noob with cloudy water

[swimmerfred]

Ok, Ok, I'll order a test kit. In the meantime, regardless of how much shock, or bleach I add, it never seems to bump the fc like it should. I added 2 gallons of 6% bleach and fc increased by 4 points. I'm starting to get frustrated dumping gallons of bleach and pounds of shock in, with absolutely no improvements. Any thoughts?

[BigDave]

One thought: you can't really tell what your FC is with the strips. When your K-2006 arrives, I promise, you'll be surprized at how easy it is to use and interpret.

[aylad]

I would suspect that you are having trouble raising your FC for several reasons, some of which are 1) you are still on the edge of an algae bloom, since algaecides (and here we only recommend polyquat) are much better at preventing algae than killing it, therefore it's consuming the chlorine as quickly as you put it in, 2) your algaecide is creating its own chlorine demand in the pool, and 3) with a low CYA you're losing a lot to the sun. In order to clear it iup, you are going to have to get the chlorine up to your shock level (as they said above, that's based on your CYA level, so you need an accurate one to start with)--see the "best guess" link in my sig for more info about that--and keep that chlorine level up until you stop losing chlorine when testing at night and again in the morning before the sun hits the pool (that measures how much chlorine the pool is using and rules out what the sun is consuming). Only then can you let your chlorine drift back down--but how low you can let it go also depends on that same CYA level. So....you're gonna need a test kit to accomplish this, but it can be done with the cheap OTO (uses red and yellow drops to measure chlorine and pH). However, if you can invest in a good, comprehensive kit, it will pay for itself over and over and make your life SO much easier!!

[swimmerfred]

Kit's on its way. Taylor K-2006. I'll update as soon as i have some good info. Thanks for all the help so far!

[Watermom]

Good decision to buy the kit. You're gonna love it.

[swimmerfred]

Ok, tested with the Taylor kit and here are the results:

FC = 3ppm
CC = .5ppm
pH = 7.1
TA = 170ppm
Ca Hardness = 200ppm
cya = 35ppm

I cleaned out my cart filter a day or so ago, and the stuff that ran off had a green tint to it so I'm guessing that algae is probably my problem. Also, the cloudiness does have a slight green tint to it. I've used an ounce or two per week of Super Algae Something ( I don't have the bottle nearby ) but obviously I'm using the wrong stuff or improperly using it. Here's another thing I should have mentioned: All this started after a huge storm that hit the area. I didn't know then that storms can be tough on a pool, and I've never caught up since. Anywho, what should I do now?

[aylad]

Yup, shock the pool. Take your chlorine up to 15 ppm and hold it there by testing and adding enough chlorine to get back up to 15 ppm as many times a day as possible. Run the pump 24/7, brush the pool daily, and clean the filters as your pressure indicates. Maintain the high chlorine level until the pool has cleared up, and until you can test at night and again in the morning before the sun hits the pool, and you don't lose more than 1 ppm chlorine in that time. This is a process that can take a few days, not just a one-time dose of chlorine. When you get to the point where you're not losing chlorine overnightm, then you can let the chlorine drift back down to normal (3-6 ppm for your CYA level).

Oh--and stop using the algaecide. If it's not polyquat 60, it's creating more problems than you think it's solving. Just stick with chlorine.

Janet

[swimmerfred]

ok, working on it. been keeping it => 15ppm. Does it matter whether I use the powdered shock or liquid bleach - or more directly - is one more succeptible to burn off from the sun? I'm told that during the day it may burn off, but also that I am not supposed to use my solar cover because the elevated levels of chlorine could ruin it. Is the buffered shock more likely to keep FC levels elevated during the day? or doesn't it matter. Many thanks by the way.

[swimmerfred]

Ok, I've had FC at or above 15ppm for five days now. It's still pretty green. Is it common for it to take this long? thx a bunch!