Help getting pool clear

[triciarn2002]

Hi experts, I would really appreciate your help and support.
I have an above ground pool with a sand filter. 16,000 gallons. Sand was replaced last year. I bought Taylor K-2006 test kit. I have been trying to SLAM my pool clear. It’s still greenish blue. PSI this morning 20 with little pressure felt at return. I backwashed it, after PSI pressure is 13 with strong return felt. This morning here are my test results:
FC 8.5
CC 1
PH 7.2
TA 100
CH 300
CYA 35
I have brushed sides and bottom of pool several times. Our pool has a solar cover and gets full sun most of the day. We don’t have a heater. Water temperature 78 degrees. Little debris is pool. I get it out frequently. This is what pool water looks like this morning and this is the shock I ordered on Amazon. I’ve used plain bleach also 7.5% with no improvement in pool quality. Help please. We let the filter run 24 hours a day.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

You have definitely made progress even though it’s not clear. That blue-gray-green color is algae that is at least mostly dead.

The powdered shock both raises your calcium hardness and clouds the water, so I’d recommend you stick with liquid chlorine or bleach. Stay on top of your chlorine during the day because the sun will consume it.

Try to backwash your filter anytime flow is reduced and keep up with the brushing. Your main job right now is to clean the dead stuff out of the water, so the filter needs good flow. A few days isn’t out of the norm with a sand filter. It will clear if you stick with it.

 

[triciarn2002]

Welcome to TFP!

You have definitely made progress even though it’s not clear. That blue-gray-green color is algae that is at least mostly dead.

The powdered shock both raises your calcium hardness and clouds the water, so I’d recommend you stick with liquid chlorine or bleach. Stay on top of your chlorine during the day because the sun will consume it.

Try to backwash your filter anytime flow is reduced and keep up with the brushing. Your main job right now is to clean the dead stuff out of the water, so the filter needs good flow. A few days isn’t out of the norm with a sand filter. It will clear if you stick with it.

Thank you so much for the quick response. I’ll stick with bleach and do everything else you said. I’m super motivated.

 

[Mdragger88]

With cya there’s no in betweens so u always round up - anywhere between 30 & 40 counts as 40 so your SLAM Process level is 16 ppm. Do your best to test fc & maintain that as often as u can (multiple times per day) the more often u replenish fc to slam level the faster the slam will go. Every couple hours at the beginning can help tremendously. Every hour your fc is below slam level for your cya algae proliferates.
You may want to keep your solar cover off some so cc’s can escape (scrub it too) - u can put it back on when you will be away to prevent fc loss from the sun.
Scrub any nooks & crannies where algae can hide (light niches, under drain covers, ladder handrails/rungs, skimmer throats/weir doors & foam etc) also run slam level water through any water features for at least an hour or so each day.
Be sure to brush & or vac daily- this breaks up the biofilms that the algae uses to protect itself from the chlorine.
Backwash when pressure rises around 25% over clean pressure- so for u clean is 13psi + 25% = 16.25 psi or so.
As @JohnT said stick with liquid chlorine from here on out as your ch is high enough at this point.
many new yorkers have good luck finding a supply of 10% liquid chlorine @ ocean state job lot.
No need to keep testing anything other than fc & cc for now
The ph test is invalid at fc levels above 10ppm.
The other parameters shouldn’t change much if u use liquid chlorine.

 

[triciarn2002]

With cya there’s no in betweens so u always round up - anywhere between 30 & 40 counts as 40 so your SLAM Process level is 16 ppm. Do your best to test fc & maintain that as often as u can (multiple times per day) the more often u replenish fc to slam level the faster the slam will go. Every couple hours at the beginning can help tremendously. Every hour your fc is below slam level for your cya algae proliferates.
You may want to keep your solar cover off some so cc’s can escape (scrub it too) - u can put it back on when you will be away to prevent fc loss from the sun.
Scrub any nooks & crannies where algae can hide (light niches, under drain covers, ladder handrails/rungs, skimmer throats/weir doors & foam etc) also run slam level water through any water features for at least an hour or so each day.
Be sure to brush & or vac daily- this breaks up the biofilms that the algae uses to protect itself from the chlorine.
Backwash when pressure rises around 25% over clean pressure- so for u clean is 13psi + 25% = 16.25 psi or so.
As @JohnT said stick with liquid chlorine from here on out as your ch is high enough at this point.
many new yorkers have good luck finding a supply of 10% liquid chlorine @ ocean state job lot.
No need to keep testing anything other than fc & cc for now
The ph test is invalid at fc levels above 10ppm.
The other parameters shouldn’t change much if u use liquid chlorine.

Thank you for advice. What does, “ cc’s can escape “, mean? Our weather is full sun today, should I pull cover off for the day?

 

[wireform]

Your best off with liquid chlorine and with the higher percentage like lowes or Walmart. Stay at it and make sure after the addition of chlorine wait 15 minutes to check I'd you achieved the slam level or not. Didn't reach add more per poolmath until the fc addition is what you're aiming for. Check in 2 hours again and top it off. Brush very well minimum twice daily if not 3 times if life affords you the time. Check only FC from here out till almost the end of slam.

 

[Mdragger88]

The combined chloramines are a product of the free chlorine doing its job - (aka they are spent/used up chlorine) they will be trapped under the cover (which deteriorates the cover) so it’s best to let them escape periodically & allow the sun to help burn them off.

 

[Mdragger88]

Also - aside from checking that u hit your fc mark as @wireform mentioned -
be sure to check the dates on the liquid chlorine/bleach before you buy it - it degrades as it ages & basically becomes just salt water. U want fresh stuff!

Chlorine Date Code Decoder - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[triciarn2002]

Welcome to TFP!

You have definitely made progress even though it’s not clear. That blue-gray-green color is algae that is at least mostly dead.

The powdered shock both raises your calcium hardness and clouds the water, so I’d recommend you stick with liquid chlorine or bleach. Stay on top of your chlorine during the day because the sun will consume it.

Try to backwash your filter anytime flow is reduced and keep up with the brushing. Your main job right now is to clean the dead stuff out of the water, so the filter needs good flow. A few days isn’t out of the norm with a sand filter. It will clear if you stick with it.

I’ve backed washed again today, PSI was 17, after backwash PSI 13. I’ve tested FC, it was 14 so I added the 54oz of 7.5% bleach. FC is at 18 now, a little above 16 target. I did remove solar cover, CC now 0.5. Here is a picture of the water 7 hours later. I think I see an improvement.

 

[triciarn2002]

I’ve been testing FC several times a day and bringing my FC back to slam rate of 16. The lowest I’ve found my FC was 14 but I get it right back up. Tonight my CC tested 1.5. Should I be concerned with this? I got an automatic pool vacuum and it did a great job getting tiny little things off of the bottom of my pool I didn’t even feel with my feet. Here is a picture of water this morning.

 

[Mdragger88]

Keep at it
The cc is just the fc doing its thing w/ all the organics.
Backwash/ clean filter when pressure rises 25% over clean pressure.

 

[triciarn2002]

Hi Mdragger,
This morning my FC is 16 which is still at target for my CYA of 40 if believe. CC 1, PSI after backwash was 13 which I did two days ago. Current PSI is 13. I can see down the side of pool walls about 1/3 of pool. Water clarity doesn’t look and better from last picture should I do anything different?

 

[mknauss]

You are in the stage of what we call POP - Pool Owner Patience. And that can be tough, especially with a sand filter. They take the longest to clear.

Have you looked at adding DE to the filter to help clear the fines? Read Add DE to a Sand Filter

 

[triciarn2002]

You are in the stage of what we call POP - Pool Owner Patience. And that can be tough, especially with a sand filter. They take the longest to clear.

Have you looked at adding DE to the filter to help clear the fines? Read Add DE to a Sand Filter

I will do this with DE. Thank you for advice

 

[IceShadow]

If the clarity doesn't improve in the next few days, let us know. You might try to do a deep clean of the sand in the filter - that often helps. The info is here:

Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

This post will walk you through the anatomy of a sand filter, and then provide a video at the end for how to deep clean your sand filter. The filter used in the photos and videos is a Hayward S180T top mount sand filter. The images are of a similar filter. Obviously not all filters are...

www.troublefreepool.com

I'd give it a few days first, as this may or may not help and can be a little annoying to do depending on how your filter is plumbed. It could be that your sand isn't that dirty after a backwash and you just need to give it time.

 

[Mdragger88]

You have really only been hitting it hard for about 4 days - keep at it & things will continue to improve. The SLAM Process can take a week or longer to complete. More diligence = shorter slam.
The cloudiness is dead algae- when there is no more live algae to in turn become dead , the filter will then be able to keep up better & the water will begin to clear.
Have you removed & scrubbed your steps/ladder inside & out? These can be an algae haven. Neglecting to remove & clean them can make slam drag on as well.
Having Pool Owner Patience is definitely the hardest part.
Keep going & maintain slam level for your cya until u pass ALL 3 end of slam criteria

​

 

[triciarn2002]

Here are the pictures of my pool water. It’s taking less bleach to keep reaching. I’ve scrubbed and vacuumed several times. CYA 40, I’m getting my FC to 16 multiple times per day. CC 1, I’m backwashing sand filter when 25% over clean reading. Water is quite dirty that comes out. I’ve used a bit of DE after this. Am I missing something. I really wanted clean clear water by Memorial Day.

 

[wireform]

The weekend is a week away and it just might be clear by then. I'd refrain for now using DE as it'll definitely clog faster but rather use it at the end when you can see depth. Keep the slam up and brush away. I'd also say don't backwash as soon as it reaches 25% ,let it go a little more as the trapped dirt in the filter actually helps catch the finer stuff and by backwashing you're not catching as much.

 

[JoeSelf]

You have taken the stairs out and cleaned, correct. Those things are algae heaven.

Stay with it. It takes time. Didn't get green in a week. Patience.

 

[Mdragger88]

You’re doing well! Keep at it! Every couple hours if u can.
A sand filter takes the the longest to clear everything out - as it gets less overwhelmed by less dead algae being produced things will clear more & more. You can take a pic w/ a pole in the water in the same place everyday to get an idea of the clarity improvement. It’s a subtle improvement process but it’s there.
If u have time to babysit w/ the de, go for it but definitely don’t slack on the chlorine.
Also wondering if u removed & scrubbed the steps. Do they have sand in them? Not removing & cleaning them thoroughly can really make things drag on & you sound like u are motivated!
Remember, you can swim anywhere between minimum & slam level for your cya so long as u can see the bottom of the pool (incase u have a distressed swimmer). You are getting there!
Memorial Day is 7 days from now - if u stay on it that’s not too lofty of a goal.