cloudy water

[Watermom]

105 is a pretty high CYA reading but whether to stop trichlor or not depends on a few things:
-- How many tabs do you have left?
-- Are they wrapped or unwrapped tabs?

Read this: http://pool9.net/chem/store/

[poolmompa]

105 is a pretty high CYA reading but whether to stop trichlor or not depends on a few things:
-- How many tabs do you have left?
-- Are they wrapped or unwrapped tabs?

Read this: http://pool9.net/chem/store/

Watermom,
I have about 20 3" trichlor tabs left (unwrapped) & 4 lbs of dichlor. I bought the trichlor Spring 2013. The dichlor bags came in the closing/opening kit I bought Fall 2013.

Update:
Fri, 6/13 - added 2 c. borax

Sat. am -
FC 0.5 (still)
pH 6.8 (still)
TA 50
Added last bag of cal hypo I had, plus 2 gallons of bleach my hubby brought home. Couple of hours later, I tested again - no change. Added 2 more cups of borax & ran to store for more bleach. Tested again a few times, every couple of hours, with no changes & continued shocking. By 6pm, I had added 3 gal. of liquid chlorine & 3 gal. of bleach. I decided I wasn't fooling around anymore, went to the store & bought a ton of liquid chlorine & bleach. At 10:30 pm, I added 5 gal. of liquid chlorine.

Sun. am -
FC was still 0.5! I added 6 gal. of bleach & then a couple of hours later I added 4 more gal. of bleach.

This morning, the FC was at least 5 (that's the highest reading I could get). I had events to attend at my kids' school so I couldn't bring any water to be tested, to try to get a more accurate reading above 5. I also knew it was going to be sunny & hot so I added the last 4 gal. of bleach I had. At 4pm, the chlorine was still at least 5 so I'm hoping the algae is now completely dead. My pH is still only 6.8 so I added 2 more cups of borax. At 8pm, I tested & added another 2 cups.

There is no visible trace of any green. The water is milky white. I wanted to vacuum to waste but I can't see what I'm doing because I can't see the vacuum once it's in the water. I can only see a few inches. Tomorrow morning, I going out to get more borax. Any suggestion of how much I should get?

My kids are dying to go swimming! I'm hoping I'll wake up to a less cloudy pool tomorrow morning!

Thanks for the advice so far & please continue to share any other advice.

[Watermom]

That is one of the limitations of a DPD chlorine testing kit --- DPD can bleach out at high levels. It may be that you have had chlorine at times when you've tested but it is just bleaching out the reagent. Go to Walmart and pick up a cheap OTO/Phenol Red kit (yellow and red drops). It will not bleach out at high chlorine levels. Use it to test right now while you are working to clear the pool. You can use the chart at this link to help decipher readings that are higher than will show on the OTO kit. http://pool9.net/oto-chart/

If your pH is registering 6.8 on your kit, it could actually be much lower than that since that is as low as the test will show. Add bigger doses of Borax until the pH starts moving. Add a half a box at a time. Test two hours later and add more. Keep at it. Low pH is a critical issue as it can damage your pool. I'd probably buy about 4 or 5 boxes. If that is more than you end up needing, it doesn't go bad.

It would probably also help to bring your TA up some. Aim for 80-100ppm. Add a couple of lbs. at a time, wait a couple hours, retest, redose. It is fine to add Borax and baking soda one right after the other with no problem.

[PoolDoc]

You listed a DE filter on the equipment form.

With a functioning DE filter your pool should clear very quickly, if you run the pump 24/7. However, if you haven't opened and washed down the filter this season, it would be a good time to do so.

[poolmompa]

PoolDoc,
My husband actually opened up the filter & cleaned it all up a few weeks ago. Pressure gauge has been at about 16. Leslies is coming back out tomorrow though because there is a suction leak somewhere & they installed our new pump last week. So the filter may not be operating optimally right now.

Watermom,
I do have a Taylor kit (although not the K2006) with yellow and red drops. But is the OTO/Phenol kit different?

Also, I know I've read to pour the Borax slowly into the skimmer but the Hayward pump manual says that adding any chemicals directly into the skimmer voids the warranty. So I've been diluting it first. Is it less effective that way?

[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.