Cloudy water-Need suggestions

May 16, 2021
24
NewJersey
New pool owner. Latham pools Fiberglass Synergy, salt water pool approximately 15000 Gallons. All of a sudden the water turned cloudy. Pics are attached. Cleaned filter for two consecutive days which was dirty and full of green/yellow water. Second day was a bit better. Have own TFPTestKit Pro. Tested and found Salt-3000, Total Cl-5, pH - 7.6, Alkalinity-90. Also, checked water at two stores. Results are attached. Leslie's suggested to dump 10LBs of Alkalinity Up. Did that yesterday. Salt meter read 3000 but still added one bag since was told to keep between 2700-3400. Salt shows 3300 now on salt generator meter. Pump has been running non stop for 5 days. Not much change. Could you please chime in and tell me what should I do. Any help will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.


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Welcome to the forum.
Please post a full set of test results from your test kit.
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
 
Welcome to the forum.
Please post a full set of test results from your test kit.
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Here are the results from my tests.

Salt-3200 (Meter reads 3300)
FC-Did two tests values were 2.5 and 2
CC-Did two tests values were .5 and .5
pH-Matches mostly 7.8 but a it darker
TA-Did two tests values were 160 and 130
CH-Did two tests values were 75 and 75
CYA-Still trying to get the hang of it. I filled the provided bottle to 7.5ml mark with pool water then topped it off with R-0013 up to 15ml mark. The solution makes the dot a bit hazy but not completely invisible even if I fill the entire tube with the solution. Don't know if I am doing something wrong. The mark at the top of the tube is 30 by the way.
 
You have a beautiful pool, and the primo test kit. WHY would you chance the pool store ruining that pretty pool and chemistry then??

You added a lot of unnecessary chemicals there..... I hope you turned the SWG off for a day when adding salt? Salt going thru the SWG directly can mess the system up.

Have you learned what your chem levels should be? Recommended Levels

Maddie :flower:
 
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The solution makes the dot a bit hazy but not completely invisible even if I fill the entire tube with the solution.
Great job on the tests.
So you have at most 20 ppm CYA. Get some dry stabilizer and put 10 ppm CYA worth in a thin sock and hang in front of a return.

Then lower your pH to 7.2 using muriatic acid.

Once the pH is tested at 7.2 or so, add enough liquid chlorine to get to 12 ppm FC. Test and add more liquid chlorine several times a day (at least 3-4 times per day) to keep the FC as close to 12 ppm as you can. Brush/vac your pool at least once per day.
 
Could you please chime in and tell me what should I do. Any help will be highly appreciated.
Stay outta pool stores is what you should do.
Your salt for example was 3000pm you say, and the device wants to have salt between 2700 and 3400ppm. 3000ppm *IS* between 2700 & 3400.

Your FC is too low- why didn't the pool store tell you that?? That's why you have hazy water. You may need to do a SLAM process to clean up the water of algae.

Sorry to be blunt but pool stores are in the business of selling. We're not. Who ya gonna listen to?

Maddie :flower:
 
You have a beautiful pool, and the primo test kit. WHY would you chance the pool store ruining that pretty pool and chemistry then??

You added a lot of unnecessary chemicals there..... I hope you turned the SWG off for a day when adding salt? Salt going thru the SWG directly can mess the system up.

Have you learned what your chem levels should be? Recommended Levels

Maddie :flower:
Sorry, did not know had to turn off SWG for a day before putting in salt. Will remember next time. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Stay outta pool stores is what you should do.
Your salt for example was 3000pm you say, and the device wants to have salt between 2700 and 3400ppm. 3000ppm *IS* between 2700 & 3400.

Your FC is too low- why didn't the pool store tell you that?? That's why you have hazy water. You may need to do a SLAM process to clean up the water of algae.

Sorry to be blunt but pool stores are in the business of selling. We're not. Who ya gonna listen to?

Maddie :flower:
I will, promise :) ..I added salt as the pool installer said to keep it between 2700 and 3400. It was at 3000 and I though adding a bit more is not going to really matter as long as it is in range. Thanks again for the advice.
 
Great job on the tests.
So you have at most 20 ppm CYA. Get some dry stabilizer and put 10 ppm CYA worth in a thin sock and hang in front of a return.

Then lower your pH to 7.2 using muriatic acid.

Once the pH is tested at 7.2 or so, add enough liquid chlorine to get to 12 ppm FC. Test and add more liquid chlorine several times a day (at least 3-4 times per day) to keep the FC as close to 12 ppm as you can. Brush/vac your pool at least once per day.
Thanks Marty, for the detailed step by step instructions. Now, since this is my first time, I have some questions to execute the steps. How much is '10 ppm CYA worth'? How much Muriatic acid should I use in steps? Same with liquid chlorine, how much to use every application? I plan to visit Home Depot to get everything you suggested, is that the best place? Would you recommend choosing a different store? YippeeSkippy suggested to use SLAM process, is that what I would be doing by following your suggestions? Thanks for taking time and helping me out !! By the way, I plan to buy the following to execute the steps. Let me know if you would suggest to buy and keep something else for future use while I am there..

Pool Time Chlorine Stabilizer 5 lbs. Balancer-23505PTM - The Home Depot (Should I go for 20 lb for future needs?)

I have 12 big tabs in a bucket left by pool installer. Could I use them instead of the liquid chlorine for this process?
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How much is '10 ppm CYA worth'? How much Muriatic acid should I use in steps? Same with liquid chlorine, how much to use every application?
PoolMath
In your pool volume (15000 gallons) 24 oz of dry stabilizer is 12 ppm CYA. That is close enough.

Lower the pH from 7.8 to 7.2. Add 32 oz, or 1/4 of the jug of 31.45% muriatic acid. Let circulate for 30 minutes. Test pH and TA again. Enter into Poolmath and add acid, if necessary, to get pH to ~7.2

Add enough liquid chlorine to get from what the current FC is to 12 ppm FC. All at once. Pour at a return with pump running. Brush the area.
 
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Thanks Marty, for the detailed step by step instructions. Now, since this is my first time, I have some questions to execute the steps. How much is '10 ppm CYA worth'? How much Muriatic acid should I use in steps? Same with liquid chlorine, how much to use every application? I plan to visit Home Depot to get everything you suggested, is that the best place? Would you recommend choosing a different store? YippeeSkippy suggested to use SLAM process, is that what I would be doing by following your suggestions? Thanks for taking time and helping me out !! By the way, I plan to buy the following to execute the steps. Let me know if you would suggest to buy and keep something else for future use while I am there..

Pool Time Chlorine Stabilizer 5 lbs. Balancer-23505PTM - The Home Depot (Should I go for 20 lb for future needs?)

I have 12 big tabs in a bucket left by pool installer. Could I use them instead of the liquid chlorine for this process?
Go intall this on your phone. It will setup your pool and give you chemical recommendations -->PoolMath
After you install pool math, setup your pool with the correct size in gallons. Then go to CYA, enter your current CYA and target CYA and it will tell you how much CYA to put in to raise 10ppm.
It will do the same for PH/Muriatic Acid. If you search here there are good threads -->Adding muriatic acid
You can use any bleach that is not splashless, doesn't have "flavor" additives. I've used Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, Aldi etc. Pool Math also has a tool to compare price/volume/%. Just find the best price and use that.
Yes you should SLAM.
Read this -->ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and This -->SLAM Process
You do not need 20 lbs of CYA. It does degrade over time, but slowly. I had to add 4lbs this year and likely will not add more. 5-10lbs is plenty.
You could use the pucks, as they add CYA, however I would put them in FB Marketplace and get rid of them. You have better control by adding bleach and CYA directly. You will likely get a pretty penny for the pucks right now.
 
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Great. When you complete the SLAM, start the SWCG with it creating 4 ppm FC per day. Use Poolmath to determine what % at your pump run time.
 

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