Cloudy Water out of nowhere

[Watermom]

If it had been awhile since you added bleach, then yes, you probably are on the verge of an algae bloom. Especially with water temps in the 80s. It doesn't take long. You have to be very diligent about testing and adding bleach consistently. Pool water is not very forgiving. Even a short time with the chlorine dipping too low and algae can start.

Most bleach is sold in 121 oz jugs, not a full gallon. One of those jugs in 10K gallons will add about 7.8ppm. Each quart will add about 2ppm. Use those values as a reference to help you figure doses.

Run your pump 24/7 and go ahead and take your chlorine a little higher.

[columbusdan]

Will do, thank you for the input.

[Watermom]

You're welcome!

[columbusdan]

How often should I expect to have to add bleach, assuming my kids swim 5 days per week? I know I will have to really watch it if we have a lot of people swimming, especially in such a small pool. Every other day?

[Watermom]

Depends on how high you take your chlorine each day and what your CYA is and what the weather is like. You'll just have to get to know your pool. If I was you, I'd take my CYA a little higher--- up to about 50ppm.

Each evening, test your water and add enough bleach to get the chlorine back up to 6ppm. The next evening, see what your chlorine level is when you test in the evening. Again, add enough bleach to take it back up to 6ppm. After a couple of days of doing this, you'll start to see how much is a normal chlorine loss for your pool in a day. You may find that you can skip a day and add bleach every other day. You want to make sure you keep your chlorine in the proper range per the Best Guess Chlorine Chart (in my signature below).

[columbusdan]

Followed your advice and had clear water again the next day. Been trying to keep FC up around 6. Out of curiosity, why take CYA to 50? Less loss of chlorine to sunlight?

[Watermom]

Good question. Most pools with CYA less than about 50 have trouble keeping a chlorine reading throughout the day, especially when it is hot and sunny outside.

Glad your pool cleared up!