Cloudy water- Cartridge Filter

[prh129]

CYA is cyanuric acid (or isocyanuric acid) that is usually called Stabilizer that you can get at a pool store or store that sells pool chemicals. It dissolves slowly so you need to wait at least 5 days after application to get a good reading on where you are at. Some people add it to their skimmer and let it sit in the filter to dissolve (do not backwash if you have a sand filter) and others put the CYA in a sock or nylon hose, tie a knot and hang it in the pool. Either way is up to you. You want to shoot for a level of 30 ppm. It is also in tri-chlor pucks (and di-chlor too I believe) so if you use pucks that will also raise the CYA although more slowly than if you add it separately.

Peter

[johnnyf0614]

Great thanks. I have added the PH and Alkalinity additives, so hopefully that will increase the levels. I'll keep the filter running 24/7, and keep you posted!

[prh129]

Just so you know, a lot of people here (including me) use Borax to raise pH and Baking Soda to raise alkalinity. Much cheaper options than official "pool chemicals" but basically they are the same thing.

Peter

[johnnyf0614]

Great thanks. I've noticed from reading other threads about the regular household solutions instead of overpriced pool solutions. I'm learning slowly!!

[johnnyf0614]

I noticed that you recommend to bring the CL level up to 10ppm and hold it there. Is 10ppm above the normal level? Do you recommend using bleach to bring this up? My current total Chlorine level is 4.4, would 1 gallon of bleach suffice? And how often should I add this? What is a typical level to keep the chlorine level at? Sorry for so many questions....

[Watermom]

Any time that you have algae or cloudy water, your best bet for solving it is to 'shock' your pool which basically means to superchlorinate. How high depends on your cya level. Since you have no cya at this point, your shock level is 10ppm. See the chart at the following link for more info about that.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=365

I'm getting your volume to be roughly 6300 gallons. In a pool this size, each quart of plain, unscented 6% bleach will raise your chlorine level by about 2.5 ppm. Try and test your water 3x a day if you can (at the very minimum 2x a day) and each time, add enough bleach to get your cl level back to 10 ppm. Also continue running the pump 24/7.

I would wait to add the cya. For now, just keep the cl up and hopefully within a day or two it will clear. Then you can add the cya.
Hope this helps.

EDIT: Please do not start a new thread about the same problem. Since you have two threads currently running about this, I am going to merge them together. Having them in separate places makes it hard to help.

[johnnyf0614]

Ok, so once I get the water clear, I add the chem's to increase the CYA. How much bleach would I use to maintain. Am I still shooting for 3ppm then?

[johnnyf0614]

Ok, I tested the Chlorine this evening and it was about 5ish. I added more Bleach this evening. I also gave the pool a vacuum. When I did that though, it seemed to stir a lot up. There were lots of white foamish stuff everywhere on the surface. Is that due to the bleach, or the previously entered chemicals from last week? When I was done vacuuming, the pool was just flowing the white foamish stuff straight through the filter and back into the pool. This is really frustrating. I just want to make sure that I continue to keep the Chlorine level up as much as possible. It still doesn't look any different from this past weekend unfortunately.

[Watermom]

It has to be a result of all the stuff you put in there last week. Adding bleach will not cause it. Keep at it. I know you are getting frustrated, but don't give up. Also be sure you are running your pump 24/7. We'll stay with you til you get it solved.

[johnnyf0614]

This morning I checked the chlorine level, and it appeared to be around the 8ish level. I did notice that the PH seems to be increasing, although I'm still in the normal level. I assume thats due to the bleach. The pool this morning still had the white foam, and still continues to have the white cloudy color to the water. Still can't see the bottom. As you can imagine it is very frustrating. Thanks for your help