First problem of the season - cloudy water

[Jacob99]

Haven't used pool for a couple of days. We've had some rain, and to be honest I haven't put any chlorine in since Thursday. Here are my results:

FC: 1.4
CC: 0.8 (I never have CC)
pH: 7.4
TA: 80
CYA: 30-35ish

Although I don't see any green, the CC tells me it's fighting off something right? Do I need to shock or just bring it back up to normal levels?

[Jacob99]

Upon checking my skimmer sock, it was green stained, so although the water doesn't show green, there definitely appears to be some algae in there.

Also, I should mention that I've been strictly BBB since opening the pool this year. I just posted last week about how my levels have been great all season. Should have kept my mouth shut! Levels actually seem to be decent, but I can't live without my crystal clear water. It's driving me nuts...lol.

Any suggestions?

[Watermom]

Add bleach. Take it up to shock level which with a CYA of 30-35ish would be around 15ppm. Continue the high chlorine levels until you can go from sundown one evening to within two hours of sunrise the next day without losing more than 1ppm of chlorine and have a CC reading no higher than 0.5ppm and the water is clear. Then, we usually advise holding the chlorine high for one extra day for added insurance and then let it drift down and keep it in the correct range per the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature below.

Also, run the pump 24/7 while you are working to clear the pool and backwash your filter whenever the pressure rises 8-10psi over clean filter pressure.

And --- no more being lazy when it rains! You gotta check the pool!

[Jacob99]

Add bleach. Take it up to shock level which with a CYA of 30-35ish would be around 15ppm. Continue the high chlorine levels until you can go from sundown one evening to within two hours of sunrise the next day without losing more than 1ppm of chlorine and have a CC reading no higher than 0.5ppm and the water is clear. Then, we usually advise holding the chlorine high for one extra day for added insurance and then let it drift down and keep it in the correct range per the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature below.

Also, run the pump 24/7 while you are working to clear the pool and backwash your filter whenever the pressure rises 8-10psi over clean filter pressure.

And --- no more being lazy when it rains! You gotta check the pool!

You got it. I think I've learned my lesson already. Thanks Watermon!

One more question...there's no way for me to check my chlorine every couple of hours. I'm going to check it first thing in the morning to check for any ppm loss in chlorine, but I won't be able to check it again until I get home from work. It'll be mid 80's and sunny for the next couple of days so I'm sure I'll have some loss during the day. Should I just stick to the sunset/sunrise schedule?

[Watermom]

Go ahead and throw a big dose of bleach in to the pool after you test in the morning to take it back up shock level and then test and dose it up good again the next evening.

[Jacob99]

It's been about 48 hours now. Water looks great already. Back to normal looking. I lost some chlorine during the day because it was a hot one. I had my mother and my wife each put in 32 oz during the day just so I wouldn't come home to 4ppm like I did the night before. Just checked and it's at 9ppm. Will bring it back up to 15 for the night. Overnight there hasn't been much of a chlorine loss though. Last night I had no loss, and the night before I had a 0.5 loss. Losing more than normal during the day though. It has been sunny and hot. Maybe I need to up my CYA a little. Should I continue to keep it at shock level for a couple more days? I know you mentioned 3 days is aggressive. Tomorrow is day 3, but seeing the water today has be hopeful.

I'm so glad I have this place instead of getting "pool stored". I'm sure they would've loved to sell me algaecides, and clarifiers, and all kinds of other fun stuff. BBB for life! LoL

FC: 9
CC: 1
pH: 7.3
TA: 80
CYA: 30-35

[Watermom]

If you still have a CC greater than 0.5, you need to continue shocking. I also think you might do better to bump your CYA up to 40-50. It would help slow the daytime chlorine loss.

[Jacob99]

Okay, latest results are in. I tested this morning and again just now. This morning my CC was 0.4 with no chlorine loss. Tonight my CC is at 0 or maybe there's a tiny hint of pink so we'll call it 0.2 to be conservative. Water is lovely. I've brought it to shock level again for the night and will re-test in the morning to make sure there's no chlorine loss or CC. This is night 4. I would say all systems are a go for this weekend!

[Watermom]

Good job!