Cloudy Water

[jeanell]

I upgraded to the intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System this year. I bought the Leslies Deluxe Poolcare DPD Test Kit to monitor my water. All of my numbers are in range, but my water is still cloudy. I run the filter pump 24 hrs a day, and the swg 3-4 hrs a day. Also, is it necessary to test for Cya. My kit doesn't include that. HELP!!!!!
FC-3
TC-3
CC-0
BR-6
pH-7.3
Alk-140

[Watermom]

Hi, Jeanell, and welcome to the Pool Forum!

To answer your question, yes, knowing your CYA reading is important because needed chlorine levels are based on CYA levels. (See the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature below.)

You are going to need to get a better kit or else a couple of add-on kits to supplement what you have.

Option 1 -- Buy a Taylor K-2006 or 2006C that has every test you need in it
Option 2 -- Buy a K-1515 and a K-1721 from the test kit page in my signature below. Adding these two tests to what you already have will essentially give you a K-2006 kit.

In the meantime, do you have a reputable pool store that you can ask to test your CYA for you. You only want it tested with the "disappearing black dot" test and not test strips, though. Just don't let them talk you into buying a bunch of stuff while you are there, though! They will try!

What all have you added to the pool so far this year, meaning ingredients and not just 'shock.' What is the volume of the pool? What kind of filter do you have?

For now, turn the SWCG off until you get the pool cleared up. Just use plain, unscented bleach as your source of chlorine for now. (Generic is fine.)

Since I don't know all the information about your pool yet, I'll just have to give you general instructions for now. Add 2 gallons of bleach per every 10,000 gallons of water you have. Adjust that amount of bleach to match your pool's volume. Once we know the volume and CYA, we can tweak our advice. Keep the pump running 24/7 while trying to clear the pool.

By the way, you don't have any bromine; this is a chlorine pool.

Hope this helps.

[PoolDoc]

If you would, please enter your pool data here, so we can see what you have:

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results

And, check this link -- HTH 6-Way Test Kit -- and see if you can get the Taylor Tech-made HTH 6-way, and give us some more complete results.

Your pool could be cloudy for all sorts of reasons, and with out more data, it's hard to know where to start