Newbie - with cloudy pool

[Watermom]

Welcome and thanks for the subscription!

Do you have a good test kit that you can use to give us some good, current water testing results? Not test strips. The kit we recommend is the Taylor K2006 or 2006C which you can get through the link in my signature below.

What all have you added to the water, meaning ingredients, please.

What is the volume of your pool?

[PoolDoc]

1. As Mom said, you need a kit.

2. It's not normal to lose your pump 2x in 5 years, unless it's lightning or thunderstorm related voltage surges. Which Hayward pump?

3. Sand does not normally need to be changed. BUT, if your pump is too big for the filter, you may have lost sand with each backwash, and my need to ADD sand. Insufficient sand will lead to a persistently cloudy pool. Which filter?

[Dad2handz]

Thanks for the replies! Working on getting a test kit so I can get accurate readings. Our pool is right at 40,000 gallons. And we have seen sand in the area where the pool backwash line is located. We have a Hayward Super Pump - 2 HP. That is what the original one was and that is what we replaced it with. I believe the 2nd one we had was a no-name brand that the pool man found lying around and put on just to keep us quiet. I have added 6 - 1 lb bags of pool shock that is 73% available chlorine and 27% calcium. Pool shock is non- stabilized. Then I added 2 bottles of EZ Chlor Drop Out. The water is blue but is very, very cloudy.

I will post readings as soon as I get my test kit.

[PoolDoc]

Are you sure it's 40K, or is that the volume at overflow?

I ran the calcs for typical dimensions, and it came out to ~32K, or maybe less. What is the actual water depth in the shallow part of the L? Which is the deep length -- 36' or 41'? What's the actual water depth in the hopper (deepest part)?

OK, other issues.

1. Make / model of the filter? (Pump may be too big for filter.)
2. Make / model of the pump OR amps and SF (Service Factor) of motor?

Meanwhile, chlorinate your pool with 1 - 2 gallons of plain store-brand 8% household bleach added each EVENING. Hold off on the cal hypo you have -- your calcium and alkalinity levels may be high. Wait for the the kit.

If you have a top mount filter, pop the top, and check the sand level.

Take pictures of the pump, filter, and piping, and post them using Picasa, Flickr, or Photobucket links, or by emailing them to poolforum@gmail.com.

[Dad2handz]

According to the pool place that put it in and the other local pool stores who get pretty close to the same numbers at 38,772 gallons. It's 3.5 deep in the shallow and 9 feet in the deep.

Hayward Super pump model no SP2615x20

And emailing the pictures now!

Thanks!

[PoolDoc]

Calculations:

41' x 16' x 3.5' x 7.46 gal/cft = 17,128 gallons
(36'-16') x 16' x 6' (average) x 7.46 = 14,323 gallons

Total = 31,415 gallons.


Keep in mind that pool stores benefit, in pounds of chemicals sold, by overestimating pool volume! Also, pool salesman win points, on the 'bigger is better' scale, by doing the same. But the errors make it harder to manage your pool well.

[Dad2handz]

Tested the water today and these are the results:
Chlorine 0.5
PH 8.2
Alk 110 ppm

Chlorine levels have never really shown much but we were told that's because it is a salt water pool? Thanks!