Cloudy Water :(

[IronMan13]

Hey all! I'm experiencing a 2nd round of cloudy water and looking for some guidance on what could be causing it.

Several weeks ago we were getting ready to leave on vacation and the day before we left we opened the cover on the pool was very cloudy looking, where the day before it had been crystal clear. I opened up my TF-100 test kit and ran tests and found that my FC was around 1 and my CC was .5. So i ran to walmart and got some liquid chlorine (aka great value bleach) and dumped 4 of the 128 oz bottles in it and ran the pump on high. the next morning checked it before i left and while the FC was rising (its been a few weeks and don't remember the exact value) the water was still cloudy. We had to leave so we had no choice to leave it. My in-laws came down to use it the next day and the water was back to crystal clear! so was happy about that.

Got back from vacation and have been working on getting my TA down and my CYA up. TA has been running about 150 and CYA about 30. After some CYA addition and a round of muriatic acid i'm not sitting at 120 TA and 50 CYA.

We briefly used the pool yesterday and the water was clear, now just a little bit ago i pulled back the cover since my wife was having some friends over so i could vacuum out the worms/bugs/stuff (its been raining here) the water was cloudy again not quite as cloudy as the above incident, but not as clear as it has been.

I'm in the middle of work so didn't have time to run a full round of tests but i did test FC, CC, and PH and came up with FC of 8, CC of .5, and PH of 7.5. so again, not quite the same scenario as above since i actually have FC this time. I did have the cover closed and was running the pump on high and had the heater running to warm the pool some this morning.

Just not sure if its always algae starting that causes the cloudy water or if it could be something else?

Thanks!!!

 

[cledee]

You needed to complete a slam.
so your water was cloudy a few weeks ago and you dumped 4 gallons of LC once and the water cleared. That doesn't mean you got rid of all the algae. You probably didn't kill all of it, and any time your chlorine levels drop far enough, the algae starts growing again.

 

[Texas Splash]

When you start the SLAM Process, don't worry about the TA. Focus on maintaining the elevated FC (SLAM) level consistently until you pass all 3 criteria on that SLAM page. If your CYA is 50, then your FC needs to be "20" per the FC/CYA Levels. Be sure to lower the pH to about 7.2 before starting the SLAM Process. Also, leave the cover off so that the sun can oxidize the combined chlorines in the water.

 

[IronMan13]

thanks! i'll do the SLAM process and see what happens. I guess i never technically did it all the way before since we left on vacation i had no choice but to dump the LC in and leave it. however when i got back (2 weeks later) the water was clear and i did the OCLT and only loss 1 FC so with the CC of .5, 1 FC loss, and the clear water i assumed i had passed.

Is an algae problem starting pretty much the only reason you would get cloudy water? Also is it ok for kids to swim during the SLAM?

 

[Texas Splash]

Is an algae problem starting pretty much the only reason you would get cloudy water? Also is it ok for kids to swim during the SLAM?

It's not the only reason, but it's the most common. Based on your scenario, it's understandable. Yes, you can be in the water as long as the FC is not over "20" based on the CYA of 50.

 

[cledee]

thanks! i'll do the SLAM process and see what happens. I guess i never technically did it all the way before since we left on vacation i had no choice but to dump the LC in and leave it. however when i got back (2 weeks later) the water was clear and i did the OCLT and only loss 1 FC so with the CC of .5, 1 FC loss, and the clear water i assumed i had passed.

Is an algae problem starting pretty much the only reason you would get cloudy water? Also is it ok for kids to swim during the SLAM?

you could also get cloudy water if your PH is high since calcium can precipitate over the water.

 

[IronMan13]

SLAM process started last night.... got the FC up to 20 and deleted my schedule so the pump would run all the time..... got up this morning and tested and FC was still at 20 and CC was 1 so was thinking yay! but then the water was still cloudy so looked at the app and saw that the pump still shut off last night :'( so turned it back on and on high and will test in a few hours after its run a bit.

 

[IronMan13]

Couple of quick questions.... Done with work for the day and just got done vacuuming the pool and retesting the water. Water looks 100% clear to both myself and my wife. FC was 16 and CC was .5. last step in SLAM is to do the overnight loss test. Do I need to bring the FC back up to 20 before I do the overnight test tonight? Or since the water is clear do I leave the FC and retest before night to get my level for the overnight test?

Also thought/question - we have "bubblers" in our tanning ledge that are really just return jets that have an electronic valve we can turn on or off to have the water come out of them. Is it possible that not using those for several days allows algae to form in the pipes for those and then when we finally use them it shoots all that algae out to the rest of the pool? Wondering if I should do a schedule of an hour overnight that runs water through them.....

Also I linked my account to the pool math app, can you see my log results?

Thanks!!!

 

[Texas Splash]

For your first question - I would. You've come this far, so might as well stay at SLAM level for one more evening to be safe.

For the bubblers, it would be a good idea to run them for about 15 minutes or so each day just to purge stagnant water out and fill with fresh chlorinated water.

Good luck on your Overnight Chlorine Loss Test!

 

[mknauss]

You can leave the FC as is for the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
Algae does not grow in the plumbing. It needs sunlight to grow.
Your Poolmath logs are not showing. Try logging out and logging back in to your app.

 

[IronMan13]

morning! ok, so i did the OCLT, tested the water about 9:30pm my time and FC was 17.5. Closed the cover and let it sit overnight. Woke up a little late this morning and didn't get it tested until about 9:30am but its cloudy here and the cover was on so think I should be OK there, tested and FC was 17, which is good! however, I looked at the run time history in the app and my pump shut off again for some reason at 4am. Would that invalidate the OCLT?

For my pool math logs, i rechecked all the settings and logged out of the app and website and logged back in, i don't see them when i hover over my profile name like i do on others, but there is a little . that if i click on it takes me to my logs. is that what you all are seeing too? any ideas on how to fix that?

back to my pool, assuming the pump shut off doesn't invalidate the OCLT it looks like i passed the SLAM! Have a couple of next steps questions assuming i passed

1) do i just wait until the FC naturally gets back down to the level it needs to be at and then start up my SWG again?
2) i've been reading and searching and i need some help determining what % to run my SWG at. So if my normal FC should be 5 (assuming i get my CYA up to 70) I know i can use the pool math app and put in the info and it will tell me my % to run it at, but do i put it at 0 and wanting to get to 5 for it to calculate? or do i put in a starting reading and if thats the case should it be a morning reading or a night reading?

thanks again for all the help here! i really appreciate it!!!!
(Pic of deep end this morning)

 

[mknauss]

Your OCLT was fine so appears you meet the criteria.

I can see your Poolmath logs by clicking on your Membername.

Your FC will fall to target over the next couple days.
To determine % generation on your SWCG, will depend greatly how often the pool is covered. You might only use 1 ppm FC or less per day if the pool is covered most of the time, or up to 3-4 ppm per day if uncovered most of the day. Your signature does not show what SWCG you have. So if you could add that, it will help if you wish guidance on how to set up the SWCG.

 

[Texas Splash]

Would that invalidate the OCLT?

No, that's okay.

i don't see them when i hover over my profile name like i do on others,

That's odd, I see them.

1) do i just wait until the FC naturally gets back down to the level it needs to be at and then start up my SWG again?

Yes

but do i put it at 0 and wanting to get to 5 for it to calculate?

You should enter the desired goal you wish to achieve. Mix & match teh output% with runtime and you should get the results you want. If not, let us know.

Congrats on the OCLT!

 

[IronMan13]

Your OCLT was fine so appears you meet the criteria.

I can see your Poolmath logs by clicking on your Membername.

Your FC will fall to target over the next couple days.
To determine % generation on your SWCG, will depend greatly how often the pool is covered. You might only use 1 ppm FC or less per day if the pool is covered most of the time, or up to 3-4 ppm per day if uncovered most of the day. Your signature does not show what SWCG you have. So if you could add that, it will help if you wish guidance on how to set up the SWCG.

Doh! Sorry about that, sig updated, but its a pentair IC-60. Thanks for the help!!! as far as covering goes, we pretty much have the pool covered whenever we aren't using it. my wifes super paranoid about someone falling in so unless i'm doing something during the day, like raising the PH, or we are using it, it stays covered.

 

[IronMan13]

No, that's okay.

That's odd, I see them.

Yes

You should enter the desired goal you wish to achieve. Mix & match teh output% with runtime and you should get the results you want. If not, let us know.

Congrats on the OCLT!

Awesome, I'll let my FC get back down to normal and then get an idea of how much i loose during a typical day to try and figure out the % to set it at. obviously i don't want it to go too low while figuring this out so should i set it to 50% or something like that as a starting point? then if i keep losing too much FC during the day or it goes to high adjust it up or down?

 

[mknauss]

should i set it to 50% or something like that as a starting point? then if i keep losing too much FC during the day or it goes to high adjust it up or down?

Is the cover on most of the day or not?

 

[IronMan13]

Is the cover on most of the day or not?

apologies for the delayed answer, got started on projects yesterday and finished up just in time to roll into bed last night!

So i'm not sure how to answer that question as its going to be very variable..... my wife is a teacher and is off in the summers with our kids. so if they are home and its nice out they will probably be in the pool and the cover will be off all day. but if they decide to go out and about and/or the weather is bad the cover will be on. cover will definitely be on overnight every night unless i needed to leave it off for a specific reason.

 

[Texas Splash]

It's good to let the sun hit the water for a couple hours each day to help the sun's UV do it's oxidation process.

 

[mknauss]

What that says is your FC usage each day will be very variable. So you are probably best to set the SWCG to create an amount of FC to cover the days the cover is off most of the day and the pool is swum in. Then, when the cover is on, the FC will rise, not too high but higher than target, and you will be fine overall.

I would suggest you start with setting the SWCG to create 3 ppm FC per day. Your IC60 will add 0.4 ppm FC per hour when set at 100% generation. So determine what pump run time and % generation setting will meet 3 ppm FC per day.

Then test FC every day or every other day. The key is to keep the FC level at or above the target range for your CYA level. I would get your CYA level to at least 50 ppm, making your target level FC at least 4 ppm.

 

[IronMan13]

It's good to let the sun hit the water for a couple hours each day to help the sun's UV do it's oxidation process.

What that says is your FC usage each day will be very variable. So you are probably best to set the SWCG to create an amount of FC to cover the days the cover is off most of the day and the pool is swum in. Then, when the cover is on, the FC will rise, not too high but higher than target, and you will be fine overall.

I would suggest you start with setting the SWCG to create 3 ppm FC per day. Your IC60 will add 0.4 ppm FC per hour when set at 100% generation. So determine what pump run time and % generation setting will meet 3 ppm FC per day.

Then test FC every day or every other day. The key is to keep the FC level at or above the target range for your CYA level. I would get your CYA level to at least 50 ppm, making your target level FC at least 4 ppm.

Thanks to both of you for your help! Think i have a plan in place and an idea of how to maintain it! If i run my pump for 12 hours per day looks like i will need to set my SWG to 58% to create 3 FC per day. So i will start with that and adjust as needed based on usage. Taking the CYA level and chart as my minimum FC needed, what about on the maximum side? Is there a max FC that if it gets to it i should be turning off the SWG and letting it go back down before turning it back on?