Winter pills did not dispense and first milky/cloudy open. Related?

[ATONESIR]

I am a subscriber to the app and log all activity but have not linked the accounts. The pool opening this spring was cloudy, whereas it's usually very clear. Opening service shocks, bleeds, skims and recharges as usual and pool usually clears up. In these 2 days I have had the first fresh charge of DE in and the pool running for 48 hours straight. I have vacuumed with the system vacuum (I have a vacuum pre-filter) and I have added more liquid chlorine (2 gal @ 10% for 30k gal plaster pool). CYA high because the service uses shock crystals instead of liquid stuff -- It usually calms down by mid sseason.

This morning I checked and FC was 10 and Ph went up to 8. Added suggested amount of Muriatic for Ph and now the robot vacuum is in the pool -- he'll probably run all day. Pool filter system has been running for 48 hours straight and pressure went up from 18 to 25. Probably going to backwash and recharge today as it's raining.

Just a tad concerned because I have never had ph readings that high, nor have I had this sort of cloudiness.Winter pills were pierced but did not dispense over the winter. Is this related? I have to get out the big testing kit to really see about the chemistry, but never really had to bother since just using the quick sticks got me crystal clear and balanced in the past. Only use the Bs in my pool.

What's my timeline/gameplan moving forward? (FC 10, Ph 8, Alk 80, CYA 100)

 

[MITBeta]

Did the CYA test come from your own kit? Since the scale only goes to 100, you should run a diluted test. Mix 50% pool water with 50% tap or distilled water, then run the test normally with this new mixture as your sample. Double the result you get.

Secondly, run a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test tonight to see if the cloudiness is due to organics in the water.

 

[ATONESIR]

Did the CYA test come from your own kit? Since the scale only goes to 100, you should run a diluted test. Mix 50% pool water with 50% tap or distilled water, then run the test normally with this new mixture as your sample. Double the result you get.

Secondly, run a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test tonight to see if the cloudiness is due to organics in the water.

Yes, the CYA was from the quick sticks as I just wanted to see where the main numbers were. I've battled high CYA in the past (pool came with the house), which is why I switched to liquid chlorine and joined this community/app.

I'll run another test when I switch out the robot filters in a couple of hours and report back. I'll probably be backwashing today which will help get rid of a small amount of water. Oddly, last season the cya dropped down into the 60 range out of nowhere. I couldn't link it to anything and just happily went with the flow.

 

[MITBeta]

Your signature says you have a Taylor kit. Use that for your testing.

 

[ATONESIR]

I am in the middle of my work day and don't have time for Taylor just yet, but I did a quick 50% mix test (pool/tap) with the quick stick and the CYA came in the 30-50 zone, FC 5, pH 7.2, TA 80. For giggles, I ran another quick stick on the remaining pool water and was back at 100 cya, 10 FC, TA 80, but the CYA came in the 30-50 range as well. Will use the taylor test tonight, but will be backwashing during my lunchtime hopefully as pressure is getting near +10psi.

For future reference, how should I shock the pool at open without letting th epool guy use crystals? Just with pure liquid bleach? Because I have 2 cases of 10% ready to go (prices have gone up big time).

 

[Donldson]

If you had time to mix 50/50 water, you had time to do a proper CYA test. Then you did another test "for giggles"? But you don't have time to do a proper test? That's unlikely.

Throw the test strips away, they are not valid. Give us good data to work with and we can help you, but don't waste time on test strip data.

 

[Newdude]

Hey ANONESIR !!!!

Test strips are entirely 'for giggles'. We can't provide any kind of accurate advice with inaccurate data.

Get us reliable data and we will be happy to help.