White Film of Water Surface

[Eighties_Chic]

Problem: There is a white film on the surface of the water. Not sure if this is algae or something else is going on with the water.

• FC: 9
• CC: .5
• pH: 7.2
• TA: 110
• CH: 60
• CYA: 100
• Phosphate: 1401 (test from Aug 26 at pool store)
• My pool: indoor vinyl inground pool - 14,200
• Pool chemicals: chlorine
• My pump & filter: Variable speed pump, Cartridge filter, UV and Ozone (DEL AOP 25)
• Other info: Automatic pool cover

The pool started getting this white film, and we thought it could be related to not having enough chlorine due to the CYA level.

Originally, the pool store sold us chlorine tablets and shock that contained stabilizer and we did not understand that this could cause issues with our pool. In the last week we stopped using the tablets and changed to Bleach. The CYA level was 160 (used Taylor K-2006C) so we pumped out some water and refilled it and now it is at 100. We are thinking to dump more water out to get it even lower. We have been trying to keep the chlorine levels higher due to the CYA levels. The pool place told us the chlorine levels should be 4-5 since it is an indoor pool, but now we know this is not true using the TFP Pool Math app.

We have this weird white film on the pool that we cannot get rid of. Does anyone have any recommendations on what we should do to eliminate the white film or any other things we should be fixing based on our levels?

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Generally we advise indoor owners to keep a CYA in the 20-30 range which is adequate enough for swimming comfort. In your case, you are forced to maintain a slightly higher FC level because of the pool store products. But that shouldn't result in a white film on the water. You mentioned bleach, what type did you add? I have a suspicion it may be the bleach.

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[Eighties_Chic]

Welcome to TFP! Generally we advise indoor owners to keep a CYA in the 20-30 range which is adequate enough for swimming comfort. In your case, you are forced to maintain a slightly higher FC level because of the pool store products. But that shouldn't result in a white film on the water. You mentioned bleach, what type did you add? I have a suspicion it may be the bleach.

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

Thank you for the reply! Yes, we saw the recommended 20-30 for indoor pools. We plan on trying to bring the the number down by draining and refilling the pool more and by not using the store bought pool products with CYA. The bleach we used was just plain Clorox Bleach without fragrance and was not no splash. The white film on the surface was present prior to starting using the regular bleach.

When the white film first appeared the pool was also a little hazy FC was 4.5 and CYA was 100. So we shocked the pool using from the pool store containing stabilizers. After this the haziness went away but the white film was still there at this time the FC was 14.5 and CYA 160. Is it possible we only killed what was causing the haziness but not enough to eliminate it thus still causing the white film?

 

[Oly]

Check the label on your Chlorox bottle, do you see the word "ChloroMax"? This would indicate additives that are not ideal for pool water.
Hazy water is only one indicator of algae. If you have a quality test kit you can diagnose your water with an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
Keep dropping your CYA as you may be headed toward a SLAM Process

 

[Eighties_Chic]

ChloroMax was not on the bleach label. I performed the Overnight FC Loss Test and the pool lost less than 1ppm FC. An interesting development is we decided to put a phosphate remover in the pool and now the pool no longer has that white film on the top of the water. Could really phosphate levels (1400 ppm) cause a white film on the surface of the water?

 

[Texas Splash]

Could really phosphate levels (1400 ppm) cause a white film on the surface of the water?

I would venture to say that "something" was in one of those chlorine bottles that created that film and took longer than normal to dissipate. I don't think phosphates had anything to do with it, but let's ask @Donldson to be sure.

 

[Donldson]

I don't think phosphates had anything to do with it, but let's ask @Donldson to be sure.

No, phosphates wouldn't do anything like that. My guess is that the phosphate remover included a clarifier which reacted to whatever the film was and allowed it to be filtered out. There's a few very specific scenarios where a clarifier is appropriate, generally not in the case of a "film" but without pictures it's hard to guess what it might have been.

 

[Eighties_Chic]

I wish it was that simple but white film was in the pool even prior to us using the chlorine bottles. We were still using the chlorine tablets from the pool store when it started.