to the 7.2 and then SLAM. The measurements I got were from LiteHouse Pool (a print out).

 

[Msch99]

Do you have either the TF100 or Taylor k2006c test kits? If not, you will have difficulty slamming.
please add your pool information and test kit you are using to your signature. Settings/signature

The experts won’t be able to give you much advice on chemistry without one of those kits. Pool store tests and guess strips are notoriously unreliable.