cloudy pool please help

[Mary eaton]

Hi Janet,

Thanks for your advice. We will shock it today and keep the chlorine level up.

The calcium hardness level was 160. We don't use any products besides the chlorine. Yes, we have been using the trichlor pucks and have now turned off the chlorinator.

The pool is actually concrete.

My husband and I think since we need to get the CYA down anyway that we will just start emptying. I think running a hose into it while it's emptying is counterproductive.

We did try the flocculent twice over 72 hours and there was no change.

Appreciate your thoughts.
Mary

[Watermom]

Good idea doing a partial drain and refill. A lower CYA will make your pool much easier to manage. No more triclor tabs or dichlor shock powder. They are both stabilized and will add CYA. Since this is a concrete pool, once you get the cloudy water cleared up you might want to try using cal-hypo for your source of chlorine for awhile. It is recommnended that concrete pools have a calcium hardness reading between 200-400.

[CarlD]

Hi! and Welcome! You've gotten excellent advice (as usual from Jan and Lisa). I don't have much to add except:

Personally, I'm biased against flocs and clarifiers. The only one of the latter I like is also the only algaecide we recommend, Polyquat 60%. But I would NOT recommend it if you are going to drain and refill until after you've drained, or you'll just be pouring...down the drain.

But, unless you are vacuuming to waste, after you refill it's fine to add Polyquat 60%. It will tend to push your chlorine level down for 24-48 hours but it will inhibit new algae growth and acts as a clarifier as well.

[Mary eaton]

My husband is happy to have a game plan("I told you we should drain the pool!")

Yes, we put the cartridge back in.

More pool details:

concrete reinforced fiber glass wall with a steel mesh reinforced floor installed in 2003

Filter: Sta-Rite Series III 450
Natural Gas Heater: replaced this year Sta Rite 400 btu/hr
AO Smith Replacement Motor 1.5 HP (replaced 2008)
PB 4 Booster Pump
Hayward Chlorine Feeder CL 220(Replaced 2006)

Nature 2 Cartridges
Polaris
Pool was painted one coat 2007

He is shocking the remaining water now. Will keep you informed. thanks

[aylad]

Just wanted to note that I am usually against the use of flocs/clarifiers myself, but having had a messed-up pool from filter blow-back for almost 3 weeks that no amount of vacuuming/shocking would fix, the clarifier I used was a last resort. The problem I had at the time was that the stuff was too fine for any filtering to get it out. So--that's why I suggest that you try the shocking first, to eliminate the possibility of algae. If shocking doesn't change anything, and your other numbers remain in line, then it might take a clarifier to remove the reallly fine stuff from the pool.

That being said, I agree with Carl in that if you're going to drain the pool, go ahead and do that before adding anything else to it.

Janet

[Mary eaton]

Ok we drained over half of the pool and are filling it now. It still has a few thousand more gallons to go but my husband wanted the chemicals checked.

ph is 7.4
FC 22
cc 0
CYA 65
TA 220

So now the TA is really high. Hubby wants to sit tight until pool is filled and see what happens. He did add chlorine again. (this am FC was over 30) I read about the murantic acid/aeration method. Husband doesn't want to be chasing our tail as I am sure we made the TA high adding the soda ash and sodium bicarbonate.

Like your situation, Janet, the flocculant we added did nothing. The bottom is perfectly clean so the particles were suspended although looking fairly clear so far with the new water diluting them.

Thanks, Mary

[CarlD]

It's generally a bad idea to add both soda ash AND baking soda. Usually, if you want to raise pH and TA you either add Borax and baking soda, or just soda ash, because the latter increases TA levels for any pH level.

BTW, Arm&Hammer Washing Soda in the yellow box in the detergent section of your supermarket is soda ash--exactly the same stuff the pool stores sell.

You may find with such a high TA you have trouble keeping your pH down, and you'll have to lower it just by lowering your pH.

[waterbear]

Hayward Chlorine Feeder CL 220(Replaced 2006)
If you continue to use this you will have the CYA problem again, especially if your System three is a cartridge or DE model and not a sand filter.
Nature 2 Cartridges
This is putting copper in your water. Copper is what stains pools and turns hair green. It IS an effective algaecide so the water doesn't turn green readily but, as you found out, it does nothing to prevent it turning cloudy. You are spending about $200 a year on carts for it and it realy doesn't do that much.

Hope this is helpful.

[Mary eaton]

ok I am back with more cloudiness. This am
FC 7
CC 0
ph 7.6
Alk 200
CH 130
CYA 85 (not using pucks anymore)

We have not run the Polaris (not fitting into the outflow for some reason), nor have we vacuumed (can't see bottom) The filter pressure is 18 which the usual. My husband thinks we need new filters but they don't seem that friable. I know we need to get the alkalinity down. Is there anything else you could recommend? Is there a particular flocculant that works better?
Thanks, Mary

[Watermom]

Had your pool cleared up and now become cloudy again or has it been cloudy all along? What all have you added to the pool recently? What has your pool care regimen been recently? Why has the alk gone up? Did you follow the alk lowering instructions posted earlier? We need some additional info to be able to help.