Cloudy Water

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TexasPoolFool

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Jun 15, 2019
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San Antonio Texas
Moved from here.
Hello! I am new to this forum and I am so thankful to have found you all! I am struggling with much the same issue!! Last summer was our first season with the pool and we had absolutely ZERO issues with it! Then winter came and we didn’t utilize the pool. So early this summer we began the grueling task of fishing out tons of debris, leaves, even a dead squirrel ? out of murky green water. FINALLY we have gotten the pool to the point where it is cloudy blue and we can mostly see down to the bottom BUT we can’t get it to hold FC and it is still cloudy. I want to just SLAM it however I’m not sure if our water is balanced enough for the SLAM to work as we’ve been vacuuming to waste and replacing water. Do I need to lower the pH more or increase the CYA a little? What if I put too much conditioner and make the CYA too high (so nervous about this)? Will the SLAM clear up the cloudiness? Anyone with any experience with this Please help!
We have a TF 100 kit and a sand filter. Here are some numbers:
pH 7.5
FC 0
CYA 0
I didn’t test the other things today but if you need me to just let me know!
Thanks sooo much in advance!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Welcome to the forum!
You need to follow the SLAM Process. Run a full suite of tests with your TF100 (no need to repeat the CYA test) and post them via your PoolMath logs. Just entire all the tests into Poolmath and they will be available to us on your shared log.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry and consider reviewing the entire Pool School eBook.
 
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So I have read and feel I understood the SLAM process and the ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry. I understand the intricate balance between CYA and chlorine. I was just feeling super nervous about adding my Liquid conditioner because I don’t want to increase the CYA level too much and then have to drain half the pool. I have also had to backwash the sand filter about every 2 days to keep good water pressure so I’m worried about not being able to backwash for a week...do I have to do this with liquid stabilizer?
I’ve already purchased the Liquid conditioner/stabilizer and 6 gallons of liquid chlorine/bleach 10%. Should I just go ahead and add the recommended about of stabilizer tonight and then wait until the next night to start adding the chlorine for the SLAM since my CYA is zero (less than the ideal 30)? Sorry so many questions!
 
Liquid conditioner will be in the water nearly instantaneously. So backwashing is no issue.

I would not assume your CYA is zero. Add 20 ppm worth of CYA and then test after running the pump a few hours. Adjust as necessary from there.

Once you add CYA, add chlorine. Assume you will have 30 ppm CYA.
 
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You can backwash as needed when you use liquid CYA. It's when people broadcast CYA granules into the pool and they get caught in the filter that we recommend not backwashing, as any undissolved granules will be backwashed out. Reguardless of the CYA method you use you do not have to wait to start the slam process.
 
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Hi again! So I have been “SLAMING” this pool and it is STILL cloudy ?. I really would like to at least be able to swim by the 4th of July if at all possible. Please help me figure out what to do next. I last added 128ox of 10% trade chlorine at 1:00 AM this morning.
At 3:30 pm this afternoon:

FC: 14 (FINALLY holding some chlorine but it is a little higher than our target of 12!!!)
CC: 4.5
CYA: 28
What now?
 
That is an unusually high CC level. Was your FC disappearing almost immediately and registering high CC? Perhaps you were fighting some ammonia since the CYA went to 0 over the winter.

Looks like you are making good headway now.
Is the filter pressure still climbing and requiring baskwashing?
 

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I’m sooo bummed ? Just when I thought I was getting somewhere!!! ??‍♀️
I just got back in after adding fresh water then vacuuming the pool to waste. I still retrieved about a half a skimmer basket of leaves (not dead old leaves though...but then again my landscaper was just here trimming the hedges and trees).
I then tested the FC and CYA (see numbers below)! I am starting to think about throwing in the towel. So desperate for help! What am I doing incorrectly?
FC: 1 ?
CC: 0.5
CYA: 28 (a little less than 30)

And now it looks like rain! Help!
 
jblizzle said:
That is an unusually high CC level. Was your FC disappearing almost immediately and registering high CC? Perhaps you were fighting some ammonia since the CYA went to 0 over the winter.

Looks like you are making good headway now.
Is the filter pressure still climbing and requiring baskwashing?
Click to expand...
Yes to all of the above! We still have to backwash every 2-3 days (before it was daily) so improvement I guess?? Pool held the chlorine from 1AM until the 3:30pm check. Now we are back to square 1 literally! FC: 1 ?
 
With a CYA of only around 30ppm, you will lose a lot of FC to the hot sun. You are not doing anything wrong. You just need to keep adding chlorine as required.

Also I don't think the FC could have stayed the same between 1AM and 3:30PM because as soon as the sun hits the water you will start to have FC loss.
 
jblizzle said:
Have you read ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry?

The CC will go away.
Click to expand...
I have read it a few times lol! Just trying to figure this out. I don’t even know how much chlorine I’ve put in this pool over the last few weeks.
I have subscribed to the pool math app so that you all can check out my logs to ensure I’m doing what I am supposed to. My husband is getting tempted to try some flocc to see if my sand filter will remove more of the debris but I think we should just continue to be patient. Is that correct or is using Clarifier or floc ok? Sorry so many questions. Couldn’t get through this without you guys!
 
Would be great if you entered your test results in to Poolmath.

No clarifier or Floc. Clarifier is glue and floc requires multiple days without the pump running and lots of vaccing to waste. A difficult process fraught with risk. Plus it typically compromises the filter media requiring it to be changed.
 

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