My cloudy water

[PeterDM]

So ... simply maintaining the FC at SLAM levels should eventually clarify the water? I am 2 days into converting the pool water from a greenish swamp. The pool water is now blue but cloudy - I can just about see the drain. Is the cloudiness still indicative of the presence of living algae?

In past years, it has sometimes taken some time to clarify the water & I have sometimes used a flocculant to help speed the process. What are the downsides of using flocculant?

 

[pooldv]

You need to follow all of the steps listed here in the SLAM Process process, SLAM Process. FC is only one piece of it.

 

[Casey]

Do not use floc. It's almost always never recommended and a huge pain. SLAM'ing your pool is all you need along with POP... Pool Owner Patience.

 

[RobertScalchi]

The use of flocculant is a quick 24h remedy, but clogs sand, DE, and cartridge filters, rendering the medium useless, so not reccomended. Keep SLAM ing the pool until CC is 0.5, water is clear, and OCLT pass FC loss of 1-2 ppm in 24 hrs. Try hairnets or skimmer socks on your skimmer basket. Just as a suggestion if you want, if your filters are not up to par at clearing the fine suspended particles, try a duda diesel bag, Slime bag, or biodiesel bag on your return jet(s)
All the duda diesel bag is fine woven felt fabric that can filter to your choice of 100 micron down to the lowest of 0.5 micron. If you are at cloudy blue you are almost 1 step from clear. The algae has turned white, hence the cloudy blue color. Just make sure your CC is 0.5 or lower to confirm algae is dead.

Give it some P.O.P. and see if your filters clear the pool before adding anything else.