returned and pool completely cloudy

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????

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Originally Posted by 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?

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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.

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

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

poolhelp,

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

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

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

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

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?

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Originally Posted by 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?

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