Cloudy Water - New here

[Aldavis7]

Hey all. I'm going to start off by giving you the test result for a pool store, because being they've took about 300$ worth of our money already, we can't afford one of the nice test kits suggested on here, BUT we will be getting one in the future.

FC - 0
TC - 0
pH - 7.22
TA - 50
CH - 210
CYA - 0


Over the last few weeks, it's went from green with tons and tons of leaves, branches etc, to cloudy green, to now a ocean color but cloudy.

We have flocked it, vaccummed tons of yellow out, and it's just the same. We're out of money.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. We've learned our lessons about pool stores.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! That's number one because we are happy to have new members. But there's not much we can do from there without your own test results I'm afraid. You'll see over & over again here how pool stores have added to the debt and stress of many pool owners.

I will point-out a few things though:
- A pool should never have zero CYA; it protects FC (free chlorine) and the pool itself from the effects of chlorine.
- Speaking of FC, it should never be zero. Always refer to our Chlorine/CYA Chart (link below) to see how they related to each other.
- Floc; almost never a good idea and often times used incorrectly complicating filtration later. Did you vacuum to waste once the floc settled? Hopefully it didn't touch the sand.

We simply can't over-emphasize the test kit. Any $$ you would've spent at the pool store could go towards the kit so we could help you. But do the best you can. We're hanging around if you have more questions about any of the TFP pages or processes. Nice to have you with us.

 

[DeanP66]

If you've put in any powdered shocks or trichlor pucks or anything granular, your CYA will not be 0. That's why we recommend getting your own quality test kit. Those pool store tests can't be trusted more times than not. What you really need is to SLAM the pool by bringing the FC level up to a shock level and maintaining it there until the water clears up and you pass the 3 criteria for the SLAM.

If we are to believe those test results, you would be in an ideal spot to start the SLAM as is, except you maybe need to raise your CYA level to around 30 or else the sun will destroy the chlorine or bleach that you're trying to SLAM with.

 

[Aldavis7]

Believe me, we've learned our lesson. We've been going at this for weeks, it's so frustrating. Yes, after flocked, it was vacuumed to waste. You could see all the yellow from the bottom that had settled coming up, but it's still cloudy, mostly at the bottom. After these test results, we added 7lbs of stabilizer, 13lbs of baking soda, half a gallon of liquid chlorine, about 2lbs of shock. If that helps any?!

 

[Aldavis7]

Would you mind explaining this SLAM method?

 

[DeanP66]

Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

Stop using that powdered shock. Since you've already added your stabilizer, adding that powdered shock will continually increase your CYA levels and make them unmanageable. Only use bleach or liquid chlorine. They are the same thing, only different strengths. The important thing is that they are unstabilized, so they won't increase your CYA over time (unlike powdered shock).

You really need one of those two test kits to do a proper SLAM, because they're the only two that use the FAD-DPD chlorine test, which tests FC up to 50 PPM. Most other chlorine tests only go up to 5 or 10, which is not high enough when you SLAM your pool. The FC needs to be at least in the 12 to 16 PPM range (depending on your CYA level) and then you have to maintain it there by testing every few hours. The FC will drop fast the greener your pool is because it won't be able to keep up with all the algae. So without the right FC test, you really won't have any idea where you're at.

 

[Aldavis7]

Hey guys, what's weird is, the pool is still cloudy but nothing is there. We've vacuumed, and it's clear. We've brushed, and there's no clouds of anything. It's like the water is stained, but it's not. I'm lost.

 

[Texas Splash]

the pool is still cloudy but nothing is there

Quite common. Organic matter can accumulate and cause cloudiness confusing many pool owners who simply expect to see green. This is why accurate test results is so critical. A TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C will confirm the amount of organic matter (if any) to make appropriate adjustments.