returned and pool completely cloudy

[poolhelp101]

added 4 each 3/4 gallons of bleach to pool when left on Wednesday. Returned today, no chlorine, ta 180, ph 7.5,cya 45 pool completely cloudy, cannot see the bottom anywhere. trying to hurry and beat the heavy rain that is starting...i just now added 6 each 3/4 gallons of bleach to the pool . please advise to help me clear this mess up! thanks.

[day1]

You should keep Cl 12-15 ppm to clear up any algae that's taking hold. I'd add at least a half bottle of clarifier. HTH brand from walmart or elsewhere and keep pump running. Once it clears, vacuum bottom to remove junk and you're set.

[CarlD]

Do not add clarifier unless nothing else works.

Keep your chlroine levels up to suggested levels, your pump running and have patience. You need to kill the algae (that's what you have) and then get the dead algae out. Clarifier doesn't do either.

There is no magic bullet for cleaning up pools that have an algae bloom.

[poolhelp101]

Thanks for the reply. i will keep adding the bleach and hope it works. i was having a problem before i left that it still stayed a little cloudy even when i kept shocking it. just couldn't clear it completely up.... do you think it's cause i didn't keep the levels where they needed to be?

[CarlD]

Yup.

That's why we keep harping on proper and frequent testing. I test my water several times a week, and do a full test each weekend:
Yesterday,
19,200 gallons vinyl
78 Deg F.
FC: 6.0ppm
CC: 0
TC: 6.0ppm
pH: 7.5
TA: 90ppm
CYA: 30ppm
CH: Only test 2 or 3 times a summer

Week before:
79 Deg (little sun, lots of rain)
FC: 1.5
CC: 0
TC: 1.5
pH: 7.6
TA: 90
CYA: 30
CH: 70

So, even though the water was clear and perfect, I KNOW that for CYA=30, I should have at a minimum, FC=3.0.

I also know that 1 gallon of regular bleach(5.25%) adds 5.25ppm of FC to 10,000 gallons. My pool is virtually the same as 20,000 gallons, so 2 1/8ppm would be added--that put my FC over 3.5--back in the good range, BEFORE a problem began.

Later in the week, after tons and tons of rain, the FC dropped again, so 2 gallons of bleach went in late in the week, resulting in Sunday's numbers, which are about as good as I can get.

[poolhelp101]

i do test my water everyday and add as i am suppose to, i think, i hope.. but when there is a problem and you have to shock and try to hold it at shock level until it clears...that's hard for me to do when i work. i can't test it 3 or 4 times a day and i guess that's where my problem is that i'm not holding it at shock level and i didn't get it completely clear before i left....i have learned that from you and the others on this forum...but i am trying and i do appreciate you bearing with me and my mistakes and in helping me get on the right track. thank you Carl D.

[aylad]

What is your Ca level? Have you been using cal-hypo shock? If you Ca is high, and TA are high, you may be having some precipitation problems.

I'm with CarlD, though--keep the bleach to it, skip the clarifier!
Janet

[poolhelp101]

not sure what my ca is. i added 4 each 3/4 gallons bleach on sunday night and 5 each 3/4 gallons bleach last night. this morning chlorine was 10-12 so i added one each 3/4 gallon. there is no change at all in the pool since i started this on sunday. please advise what else i need to do???

[day1]

Like stated before, keep the Cl up and pump running. And their right, at this point the clarifier won't help, as it's only a flocculant for sinking floating gunk. Seems like your cya may not be stabilizing Cl long enough for it to do any good....but 45
cya should be good. I'd vac to see if that helps while keeping Cl to shock levels. You may want to get water source checked for anything unusual that may be causing this?

[Bleach=Chlorine?]

This process of keeping the pool at shock level could take all week. Make sure you backwash/clean filter as necessary.

[poolhelp101]

ugh! that's not good news..
guess i need to find someone to add bleach daily for me the next time i'm gone! Question....this is the first year of bleach for me ....when i used the bioguard products and would be gone for 2 weeks, i didn't have this problem. i would shock, put stingy sticks in skimmer, use an extra dose of algacide and clarifer my water would be fine when i returned, chlorine would be low but not the problem i'm having now with this cloudness. how come after being gone just 4 days i have this major of a problem? did i not do something i should have or done something wrong? i shocked before i left as instructed by this forum...did i miss something and should have done something else too????

[SLR_65]

Thanks for the reply. i will keep adding the bleach and hope it works. i was having a problem before i left that it still stayed a little cloudy even when i kept shocking it. just couldn't clear it completely up.... do you think it's cause i didn't keep the levels where they needed to be?

Don't despare - the problem is that, as noted in your post above, you were already having a problem before you left -> the resulting inattention to the pool while you were gone just allowed your already existing problem to get worse. Once you have everything cleared up you'll be able to leave on short trips without coming home to pool problems.

[poolhelp101]

thanks. i hope i can get this cleared up. there's still no change in the pool this morning.

[poolhelp101]

the ph is rising. it's 7.8 maybe a little higher. i am keeping it at shock level as it is not getting any clearer. do i do anything now about the ph being high or what do i do about that if anything right now? please advise. thank you

[duraleigh]

poolhelp,

Post a complete set of current test results.....the advice will be far more helpful and accurate.

[poolhelp101]

ph- 7.8 maybe a little higher
cl-15
ta-180
cya-50
hardness-not sure, when i test, the color doesn't change. but about 3 weeks ago when tested at a pool store, they said the hardness was high, can't remember the actual results..i can look for them if you need those.
i do use well water and i have a water softener, however, so i probably do have hardness

[JohnT]

Start driving your pH down with muriatic acid. It will make the chlorine more active.

[duraleigh]

Poolhelp,

John's advice on pH is good to follow.

I am assuming you cannot test for CC's. You would be wise to get a kit that will do that.

I would test at dusk this evening and add enough Cl to bring it back up to 15-17 if your pool is vinyl...25ppm if your pool is plaster or Fibreglas.....calculate and add Cl accurately.

Test again tomorrow AM...before the Sun hits it too hard. If you've lost more than maybe 1-2ppm, you are still killing organics in your pool.

The solution to that is to keep adding Cl back up to those levels above over and over 'til the pool clears. A struggle for now, but you'll find it well worth the effort.

Cloudiness in pools can be from a variety of causes but your test results indicate that Chlorine is the answer to clearing your pool.

Remember to lower the pH....I'd shoot for 7.2

[poolhelp101]

thanks so much. i do have a vinyl liner, 20,000 gallons with heater.
i have a bioguard product that is for decreasing ph that i have had before i found this forum. is that okay to use that decreaser to lower my ph or should get and only use the muriatic acid to lower it?

[CarlD]

thanks so much. i do have a vinyl liner, 20,000 gallons with heater.
i have a bioguard product that is for decreasing ph that i have had before i found this forum. is that okay to use that decreaser to lower my ph or should get and only use the muriatic acid to lower it?

It's their packaging of dry acid. Go ahead and use it.

[poolhelp101]

should have asked this question in my last post...
does it matter how i add this two products??
do i add the ph decreaser first and then the bleach?
do i need to wait any length of time in between adding these two products?

[aylad]

For the dry acid, it's probably best to either add it through the skimmer with the pump running--or if it were my pool, I would probably dissolve it in water first, then pour it slowly in front of the return to let it help dispurse the acid. That's how I add my bleach, too....and it doesn't matter which order you add them in, and you don't need to wait any length of time between additions. Once the chems are in the water, they're fine.

Janet

[CarlD]

I wouldn't pour them in simultaneously, however, if you add each to the return stream, allowing each to spread out a bit, you can do one pretty much right after the other.

Generally, we say fix pH first.

[poolhelp101]

thanks. i will do what you guys have told me as soon as i get home from work and i will post my results tomorrow morning. please stay with me and help guide me to get this mess cleared up. thanks again!!

[poolhelp101]

YEAH!!! Improvement!!! I can barely barely see the drain...but i can see it!!! the entire pool is still cloudy but improved! last night i added one pound of the ph decreaser as advised and 3 of the 3/4 bleach to bring back to 15.
Results this morning...
cl-12
ta-180
cya-50 (i didn't check again, but this is where it has been staying)
ph- back up to 7.8 could be a little higher
before i left for work, i added another pound of the ph decreaser and 2 of the 3/4 bleach to get back to 15. this is ultra beach that i have been adding.
am i doing right?
do i continue to hold it at 15 until it completely clears?
do i continue to try to lower ph too if it continues to climb?
please please advise. i am so thankful to each of you that is helping me!

[duraleigh]

am i doing right?
Yes


do i continue to hold it at 15 until it completely clears?

"The solution to that is to keep adding Cl back up to those levels above over and over 'til the pool clears. A struggle for now, but you'll find it well worth the effort."


do i continue to try to lower ph too if it continues to climb?

Absolutely!


Poolhelp, it would help you to reread many of the posts on the forum as well as the tips @ poolsolutions.com. You are certainly on the right track but do not seem to yet have a good grasp of where you need to be and why.

(didn't mean to "shout" those answers...I'm experimenting :) )

[poolhelp101]

thank you for the reply and encouragement. and i didn't take it as you were shouting.
i agree i don't have a good grasp on this yet, but i really am trying
i have read and read the posts on this forum and i get confused sometimes with the responses. i'm not trying to offend anyone, i certainly appreciate everyone's advise and this forum. i think it is great and i am so thankful i found this forum. but sometimes when you read the posts i have seen different advise to some of the same questions i have and i get confused...so that's why i ask for myself to make sure i understand what to do. i hope you don't get frustrated with my repetitive questions. please bear with me as i learn and make sure i understand.

[poolhelp101]

can see the bottom of the pool much better this morning, still a way to go though. i know i must have patience and keep with the bleach and i am.
i have a couple of questions though....
---i have been vacuuming and backwashing each day. now there isn't much debris there. there is some, but not much. my question is, do i backwash each day regardless until the water completely clears?
----with all the backwashing, i could stand to add some water. can i add now or do i need try and hold off until i get the water clear?
thanks.

[JohnT]

can see the bottom of the pool much better this morning, still a way to go though. i know i must have patience and keep with the bleach and i am.
i have a couple of questions though....
---i have been vacuuming and backwashing each day. now there isn't much debris there. there is some, but not much. my question is, do i backwash each day regardless until the water completely clears?
----with all the backwashing, i could stand to add some water. can i add now or do i need try and hold off until i get the water clear?
thanks.

If you are still getting good flow through the filter, backwashing can probably wait. The filter will be a little better at getting small stuff out of the water when it's a little dirty. No reason not to add water unless your fill water has problems. Just be aware that your chemistry will change when you add, and keep an eye on it.

[poolhelp101]

Thank you John T.

[day1]

Now that you've got rid of the bloom and water is clearer, you should be able to get in pool and look underwater across pool and check to see how it looks.
If you have your Cl levels maintained for some time but still have cloudiness, could be from small floating dead stuff your filter can't catch. Now is the time to get some clarifier and put it in. Probably best to mix in a container w/some pool water and then add it to pool. This will bind small particles together and sink them....then it's time to vac bottom! I was amazed how crystal clear this got my pool overnite. Some folks on the forum think it's a waste, and I thought so too until I tried it.
Another thing that'll help your sand filter is a little DE added thru skimmer.

[duraleigh]

Day1,

Good morning! I just have to get back up on my soapbox and preach...bear with me:)

I DO believe the clariflier (floc) worked for you. I DO believe that DE in a sand filter can be effective.

I REALLY DO believe that a properly operating sand filter is all you need for sparkling pool water. The key phrase is properly operating. Sometimes folks try to "trick up" a malfunctioning sand filter when all they had to do was fix the filter and, very importantly, turn on the pump long enough for the filter to do it's job...sometimes 24/7 'til clear.

[poolhelp101]

guys i'm confused now....what are you all telling me, poolhelp, to do?
am i to use clarifer?
am i to use de in the filter...i have read the posts that some do that, still not clear how and if once i start to use this if i have to do it ever time after i backwash?
what are you all advising me to do???

[ivyleager]

guys i'm confused now....what are you all telling me, poolhelp, to do?
am i to use clarifer?
am i to use de in the filter...i have read the posts that some do that, still not clear how and if once i start to use this if i have to do it ever time after i backwash?
what are you all advising me to do???

I adovcate sticking w/ bleach only, running filter 24/7, contiuing to backwash as necessary. If water from backwash still looks green and dirty, keep maintaining the bleach and water chemistry. Adding water will be fine, your TA may come down (if fill water is not high, that is).

My horrific algae bloom at pool opening last year (April 2005) took me 8 days to clear. I only used bleach, never vacuumed only brushed several times/day, backwashed as needed, and sand filter completely cleared the problem. After pool cleared, I used sand cleaning agent. Did not change sand. No problems since.

I think patience is the key. I think your pool will clear in time, with or without clarifier. It's your pool. I don't think clarifier will HARM the pool. (First, Do No Harm). It may be an adjunctive treatment. I equate clarifier to adding DE to the sand. However, what you are doing so far seems to be working and the water is clearing. It may not be doing so fast enough, and this is where patience comes in. If the treatment is working, stick with it. If you add DE or clarifier to filter media, you'll need to reapply after each backwash, as it will get flushed out.

Either way, let us know how the pool is doing. Good luck.

CaryB
Go 'Canes!!!

[poolhelp101]

my pool has completely cleared now!! i am so thankful to you guys.
it took a week of keeping it at shock level to get it clear, but it did work! i know i asked a lot of repetitive questions, but i have learned a lot and i know i will continue to learn with this forum.
thanks to all that helped me.
this forum is the best!! if you have a problem or any questions, listen to what they tell you and do exactly as they say... they can definetely help you. thanks again