Cloudy water not clearing

[Maurie]

This is a quote of your suggestions to clear some tough cloudy and green water.

If you want to clean up the pool FAST, draining and refilling *might* be your best option. But, before you pursue that, you need to test your fill water (don't test CYA!) and you need to do a metals bucket test on the fill water.

It sounds like you've had your chlorine consistently high over the past few days. If this is true, it's not impossible, but it's unlikely that you still have algae. I have seen greenish water that seemed to be related to alkalinity.

If you don't want to drain the pool, I'd recommend all these things:

1. STOP adding stuff -- no more goop. It's VERY likely that you've added enough to make it harder to clear the pool.
2. Keep the chlorine above 5.0 100% of the time.
3. Get the Unicel cartridges recommended above.
4. Read the muriatic acid guide in my signature, buy several gallons from Lowes, and lower your pH to just below 7.0 . . . and KEEP IT THERE, till your TA is less than 100 ppm. (May take several weeks!)
5. Stop using cal hypo.
6. Let me say again: no MORE goop, for AT LEAST 2 weeks. Use bleach, borax, muriatic acid and NOTHING ELSE! (Well, use dichlor if your CYA goes below 20 ppm.)
7. Filter as much as you can.

************************************************** *****
Here were the results of my fill water test.

Chlorine - 0
Ph - about 7.0 (I think - the color was a really pale pink)
TA - 310-320
TH - 210
************************************************** *****
I have done the bucket test (not quite finished) on the fill water and the pool water. Here is what I've got.

Fill water started out clear. Once adding bleach it took on a yellow tint but still clear. After 15 min, it was still clear but a bit more yellow. I added the borax. After 24 hr, the water was still yellowish and clear with sediment on the bottom in the center. After 24 more hr, it was still the same. Tested with OTO and it was very splotchy orange...very strange. The next three days are up tomorrow.

The pool water started out whitish and very cloudy. Once adding bleach it stayed the same. After 15 min, it was still the same. I added the borax. After 24 hr, the cloudy water was gone!!! It had sediment on the bottom too, but not as much as the fill water did. It looked a slightly filmy on the surface. After 24 more hr, it was still the same. Tested with OTO and the water was splotchy orange, but not quite as bad as the fill water. The next three days are up tomorrow.

I have not put anything in the pool except chlorine bleach and muriatic acid.

I have kept the chlorine above 5.0, but it's been very hard. It has been raining ALOT in the Houston area. So much so that it's been hard to get outside and take care of the pool. It's pretty green again too. Algae again??? Today, I got the chlorine high again with the OTO in an orangish color. The skimmer is floating (not hooked up) with the high water. I took the bucket out and it looked pretty yellow. I also noticed the small separation in the liner above the seams at the top have little bits of water and lots of algae sitting in the area. What do I do with that?

I got the Unicel cartridges. I've been using them a few days now. Absolutely no better than the INTEX yet.

I've been adding the acid keeping the ph around 7 or just below and the TA has come down to 170 the last time I checked (was over 240).

I've been filtering most of the day, but my husband unplugged it some when it rained.

I still don't know what to do. I see no change or possible improvements. I know the rain has made things harder. I'm afraid the algae came back due to the green color and I don't know how to get rid of the algae in those tiny crevices. Which could they reinfect the pool?

So any ideas? This is getting really ridiculous.

[Maurie]

I will report the final results of the bucket test later today, but did anyone ave any ideas for help? The chlorine is really high and the pool is really green and doesn't seem to be changing.

[Watermom]

How consistently have you been keeping the chlorine in the orange range? You state in your post above that it has been difficult to tend to the pool with all the rain you have been having. Killing algae requires consistent high chlorine. You cannot let it yo-yo up and down or else you will never get rid of it. Have you brushed the pool daily while the chlorine level was in the orange range? Are you testing it every day, every other day or ???? How often are you adding bleach?

If it were my pool, I'd be testing it at least three times a day, and each time adding enough bleach to get it back into the orange range. You are wanting your chlorine to stay at around 15-18. You can use the dilution method I linked for you back in post #9. Sustaining high chlorine levels is the key to killing algae.

[Maurie]

Watermom, as best I can say, the answer to those questions is yes. The torrential rain has ended so I will stay on top of things and see how it goes.

The bucket test final results are:

Both buckets remained the same with color and clarity, but the pool bucket sediment increased. This time there was sediment around the outer ring on the bottom. I forgot to test with OTO (dumb me) and already dumped the water. Hope the previous results along with the increase in sediment will help.

So any final suggestions. I'm still STUCK with green cloudy water that won't go away. My OTO is dark orange and the water looks absolutely terrible. The borax did clear up the cloudy pool bucket. Should I try that? I'm still working on the chlorine and did another round of muriatic acid. All help is much appreciated. Thanks.

[Maurie]

Ok, here are my latest test results.

Chlorine -dark orange (3:1 dilution still at the top of the color block)
Ph- around 6.9-7.0
Hardness -none
TA - about 120

I think one more dose of muriatic acid once the ph rises will get me to around 100 TA.

Last night I put in more chlorine than I knew I needed. The pool is still very green. This morning the chlorine is still dark orange. In fact I didn't add any yet today. I retested my cya thinking maybe I have the shock level wrong. It's still around 30. So I think my shock level is correct.

The TA is coming down and I'm putting in tons of chlorine. What is going on? I thought these simple methods were better for the pool. But I have worse water now than before coming to this forum. Please advise. Did the bucket tests reveal anything? The results are in an above post.

Thanks for any help.

[PoolDoc]

Maurie, I'm very sorry you are having such a hard time with your pool. Let me start out by saying I do NOT know for certain what is going on. I re-read through the whole thread, and still do not have a clear picture of what's been going on. I'm going to go through a series of quotes from your posts, and offer the best suggestions I can, but that's all I can do.

As I noted earlier, you've got a chemical hobo soup in there, due to all the chemicals you added at your dealer's behest. Additionally, mistakes have been made. Other things, I'm not clear about, at all.

Let me make four suggestions, however

1. Start cleaning your filter EVERY day, and operating it 24/7, with no down time at all.
2. Take pictures of your pool, of the algae seams (your quote, below) and of the dirty filter cartridges. Send them to poolforum@gmail.com. I've discovered, just this season, that digital cameras do a good enough job with color for someone experienced to tell a great deal about your pool, by seeing an IN-FOCUS, color photo.
3. Keep your chlorine high; brush your pool like crazy, and make SURE your chlorine is STILL high one hour after brushing.
4. Keep your chlorine high for TWO weeks after you think all algae is gone, and make SURE it stays high, even if it rains.

Ph - about 7.0
TA - 310-320
TH - 210

(fill water)

Your fill water is quite hard, and guaranteed to rise in pH once you put it in your pool.

Chlorine - 5ppm
pH - 7.2
TA - 240ppm
TH - 370ppm
CYA - <30ppm

(July 1)

Presumably, your hardness has increased from either calcium or magnesium in your pool chemicals

Chlorine - over 5 ppm
pH - 7.5
TA - 240 ppm
TH - 400 ppm
CYA - 30-35 ppm

(July 5)

OK.

I added 6qt of 6% bleach and chlorine was very high - dark orange. It is now a lighter orange. I did brush once it hit the dark orange. Now our pool looks even greener.

(July 7)

Hm-mh. This is typical, when you have piles of algae on the bottom, and stir it the algae up. When you have so much algae that it immediately turns the pool green upon brushing, you need to FIRST add more chlorine, and then test chlorine in the next few hours to make SURE it stays up. Other wise, it will QUICKLY regrow and you'll lose any ground you've gained.

Chlorine - 0
Ph - about 7.0 (I think - the color was a really pale pink)
TA - 310-320
TH - 210

(July 9)

And, here, you've lost all the ground you gained. When there's that much algae, and the chlorine goes to zero, you've done a RESET to pre-treatment conditions. Basically, you're back at square one. What I do NOT understand, is where your calcium has gone. Was your filter covered with a sort of light green, but thick, paste?

Fill water started out clear. Once adding bleach it took on a yellow tint but still clear. After 15 min, it was still clear but a bit more yellow. I added the borax. After 24 hr, the water was still yellowish and clear with sediment on the bottom in the center. After 24 more hr, it was still the same. Tested with OTO and it was very splotchy orange...very strange. The next three days are up tomorrow.

(July 15 => bucket test.)

Apparently, even with the very high TA & TH, you still have metals in your fill water. That's some really difficult to work with pool water. But, you are holding chlorine at a high level (for a CYA=30), so you are probably gaining against the algae somewhat.

It has been raining ALOT in the Houston area. So much so that it's been hard to get outside and take care of the pool. It's pretty green again too. Algae again???

(July 15)

Darn. RESET, again. You almost certainly lost the ground you gained, for a second time. Once algae is as well established as it is in your pool, you cannot afford to have chlorine levels get low, even for a brief period.

I also noticed the small separation in the liner above the seams at the top have little bits of water and lots of algae sitting in the area.

(July 15)

OK, you've got algae in ALL the cracks and crannies of your pool. That's important to know.

The borax did clear up the cloudy pool bucket.

(July 17)

Huh? I don't understand this? Presumably, you added both bleach and borax to the metals test bucket with pool water. Can you explain the sequence and result here?

Chlorine -dark orange
pH - around 6.9-7.0
Hardness -none
TA - about 120

(July 18)

Well, at least you've just about gotten your TA to a reasonable level. But I don't understand how your hardness could have dropped to ZERO. Where did it go?

=========================================

I don't really know what's happening with your pool, so I'll have to make the best guess I can:

1. Past use of pool store goop has made your pool respond to treatment somewhat erratically, as new chlorine reacted with old goop.

2. Your algae was much worse that what I'd understood, and you had piles of chlorine-eating algae goop on your pool's walls and bottom.

3. A lack of clearly understanding what was needed lead to some erratic chlorination on your part. This combined with the huge reservoir of algae to 'RESET' your pool to a pre-treatment state, not once, but twice.

Further than that, I can't guess. I don't know how you got a ZERO hardness reading; I don't know what your CYA level really is.

[Maurie]

First, the place where you quoted me saying chlorine was 0 was a mistake - must have been a typo on my part. It's never been 0. In fact I kept it over 5 when you suggested that.

I have already been brushing once a day and filtering 24/7. The new filters didn't help. Although I bought through your link and did order unicel, I got pleatco.

I've kept the chlorine high and have been putting in more than you'd think necessary. Green not getting even a shade lighter.

I'm not sure what happened to the hardness. Now when I test for it, the water does not even turn red. It's kind of yellow. I tested several times thinking i made a mistake. The filters are sometimes covered with grimy thick stuff, but it's yellowish tan not green.

For the bucket test, I followed your instructions. Added bleach, 15 min later no change. Still cloudy. Added borax. 24 hours, the cloudy was gone. Noticed sediment on bottom. 24 hous later, water still same, and OTO had the orange splotchy reading (not as bad as fill water).

We are draining at the end of the summer. Our poles are sinking in the mud, so we are going to fix that next spring. With this mess of water, we thought that would be best. We just need to get through the summer. The kids don't mind swimming in the pale green cloudy water, but they won't touch the nasty green pond looking water. My husband is about to go back to the chemicals just to get us through the summer. The water looked better this way. We definitely want to continue these methods next time though. How should we clean the pool later so as not to restart this next year?

I'll still take suggestions though. No one has added any goop yet. Thanks.