cloudy water

[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)