Suddenly Cloudy

[Ezun]

Over the last 2 days, I’ve noticed that my pool has gone from crystal clear to suddenly cloudy. See attached photos (my photo of the step is meant to show the clarity I usually see all the way to the bottom of the deep end). Also, notice that in the photo there is a little brown floating spot, that appears to be maybe a bunch of springtails (bugs) huddling together - which I’ve also seen in my skimmer for the first time today. I plan to do what this thread says for the bugs.

Not new to TFP - I’ve been following the advice and the processes outlined here since we built/opened our pool about 11 months ago (being brand new to having a pool, I did listen to the pool installers out of the gate, but I’ve been running it myself since and have been VERY VERY happy and impressed with TFP and how wonderfully my pool has looked and performed).

I am, unfortunately, in a place I didn’t think I was going to land because I’ve been managing to the numbers pretty aggressively.
I just backwashed this morning to make sure my filter is clean/clear.

I tested this morning after the backwash and my FC has dropped below where I want it (goal is 4). Here are my numbers:
==========================================
Pool
------------------------------------------
Build Type: Plaster
Volume: 33000 gallons
------------------------------------------
Latest Test Result Summary:
FC: 2.5 (20 seconds ago)
CC: 0.0 (20 seconds ago)
pH: 7.8 (20 seconds ago)
TA: 75 (yesterday)
CH: 350 (yesterday)
CYA: 50 (yesterday)
SALT: 3400 (10 days ago)
BORATES: 80 (10 days ago)
TEMPERATURE: 84° (yesterday)
CSI: -0.14 (20 seconds ago)
==========================================

Questions - For the cloudiness, what do I do? Wait a day to see if the filter clears it? Or do I just start a SLAM?

 

[Ezun]

You can clearly see how there's almost like a milky look to the water in the first image.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You haven't added *anything* to the water like calcium, right?? Any chance its pollen?

Idea One: Take it up to SLAM level using liquid chlorine. Keep the filter running and see if it filters out by tomorrow..... or....
Idea Two: Take it up to 10ppm of FC tonight and do an OCLT to rule out organics
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

You might want to check your SWG to make sure its running the way you want.. right settings ect.
Maddie

 

[Ezun]

@YippeeSkippy Thank you!
It could TOTALLY be pollen, I’ve been battling it around the house and in the pool for sure.
I’m going to try to do idea 2, crank it up to 10PPM chlorine and do an OCLT! If that holds, we’ll move on. If not, I’ll do a full SLAM.

Chad

 

[Ezun]

Ok, so here are my numbers for the evening. Performing an OCLT tonight.

==========================================
Pool
------------------------------------------
Build Type: Plaster
Volume: 33000 gallons
------------------------------------------
Latest Test Result Summary:
FC: 11.2 (an hour ago)
CC: 0.2 (an hour ago)
pH: 7.2 (an hour ago)
TA: 75 (2 days ago)
CH: 350 (2 days ago)
CYA: 50 (2 days ago)
SALT: 3400 (11 days ago)
BORATES: 80 (11 days ago)
TEMPERATURE: 84° (2 days ago)
CSI: -0.59 (an hour ago)
==========================================

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Ok....now you remember you have to wake up before the sun gets on the pool to grab that next test~

Maddie

 

[Ezun]

@YippeeSkippy - I’m an early riser, so I was back in front of my pool after the gym by 6:15 this morning ?

I ran with idea #2 above “Take it up to 10ppm of FC tonight and do an OCLT to rule out organics” and woke up this morning to a wonderfully clear pool (see attached photos).
Here are the test results:
==========================================
Pool
------------------------------------------
Build Type: Plaster
Volume: 33000 gallons
------------------------------------------
Latest Test Result Summary:
FC: 9.8 (13 minutes ago)
CC: 0.0 (13 minutes ago)
pH: 7.2 (13 minutes ago)
TA: 70 (13 minutes ago)
CH: 270 (13 minutes ago)
CYA: 50 (13 minutes ago)
SALT: 3400 (11 days ago)
BORATES: 80 (11 days ago)
TEMPERATURE: 82° (13 minutes ago)
CSI: -0.75 (13 minutes ago)
==========================================

I decided to go with the 25ml samples today to get a tighter reading.

My FC loss was 1.4ppm - which means I need to SLAM according to the OCLT. - I guess that means a trip to walmart today to get bleach.

@Richard320 & @YippeeSkippy, a few questions:
1) My gut tells me I’ve been just barely managing the algae so when my FC dropped below 4 it suddenly bloomed. Does that sound plausible?
2) Given that I only dropped 1.4, do I truly need a SLAM or could I let it ride for the day using my SWCG, let the kids swim, and spike it tonight and try the OCLT again? Or am I just putting off an inevitable SLAM soon thereafter? Meaning, I should strictly follow the rules... ?
3) My CSI is REALLY HIGH. Should I bump up the PH or the calcium immediately after the I deal with this issue? I’m worried about my plaster!

Chad

 

[Richard320]

1) That is what happened. Algae is sorta like yeast. A tiny bit to start, then it doubles, and doubles and doubles, and then suddenly it's visible.
2) You're just prolonging the agony. But whining kids can be a powerful force. If you do let them in, at least keep the FC higher than normal, right up close to SLAM level. And figure out some kind of game where the kids brush the walls and floor.
3) WIth the aeration from swimmers, as soon as the pH hits 7.6, CSI gets much more reasonable. However, a little extra CH wouldn't hurt, either. You could buy Cal-hypo to SLAM with. Much easier to carry than gallons and gallons of bleach. Looks like it'll add roughly 2 CH per pound, so you can use quite a bit of it safely. As an aside, it looks like you test CH using 25 ml, 20 drops, and 5 drops. Use 10ml, 10 drops, and 3 (I use 5 sometimes) and each drop of R-0012 counts as 25. It plenty precise. The difference between 270 by 10s and 275 by 25s is insignificant.

 

[Oly]

Early detection and proper diagnosis with the correct tools and testing procedures, nice work Ezun.

 

[Ezun]

1) That is what happened. Algae is sorta like yeast. A tiny bit to start, then it doubles, and doubles and doubles, and then suddenly it's visible.
2) You're just prolonging the agony. But whining kids can be a powerful force. If you do let them in, at least keep the FC higher than normal, right up close to SLAM level. And figure out some kind of game where the kids brush the walls and floor.
3) WIth the aeration from swimmers, as soon as the pH hits 7.6, CSI gets much more reasonable. However, a little extra CH wouldn't hurt, either. You could buy Cal-hypo to SLAM with. Much easier to carry than gallons and gallons of bleach. Looks like it'll add roughly 2 CH per pound, so you can use quite a bit of it safely. As an aside, it looks like you test CH using 25 ml, 20 drops, and 5 drops. Use 10ml, 10 drops, and 3 (I use 5 sometimes) and each drop of R-0012 counts as 25. It plenty precise. The difference between 270 by 10s and 275 by 25s is insignificant.

@Richard320
Thank you. Based on your notes in #1 and #2, I've taken my FC to 22 and I've turned on my SWCG to maintain it there all day (I'll test every 2 hrs to make sure it's maintained).
#3 - that makes sense to me. Since I already have Calcium Hardness Increaser (by PuriTech) and like using bleach so I don't have to watch too many parameters (You can easily read that statement as "I'm lazy") - I've decided to go the bleach route.

Ok, separate but tangentially associated question - What do you guys think of the skimmer socks? I ordered some from Amazon and the reason I want to try them - it seems like a TON of debris gets through the skimmer basket. And, my assumption is that the more junk I catch before it gets into my filter, the longer my filter will perform and the less organic decomposition I need to deal with through chemicals (essentially leaving more of it free to do it's work on Algae and the things I CAN'T stop through physical filtration.

All comments/experience welcome!

 

[Richard320]

Skimmer socks are too expensive. Buy knee-high nylons or foodservice hairmets. Lots of us use one or the other.

 

[HeyEng]

@Richard320


Ok, separate but tangentially associated question - What do you guys think of the skimmer socks? I ordered some from Amazon and the reason I want to try them - it seems like a TON of debris gets through the skimmer basket. And, my assumption is that the more junk I catch before it gets into my filter, the longer my filter will perform and the less organic decomposition I need to deal with through chemicals (essentially leaving more of it free to do it's work on Algae and the things I CAN'T stop through physical filtration.

All comments/experience welcome!

Love them...well, actually hairnets since they are much cheaper. I replace mine once a day and it cuts down on debris in the baskets enormously. At .08 a piece, it's very worth it to me... Amazon.com: 100 PCS--21", Disposable Bouffant (Hair Net) Caps, Spun-Bounded Poly, Hair Head Cover Net, Non-Woven, Medical, Labs, Nurse, Tattoo, Food Service, Health, Hospital: Gateway

 

[Ezun]

Early detection and proper diagnosis with the correct tools and testing procedures, nice work Ezun.

Thank you @Oly - I watch this thing like crazy, it's kinda my OCD toy.

 

[Ezun]

Skimmer socks are too expensive. Buy knee-high nylons or foodservice hairmets. Lots of us use one or the other.

Well now, next round I'll go this route. It was $13 for 30 of them, so I'll have them for a bit. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Ezun]

1) That is what happened. Algae is sorta like yeast. A tiny bit to start, then it doubles, and doubles and doubles, and then suddenly it's visible.
2) You're just prolonging the agony. But whining kids can be a powerful force. If you do let them in, at least keep the FC higher than normal, right up close to SLAM level. And figure out some kind of game where the kids brush the walls and floor.
3) WIth the aeration from swimmers, as soon as the pH hits 7.6, CSI gets much more reasonable. However, a little extra CH wouldn't hurt, either. You could buy Cal-hypo to SLAM with. Much easier to carry than gallons and gallons of bleach. Looks like it'll add roughly 2 CH per pound, so you can use quite a bit of it safely. As an aside, it looks like you test CH using 25 ml, 20 drops, and 5 drops. Use 10ml, 10 drops, and 3 (I use 5 sometimes) and each drop of R-0012 counts as 25. It plenty precise. The difference between 270 by 10s and 275 by 25s is insignificant.

@Richard320 & @YippeeSkippy
Thank you for all of the advice. I kept the pool just under slam and let the kids play today. I also brushed the pool and ran the robot so we stirred up a pool quite a bit.

I’m going to test again tonight after the sun goes down and see where we are with CF and hope to come out the other side of the OCLT clean. The pool is beautiful again, now I want to make sure the SLAM is complete before backing down.

Results from the day:
------------------------------------------
Chemical Addition 05-30-2019 @ 04:57 PM
------------------------------------------
+ 2.5 Gallons of Bleach

------------------------------------------
Test Results 05-30-2019 @ 04:50 PM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 17.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
CSI: -0.75

------------------------------------------
Maintenance 05-30-2019 @ 01:54 PM
------------------------------------------
Vacuumed, Brushed

------------------------------------------
Chemical Addition 05-30-2019 @ 01:35 PM
------------------------------------------
+ 1 Gallons of Bleach

------------------------------------------
Test Results 05-30-2019 @ 01:29 PM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 19.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
CSI: -0.75

------------------------------------------
Test Results 05-30-2019 @ 11:10 AM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 22.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
CSI: -0.75

------------------------------------------
Chemical Addition 05-30-2019 @ 10:43 AM
------------------------------------------
+ 6 Gallons of Bleach

------------------------------------------
Test Results 05-30-2019 @ 06:33 AM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 9.8
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 7.2
Total Alkalinity: 70
Calcium Hardness: 270
CYA: 50
Temperature: 82°F
CSI: -0.75

 

[Ezun]

Final results this morning confirmed I was done with the SLAM, dropped exactly 1ppm of FC. Pool is back to crystal clear!

Thank you for the guidance.

 

[Ezun]

Case Closed!.... But I know ya’ll like details, so here are the last few logs and a few photos:
------------------------------------------
Test Results 06-01-2019 @ 10:39 AM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 11.5
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 7.4
Total Alkalinity: 100
CSI: -0.38

------------------------------------------
Test Results 05-31-2019 @ 06:16 AM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 21.0
CSI: -0.75

------------------------------------------
Test Results 05-30-2019 @ 09:25 PM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 22.0
CSI: -0.75

------------------------------------------
Test Results 05-30-2019 @ 06:51 PM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 22.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
CSI: -0.75

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Oh that is pretty!!

What color of Pebble Sheen is that? Folks often do searches for the colors they're thinking of using and that one is awfully pretty.

Maddie

 

[Ezun]

Oh that is pretty!!

What color of Pebble Sheen is that? Folks often do searches for the colors they're thinking of using and that one is awfully pretty.

Maddie

@YippeeSkippy
The color of my Pebble Sheen is Ocean Blue, we also added the Shimmering Sea to add some sparkle and we love it.

Thanks!