Cannot Get Rid of Cloudy Water

[AnnaK]

None of us do

Just scoop them out with the leaf net and set them somewhere where you know you won't spill bleach on them. Given your CYA of 70 you don't really want to use them anyway because they keep adding more CYA and dropping the pH. Put them in an bucket with a lid. They'll keep.

Once they're out of the way you can go ahead and add the bleach.

[ajb8898]

OK I will do this tonight. Thank you so much for the help so far.

[AnnaK]

Happy to help. Remember to look for filter socks as they'll really improve the filtration. I suspect we'll have a clear pool for your Memorial Day activities. If you're out and about shopping you might pick up a box of 20 Mule Team Borax. We may want that to raise the pH in a couple of days. It should be in the laundry aisle of your grocery store or at Walmart. If you can't find any, see if they have Washing Soda. Washing Soda will also raise the TA (alk) but we could live with a small increase.

[ajb8898]

OK, kids got in to swim this evening, cloudy water and all. They said the bottom felt clean. I then added 2 gallons of bleach and then brushed the bottom to be sure it was all stirred up. Walmart was out of Borax so I got the Washing Soda instead. I also got Baking Soda just in case. They also did not have any filter socks but I will get some.

I'll report more in the morning.

[AnnaK]

Kids!

Did you add 2 gallons? Or 2 jugs? A gallon is 128 oz and we were shooting for 126 oz. You'll have a goodly amount of chlorine to kill whatever might need killing. If you have the chance to take another water sample to the pool store for testing let's see what the pH is. Some pH tests fail when the FC is over 10 ppm. I'm not entirely comfortable recommending how much washing soda to add until we have a reliable pH number.

[ajb8898]

Sorry, I didn't say that right. I bought the 184oz bottle at Walmart and my husband did his best to add 2/3 of it so we could get around 120oz.

[Watermom]

I would advise you to go ahead and put those partially dissolved trichlor tabs back into the pool and let them dissolve. That way you don't have to worry about how to store them. But, then, just don't use any more. (They won't add that much more CYA to make much difference at this point.)

[AnnaK]

Sorry, I didn't say that right. I bought the 184oz bottle at Walmart and my husband did his best to add 2/3 of it so we could get around 120oz.

Thank you for the clarification.

I use a wide-mouth plastic bottle with a screw cap; it holds 86 oz (I think) and has increments of 16 oz marked on it. I pour chlorine from the bleach bottle into the measuring jar. I've also used a plastic 1 qt measuring cup in the past. Most of my bleach additions are in the 16 oz range so being able to measure the smaller quantities is handy.

[ajb8898]

The pool looks super clean this morning...nice and blue...but still cloudy. Visibility might have improved a few inches, but not much. We did have a good bit of unexpected rain last night as well.

[AnnaK]

This is where patience is needed. Filtering out the dead algae will take time.