Green Cloudy Pool

Jump to latest Follow Reply
The FC level was 16.5 this morning at 6:45am. Once the sun came up, it started going down as expected. At 10:30am, the FC level was 9.5 ppm, so I started adding bleach again to get it back to 12 ppm. We are trying maintain the FC level 12 ppm all day, but life gets in the way sometimes. Below are some recent pictures. I would describe the water as blue milky or cloudy. It does seem to be clearing some though, or it is my imagination. We will keep at it. At this point the bleach additions are minimal, compared to when we were trying to get rid of the monochloramine.

Should we have a chlorine tablet in as normal during the day? I have been taking it out at night when I want to do an OCLT, but otherwise we have still been using the tablets.
 
You should stay away from any tablets right now as they will increase CYA, and we don't want that right now. Stick just to the bleach and you'll be fine. Slow change is fine, it means you're going in the right direction. Less bleach means the FC is gaining the upper-hand on the algae. Keep it going!
 
Chuck, I can see a faint difference, and I suspect that if you continue to maintain the FC at the 12 mark, you will see that cloudiness go away soon. You are in that tail-end of the SLAM, the agonizing last 10% of it, so hang tough and keep it going. Filtration is also important now, so backwash as needed to help remove the dead organic material. I suspect one morning soon you'll wake-up and be shocked to see the bottom.
 
More good news this morning. Last night at 11pm, the FC level was 13.5 ppm and CC was 2.0 ppm. This morning at 7am, the FC level is 15 ppm, and the CC level is 1.0 ppm. We will vacuum and backwash again today, and see. Moving in the right direction.

I did notice that the water level is down, and I really do need to add some water at some point. However, I really do not want to mess with it right now. Should I wait on this?
 
cedougl said:
More good news this morning. Last night at 11pm, the FC level was 13.5 ppm and CC was 2.0 ppm. This morning at 7am, the FC level is 15 ppm, and the CC level is 1.0 ppm. We will vacuum and backwash again today, and see. Moving in the right direction.

I did notice that the water level is down, and I really do need to add some water at some point. However, I really do not want to mess with it right now. Should I wait on this?
Click to expand...

Strange that your FC went up overnight.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Well, I continued the SLAM over the weekend. Unfortunately, our pool is still just as cloudy.

When the FC level was below shock level I tested the pH of the pool water. The test color was orange, so it looked like the pH level was somewhere between 6.8 and 7.2. Would it be possible for a low pH to cause cloudy pool water? How do clarifiers work, and can they be effective?
 
Hello again Chuck. I was wondering how things were going. First thing - pH. If it's low, it can be corrosive and cause damage to equipment, so if you're sure the pH is low from a test when FC was below 10, then bring it back up to 7.2 right away. As for the SLAM and the condition of your water, please answer the following:
- Is the water still blue but just cloudy like in post # 125?
- Did you try an OCLT last night?
- Can you post a few of your latest FC & CC readings for us?
- Have you tried adding a little DE to your filter as noted here Pool School - Add DE to a Sand Filter
We want to rule-out any/all possibilities before recommending any other pool products. We need to make sure all sanitation is complete first. Once we know the water is 100% algae-free, then if there is still a cloudiness issue we can entertain other ideas. The last thing we want to do is end-up having two problems at the same time. So give us some feedback and we'll go from there. Thanks!
 
I am using the standard pH test in the TF-100 kit. After shaking it was more orange-ish than red, so it seems the pH is low. I have never had to raise the pH in all the time I have owned the pool. I can only attribute it to the fact that the pool guy added some pH minus when he was here before. I will buy some pH plus and increase it tonight, while my FC level is under 10.

- The pool water is blue and cloudy, and has stayed that way. To be honest, it is very difficult to tell if it is improving or not. One thing that is consistent is that we cannot see the bottom.
- I did not try an OCLT last night, but I will try one tonight.
- I will send some recent FC and CC readings tonight when I get home. I have been continuing to test consistently. Just as a general trend that I am seeing, the FC level seems to hold for longer now. The CC level is usually around 2 ppm, but a couple of times per day I will get a reading of 0.5 ppm.
 
Also, instead of buying the more expensive pH Up products from a pool store, you can also use PH can be raised in three ways: borax, soda ash, and aeration. Borax is usually the best choice. Borax is available as 20 Mule Team® Borax Natural Laundry Booster. It is sold in the laundry detergent section of most larger grocery stores and some big box stores. Borax is best added by pre-dissolving it in a bucket of water and then pouring that slowly in front of a return. We'll try to keep an eye out for your latest test results later today.
 
Best thing to use to raise pH is Borax. You can find it in the detergent aisle. Most common brand is 20 Mule Team. Raises pH without raising TA much.

Clarifiers are a hit and miss product. Sometimes they work great, sometimes they don't. Other users have had success at this stage with clarifiers or flocculant such as alum, but it's not a TFP recommended step as it isn't always reliable and some products can cause extra problems. Have you tried adding some DE to your sand filter?
 
Here is a bunch of test data from the past 4 days or so. There are some gaps in the times on days when we were not home to test all day long. We are also testing less often because the FC level is going down less often. Also, some days during the day we are letting the FC level get a little below shock level to allow people to swim for a while.

9/4 04:20pm - FC = 14.0, CC = 2.0
9/4 05:10pm - FC = 14.0, CC = 3.0
9/4 07:10pm - FC = 13.5, CC = 2.0
9/4 09:10pm - FC = 13.0, CC = 3.0
9/4 11:10pm - FC = 13.5, CC = 2.0

9/5 07:15am - FC = 15.0, CC = 1.0
9/5 09:15am - FC = 12.0, CC = 2.5
9/5 03:10pm - FC = 11.5, CC = 1.0
9/5 05:10pm - FC = 11.0, CC = 2.5
9/5 08:10pm - FC = 9.0, CC = 2.5 [Add 1/2 gal. 12.5% bleach]
9/5 11:15pm - FC = 12.5, CC = 2.5

9/6 08:00am - FC = 11.5, CC = 2.5
9/6 11:00am - FC = 12.0, CC = 2.5
9/6 01:00pm - FC = 10.0, CC = 2.0
9/6 03:00pm - FC = 12.0, CC = 0.5 [I thought this might be a turning point]
9/6 10:30pm - FC = 8.5, CC = 2.0 [Add 3/4 gal. 12.5% bleach]

9/7 09:30am - FC = 14.0, CC = 1.0
9/7 12:30pm - FC = 10.0, CC = 2.0
9/7 04:00pm - FC = 9.0, CC = 1.0 [Add 1/4 gal. 12.5% bleach]
9/7 08:30pm - FC = 12.5, CC = 2.0

9/8 11:00am - FC = 10.0, CC = 1.0
9/8 02:20pm - FC = 10.5, CC = 1.5
9/8 03:30pm - FC = 8.5, CC = 2.5
9/8 09:30pm - FC = 9.5, CC = 1.0 [Add 1/2 gal. 12.5% bleach]
9/8 11:00pm - FC = 12.5, CC = 1.5

9/9 7:00am - FC = 11.0, CC = 2.5
 
Okay, so we know you've added DE to the filter which will help collect dead organic material, but to have a constant high CC over .5 - 1.0 indicates your chlorine is still killing and/or processing a lot of stuff. Work is still happening. If the CC was low and your water was still cloudy, then we might have to look elsewhere, but your bleach is definitely working on something. I don't think you have anything in the pool other than a ladder correct? Have you taken that ladder out and considered disassembling it (if possible)? You would be surprised how much stagnant organic material can get trapped in those things, At the very least, leave it out during the SLAM to rule-out algae within it? That is a VERY common occurrence. Also, do you have any pool toys or anything else that may get left in the pool? Those items may carry organics from the dirty water back to the pool. Other than that, you appear to be doing a really good job recording your readings. Perhaps at your next opportunity, consider re-testing your CYA just to make sure it's not higher than you think. Just to ensure you're meeting the required FC for that CYA. You've probably checked it before, but just want to make sure.
 
I added the reading from this morning to the data above. The pool failed the OCLT last night, which does not surprise me. About three days ago, I re-tested CYA and it is now at 22. So, using PoolMath, I determined my shock level is 10 now. I also tested pH again last night while the FC level was at 8.5 ppm. The pH tested at 7.2 so I think we are good there.

The only other factor involved is that we have needed to add water because we were getting too low on the skimmer. I tested the pH of the fill water and it was 7.5. That may be why our pH is increasing slightly when adding water. I know adding the water will also likely lower CYA. For now, I have been not been putting chlorine tablets in the skimmer, but I could if CYA needed to be increased.

On the subject of organic matter, I really do not want to remove the ladder from the pool, if I can avoid it. Could I tip it up and scrub it while in the pool? No toys are currently in the pool. I could wash down any toys we plan to use, with a diluted bleach solution, if needed before we use them. This is frustrating because we are regularly vacuuming and backwashing, and cannot seem to get more than one good CC reading in a row.

On a side note, we will be away for two days soon. I will keep the pump running 24/7. However, what would be a good strategy to keep the FC level up while I am gone. I do not have anyone that can come over to add bleach. Would it be safe to raise the FC level to 20, and let it settle back down over the two days?

Here are some pics from this morning.

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/cedougl/Pool/Pool_09092015_1.jpg

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/cedougl/Pool/Pool_09092015_2.jpg
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply