My Pool Water Turned Cloudy After Adding Bleach

[Wraypau]

I laid it to the pool yesterday afternoon with the bleach. It was my first treatment. Pool was murky green, where you could see less than 1ft into the water. I took my net, and scooped away all the floating clumps of algea. I then added 2 gallons of bleach, spreading them out evenly around the pool and slowly pouring into the jet stream where the pump return is blowing out sides of concrete.

I swept the pool multiple times, made sure to get anything that might be stuck to walls or floor of pool. I swept so hard, that I eventually broke off my broom head...

This morning, the pool is a cloudy white. I cleaned pool skimmer, and the filter at the pump. I then backwashed for about 3 minutes. All the water coming out of the backwash looked clean.

I have ordered a K-2006, OTO, and another kit that PoolDoc recommends in his sig. It will not be here until Friday, or maybe into next week. I assume that I should bleach with another gallon this evening and repeat the process of brushing the sides and bottom and cleaning all pool parts. Is this correct?

How long should I be backwashing for with a Hayward Sand filter?

Should I vacuum daily also?

Thanks for all the help, it is greatly appreciated.

[PoolDoc]

+ Turn your pump on LOW speed (not lowest) , and run it continuously!
+ Don't backwash till you see a pressure increase from the 'clean' pressure.
+ If you want to speed things up, buy one of these floc products:

GLB Pool & Spa Products 71408 1-Quart Drop n' Vac Pool Water Clarifier @ Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002KT6TY/poolbooks)
Blue Wave Super Floc 4 x 1 qt. @ Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B007YUQTT0/poolbooks) - 4 days to ship
Proteam Superfloc Clarifier

All three are PAC, polyaluminum chloride, and MAY help you clean up the dead algae. The last one is not available on Amazon, but may be available locally. The first one is shipped by Amazon, so if you order it, get the Amazon Prime (http://www.amazon.com/gp/prime/?tag=poolbooks) trial, and they'll ship it to you 2-day at no extra cost. (Remember to cancel the trial, unless you use Amazon a lot. But, I live by it at Xmas!)

But, flocs are not predictable, and you need to test first. You'll need a clean white plastic 4 - 5 gallon bucket. If you get the floc, tell me what you get and what the recommended dose is per 10,000 gallons, and I'll tell you how to test.

Once you get the chlorine up, and have brushed up all the algae (sounds like you are already there!), you can also try and see if it will settle without floc. Just turn your pump off for 24 hours (or, in your case, you can turn it to the LOWEST setting) and see if the algae will settle.

+ You don't need to vacuum, unless something is there to vacuum.
+ Only backwash when there's a pressure increase; do NOT backwash on HIGHEST: you'll blow the sand out of your filter!

Good luck!

[CarlD]

+ Only backwash when there's a pressure increase; do NOT backwash on HIGHEST: you'll blow the sand out of your filter!


Ben,
Is this specifically for Wraypau? Usually, one backwashes on High. I always do.
What about adding DE to the sand filter?

[PoolDoc]

VFD pumps are all 2 - 3 HP motors; on their highest settings they are TOO large for any but the very largest sand filters (800lb and up). On their highest setting, they will blow sand out of smaller filters, and may crack laterals.

We are going to begin seeing questions that result from this problem.

[Wraypau]

I bought the ProTeam MicroFloc Clarifier. It says to add 14oz per 10,000 gallons. How would you test?

Also, I have a gunite pool, what type of vacuum would you recommend? thanks!

[PoolDoc]

14 fl oz to 10K gallons is a 10 ppm dose.

To duplicate that with a 3 gallon white bucket test, add 1/8 teaspoon to 1 cup of tap water (1:384 dilution), and mix. Put 3 gallons of POOL water in a CLEAN WHITE plastic bucket. Add 1.5 fl. oz (3 TABLESPOONS) of the mix, to the pool water. Mix, cover, wait 24 hours.

[Wraypau]

Roger that. I did the calculation, and figured 1 litre of water to 0.01 ml of Flocculate. I did several test, including the one you mentioned with 3 gal :1 Teaspoon. I will see what it looks like tomorrow.

I added another 1.42 gallons of bleach, and swept the walls/floor. The murky white water turned to a brown green, you could see it boiling up at the end of each stroke with the broom across the bottom.

My Taylor 1000 kit came in, so I figured I would give it a try, and I am reading a more brighter yellow than the highest setting. This correlates to a more than 5 Cl and more than 10 Br. Also, on the pH, I read a darker purple than the highest setting. This correlates to more than an 8.2 pH. I would think that this is to high, and is wasting some of my Chlorine. What should I add to straight out the pH?

I was going to vacuum the bottom, but the connector that attaches the hose to the skimmer was not the right size. i will get the correct size and try again tomorrow.

I had already added the floc when I found that my Taylor 1000 came in. Hope I didnt wast 9.8 ounces of it.

What are your recommendations? I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. I will subscribe and be a paying member. How do I do so?

[Watermom]

If your pH is truly over 8.2, then you need to use a little muriatic acid to lower it. However, depending on how high your chlorine was when you tested the pH, your pH reading may be falsely high. So, when your chlorine drops below 5ppm, retest the pH. If it still tests over 7.8, lower it. Please read the link in my signature below about using muriatic acid safely.

Also in my signature, is the link and information about becoming a subscriber. We appreciate the financial support to keep our forum alive!

[PoolDoc]

I added another 1.42 gallons of bleach, and swept the walls/floor. The murky white water turned to a brown green, you could see it boiling up at the end of each stroke with the broom across the bottom.

Make SURE your chlorine is high, when this happens. That green sludge EATS chlorine . . . and if it gets ahead, you'll wake up to a green pool!



My Taylor 1000 kit came in, so I figured I would give it a try, and I am reading a more brighter yellow than the highest setting. This correlates to a more than 5 Cl and more than 10 Br. Also, on the pH, I read a darker purple than the highest setting. This correlates to more than an 8.2 pH.

Nope. It correlates to converting "phenol red" to "chloro-phenol red", which is a different dye. Ignore your pH readings when your chlorine is that high and your CYA is not.

[Wraypau]

I think i have killed all the algae. I did the floc test using your formula. It didn't do much. I did some separate test in smaller clear drinking glasses. If I overdose the flocculant, it really cleared up the water. It left a white creamy ewwie. Gueey. Substance on the bottom of glass. I assume the is the cloudy murky stuff in the water all condensed together


I flocked the pool and waited overnight with pump off. I didn't notice any difference. I did another K-1000 test this afternoon and it showed no chlorine and still the phone was super high. It was a darker color than highest setting on test tube, so I guess i need to add some acid.

The flocculants say that they need a 7.2 Ph to work properly.

I floc. The pool again this afternoon. Going to let it sit overnight again.

Any suggestions?

[gordyjamz]

Hi, I have some experience with flocs, so if I may chime in :)

Flocculants (floc) work by coagulating small particles together into bigger (heavier) ones, so that they can either filter out better or sink to the bottom. Your result from the drinking glass test is what you want to happen in the pool. What I have done in the past is add the floc, circulate water for 2 hours (recirculate if you can, avoid running floc treated water thru your filter), then shut off the pump and let everything settle overnight. Next, day I vacuum the debris and settled particles from the bottom to waste. NEVER run it thru the filter, as you will have a mess on your hands, cleaning the filter. I made that mistake the first time, wondered why my filter pressure went up so fast, went to clean it and found the floc left a slimy residue on the cartridge. I can only imagine what kind of mess it would be for a sand or de filter. As far as how much to add, every floc is different. You'll have to follow the directions on the bottle. Also, make sure you adjust your ph to the ph range listed on the bottle for the best results.

[PoolDoc]

You just need to act on the basis of what your tests showed; I can't advise more than that.

I don't see what kind of filter you have, in your signature. If you can carefully vacuum to waste, that would be probably be best. What you want is to vacuum with as little water as you can, moving as fast as you can without stirring up the floc. You may want to try vacuuming, while someone else adjusts pump speed for you.

Of course, if you have no "waste" position, you'll have to vacuum to filter. In that case, you want again to go as quickly as possible, with as little water as possible, with one more point: keep the pump speed down so you do NOT over load the filter, or push the floc through.

I'd love to hear how it goes!

[PoolDoc]

As far as how much to add, every floc is different. You'll have to follow the directions on the bottle. Also, make sure you adjust your ph to the ph range listed on the bottle for the best results.

That, in a nutshell, is why we've been reluctant to recommend floc usage. But, we've had so many slimed pools this year, we've relented. However, I have some hope of identifying floc products with 2 or 3 standard ingredients in known concentrations. Even then floc usage is tricky, but if you use PAC instead of alum, it's not quite so 'twitchy'.

It doesn't help in the least though, that most of the chemical companies want to pretend that THEIR product is special and unique, when in fact, they are all single ingredient products, selected from one of 4 or 5 possible ingredients. The only variation is WHICH one they've picked, and how much they've DILUTED it.

[Wraypau]

Just to clarify things a little. I have not installed the Hayward Ecostar Vari-speed pump yet. I have a brand new one, a salt water system, and a new hayward sand filter. I wanted to get the pool all clean, before installing the new stuff. I am currently running a 3/4 hp Hayward super pump with the OLD sand filter.

I added the flocculant again this afternoon right before dark. Now that it is dark, when I turn my underwater light on, the water looks like it has millions of tiny snowflakes floating around in it. The problem is, is that it is not sinking.

Every time I vacuum though, I am getting lots of slime in both my skimmer and pre-pump filter. As I said earlier, I am still using the old sand filter, which is probably about 10 yrs old. I think I might should change out the sand, and see if that will help it catch more of the slime.

What you think?

[Wraypau]

However, I have some hope of identifying floc products with 2 or 3 standard ingredients in known concentrations. Even then floc usage is tricky, but if you use PAC instead of alum, it's not quite so 'twitchy'.

It doesn't help in the least though, that most of the chemical companies want to pretend that THEIR product is special and unique, when in fact, they are all single ingredient products, selected from one of 4 or 5 possible ingredients. The only variation is WHICH one they've picked, and how much they've DILUTED it.


Agree completely on how these companies try and hide ingredients. I have noticed that most of the stores that sell pool flocculant, it is always a thick liquid and blue in color. I think they all say the same on treatment, to use around 1 oz for every 5k gallons for weekly treatments, and to use around 12-14 ounces for 10k. I did a test with multiple "Clarifiers", and they all seem to work the same.

I think my pool and problem, is requiring a lot more ingredient that what they advertise though. ***Note*** I have only tried the thick blue liquid stuff, havent tried "ALUM" yet...

Is there something I can put over my skimmer to help catch some of this floating dead algea? Maybe a stocking, cheesecloth, etc??? My fiance suggested a pair of tights, she said that the material is sewn close together.

[PoolDoc]

Is there something I can put over my skimmer to help catch some of this floating dead algea? Maybe a stocking, cheesecloth, etc???

Sort of like this:
Poolmaster 16242 Poolmaster Skimmer Basket Liner (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004XUIRQW/poolbooks)

Watermom and others swear by those things.