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Thread: new BBB believer -- cloudy water

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Lexington, SC
    Posts
    14

    Default new BBB believer -- cloudy water

    hi all,

    after finding this forum last week i am a true believer of bbb. but...

    brief history,

    never owned a pool before 2 years ago, prev owner used all walmart (aquachem) products, so i followed suit (except i used the leslies pucks), we have an IG vinyl liner which i was told is about 22000, hayward s200 filter and super pump...

    anyway...i tested for cya for the first time this weekend...that and other results are below. (using aquachem test kit)

    ph 6.8 or less
    alk 120 to 130
    cl 0.5ish
    cya between 90-100
    temp bath water warm (the air temp has been at or near 100 for the last couple weeks, little rain)

    i've been fighting with algae (only slightly green on the ladder, steps, etc. by no means a green pool)

    after the test and forums, i removed the hockey puck floater, and waited a day to let the chem adjust to retest. no change to above results. filter running 24/7. i did a minor backwash, just in case. we got a good rain two afternoons in a row and the normally clear water turned cloudy, which in my experience means i need to adjust ph and shock.

    added a 1/2 box borax, retested, 7.0 and added the other half box retested. ph now 7.4ish.

    added 4 1gallon 46 oz jugs of 6% bleach once the ph was right. cl went up to about 3ppm, 24 hours later still cloudy. added another 3 bottles (1G 46 oz of 6%) this morning and retested at lunch (still cloudy). this time the results are:

    fc 5+ppm (test kit doesn't register higher)
    tc 5+ppm
    ph 7.6
    cya (dunno---out of test solution) but i doubt it changed any.
    alk 130

    am i doing everything right? my wife got a little miffed at me cause the cl and ph dropped out. and now the water's cloudy. how long should the water stay cloudy?

  2. #2
    duraleigh Guest

    Default Re: new BBB believer -- cloudy water

    The water will stay cloudy until you shock your pool. That requires bringing your Cl up to 25ppm and KEEPING IT THERE until your water clears.

    That will require 10 gallons of bleach all at once and then more bleach to bring it back up to 25ppm at least daily...three times daily is better.

    Run your pump 24/7 during this process and backwash if filter pressure rises noticeably.

    Once you get to 25ppm, the time it takes for your water to clear will be dependent on how frequently you test and redose.....again, three times daily is not too much, you'll only make the clearing process go more slowly if you don't do this.
    Last edited by duraleigh; 07-31-2006 at 03:25 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Lexington, SC
    Posts
    14

    Default Re: new BBB believer -- cloudy water

    how can i tell i have the ppm high enough if my cheapie kit won't test above 5?

  4. #4
    duraleigh Guest

    Default Re: new BBB believer -- cloudy water

    The short, accurate answer is to buy Ben's kit @ poolsolutions.

    A stop-gap method that is not very accurate is to dilute your cl test water by adding 4 parts distilled to your pool water, then multiply results by five (or dilute 3:1 and multiply by 4, etc). This method, while cheap, is very inaccurate but may get you in the ball park if you do it carefully and dose carefully.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Lexington, SC
    Posts
    14

    Default Re: new BBB believer -- cloudy water

    any idea how long it will take to clear up?

    is it "safe" to swim while cloudy? prolly not with the cl at 25ppm, eh?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Sanford, FL
    Posts
    387

    Default Re: new BBB believer -- cloudy water

    I would wait until the chlorine level is below 15ppm at your CYA level to swim in. In this case it appears that your pool is cloudy because there are organic compounds that are growing in the pool - not too sanitary.

    IF you keep your chlorine level above 25ppm (testing 3X a day and adding chlorine) then it should clear pretty fast. If you only get your chlorine level to 20ppm and/or let it yo-yo up and down it could take weeks. Diligence is the answer here.

    Also - to prevent this in the future you need to keep your residual chlorine around 6ppm-10ppm.
    Completed 8/21/06
    14,000 gallon 3'-6' concrete pool with Diamond Brite
    Spa with spillway
    250K BTU gas heater (for spa)
    SWCG - Aqua Rite
    Hayward Super II Pump - Cartridge filter

    See pictures here http://www.philsimmons.com/family/ga...mages&keyword=

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