Cloudy Water and Aluminum

[jma1_nemo]

Can anyone advise what the effect of an Aluminum pie pan in my pool would have? I am a BBB Believer and 3 weeks ago I had to go on a road trip for two weeks, so I got a CL Tab floater and 3" tabs and put it in my pool. The pump was scheduled to run from 8:30AM-5:00PM every day. When I returned last Sunday my pool was an ugly scene. Full of algae and 93 degrees. I started pouring in the CL but didn't get it to shock levels. After reading the cloudy water posts I now suspect I should have. Anyway the algae died and I brushed and vacuumed it out. At some point while vacuuming I recall I could clearly see Algae on the bottom on the pool 48" down. So by Wed I had clean but very cloudy water. I have cleaned my filter. It was cloudy enough that I couldn’t see the vacuum on the bottom. I have kept the filter running 24 hrs a day. It has cleared a little and I can sort of see the bottom. Now yesterday I noticed something in the pool so I got my skimmer and pulled it out and it was an Aluminum Pie Plate.
How the heck that got in there I can't even image, but I must assume it has been in there for the last three weeks, because the pool has been covered and un-used since then.
I brought my pool up to shock level yesterday AM and have maintained it at 12-15CL. It has held 15 CL over night. I can see the bottom of the pool but it is still cloudy. My numbers are: FC 15 CC .5 CYA 25 PH 7.5 ALK 140 .
Could the Aluminum Pie Plate be the cause this cloudy condition? Should I maintain shock lvls of CL, even though it holds over night? Is there anything else I should be doing?
Up until this incident, since converting from Softswim, this pool has had crystal clear water and been a piece of cake to maintain. Thanx in Advance Jim

[duraleigh]

Hi, Jim,

I think I would disregard the pie plate as a source for your water issues.

It sounds like you are at the end of the clearing process. I have read several posts where the cloudy condition after clearing algae persists for a day or two even tho the test for CC's is negative.

I know from your post that you are already doing this but, as reinforcement, run your pump 24/7, vacuum and brush frequently, backwash as necessary, and, most importantly, keep your chlorine all the way up at that 15ppm level until your water is back to crystal....it won't take too much longer.

Sounds like it's fine to swim in....enjoy.

[jma1_nemo]

My water has remained a milky/cloudy. I have been shocking for 5 days. My CL holds over night. I have vacuumed and cleaned the filter (cartridge type) and on the off chance that my filter had a hole that I could not find, I put my old filter back in last night. I have been running my pump/filter 24/7 for 10 days. 2 days ago I tried adding some clarifier and that seemd to have no effect. At the moment I let my FC drop to 6.5 because it is supposed to be 100 Degrees + today and we need to get wet. I am kind of at a loss at what to do next. I have some Algaecide, but have not added any yet. Is the cloudyness possible algae? Dead? or Alive? My ALK was 140 at last test. Somewhere on a post it seems someone said high ALK could contribute to cloudyness. Can anyone confirm?
Thanx Again.

[mbar]

If you post a full set of numbers we can help you better. Cloudy water can be from high Alk along with high ph and high calcium. Post FC, CC, TC, PH, ALK, CA, and CYA.

[jma1_nemo]

I just did all tests. Here are the results:
FC=3 CC=0 PH=7.2 ALK=120 Cal=100 CYA=25
Water remains cloudy.

[mbar]

Your numbers are perfect. One other thing I thought of, maybe there is some air getting in the water somewhere. Sometimes little air bubbles can make the water appear hazy. The other thing you can try is to add some muriatic acid, turn your return jets up to aerate the water - it will bring down the alkalinity and raise the ph in the process. Even though your alkalinity is good, sometimes acid will clear water, especially with metals, and I don't know if the pie pan did anything, but it sure is suspect if that is when the water turned cloudy. This is just my suggestion. Sometimes acid will clear the water. Just don't add too much, since your ph is at 7.2 now. You want to only add enough to bring down the ph to 7.0. You can use the bleach cal to see how much you need. hope this helps.