Cloudy Water

[Very Frustrated]

My water has been cloudy for a couple weeks now.
It was just hazy, mostly in the deep end
The pool store had me to floc the pool and told me it should be clear overnight. When I added the floc, it immediately made the entire pool cloudy and you could not see the bottom. Still i done as instructed, let it circulate for 2 hours then shut the pump off. next morning, very little had settled to the bottom of the pool and the pool was still as cloudy as ever. its now 3 days since i used the floc, pool still cloudy, put there is a slight, very slight improvement. Chlorine presently is 2.0, ph 7.2 and ak 180. HELP!! i'm about ready to give up! should floc cloud the water??? what can i do to get my water clear. any and all suggestions needed!!!

[JohnT]

Information please How big is the pool, what kind of filter and what size pump do you have? What do you chlorinate with and what do you shock with? Have you (or the pool store) tested for Calcium Hardness or Combined Chlorine? What kind of pool?

Give us this information and we can probably help.

[Very Frustrated]

inground pool 18 x 36 and i have a sand filter which is a hayward 200. I do not know how big the pump is. last time i had the calcium hardness and combined chlorine checked it was within normal range. i use grandular chlorine and shock. i have used the bioguard products since i have had the pool, which is about 15 years. i have had cloudy water before, but never this long. like i said, it was just hazy in the deep end before i used the floc, but when i put the floc in, the entire pool immediately got cloudy and it has stayed that way. one thing though, according to the pool store when i had the water checked before i done the floc, the water showed maganese...which the pool store advised to use the floc first, then treat for the metals... please help!

[duraleigh]

Hi,

Two more tests would help greatly in getting your water clear. Calcium Hardness and CYA. If you can get those numbers to us, I bet we can get you cleared up and running in no time.
Your Alk is a little high but I don't think that's the issue. Post up some other numbers and we'll get you straight. Are you running your pump 24/7?

[xoroniox]

Hello,
did you have algae? I had a bad algae bloom and after shocking the pool with plenty of chlorine after a week or so it turned a nice color but VERY cloudy, i tried floc and it hardly helped. I got advice from this forum to continue and add chlorine keeping the ppm high and filter 24/7 after 10days my pool turned crystal clear. My advice is the same thing, shock and filter 24/7 until its clear, also wash out the filter and baskets. however if you a party coming up you want a right now fix i assume and im stumped there. Goodluck and i hope it clears up really quickly.

hope i helped, -Arron

[JohnT]

What are you doing as far as vacuuming, brushing and cleaning? Is there anything settling out onto the floor? Any sand on the pool bottom or coming out the backwash hose? (Might indicate filter problems)

Also, make sure you are backwashing often enough. Don't just rely on the gauge, as they sometimes stick. Make sure you have enough flow, and that your skimmer and pump baskets are clean.

[Watermom]

Yes, we do need to know your cya reading. And, when you say you have been using granular shock, is it cal-hypo or dichlor? No more of either - whichever it is. Stick strictly with bleach. Supply the cya reading and we'll see what else we can offer. I know you are frustrated, but hang in there. One way or another, it will clear.

[Watermom]

With a cya of 60, a chlorine reading of 2 is too low. You need to be keeping your cl between 5-10 all the time. And, shocking to about 15. See the chart at the following link. This very well could be a part of your problem. Shock your pool up to 15 using bleach and try and keep it there without letting it yo-yo up and down. If you can, test 3x a day and each time bring your shock level back up to 15. You never did say what type of granular shock you are using, but whatever it is, quit using it. Stick with just bleach. Run your pump 24/7.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=365

[Poolsean]

Frustrated...
Are you running your pump 24/7? Floculants ( I believe) are meant to be added then shutting down the pump so that the floc can catch the debris and drop it to the floor. The next day, you should slowly vaccum the fallen debris out of the pool.
Clarifiers are meant to clump the debris into filterable sizes and to leave the pump running.

Perhaps that is why your water got cloudy.

[ivyleager]

Frustrated,

When you say 'shocking', what are you shocking with? Is it bleach, and how much? Please, don't add anything other than plain liquid bleach!!! Keep it simple silly.......add bleach!

One gallon of regular unscented bleach (5.25% sodium hypochlorite) will raise the chlorine of 10,000 gallon pool 5.25 ppm. Too effectively shock, you'd need to raise chlorine to a 15ppm, which would be 3 gallons of bleach, for a theoretical 10,000 gallon pool. Now, if you have algae or other contaminates in the pool, those will eat up that chlorine fairly quickly, so you'd need to be adding more bleach as needed, daily. This is why it's advocated here to use a drops based kit. You'll know what your numbers are and be able to adjust the chemistry as required.

Most drop based kits do not measure chlorine higher than 5. So to be accurate, you'll need to use the distillation method. Not hard at all. If I can do it, you can do it. You'll need some distilled water. Take one part distilled water, and one part pool water, mix together, and use this sample to test for chlorine. Take this number and multiply x 2 for your free chlorine (FC). If it still reads higher than 5, take 2 parts distilled water, one part pool water, mix and measure, then multiply by 3. Some people use a shot glass as their measuring method, I personally use a childs medicine cup. Plastic won't break if you're doing your testing out by the pool.

Now, do you have an old nylon knee high? I've begun to use one over my skimmer basket, and have been surprised as how much gunk it is able to filter out. The first day I used it, I had to clean it twice as it was filled and clogged with who knows what, which I could not see with my naked eye (even corrected @ >20/20). This may help you also.

Keep the pump/filter running 24/7, and backwash when needed.

Post numbers when you get them. If you take pool sample to the pool store, have them run all the numbers and get a printout. Then post.

Good luck, and Happy Mothers Day.

CaryB
Go 'Canes!