Salt clouds

[scader]

I've been adding salt to my pool for 5 years now, and don't recall this kind of reaction when adding it.



I added three, 45lb bags.

For more details, my pool opened half-drained from a leak. So I had to re-add (through city and some help from rain water) 10,000 gallons. Naturally, all my chems have been short. I got it clean and chlorinated from powder, but waited on adding salt until all the alge was gone (didn't want to backwash that or cya away). So today I added the salt, and it was like clouds forming in the pool, and that is not a reflection from the sky. All the white in the water is only from the salt. After 5 minutes the entire pool was solid white, and then about 20-30 minutes later it was back to all blue.

Is this normal?

 

[mknauss]

What salt are you adding? Can you post a picture of one of the bags?

 

[Saturn94]

Definitely not normal!

 

[JamesW]

This happens sometimes. I suspect that it might be a combination of dissolved gasses in the water and a chemical surfactant reacting to the salt.

Possibly a nucleation reaction, like what happens when you drop mentos in diet coke.

 

[scader]

Standard, Leslie's pool salt. This also happened when we dumped 6lbs of shock in after getting it full.

 

[JamesW]

What other chemicals have been added?

 

[scader]

I've been adding this ever so often to keep chlorine up (given cya low and salt gen not running yet).



I also bought an alge drop product from the same company. It was a "2-step" process, where you added what likely was pouches of this product, followed by two packets of an alge drop (to let sit overnight). I can't find a picture of it.

 

[scader]

Just to remind (as it might matter?), the at-the-time, green water also did this same thing on the initial shock, which the pool guy had on hand. I didn't get the brand.

 

[mknauss]

You should really reconsider the use of the solid chlorine, especially those that contain Copper.

I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry and consider reviewing the entire Pool School eBook

 

[scader]

Ah, right...I SLAMed the pool last year following those instructions and it worked great. Forgot about it.

So the general consensus is the pool should be safe to use? (if well balanced)

 

[mknauss]

Post your test results.

 

[JamesW]

I also bought an alge drop product from the same company. It was a "2-step" process, where you added what likely was pouches of this product, followed by two packets of an alge drop (to let sit overnight).

Possibly related to this product.

 

[scader]

Post your test results.

Sorry, wasn't able to get out there until today. I forgot to mention I already added alkalinity upper from Leslie's once this season; when they tested it at 60.

FC – 0 (with salt gen turned off. I noticed after shockig it dropped about 7ppm/day)
PH – 7.4
TA – 60
CH – 170
CYA – 30

 

[mknauss]

With a FC of 0 I suggest you SLAM Process.
Read the article.
Raise your FC to Shock Level for your CYA based on FC/CYA Levels. Maintain that FC as often as possible (every couple hours to several times per day) until the water is crystal clear and you pass an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

 

[scader]

Sounds like a plan, thanks.

 

[scader]

I'm performing the SLAM, and I had a few questions...let me know if I should start a new thread versus continuing this discussion.

All chem levels test within accepted parameters. CYA is at 70.

It has taken 7 gallons of pool-rated liquid chlorine (10%) to achieve 15ppm FC. CC is 0.5ppm.

Is it odd for that much chlorine to only achieve 15ppm in 21k gallon pool, particularly when the water was blue to begin with and only slightly cloudy? To get up to 28ppm I'll probably have to add another 7 gallongs.

I took that last sample for the overnight test, but it's also raining. I presume that ruins the overnight test?

 

[mknauss]

Check the chlorine you have. Where did you get it? What does the Julian date say (printed on the bottle - 19XXX).

Other wise, no. It should not take that much to get to 15 ppm FC. Was all that added in a short time frame?

 

[mknauss]

Rain does not appreciably effect the OCLT unless you get enough rain to overflow the pool for quite some time.

 

[scader]

It's from Walmart, I SLAMed last year with it with success. Not sure where else to get some.

 

[mknauss]

What are the Julian dates on the bottles?