Halfdones's pool

[Halfdone]

Ok, so I will go out and sweep and try to see if a cloud comes up off the bottom. If so I'll go ahead and vacuum it up. The problem with that is I cant see to tell if I get it all. I'll do a fresh backwash before vacuuming so I can leave the powder in the filter longer. I tested the CYA this morning and am at about 25, so at least its coming up.

As far as the CC, this morning I am at CC-1 with FC-5.5. I have been using bleach to keep the chlorine up to between 10 and 15 but my CC isn't moving, should I be concerned? What is the Combined Chlorine mean anyway?

[Watermom]

Keep running the high chlorine levels. That CC will come down. But, not with FC of 5.5. Maintain it at shock level. How often are you testing and adding bleach? How does the water look? Getting any better?

[Halfdone]

I bumped up the Chlorine to 15 and will do my best to hold it there. Costco is going to have to deliver a pallet of bleach at our house pretty soon.

The CC is back down to .5 this afternoon. Is it true that the CC will go down as the pool gets sanitized better, such as the FC is doing its job better. It generally takes 1-2 drops for the CC test so that should be .5-1 right?

I am testing 2 to 3 times a day and adding bleach each time to try and keep up over 10 to 15. Again I'll try to keep it at 15 for now.

I swept the pool 2 times today and didn't see much in the way of cloudiness coming from the bottom but its hard to tell with the cloudy water. I did see a bit of green come up off of the steps so I imagine there is some algae sitting down there still. I took out my leaf vacuum that runs off of the hose and ran it around, which produced a couple bags full of leaves sitting on the bottom. Hopefully getting the leaves out will help some as well.

The water is still horribly cloudy.

[Watermom]

Yes, the high cl will drop the CC. Also, the more organic debris (leaves, etc.) you can remove the better. Otherwise your FC will be depleted faster. Run your pump 24/7.

[Halfdone]

I am running the pump 24/7 only taking breaks to backwash if needed and about 10-15 minutes to let the sand settle after the backwash. last night at about 10pm the FC was 14.5, this morning at 11am it was 7. I am testing and adjusting as often as I can and trying to keep it around 15. The flow rate seems fairly good the pool water is flowing around in a circle like a river current, much better rate then my old DE filter. At this rate if I keep the FC at 15 and the pump running constantly how long should it take to clear up the pool?

Thanks,

[Watermom]

Wish there was, but there is no way to tell for sure how long it will take. Sorry.

[Halfdone]

Well, no real progress to speak of.

I've been keeping the chlorine around 15 for more then a week now. When I test it I am never below 7-8 and bring it back up to 15. I have been sweeping it and vacuuming the bottom and keeping the filter running 24/7, but the water is still very cloudy.

Here are the test results from this morning;
FC 11.5
CC .5
PH 7.4
TA 160
CH 70
CYA 25

I was disappointed to see my CYA go down. The highest I measured it was around 35. I did run some water to waste when I was vacuuming and refill but only dropped about 1" of water, that and a couple of backwashes I wouldn't expect my CYA to drop that much.

How long do I need to keep up the shock levels of FC? What can I do about the cloudiness? Can I send a sample of my water somewhere to get a better idea of why its cloudy? This is the first year we have used bleach as our chlorine and my wife is complaining about the cost (about $7-8 per day) and the results. We have never had this cloudy problem in the past. In the past we have used primarily granular chlorine, though I'm not sure what type (triclor, diclor etc.).

I did have a glass patio table break and dump glass in the pool this winter. While I got most of it out a while ago I just went in and swept, vacuumed out the rest yesterday by feel. Is there any change the glass was effecting the water somehow?

Frustrated,

Mark

[Watermom]

I don't think the table has anything to do with this.

Are you losing more than 1ppm of chlorine overnight (from sundown til within 2 hours of sunrise)?

[Halfdone]

I'm not sure if I loose more then 1ppm overnight. I usually get to check it about 9-10am and its at 9-10ppm. I'll make sure its at 15ppm tonight at around 10pm then get up early to check before sunrise. I'll post the results in the morning.

Thanks.

[Watermom]

Don't have to get up before sunrise. Just within a couple of hours of sunrise should be sufficient.