Cloudy water from old Zeobrite media?

[PoolDoc]

1. I don't know if old Zeobrite deteriorates in performance. However, it's very likely that you may not have ENOUGH media in your filter. AG pool pumps are almost always too big for the sand filters they are coupled with; this leads to loss of media when you backwash. Having insufficient media in a sand filter *will* result in hazy water.

We don't recommend Zeobrite; we've never seen any persuasive evidence that it offered any benefits over sand. But we haven't seen a lot of evidence that it's worse than sand, either.

2. It's unlikely the Zeobrite resulted in the sudden extreme cloudiness. If any of the shock contained calcium hypochlorite AND your pool had high calcium levels, THAT could definitely cause the problems. Our recommendation here is pretty standard: buy a K2006, test your water *reliably* and *accurately* and tell us what you find. (Link to Amazon K2006 units and more in my signature block)

3. Low chlorine ALWAYS results in problems. We almost always recommend that you raise levels with PLAIN household bleach, at least until we've seen K2006 test results. Bleach may not be the cheapest source -- that varies from time to time and place to place -- but it is the form of chlorine with the fewest side effects (like calcium!). So it's the safest recommendation, till we know more.

4. If your media is low, you can add more Zeobrite OR you can replace with sand. I'm not sure I'd recommend mixing the two. That's not because I *know* it's a bad idea; rather I just don't know if it's a good one, and I tend to avoid 'mixes' of all kinds, till I know about compatibility.

5. Mixing various pool specialty chemicals is almost always a bad idea; many have severe side effects all by themselves, and worse ones when mixed. The only specialty chemicals we frequently recommend is polyquat (www.poolsolutions.com/polyquat.html) and then only if you need it.

[Big Easy]

PoolDoc - We had the filter media changed from the Zeobrite to sand. In addition, a chlorine demand (24 hour) test was performed and the chlorine level was very low. We added ten pounds of turbo shock and five pounds of super soluble chlorine and it appears after a day or so that the water is beginning to clear. Will take the water in for another test in another 24 to 48 hours to see where we stand. All of this rain that we've been getting in the mid-atlantic region isn't helping either. I do appreciate your help and advice. You always learn new things from people in the business.