Baquacil Pool Problems - Cloudy water - HELP!!

[careyshane32]

My family installed an above ground pool (18' round x 52") approximately three weeks ago. About 2-3 days after adding the initial doses of the baquacil products the pool was crystal clear. Our local pool store recommended the following routine:
Baquacil Algicide: 1 oz. weekly
Baquacil Sanitizer and Algistat: 1 pint every 2 weeks
Baquacil Oxidizer: one gallon per month

The routine was running smooth until a few days ago. Hard heavy rains hit our area and our pool hasn't been clear since. It just seems cloudy, no apparent algae growth noticed. Have also checked for white mold but didn't discover that it was the problem.

We took a water sample to the pool store to see what the problem was. Everything was clear and the employee said that the water was perfect chemistry wise. The only problem is the water is still cloudy. By cloudy, I mean that you can see the bottom if you are looking directly into the pool. You cannot see it from a distance like you could after the first few days of us having the pool. However, the bottom IS visible - just very cloudy!
The pool store employee recommended Baquacil flocculant. We added that approximately 24 hours ago (at time of post) and there are visible white particles floating now when you look directly into pool. I plan on letting it settle some overnight and check the progress in the morning. There are some "clouds" of white particles that have settled on the bottom, but not as much as we had hoped for. I have also read online that unless the Oxidizer level is above 100, you will have cloudy water. Is this true? On the printout from the pool store the oxidizer level was 89. If I need to add more of that, it would be a simple fix! My family is new to having a pool and we are just really unsure of what to do at the moment...What do you recommend we do to get our pool back to crystal clear?? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

[PoolDoc]

What do you recommend we do to get our pool back to crystal clear?? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

What we recommend is chlorine.

It's possible to operate a pool successfully with PHMB (Baquacil, Softswim, Revacil, etc), but it's considerably more difficult than what the sales programs suggest. Actually, it's not as common to have problems with PHMB, during the first year, as it is during the second and third years.

In your case, cloudy water -- in the absence of algae or problems with metals in the pool water -- is most often the result of too little oxidizer, too heavy pool use (PHMB doesn't deal with a heavy bather load as well as chlorine), or an under performing filter. PHMB is VERY hard on filters, and gums them up badly.

If you want me to take a further look, please fill out the Pool Chart. Otherwise, we often 'waste' the first few posts back and forth collecting information. So, please complete our new Pool Chart form -- it takes about 30 seconds, but will save much more than that.

Pool Chart Entry Form

I'll also offer one tentative guess. I don't know, but you may have an Intex (or Summer Escapes) pool. If you do, you need to know that Intex pools are a great deal for the price, but their filter cartridges are very poor. Replacing them with Unicel or Wilbur cartridges (not Pleatco, 'like Unicel' or 'matches Unicel' etc!) will improve filtration. Here are Amazon links for A, B, & C Intex replacements:

Unicel C-4607 Replacement Filter Cartridge (Easy Set Size A or C) @ Amazon
Unicel C-5315 Replacement Filter Cartridge for 15 Square Foot Intex B Filter @ Amazon

If you get replacement, you will need to follow the Baquacil filter cleaning regimen carefully, so get at least 3 cartridges, and rotate them.

Good luck!