Desperation is set in - need help

[Newdude]

Any other suggestions?

had a different pool store check my water since it was free and I was in the area.

Stay. Out. The. Pool. Store.

Mixing and matching advice does not work. Twice a day testing isn’t doing you any favors either. The process will still work if you don’t devote the time or attention to it, but it takes much longer.

I would plan on using your next day off to babysit and test/add every 2 hours. Ideally it would be a Saturday/Sunday thing. Saturday every 2 hours, Sunday would stretch 4-6 hours and by Monday your FC would hold long enough to go to work / resume your schedule.

 

[skimmerswimmer]

I wouldn't swim in that.
SLAM'ing for a month?
Not unheard of, but something may be wrong.
Sand filters aren't that great. Maybe add some DE, vacuum and brush more, keep FC up. Check/clean steps, stairs, light nitch.

 

[kevinz92702]

That seems odd. Have you checked/cleaned your filter recently, including making sure it is working after you replaced the sand? Sand takes the longest to clear a pool, but a month seems excessive for your case.

You said you mentioned Floc at some point, which can gum up your sand. Have you added any Floc recently?

Could you have iron or other metals in your water by chance?

No floc since I changed the sand. O wont touch that stuff again unless i absolutely have to, and not until the water is clear so I can see.

I did add some clarifier earlier that I read about. It's made from crushed recycled sea shells and is supposed to work in high chlorine levels with no adverse effects. So far it doesnt look like it did anything, but I have to backwash the filter in a couple hours and maybe after that I can add more?

Just highly frustrating trying to keep the motivation to see this through when everything else looks fine aside from cloudiness. When I swam in it before and would lift my foot, it was like a defined line in the water between where I could not see my foot and where I could. It's like the top few inches of water are crystal clear and everything below it is cloudy.

Is this the result of my ski high phosphate? I know the general consensus is you dont need phosphate remover, but should I given how bad this thing was?

 

[Donldson]

Is this the result of my ski high phosphate? I know the general consensus is you dont need phosphate remover, but should I given how bad this thing was?

Regardless of whether you would want to control phosphates at a later time, the water must be clear before using the product so now is not the time. Nor would it help the situation.

EDIT: I didn't even notice that your level was only 550 ppb. That's not high at all...

Unfortunately you are just dealing with a pool that's experienced a whole lot of mistreatment before you got to it. It's had years to grow some of the thickest organics, it's not going to clear up quickly. All I can say is that if you stick with it and avoid the temptation to try to shortcut things then you will kill and remove everything in there and you will be left with clear water that's going to resist going green in the future.

 

[Newdude]

Is this the result of my ski high phosphate?

550 is nowhere newer sky high. For *some* they may see problems over 2000 (ish). The overwhelming majority do not have a reason to even care what the # is with a properly sanitized pool.

Your pool store is using yet another scare tactic. Their phosphate removers are watered down and expensive. They don’t even sell the good brands.

 

[kevinz92702]

Guess I'll just stick to the process. Itll either get better or not.

 

[reggiehammond]

I had a different pool store check my water since it was free and I was in the area. They had my PH at 7.8 for some reason, I am keeping with what my Taylor kit shows. They had all my other levels about right with what I get.

pH testing with FC over 10 is inaccurate - step 1 of SLAM is lower pH to 7.2 then don’t worry about it until after the SLAM.
But you have to stay out of the pool store; their advice and testing is utterly worthless. You either want a TFP pool, or not.

 

[Mike1162]

Any idea why you were told the liner needs to be replaced? Guess I'm just wondering if there could be a tear in the liner.

 

[kevinz92702]

It needs replaced because it is sagging and coming off the track in several spots. It's also badly faded and chemical stained. Its approximately 20 years old, the local pool store actually put it in this pool in 2003.

 

[Pv2]

I did add some clarifier earlier that I read about. It's made from crushed recycled sea shells and is supposed to work in high chlorine levels with no adverse effects. So far it doesnt look like it did anything, but I have to backwash the filter in a couple hours and maybe after that I can add more?

no. just NO. stop trying to use magic formulas and keep filtering and keep the chlorine up where it will work.

***unless that "crushed recyled sea shells" is actually DE? that can help polish the water towards the end when most of it is clear, but if it isn't DE, or you don't know exactly what it is, stop putting strange things in the water and just filter, vacuum, brush and MAINTAIN the chlorine level.

 

[Pv2]

read this thread to see what patience and determination can accomplish

Reviving out of service pool: FG & deck Refresh

Link to current work: FG & deck Refresh This has turned into a massive thread, so here's links for navigation: Equipment selection Equipment layout logistics Equipment mock up Equipment pad prep Equipment mock up in pad Equipment installation Converting former Polaris pipe to water fill...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[kevinz92702]

Quick question for thought...can a small leak in the return side plumbing cause this cloudiness? Just brainstorming

 

[Mike1162]

Probably not. A pressure side leak will just cause water to leak onto/into the ground.

 

[Mike1162]

When you went for your swim could you tell if all the debris was off the bottom in the deep end?

 

[kevinz92702]

When you went for your swim could you tell if all the debris was off the bottom in the deep end?

That is actually a good question. I cant see or touch the deep end, it's probably 10 ft or so. I've been judging how much debris was in - and still might be- in the pool based on what I pull up with my leaf net and vacuum. I know there are still some leaves at the bottom of the deep end, but it isnt much. I barely get anything when I scoop. My vacuum still clogs a time or two when I go over it, but we all know that could just be a few stragglers on the bottom that wouldnt fit through the suction hole on the vacuum. So I have to say there is probably very very little debris left in this pool.

Did a chemical test this morning and FC was at 18.5 about where it was last night. So I'm not even sure theres anything left to kill in this pool. Just need to get past the cloudy water and I'm home free

 

[onestout]

buy a robot and let it do the vacuum work. Do you have any recent pictures? You will need to get a brush and get the algae out from around the returns, stairs, any lights etc.

 

[Mike1162]

The only other tip I have is to not backwash the filter too often. A dirty filter will trap finer particles than a clean one. Let the pressure readings determine when you backwash.

 

[Newdude]

That is actually a good question. I cant see or touch the deep end, it's probably 10 ft or so

I’m sorry but you shouldn’t be swimming. It doesn’t matter how hot it is or if it’s just a quick dip. If somebody needed to find you passed out at the bottom, Seconds matter. 5 minutes goes by in an utter panic in what feels like 10 seconds. *5 seconds if it involves a child. There are no two ways about it.

 

[onestout]

It needs replaced because it is sagging and coming off the track in several spots. It's also badly faded and chemical stained. Its approximately 20 years old, the local pool store actually put it in this pool in 2003.

You can just grab it and put it back into the track, should be easy with it being warm now. As you know the water is cloudy from the dead algae, just let the pump/filter work 24/7. Get the stuff out of the pool, it is working against you, leaves will really slow this process down and eat up FC....I know from experience, you are asking the FC to break down the leaves which means you have less to fight any algae and it just takes that much longer for the water to clear up, at least this is what I have seen. good luck

 

[kevinz92702]

FC level was at 14 based on a test a few min ago. Going to add the amount given by poolmath. Pool doesnt foam up near as much anymore, but we also have not had rain in a few days. I also remembered I had a bulk pack of skimmer socks. I'll put a link to a pic of what one looked like this afternoon. I put it back in until this evening and then changed it out since it was even more filthy and pump pressure was dropping because of it.

Skimmer sock

Also I did a lot of thinking while brushing the pool today and checking chemicals, both of which I did a lot. I think I have a main drain. Cant see it, but I can feel something in the deep end right at the very bottom that is fixed and just feels like a grate. Problem is, I dont think it works. I used a tennis ball to cut off suction from the skimmer this morning and no water made it to the pump when it ran dry. I only did this for a few seconds. I have a valve in my plumbing on the suction line, but I was told it is a drain and even with that valve open, it will not suck water if I block the skimmer line. When I first opened the pool, I noticed I had two inlets to my skimmer at the bottom; the rear one was open and goes to the pump, and the front one has a pvc plug in it with a square head. Does that sound about right? If I dont have a main drain helping to circulate water from the bottom, is this even going to work? It looks like the top layer of water is relatively clear, then the cloud begins.

I heard that in the absence of a main drain, it might be possible to put the vacuum in upside down so that it will suck water from the bottom and use my skim vac plate to hook onto the skimmer, then run the pump on filter. Is that dumb? Makes sense to me, but I am also new and seem to be making a lot of mistakes that's aggravating people here.