Cloudy water not clearing

We recently killed algae in our intex pool, but we can not clear the cloudiness (it's opaque). We can't hold the chlorine. Here are our last numbers from yesterday. We've been running the filter non-stop, changing filter twice a day. Our pool is listed as holding 6981 gal, but pool store calculates about 7500 gal.

FC 1.6
TC 1.6
CC 0.0
But it all fluctuates

PH 6.9
Hardness 170
TA 167
CYA 10
Copper 0
Iron 0
Total dissolved solids 1000

The pool store keeps telling us to add muriatic acid to bring down TA but it has only helped a little. Now we have a really low ph. Then we put in ph plus, but it doesn't bring it up enough. We keep adding shock, but can't hold the chlorine level.

I've been doing a lot of reading. Not sure we have been given the correct advice. I'd like to use up what chemicals we have ( if possible) and then switch to BBB. Thanks for the help.

Maurie

What kind of shock are you using -- meaning ingredients.

Your pH is a little low. Use some 20 Mule Team Borax (laundry aisle at Walmart) to raise it. Start by adding about a fourth of a box slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running, breaking up any clumps. After a couple hours, retest pH and redose as needed until you get the pH between 7.2-7.8 with 7.4-7.6 usually considered ideal.

Below, I've cut and pasted some of our getting started info that you may find helpful.

Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol test kit, or if available at YOUR Walmart (check availability), get the HTH 6-way DROPS test kit, which is compatible with the Taylor K2006. Test the pool as soon and you can, and post the results. If you get the 6-way kit, ALSO test the water you FILL the pool with, especially if it's a well, and post THOSE results as well. (The HTH is the best available kit you're likely to find locally, but it's not the K-2006. It can only provide rough measurements chlorine levels above 5 ppm, and it measures "TOTAL" hardness, rather than "CALCIUM" hardness, which is not ideal.)


+ Having a good test kit makes pool care easier for EVERYONE. A good test kit means a kit that can test chlorine from 0 - 25 ppm, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer with reasonable accuracy. Test strips (AKA 'guess-strips' ) do NOT meet this standard. Some pool store testing is accurate; most is not. The ONLY way you'll know whether your pool store is accurate or bogus, is by testing accurately your own self. On the other hand, pool store 'computer' dosing recommendations are NEVER trustworthy -- ignore them. They are designed to sell more chemicals than you need, and WILL cause many pool problems.


+ We recommend the Taylor K-2006 test kit, which meets the requirements above, for many reasons. The HTH 6-way drops kit is a great starter kit, and is compatible with the K2006 (it's made by Taylor). There are a few alternatives; for example Lamotte makes an FAS-DPD kit that's OK -- but it costs 3x as much. But, we're not aware of any test that is better, and since we are all familiar with the K-2006 (and can help you with it) we recommend it exclusively ( Test kit info page )



+ Buy some plain 6% household bleach, about 10 gallons per 10,000 gallons in your pool. You can switch to other products, later. But bleach will work, in almost any sort of pool mess, without complicating side-effects.


+ If you need stabilizer, and have access to a Sams Club, buy their 24lb pack of 1# bags of 100% dichlor shock. Each bag will add about 7 ppm of chlorine, and about 6 ppm of stabilizer, per 10K gallons of water. Otherwise, order dichlor from Amazon:

Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs

We do NOT recommend buying dichlor locally, otherwise, at least until you are an EXPERT reader of chemical labels. The chlorinating pool chemicals sold at Walmart, Kmart, Costco, and most other local stores are diluted blends, sometimes with copper and other products with bad side-effects.


+ Do NOT add pool store goop -- phosphate removers, clarifiers, flocculents, metal 'removers' & sequestrants, and especially, algaecides -- without instruction from us, or at least, a VERY specific reason for doing so. All of those products have side effects that you probably don't understand yet. Most are sold to pool owners who do NOT need them. Many will make things worse if over-used. Some (algaecides, phosphate removers) usually make things worse if used at all. Rarely, you may actually NEED one of those products.


+ It's much easier to answer your questions, when we know something about your pool. We often 'waste' the first few posts back and forth collecting information. So, please complete our new Pool Chart form -- it takes about 30 seconds, but will save much more than that.

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results

Will do ASAP. My computer crashed and typing on this iPad stinks. I should be getting a new laptop this weekend. Thanks for the current info.
Maurie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maurie

My computer crashed and typing on this iPad stinks.

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Yes it does! I spent a lot of time in a hospital with a sick friend recently and also did some traveling last weekend. Both times I got tired of lugging my laptop around and thought maybe I would like an iPad. I played around with my niece's iPad for awhile one afternoon and realized that I do NOT want one. Yes, they may be small and sleek but you are right, they are a pain to type on. I guess with practice I would have to improve (I only have 'up' to go cuz I couldn't do it worth beans) but even still, it made me realize that the iPad is not for me!

Good luck getting the new laptop. We'll be looking for your pool info when you get a chance to enter it.

Well, it took awhile to get a new computer, but all is well (not with the pool though). We have been running the pump all day and cleaning filters twice a day, but it hasn't improved much. I can see a few inches deeper...maybe the lenght of my forearm, but no where near the bottom. I filled out the pool form. My husband has been taking care of the chemicals. He has been using HTH products - chlorine tablets, shock, algaecide, clarifier, and maybe the stabilizer and conditioner. With guess strips we are reading chlorine about 3-5, ph around 7.2 maybe higher, and TA about 180. We did but the HTH drops kit, but I haven't read the directions yet. Please let us know what else you need to know to help us and what we should do at this point. Thanks.

The best thing you can do to help us help you is to stop using the strips and start using the HTH kit. Strips simply are not reliable or accurate enough to clear up a problem.

Stop using the algaecides and clarifier--they will tend to make your problems much worse instead of better. In fact, once you throw enough of the mystery stuff in the pool, then it's really hard to help get it straightened out because things start reacting unpredictably. Check the chlorine tablets you're using, and make sure that they don't contain copper. Adding copper will add another dimension of difficulty to managing your water. Also, we really need to know the ingredient in the "shock" that you're using, and a good set of current test results, taken with your HTH kit.

There are three reasons right off the bat that I can think of that will cause cloudy water that's not clearing: 1) you just need more time to filter out the dead algae that you killed off--and AGP pumps/filters are notoriously mis-matched, so it often takes a long, long time to filter out dead algae, and 2) You haven't killed off all the algae yet--which is a very big possibility given your water temps and strip testing, and 3) The "shock" you're using is actually cal-hypo, which is why we keep asking for the ingredient. Using cal-hypo with water already high in hardness and TA will cause milky, cloudy water. And....it's possible that you have all of those problems at the same time. So.....

In order to rule out algae that's not dead yet, you need to test your chlorine levels at night and again the next morning before the sun hits the pool. Compare the two numbers, and if you've lost more than 1 ppm of chlorine in that time, then we know there's something in the water eating it up and you need to shock the pool and hold it at shock level until you can go all night without losing chlorine. To do this, you're going to need an accurate CYA level, because your shock level depends on your CYA level.

To rule out calcium being the problem, you need to test your water for calcium hardness--that test is in your HTH kit as well.

Once you've determined whether the problem is in the water or in the filtering, then we'll need to look at your filter. Are you running the filter 24/7? Is the pressure rising on your filter as the pump runs? What, if anything is washing off the carts when you clean them?

I just used the HTH drops kit. Tonight, if I plan on waking before the sun, I will do the chlorine test. However, the drops kit tested the same as the strips have been testing, but we'll see. Here are todays results. These are after a good rain this morning as well.

Chlorine - 5ppm
pH - 7.2
TA - 240ppm
TH - 370ppm
CYA - <30ppm (the black dot did disappear before the tube overflowed but it was above the 30 mark)

So, it seems alot needs fixing. I'm sure with our high TA and TH, mixing with the cal-hypo hasn't been good. Please advise on what products to use intstead and the next step. I will report the chlorine ASAP.

We are running the filter 24/7 except unplugging when it rains. I'm not sure if the pressure rises. How can you tell? We have seen a cartride "collapse", but not frequently. When we clean the filters, they are yellowish. The usual dirt, mosquitos, etc. cleans off with a sometimes yellowish grime in the slats.

Thanks.

One thing you can do to help is get better cartridges. The Intex cartridges are cheaper, but don't last long and don't filter as well. If you get 2 Unicel cartridges and clean them properly, they should not only improve filtration, they should last all summer:

Unicel C-4607 Replacement Filter Cartridge (Easy Set Size A or C) @ Amazon @ Amazon
Unicel C-5315 Replacement Filter Cartridge for 15 Square Foot Intex B Filter @ Amazon

Don't use the shock that you have if it is cal-hypo. Instead, either use bleach or dichlor. (Please go back and reread post #2 about dichlor if this is what you want to use.) Let us know which you plan to use and then someone here will help you go from there.

Also, the limits on the chlorine test that the HTH 6-Way kit can show is 5. (That is one reason we like the Taylor K-2006 because it can test high chlorine levels.) So, when you get a chlorine reading of 5 on your kit, all you know is that it is 5 or higher. You can force it to read higher although it does lose some accuracy.

Read here: Testing Without a Good Kit

Try and keep your chlorine at shock level which would be around 12. See the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in Ben's signature. As your CYA level comes up, so does your shock level.

I'm fine with using bleach. Saving money sounds good too. I do know the HTH drops don't test the chlorine high enough, but I can't afford the Taylor kit currently. I will have to use the best guess method. Can someone clarify? I read it several times and the method doesn't make sense to me.

I retested today (with HTH drop kit):
Chlorine - over 5 ppm - on strips it read around 10 ppm
pH - 7.5
TA - 240 ppm
TH - 400 ppm
CYA - 30-35 ppm

The water is still cloudy. It started to turn a light green color. It's possible we haven't killed all the algae. I know the TA and TH are also adding to the cloudiness in combo with the calc-hypo. Of course, our filter isn't the greaters either.

What steps should we take at this point to try and clear the water? We are still running the filter practically 24/7 and cleaning cartridges once or twice a day.

Thanks for the help.

The HTH test uses OTO -- the color block only goes to 5.0, but OTO itself registers MUCH higher. What you want to do is keep your chlorine in the 'dark yellow with a orange tint' range (15 - 30 ppm), till there is NO green left. Once you get the chlorine up to that range, brush the pool completely. There may be piles or areas of algae that will survive high chlorine, but not being brushed + high chlorine. However, you do not want to brush those spots while the chlorine is low -- you could end up restarting the algae!

Ok, but how much bleach will raise to that level? Can I keep the tricolor tabs floating? Thanks.

For reference, in your pool, each quart of 6% bleach will add about 2ppm of chlorine. Use that to help you figure out doses to add. With a CYA level of 30-35, you want to try and keep the chlorine around 15ppm while you are working to clear this up. You can continue to use the trichlor tabs for awhile longer but you're still going to need to use bleach as well. When your CYA reaches around 50, you'll want to stop using the tabs and just use bleach.

I've been brushing the pool every morning thinking I should to help filter the dead algae. I did not this morning. I added 6qt of 6% bleach and chlorine was very high - dark orange. It is now a lighter orange. I did brush once it hit the dark orange. Now our pool looks even greener. What happened? My husband will want to add calc-hypo shock and algaecide if it doesn't change color soon. What do I do now? Do I keep adding bleach to keep it a light orange? (remember I can't afford Taylor kit now). Thanks.

There are two different issues here:

#1. Kill all the algae, including any on surfaces or in piles on the bottom. High chlorine is ESSENTIAL for that.

#2. Filter the DEAD algae, out. Bleach doesn't help with that, at all. Polyquat -- the ONLY algaecide we recommend -- will help, because it's also a very good clarifier. Cal hypo can, but ONLY if have a sand filter and ONLY if you use it just the right way. Regular foamy algaecides may actually make the cloudiness WORSE.

So I've been keeping the chlorine up with bleach. I haven't had to put in as much as I expected. It's still high this morning. I get an orange color with the oto test. I did a three to one dilution with bottled water and got between 12 to 15. On the strips I got TC maxed at 10 and FC maxed at 20 (maybe slightly less). These last two numbers seemed off - the math doesn't make sense. Anyway, I know the chlorine is high.

However, nothing seems to be changing yet. All I know is once I decided to use bleach my pool got greener. The chlorine is holding better with bleach, but it's much greener and cloudier. Why did adding bleach do this? The hth shock and algaecide would turn the color some overnight. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks for the help.

You'll need to keep up with the bleach--you are fighting something.
1) Ignore T/A. Vinyl pool: Not a problem.
2) Figure your pool at 7000 gal, not the pool store's 7500. 1 gallon of 6% bleach should add 8.5ppm of FC.

Look on the ingredient label of the HTH shock, the tabs you were using and tha algaecide you put in and see if copper is listed on any of them.

I checked the ingredients. The tabs have the trichloro chlorine and a zinc and 2% other ingredients. The algaecide has several hard to remember ingredients but none said copper. I don't have anymore of the shock to look at. When I was dealing with the pool store, they suggested metal magic. The pool guy that cares for pools said to use it along with another product to help filter much quicker. He said it would clog the filter pretty fast. We didn't buy either b/c by that point we felt we were being "had". They said even though we have city water they've seen it before. However with the fill last summer we did not have any metal problem. I don't know, but I've been battling this five or six weeks now. I'm tired of cleaning filters and brushing the pool. We've had murky almost brown to green to cloudy white/pale green to almost turquoise but always very cloudy, and now pretty green again. We have yet to see anywhere near the bottom. Is there any hope? I'm thinking just do well enough to get by until the fall, drain it and start over next year. Thanks.

It's very, very hard to clear an Intex pool, once it gets cloudy. The filters are tiny.

I re-read some, but not all of your thread, looked at your pool chart, and noticed all of the following:
1. You don't seem to have the Unicel cartridges, which filter better and last much longer than the OEM cartridges
2. You've been adding all sorts of goop, without a clear plan, which means we're now in voodoo soup land. Nobody, and I mean that literally, understands what's happening in your pool, with all that goop.
3. You have very high TA & CH, and have been using calcium hypochlorite, which is VERY likely to cloud your pool.

If you want to clean up the pool FAST, draining and refilling *might* be your best option. But, before you pursue that, you need to test your fill water (don't test CYA!) and you need to do a metals bucket test on the fill water.

It sounds like you've had your chlorine consistently high over the past few days. If this is true, it's not impossible, but it's unlikely that you still have algae. I have seen greenish water that seemed to be related to alkalinity.

If you don't want to drain the pool, I'd recommend all these things:

1. STOP adding stuff -- no more goop. It's VERY likely that you've added enough to make it harder to clear the pool.
2. Keep the chlorine above 5.0 100% of the time.
3. Get the Unicel cartridges recommended above.
4. Read the muriatic acid guide in my signature, buy several gallons from Lowes, and lower your pH to just below 7.0 . . . and KEEP IT THERE, till your TA is less than 100 ppm. (May take several weeks!)
5. Stop using cal hypo.
6. Let me say again: no MORE goop, for AT LEAST 2 weeks. Use bleach, borax, muriatic acid and NOTHING ELSE! (Well, use dichlor if your CYA goes below 20 ppm.)
7. Filter as much as you can.

Thanks! This is what I needed. I've had this greenish water for so long I had a feeling there was more going on than algae. I haven't been adding anything other than bleach for at least five days maybe a week. I know the chlorine has been over 5 since friday. I will get the unicel cartridges ASAP and I already have some muriatic acid. No more calc-hypo. It's all gone and I won't buy anymore. Do I need to buy dichlor now? Is all the acid going to affect the CYA?

More background: last winter we didn't take care of the pool. By march/spring break, we had a pond. According to pool store we added a bag of yellow stuff and eight bags of shock to treat algae. It didn't touch it. We drained it down to a few inches, put calc-hypo shock in over night, scrubbed with bleach, then refilled. It was still brown, but not as bad. Our fill water is clear, but in the few inches we had ALOT of either algae or what looked liked oak blossoms that mixed in. We added more calc-hypo shock and algaecide and the color turned lighter overnight. We continued to see improvements with the color but never with the cloudiness. That's what led me here.

I will do the bucket test as soon as I get everything and report back.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I thought of a question. When I lower the ph to just below7.0, how do I add more muriatic acid to lower TA? Won't the ph go down even more? The pool store had us go down this road and told us to use ph plus after the acid circulated a few hours. Thanks.

(Edit by moderator: two posts in the queue where combined.)

When you add the acid, it will drop your pH and alk. Then, you aim your return jets upward to make as much splashing as you can (aeration) which will cause the pH to rise. Once it does, you repeat the cycle. Read the following:
Lowering Alkalinity Step-by-Step

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maurie

When I lower the ph to just below7.0, how do I add more muriatic acid to lower TA? Won't the ph go down even more? The pool store had us go down this road and told us to use ph plus after the acid circulated a few hours. Thanks.

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Yeah. That's the pool industry standard advice . . . and your results are typical. Just lower the pH, and KEEP it there. Your TA will drop over time.

Here are the results from the fill water test.

Chlorine - 0
Ph - about 7.0 (I think - the color was a really pale pink)
TA - 310-320
TH - 210

I will start the metal bucket test tomorrow. I am keeping the chlorine at shock level for another day or so to be sure. Then I will just keep above 5. I will also start the acid tomorrow.

You don't need to do the bucket test, to know you need to start adding acid.

But there are currently 5 bucket tests: evaporation, chlorine demand, metals, lime softening, and flocculation -- which one were you planning? It sounds like the metals bucket test on your FILL water may be appropriate.

In a previous post, you gave a list of suggestions to help with green water which may be due to TA rather than algae. The metals bucket test was one of those suggestions.

Yeah, I checked back, and saw that. But I wanted to make sure that you knew that there are MULTIPLE bucket tests, and knew which one you were doing, and why.

This is a quote of your suggestions to clear some tough cloudy and green water.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PoolDoc

If you want to clean up the pool FAST, draining and refilling *might* be your best option. But, before you pursue that, you need to test your fill water (don't test CYA!) and you need to do a metals bucket test on the fill water.

It sounds like you've had your chlorine consistently high over the past few days. If this is true, it's not impossible, but it's unlikely that you still have algae. I have seen greenish water that seemed to be related to alkalinity.

If you don't want to drain the pool, I'd recommend all these things:

1. STOP adding stuff -- no more goop. It's VERY likely that you've added enough to make it harder to clear the pool.
2. Keep the chlorine above 5.0 100% of the time.
3. Get the Unicel cartridges recommended above.
4. Read the muriatic acid guide in my signature, buy several gallons from Lowes, and lower your pH to just below 7.0 . . . and KEEP IT THERE, till your TA is less than 100 ppm. (May take several weeks!)
5. Stop using cal hypo.
6. Let me say again: no MORE goop, for AT LEAST 2 weeks. Use bleach, borax, muriatic acid and NOTHING ELSE! (Well, use dichlor if your CYA goes below 20 ppm.)
7. Filter as much as you can.

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Here were the results of my fill water test.

Chlorine - 0
Ph - about 7.0 (I think - the color was a really pale pink)
TA - 310-320
TH - 210
************************************************** *****
I have done the bucket test (not quite finished) on the fill water and the pool water. Here is what I've got.

Fill water started out clear. Once adding bleach it took on a yellow tint but still clear. After 15 min, it was still clear but a bit more yellow. I added the borax. After 24 hr, the water was still yellowish and clear with sediment on the bottom in the center. After 24 more hr, it was still the same. Tested with OTO and it was very splotchy orange...very strange. The next three days are up tomorrow.

The pool water started out whitish and very cloudy. Once adding bleach it stayed the same. After 15 min, it was still the same. I added the borax. After 24 hr, the cloudy water was gone!!! It had sediment on the bottom too, but not as much as the fill water did. It looked a slightly filmy on the surface. After 24 more hr, it was still the same. Tested with OTO and the water was splotchy orange, but not quite as bad as the fill water. The next three days are up tomorrow.

I have not put anything in the pool except chlorine bleach and muriatic acid.

I have kept the chlorine above 5.0, but it's been very hard. It has been raining ALOT in the Houston area. So much so that it's been hard to get outside and take care of the pool. It's pretty green again too. Algae again??? Today, I got the chlorine high again with the OTO in an orangish color. The skimmer is floating (not hooked up) with the high water. I took the bucket out and it looked pretty yellow. I also noticed the small separation in the liner above the seams at the top have little bits of water and lots of algae sitting in the area. What do I do with that?

I got the Unicel cartridges. I've been using them a few days now. Absolutely no better than the INTEX yet.

I've been adding the acid keeping the ph around 7 or just below and the TA has come down to 170 the last time I checked (was over 240).

I've been filtering most of the day, but my husband unplugged it some when it rained.

I still don't know what to do. I see no change or possible improvements. I know the rain has made things harder. I'm afraid the algae came back due to the green color and I don't know how to get rid of the algae in those tiny crevices. Which could they reinfect the pool?

So any ideas? This is getting really ridiculous.

I will report the final results of the bucket test later today, but did anyone ave any ideas for help? The chlorine is really high and the pool is really green and doesn't seem to be changing.

How consistently have you been keeping the chlorine in the orange range? You state in your post above that it has been difficult to tend to the pool with all the rain you have been having. Killing algae requires consistent high chlorine. You cannot let it yo-yo up and down or else you will never get rid of it. Have you brushed the pool daily while the chlorine level was in the orange range? Are you testing it every day, every other day or ???? How often are you adding bleach?

If it were my pool, I'd be testing it at least three times a day, and each time adding enough bleach to get it back into the orange range. You are wanting your chlorine to stay at around 15-18. You can use the dilution method I linked for you back in post #9. Sustaining high chlorine levels is the key to killing algae.

Watermom, as best I can say, the answer to those questions is yes. The torrential rain has ended so I will stay on top of things and see how it goes.

The bucket test final results are:

Both buckets remained the same with color and clarity, but the pool bucket sediment increased. This time there was sediment around the outer ring on the bottom. I forgot to test with OTO (dumb me) and already dumped the water. Hope the previous results along with the increase in sediment will help.

So any final suggestions. I'm still STUCK with green cloudy water that won't go away. My OTO is dark orange and the water looks absolutely terrible. The borax did clear up the cloudy pool bucket. Should I try that? I'm still working on the chlorine and did another round of muriatic acid. All help is much appreciated. Thanks.

Ok, here are my latest test results.

Chlorine -dark orange (3:1 dilution still at the top of the color block)
Ph- around 6.9-7.0
Hardness -none
TA - about 120

I think one more dose of muriatic acid once the ph rises will get me to around 100 TA.

Last night I put in more chlorine than I knew I needed. The pool is still very green. This morning the chlorine is still dark orange. In fact I didn't add any yet today. I retested my cya thinking maybe I have the shock level wrong. It's still around 30. So I think my shock level is correct.

The TA is coming down and I'm putting in tons of chlorine. What is going on? I thought these simple methods were better for the pool. But I have worse water now than before coming to this forum. Please advise. Did the bucket tests reveal anything? The results are in an above post.

Thanks for any help.

Maurie, I'm very sorry you are having such a hard time with your pool. Let me start out by saying I do NOT know for certain what is going on. I re-read through the whole thread, and still do not have a clear picture of what's been going on. I'm going to go through a series of quotes from your posts, and offer the best suggestions I can, but that's all I can do.

As I noted earlier, you've got a chemical hobo soup in there, due to all the chemicals you added at your dealer's behest. Additionally, mistakes have been made. Other things, I'm not clear about, at all.

Let me make four suggestions, however

1. Start cleaning your filter EVERY day, and operating it 24/7, with no down time at all.
2. Take pictures of your pool, of the algae seams (your quote, below) and of the dirty filter cartridges. Send them to poolforum@gmail.com. I've discovered, just this season, that digital cameras do a good enough job with color for someone experienced to tell a great deal about your pool, by seeing an IN-FOCUS, color photo.
3. Keep your chlorine high; brush your pool like crazy, and make SURE your chlorine is STILL high one hour after brushing.
4. Keep your chlorine high for TWO weeks after you think all algae is gone, and make SURE it stays high, even if it rains.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maurie

Ph - about 7.0
TA - 310-320
TH - 210

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(fill water)

Your fill water is quite hard, and guaranteed to rise in pH once you put it in your pool.

Quote:

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Chlorine - 5ppm
pH - 7.2
TA - 240ppm
TH - 370ppm
CYA - <30ppm

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(July 1)

Presumably, your hardness has increased from either calcium or magnesium in your pool chemicals

Quote:

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Chlorine - over 5 ppm
pH - 7.5
TA - 240 ppm
TH - 400 ppm
CYA - 30-35 ppm

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(July 5)

OK.

Quote:

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I added 6qt of 6% bleach and chlorine was very high - dark orange. It is now a lighter orange. I did brush once it hit the dark orange. Now our pool looks even greener.

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(July 7)

Hm-mh. This is typical, when you have piles of algae on the bottom, and stir it the algae up. When you have so much algae that it immediately turns the pool green upon brushing, you need to FIRST add more chlorine, and then test chlorine in the next few hours to make SURE it stays up. Other wise, it will QUICKLY regrow and you'll lose any ground you've gained.

Quote:

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Chlorine - 0
Ph - about 7.0 (I think - the color was a really pale pink)
TA - 310-320
TH - 210

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(July 9)

And, here, you've lost all the ground you gained. When there's that much algae, and the chlorine goes to zero, you've done a RESET to pre-treatment conditions. Basically, you're back at square one. What I do NOT understand, is where your calcium has gone. Was your filter covered with a sort of light green, but thick, paste?

Quote:

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Fill water started out clear. Once adding bleach it took on a yellow tint but still clear. After 15 min, it was still clear but a bit more yellow. I added the borax. After 24 hr, the water was still yellowish and clear with sediment on the bottom in the center. After 24 more hr, it was still the same. Tested with OTO and it was very splotchy orange...very strange. The next three days are up tomorrow.

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(July 15 => bucket test.)

Apparently, even with the very high TA & TH, you still have metals in your fill water. That's some really difficult to work with pool water. But, you are holding chlorine at a high level (for a CYA=30), so you are probably gaining against the algae somewhat.

Quote:

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It has been raining ALOT in the Houston area. So much so that it's been hard to get outside and take care of the pool. It's pretty green again too. Algae again???

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(July 15)

Darn. RESET, again. You almost certainly lost the ground you gained, for a second time. Once algae is as well established as it is in your pool, you cannot afford to have chlorine levels get low, even for a brief period.

Quote:

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I also noticed the small separation in the liner above the seams at the top have little bits of water and lots of algae sitting in the area.

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(July 15)

OK, you've got algae in ALL the cracks and crannies of your pool. That's important to know.

Quote:

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The borax did clear up the cloudy pool bucket.

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(July 17)

Huh? I don't understand this? Presumably, you added both bleach and borax to the metals test bucket with pool water. Can you explain the sequence and result here?

Quote:

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Chlorine -dark orange
pH - around 6.9-7.0
Hardness -none
TA - about 120

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(July 18)

Well, at least you've just about gotten your TA to a reasonable level. But I don't understand how your hardness could have dropped to ZERO. Where did it go?

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I don't really know what's happening with your pool, so I'll have to make the best guess I can:

1. Past use of pool store goop has made your pool respond to treatment somewhat erratically, as new chlorine reacted with old goop.

2. Your algae was much worse that what I'd understood, and you had piles of chlorine-eating algae goop on your pool's walls and bottom.

3. A lack of clearly understanding what was needed lead to some erratic chlorination on your part. This combined with the huge reservoir of algae to 'RESET' your pool to a pre-treatment state, not once, but twice.

Further than that, I can't guess. I don't know how you got a ZERO hardness reading; I don't know what your CYA level really is.

First, the place where you quoted me saying chlorine was 0 was a mistake - must have been a typo on my part. It's never been 0. In fact I kept it over 5 when you suggested that.

I have already been brushing once a day and filtering 24/7. The new filters didn't help. Although I bought through your link and did order unicel, I got pleatco.

I've kept the chlorine high and have been putting in more than you'd think necessary. Green not getting even a shade lighter.

I'm not sure what happened to the hardness. Now when I test for it, the water does not even turn red. It's kind of yellow. I tested several times thinking i made a mistake. The filters are sometimes covered with grimy thick stuff, but it's yellowish tan not green.

For the bucket test, I followed your instructions. Added bleach, 15 min later no change. Still cloudy. Added borax. 24 hours, the cloudy was gone. Noticed sediment on bottom. 24 hous later, water still same, and OTO had the orange splotchy reading (not as bad as fill water).

We are draining at the end of the summer. Our poles are sinking in the mud, so we are going to fix that next spring. With this mess of water, we thought that would be best. We just need to get through the summer. The kids don't mind swimming in the pale green cloudy water, but they won't touch the nasty green pond looking water. My husband is about to go back to the chemicals just to get us through the summer. The water looked better this way. We definitely want to continue these methods next time though. How should we clean the pool later so as not to restart this next year?

I'll still take suggestions though. No one has added any goop yet. Thanks.

I just went out and tested the water. Chlorine still very orange. I added ALOT last night, but no luck. Anyhow, I brushed it again. The CYA is still around 30, but the dot disappearing test is very subjective. I'm not sure if they mean totally disappears or starts to fade in color. If it's the latter, my CYA might be higher. I retested hardness again. Still none indicated. I also took some pictures. Will send in a minute. I am not the best photographer but they may help. Thanks again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maurie

I'm not sure if they mean totally disappears or starts to fade in color.

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Watch the CYA video, linked on this page: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?17157

I've gotten the photos, but I'm waiting on the filter photo before I post them.