Is this a filtering issue? Cloudy water

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Oregonpool214

Oregonpool214

Active member
Jul 2, 2020
43
Mid /Southern Oregon
Pool Size
25000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi all -
I’m kinda at the end of my knowledge here, so coming here to troubleshoot.
I have balanced water, but my clarity isn’t great. In previous years, I’ve always had the “I can see the type of screw in my bottom drain” clarity, but I just can’t get there this year.
After opening the pool, balancing chems, doing a slam cycle, passing OCLT, and making SLOW progress in clarity, I stalled out after about 2 weeks in making clarity progress.

I opened up my filter, used the sand cleaning technique with a hose found here in TFP, got ‘er all sealed back up, and still am not making progress. I can see the main drain at the bottom but my water is just. not. sparkling.

this seems like a filtering issue, but I’ve been as patient as I can (going on a month now), and just not making progress. I’ve read about adding small amount of DE, but want to make sure I’m not missing something glaring first.

Ideas?
 
sktn77a said:
It could be a filter problem but more likely a chemistry problem (a new sand filter shouldn't have developed any channels after only 1-2 years).
Click to expand...
thanks for responding - I thought my poolmath app data was accessible, but I posted my full set of #'s above.... I'm perplexed because I've got (what I think) is good chems, but a still-hazy pool
 
If your CYA shows between 30 and 40, call it 40 and dose FC appropriately.
Minimum FC is 3 for CYA 40
Target FC is 5-7 for CYA 40

Based on your PoolMath logs, you have fallen off the minimum FC cliff at least once and have flirted will falling off a few times.

Keep FC in the target range. You may need to dose a bit above target to have your FC within the target range at the end of the day. Once you drop below FC of 3 (based on your CYA of 40), a nascent algae issue can easily take hold.

If you lose 4 parts FC per day and your absolute minimum is 3, you have to dose for at least FC 7 to prevent falling below minimum. Having a bit of a cushion would be better. With a CYA of 40, you are safe to swim up to FC 16.

When doing an OCLT, you should have a starting FC at the top end of your target range.
 
proavia said:
If your CYA shows between 30 and 40, call it 40 and dose FC appropriately.
Minimum FC is 3 for CYA 40
Target FC is 5-7 for CYA 40

Based on your PoolMath logs, you have fallen off the minimum FC cliff at least once and have flirted will falling off a few times.

Keep FC in the target range. You may need to dose a bit above target to have your FC within the target range at the end of the day. Once you drop below FC of 3 (based on your CYA of 40), a nascent algae issue can easily take hold.

If you lose 4 parts FC per day and your absolute minimum is 3, you have to dose for at least FC 7 to prevent falling below minimum. Having a bit of a cushion would be better. With a CYA of 40, you are safe to swim up to FC 16.

When doing an OCLT, you should have a starting FC at the top end of your target range.
Click to expand...
Hi there - thanks for this info. I’ll start aiming for higher sitting FC levels. Are you thinking my OCLT was perhaps inaccurate because starting FC was too low? And that my clarity issue is still from an algae problem? I’ll bump up FC today and do another OCLT tonight.
 
It takes time to filter out all the dead algae - especially with a sand filter.
My bet is you still have a little bit of algae since you have fallen below minimum FC at least once recently.

There are 3 criteria to complete the SLAM Process. Seems you may not have completed all 3. Clear water doesn't have any cloudiness to it.

Right after sun down, increase FC to the upper target number, leave pump running all night, test FC 30 minutes after last add, test FC before sunrise.
 
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proavia said:
It takes time to filter out all the dead algae - especially with a sand filter.
My bet is you still have a little bit of algae since you have fallen below minimum FC at least once recently.

There are 3 criteria to complete the SLAM Process. Seems you may not have completed all 3. Clear water doesn't have any cloudiness to it.

Right after sun down, increase FC to the upper target number, leave pump running all night, test FC 30 minutes after last add, test FC before sunrise.
Click to expand...
Great! When you say “upper target number”, do you mean SLAM target FC based on CYA of 40, or just the upper limit of what my baseline should be (the 5-7 you mentioned previously).

Does the lower starting FC make the “passing” of an OCLT test inaccurate? Per the guide here, it says anything above 3 should be satisfactory. My concern of course is that I don’t want to dump a bunch of chlorine in again and do another OCLT when I thought I passed one already - I guess maybe that’s a cheaper / more time convenient option then continuing troubleshooting ….
 
Upper target limit for CYA 40.... so 7

In my mind, why would you only use 3 when that is your absolute minimum? If only 3 or 4 and you lose some overnight, you stand the chance of going below minimum FC for your CYA.

You should be dosing for at least 7 EVERY SINGLE DAY. And if you lose more then 4ppm per day in the heat of summer, target a higher FC to NEVER GO BELOW 3 - based on your CYA of 40. Having a pool party - dose a bit higher than 7 BEFORETHE PARTY to hedge your bet of never going below 3. It's safe to swim all the way up to SLAM level.
 
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proavia said:
Upper target limit for CYA 40.... so 7

In my mind, why would you only use 3 when that is your absolute minimum? If only 3 or 4 and you lose some overnight, you stand the chance of going below minimum FC for your CYA.

You should be dosing for at least 7 EVERY SINGLE DAY. And if you lose more then 4ppm per day in the heat of summer, target a higher FC to NEVER GO BELOW 3 - based on your CYA of 40. Having a pool party - dose a bit higher than 7 BEFORETHE PARTY to hedge your bet of never going below 3. It's safe to swim all the way up to SLAM level.
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks, I’ll live a bit higher, try out another OCLT (when this crazy rain cools down a bit), and hope for some clarity (of pool water …. And mind 🤪)
Thanks for all the feedback.
 
My compliments to proavia, I found this thread after discovering cloudy water a couple days ago despite the PoolMath app values all being in range. We are guilty of lingering at the lower end of the target range, occasionally dropping below. No more - we double-dosed yesterday and very quickly we had crystal clear water again. We will dose for the high end of the range from now on.
 
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Mimi Pool said:
My compliments to proavia, I found this thread after discovering cloudy water a couple days ago despite the PoolMath app values all being in range. We are guilty of lingering at the lower end of the target range, occasionally dropping below. No more - we double-dosed yesterday and very quickly we had crystal clear water again. We will dose for the high end of the range from now on.
Click to expand...
I’ve also found the same thing! Brought FC to 5ish and within a day had clear water - EVEN when CC was 0 and I passed OCLT. Thanks @proavia for participating here :)
 
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