Please help! I’m going crazy, and wasting money

[Ashandmich]

I have kept my pool clean until last winter, we leave the pool open, but pool leak etc. anyway, so I began with a green swamp. I didn’t have my new Testing kit and so began by just dumping in 10% liquid chlorine. Keeping my chlorine level at 20% for 5 days. (My cya according to the Last I had checked was 30 at most and so I figured that although 20 was high it was at least gonna kill the algae) after the first two day’s my pool went from green swamp to aqua grey greenish blueish so I was encouraged. However there has been no improvement since day 3. I got my kit and sure enough cya was 30, 40 at most and so I have maintained a level of 16 fc, checking 3 to 4 times a day, vacuuming, and brushing. The pool does not feel slick. Could there be another problem? Filter problem? Something else for me to check, as to why there is no improvement? Shouldn’t there be some change?
My overnight loss went from 16fc to 15.
I have a sand filter and have added DE... should I clean my sand? How do I know if the sand filter needs cleaning? Please help with ideas. I am on day 10, added a crazy amount of liquid chlorine (I’m embarrassed to say how much) and no improvement since day 3.

 

[kimkats]

Sigh..................yeah it does take a while That is really on the blue side so you are good there. We just had a SLAM where they stalled just like you seemed to have. They had NO idea what was put in the pool before they bought it so they took the old sand out just to be on the safe side. It did the trick. I think a good deep clean would be just what you need to jump start our clean up.

Also make sure to take a pic looking down into the pool each day. Do it at the steps or something like a broom so you can watch the progress. It is happening but it is slow. The pics will allow you to see it so you don't get as discouraged.

Kim

 

[Casey]

Sand filters take the longest to clear a swamp. Be patient.

 

[gonfishin]

I am on day 10, added a crazy amount of liquid chlorine (I’m embarrassed to say how much) and no improvement since day 3.

Summer of 2018, my pool got away from me. It took almost 4 weeks before it was 100% clear, the slightly cloudy but blue water lingered for about 2 weeks, if I remember correctly. At least it was clear enough we could see the bottom of the pool and could swim, but I was so tempted to ban everyone from the pool until it was TFP clear as I believe the swimming didn't help speed the process any.

 

[Ashandmich]

Thanks, I decided to replace the sand even though it was only 2 years old. I can only see about a foot down through the water. I am replacing the sand in a few minutes so maybe I can see some improvement tomorrow. I am okay with taking time as long as I see some improvement, otherwise I feel like I am missing something and don’t want to keep wasting my time and money by continuing to do the same thing every day.
Thank y’all for your response. I def need tips from those who have experience.

I also ordered and should come in a couple of days metal remover, as I know I have iron and manganese in my well water.

?

 

[Ashandmich]

So changed the sand and added de to the new sand..
Fc 19.5
Cya 30-40
But pool looks worse...
I had to add more water (well) after changing sand and it rained last night.
Could this be the iron in my water?

 

[bmoreswim]

No way to overstate it. You need POP (pool owner patience). Unfortunately you have the slowest type of filter at clearing a swamp. You have done what you can to improve that by adding DE. Now you need to backwash as needed, when pressure rises 25% above clean pressure, and keep FC up per the SLAM process.

Your pool was green. Now it's not. This next part can be slow and there is nothing else you can do to speed it up so don't discourage yourself by expecting it to be clear in 3 more days. If your pressure is rising on your filter, progress is being made. You just can't see it because it's so slow.

Kim's picture comment is the best way for you to see very small improvements in water quality. Hang in there.

 

[Brett S]

Unfortunately, this is one of those things that’s not going to clear up overnight. Or even in a few days. With that much stuff in the water and a sand filter you’re probably looking at a few weeks. I think this is one of those times where you really need to set your expectations or you’ll drive yourself crazy looking for change before it has time to happen.

Keep your chlorine levels up at slam level and keep your pump running 24/7. Don’t backwash your sand filter more than necessary. It’s kind of a delicate balance with the filter. A dirty filter will clean better than a clean filter but a filter that’s too dirty will have a lot of back pressure and low flow. This can be hard on the pump and not really move enough water to clean effectively. So keep an eye on your pressure gauge and backflush the filter when it rises 25% above the clean filter pressure, but not earlier.

You can also add some DE to the filter, which can help it filter out more stuff, but this is kind of a double edged sword because it also means that the filter will get dirty faster and you will need to keep a very close eye on the pressure gauge. You may even need to backflush several times a day at first.

Finally, take pictures of the pool every day. Sometimes the progress is so slow that you can’t really see much of a difference day to day, but if you can go back and compare it to pictures from several days or a week ago then you can definitely see progress and that can be encouraging too.

Good luck. You can definitely get this pool clear again, but remember, it’s going to be a process that takes weeks, not days.

 

[Stargate_to_earth]

They also make strainer basket socks, some ppl just use pantihoes. Something to possibly try? Also if you havent seen any improvement, make sure the bottom is actually clear of debris. Last year I had a pool that i turned green to blue and wouldn't clear for ages, turned out I hadent gotten all the debris off the bottom. The Cl was just oxidizing all of the debris, disintegrating it into the white particles that makes the water appear "cloudy" and though my filter was doing it's job, the debris was constantly adding more particles.

 

[Ashandmich]

Thank y’all for the tips. I will try to be patient. As I said, I just don’t want to miss something I should be doing more.
I will try the pantyhose. Also, I can’t see the bottom at all, but do vacuum and brush regularly, but maybe I am still missing debris. It is just so hard bc I can’t see anything at all, it’s so dark.

Thanks again, for responding, it makes me feel like at least I have more brains than mine working on this.

I’m also about to run out of fc testing stuff and cya testing stuff already. ??‍ I’m testing so much bc I don’t want the levels to drop

 

[Brett S]

I’m also about to run out of fc testing stuff and cya testing stuff already. ??‍ I’m testing so much bc I don’t want the levels to drop

The CYA level really won’t change much, day to day or week to week, so you really don’t need to check that frequently. Once every month or two should be more than sufficient.

As far as FC goes, you could even go as low as a 5ml water sample, with one scoop (or even a bit less) of powder and each drop of reagent will equal 1ppm of chlorine. When you get to the point of doing the OCLT you probably want to use a sample size of at least 10ml for a little better resolution, but just to check your FC level during the slam 5ml is fine and will save reagent.

 

[Stargate_to_earth]

Yeah, you wanna order more Reagent asap. To do a good job at a SLAM you just gotta know. Brett's comment is a good one for short term, at least it can measure above 5 ppm vs OHO or cringe strips.