Cloudy water??

[aylad]

Playing hit and miss on the pool stuff can get dangerous, if you miss and let something bad grow in your pool. I would absolutely not use any other form of calcium or cal-hypo products in this pool, because it likely will get milky every time--plus, you'll start building calcium scale on your SWCG, and it won't work efficiently (if at all). You also need to keep the chlorine levels up a little higher than you were. You don't have to keep them as high with a SWCG as you do without one, but with an SWCG you still need to keep your chlorine levels at 5% of your CYA levels, which for a CYA of 60 would be a chlorine of at least 3 ppm.

Janet

[Rosie700]

could the cloudy water change the CYA numbers??? I just checked the CYA and it is around 30 and the water is really clear. as of the AM the CH is 3 and PH is 7.5. the water is really clear. Do I need to get the CYA numbers up higher?

[aylad]

The CYA test, if you're using the disappearing black dot test, could be lower in clear water than in cloudy water, since the test relies on turbidity (cloudiness) of the water to obscure the dot.

Check the manual for your SWCG--each unit specifies what the CYA levels should be. If you don't have the correct CYA levels, the unit has to work harder to maintain the chlorine in the pool, and that will cause your cell life to be shortened, so you'll have to replace it sooner. Also, it makes it very difficult for the unit to keep a consistent level of chlorine in the pool, leaving you more susceptible to algae outbreaks.

Janet

[Rosie700]

the unit calls for 40-50 CYA level. So I should add conditioner until I get it up that high and don't read it when the water is cloudy?
PS Thanks for your help. By the end of summer I will not be a newby and understand this water stuff better.

[aylad]

Right--add conditioner until you get it up to the 40-50 ppm level. Remember that the conditioner is slow to dissolve, though--so once you've added it, either through your skimmer or in an old sock tied in front of a return, don't test for it or add more for at least 4-5 days to give it all time to dissolve and register in the water.

Don't worry about being a newby--that's what we're here for!!

Janet