cloudy water

[poolmompa]

One other thing - I've read posts on here about high chlorine & high pH. But my pH hasn't budged with the high chlorine. Any thoughts?

[PoolDoc]

+ Yellow / red drops = OTO / phenol red.

+ Borax won't void warranties, not least because it will have no effect, so they won't be able to tell. Just don't pour so fast that you 'choke' the skimmer. Borax can form a solid plug, that will take FOREVER to dissolve.

[poolmompa]

I wanted to post a picture but it appears that I can't. Half of my pool's surface is covered with white swirls.

[PoolDoc]

You can, but I have mostly disabled the forum software's attachment system . . . because it's a total mess.

Just upload your picture to Google Drive, Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket, etc. and then LINK to it, using this button:

[poolmompa]

Here goes:

[PoolDoc]

Have you used pool store algaecides?

That's what it looks like.

[poolmompa]

No, the only product other than BBB I put in it this season was Metal Free on 6-9-14 (see my other thread "looking for opinions on using Metal Free"). I only used it because it was in the opening kit & I was following the opening instructions, which my husband said he always follows. I then started shocking with liquid chlorine & bleach.

I added 1 1/2 boxes of Borax (1/2 box at a time) & 2 lbs of baking soda, this afternoon & evening. I last tested around 5pm but pH hadn't budged. TA went from 60 to 70. I had to go out this evening so I couldn't test after 5pm. I will test in the am.

Thanks for all your advice!

[PoolDoc]

No idea, then.

All I can say is, in almost every case, once you've got the basics right -- chlorine, pH, & CYA, the weird stuff goes away. So, keep filtering and chlorinating!

[poolmompa]

OK, I've been testing & adding 1/2 box of Borax at a time (as well as keeping chlorine levels up with bleach), & pH finally started to increase. As of this morning, here are the latest readings:

FC 3.6
pH 7.3
TA 105
CYA 100

Chlorine has been holding fairly steady, & water is still blue, so I think algae is gone. It's still cloudy but I can see further down than before (about 2 feet). I do have a bottle of 60% poly algaecide which I've read in other posts can help. Do you think I should try it?

[PoolDoc]

A working DE filter is going to get all the particles -- by itself -- that polyquat or a stronger clarifer would help with.

I think your best chance of cleaning the pool is to raise your FC to 20 ppm, and keep it there, till the pool clears. With a CYA=100, 20 ppm is NOT too high, even for swimming.

By the way, use the 10mL sample with your K2006 -- you don't need to measure to the nearest 0.2 ppm -- and your reagents will last longer. Also, if you get full color with the first dropper of powder, you don't need to add a 2nd dropper.

The OTHER thing you might do is to disassemble your filter (I assume it's a Perflex) and clean it fully. Unless the fingers have scale on them, simply spraying them off will be enough. Wear your OLD swim suit for this; it tends to be a nasty task.

This video illustrates the task well, except for the fact that they are using a clean filter and recommend an un-needed proprietary cleaner. If you DO need to clean the filter, you can use an plain powdered laundry detergent + a cup of bleach. If scale is present, you WILL use muriatic acid 1 gallon to 5 gallons in the 2nd pass, but ONLY if there is scale and ONLY if you have first cleaned and degreased it. (Hayward manual)