Cloudy pool-I think I tried everything

[poetandlyric]

Our pool (40,000 gallon, cement, stainless steel, in ground) has been cloudy for about 5 days. I took the water to the pool store on Friday. The water test was:

FAC .5
TAC 5

PH 7.3

TA 170

Cyanuric Acid 30

Phosphates 2500

The phosphates have been high all season and I have been adding phosFree every week (with really no results)

I added Fresh and Clear Oxidizing Shock (Potassium peroxymonosulfate 38%) on Friday. It did not get any better (4 pounds total). I added Fresh and Clear again (4 pounds total) today.

The pool store says its Chlorine lock but my CYA isn't high.

Suggestions?????

Thank you!!!

[PoolDoc]

Good grief.

Your pool store is creating a problem . . . and then selling you more stuff to fix the problem they've just created. To be fair, they probably don't know that they are creating the problem. Potassium monopersulfate tests as "combined chlorine". So, when your chlorine is low, and you add MPS (monopersulfate), you appear to have the very "combined chlorine" you were trying to get rid of! Glory be! Better add some more MPS; you've got the dreaded "chlorine lock" . . . whatever that is. (It varies from store to store, and region to region.) As CarlD likes to say, you've been "poolstored"!

Whatever. We need to move on -- but stay away from that store, except to get things you can't get elsewhere.

Are you sure you've got 40,000 gallons? That's a big pool, bigger than a standard 20x40 with a deep end.

Assuming that it IS 40K, a gallon of 6% chlorine bleach will add about 1.5 ppm of chlorine to your pool. Or, since your CYA is fairly low, you can use dichlor (sodium dichloroisocyanurate - 63% available chlorine) granules.

If you use bleach, add 4 gallons each evening, till you are holding chlorine levels of 5 ppm or better. If you use dichlor, add about 3 pounds for about the same results.

Do NOT add anything else, EXCEPT borax (20 mule team, white box, laundry section) if you need to raise your pH.

Reply with info about your filter, your test kit, and what happened in the week preceding the cloudiness. But meanwhile, get the chlorine up and keep it up!

PoolDoc

[waterbear]

Also, phosphate removers can and will cloud the water for a day to a week so your weekly dose might be adding to the problem!

[poetandlyric]

Thank you so much! I have a sand filter. Yep, the pool really is 40K gallons or so the pool builder says. Nothing much of note the week before the cloudiness began. The pool has been crystal clear since we opened it this spring. My test numbers come from the pool store. I took water back in about 6 hours after adding oxidizing shock.

Now my numbers are:

FAC .5

TAC 5

pH 7.0

Cyanuric Acid 15


I have an inline chlorinator that uses 3" tablets.

Questions:

How much borax should I add to raise my pH?

Do I need to add a stabilizer with the bleach?

Again, many thanks!!

[CarlD]

"Pool-stored"....Yup! That's a classic example.

We've ALL been "pool-stored" at one time or another. I'm actually beginning to think that the pool stores themselves have been "pool-stored" by the pool companies.

[poetandlyric]

How worried should I be that my CYA is dropping?

[Watermom]

Actually, your cya probably only "appears" to be dropping. That test is the most subjective of all of the tests and the hardest to read. It is probably just being interpretted differently each time it is run.

[poetandlyric]

Okay, I added 4 gallons of bleach (6%-generic brand) and 4 pounds of borax (easy to find at super target). Waiting and watching and definitely happy with the tiny dent in my wallet from this pool shopping excursion!

BTW, I am running my polaris to help circulate it all. Is that a bad idea, good idea, doesn't matter?

I'll test again in a little while.

Another question, does it help or hurt to have the automatic cover closed. I have 5 little kids so I tend to leave it locked all the time unless we are in the pool. Is that part of the problem? Does the poor ol pool just need some sun?

[CarlD]

Generally, when fighting algae, uncovered is better.

I don't think the polaris is making much difference unless it's catching junk and you are emptying it every day.

[Flysurfn]

So what happened?