Cloudy- Cal-Hypo????

[Gladys]

I have been down with my back so DH has been taking over pool care. I cleared it beautifully for spring break, then the back went and the algae came after much rain. Well he has it cleared back up except cloudiness.I discovered last night he has been using quite a bit of the bags of shock from wal-mart, AND bleach.He couldn't get the cloudy to go away and I didn't know why. So after much reading on here this morning I took my wore out behind down and looked. The shock is Cal-Hypo.Can I safrly assume this is my cloudy issue? Will it clear up? I did test with shot glass method. Only have small kit so can't FC,CC,TC.
Chlorine 12(approx)
PH 7.4
ALK 180
CYA 45-50
Vinyl pool .4'x 18' round
Hope I didn't leave out anything. OH, Dh has always had it rigged with pvc on the return so it comes up out of the pool about a foot with a 45 angle on the end so water is constantly mixing and splashing like a waterfall. (He likes the sound) Also have the spray thing. Have been running constant for a week. My vacuum is down. I need to replace the rubber O-Rings. Anyway I'm rambling here. My concern is the cloudiness. Should it clear? What should I do if not?I believe algae is gone and we should let chlorine drop now? I depend on yall for advice, so offer it and I will follow. ; ) Thanks bunches, Gladys
Always get compliments on my pool because of this forum. First time I've got cloudy. I'm Embarrassed!

[mbar]

There are a million reasons for cloudy water, however here are two that may be your problem. You didn't post a calcium reading. Your alkalinity is high, which along with high calcium will cause cloudiness. The fountain is a great idea - it will bring the alkalinity down, but it will raise your ph at the same time. So you will have to lower the ph with ph down, or muriatic acid. You can check the sticky at the top of the alkalinty forum. If your calcium is high, the only way to get it back down is to do a partial drain and refill. If you had a lot of algae, it could be the dead algae making the pool cloudy. The way to get rid of this kind of cloudiness it to keep your filter running 24/7, backwash frequently, and put a skimmer sock on the skimmer. If you have a sand filter you can also put some DE in to help with filtration. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. :)

[Gladys]

OK, so I'm confused again. Not unusual for me. I didn't know I needed to do a calcium test in a vinyl pool. The only other test in my kit test for hardness? Is that what you mean? It shows NO hardness. My TA has always been around 180 and that was even with the fill water the first time I filled the pool. I am giving a party for my brother on the 19th and would really like my water to be clear. This is my first REAL problem since I joined this forum. It is making me nuts. I did put a knee high panty hose over the skimmer basket yesterday as i have no sock. Anymore advice? PLEASE. Thanks, Gladys

[mbar]

Ok, as long as there is no calcium showing in the water, I think it is dead algae - which does take a long time to filter out. You don't need calcium in a vinyl liner, but some fill water has calcium in it so just checking:) Your TA is ok at 180 ( a little high, but fine as long as there isn't high calcium). The other thing you can do to clear the pool in a hurry is to use a flocculant. I don't like to suggest it, because it is putting another chemical in the water, but it will work. Just follow the directions on the bottle. Make sure you let the pool still as long as it says, and then vacuum to waste. Good luck, if you have any other questions please ask Oh yeah, and a knee high is just as good as the skimmer sock.

[Gladys]

Thanks for quick response! Will get floc today and try that.
Gladys

[mbar]

I just reread the post, and the cal hypo will add calcium to the water - but probably not enough for it to be the problem. Just another thought, what is your chlorine level? I am in the process of clearing my pool which was a green mess, full of string algae, and who know's what else. My water is very cloudy - to be expected, but it is using a lot of chlorine. Even though it says I have no combined chlorine anymore, my chlorine is dropping about 10ppms per night. I have been adding lots and lots of bleach. So you may also need a lot more bleach to do the job right. I have a cya of about 40 now, and the loss is overnight, so I know it is the dead algae breaking down that is using up all the chlorine.