help with adjusting please

[poolhelp101]

i will get to a pool store to test my water, hopefully tomorrow. after about 16 hours with the floc, the pool has cleared about 20%. i can see the bottom of the pool in the shallow end and this end is not that clear but i can see the bottom. i cannot see the bottom at all in the deep end. cl is 5, ph is 6.8. should the pool be any clearer than it is now after adding the floc? do i turn the filter back on after the 24 hour wait period even if it isn't any clearer? and if i am to turn it back on, do i add the borax? anything else i need to do?

[mbar]

You should have put the borax in before the floc. It is not good to let the acidic water lay on the vinyl liner. Since you keep testing 6.8, and used a lot of stain treatment, the ph may even be lower than 6.8. If it were my pool I would vacuum to waste what you can on the bottom. This will probably stir up some sediment, don't worry. After you vacuum to waste, add more fill water, ADD BORAX, keep filter running, check ph and don't stop ADDING BORAX until you reach a ph of at least 7.0 - leave 2 hours in between tests. When you get the ph back up, turn the filter off and let the water settle. You should still have enough floc in there to continue the process. Leave the filter off till you see more clearing of the water, even if you go to 24 hours. THen vacuum to waste again, or filter if the water is too expensive. I would really try to vacuum to waste to get it out of there - make sure you backwash the filter well if you just vacuum to filter. If the water is still cloudy, turn the filter off over night. Keep doing this until the water clears. The important thing is to get the ph back up to 7, the alkalinity back down (keep your return jets bubbling on the water as much as you can till you get the fountain). Get your water checked, and post numbers. Once you get the water rebalanced, you will be fine - Something is suspended in the water making it cloudy, It will take time to get it all filtered out - you just need some patience. You don't want to shock yet in case it is metals that are suspended in the water, that will fall out if the chlorine gets too high. It will just take time, but get the ph up

[poolhelp101]

i did get the ph to 7.2 before i put the floc in.
right now, the pool has cleared more, i can see the drain now.
in 3 hours the pool will have set for 24 hrs. i am going to start to vacuum, which i do dread cause i just know it's gonna cloud it up more. but i realize i just have to keep at it. the only reason i was not wanting to vauum to waste was because i loose so much water and then i will have to refill, no expense involved, just worry that i will add more metals and be back having to deal with that issue. after i do this and have to start adding water, should i add something to treat for the metals then too? and if i am to treat for metals do i also add bleach and borax at the same time too? thank you all so much for staying with me and helping to advise me.

p.m. i vacummed to waste, added more water, bleach and borax. cl now 6, ph 7.0. have the jet turned up to bubble. i didn't add anything for metals as i was unsure whether to add at the same time as the borax and bleach and i have shut the filter off now hoping it will settle some more. .

[waterbear]

If you added floc and you can vacuum to waste it is a good idea to do so. The floc can clog up your filter.

[poolhelp101]

i left filter off about 12 hours, some sediment in the bottom, pool still cloudy but could see the drain. i began to vacuum to waste...but i had only done a couple of vacuum strokes and then all of a sudden you couldn't see the drain and it was very cloudy. the sediment must be suspended in the water and the movement clouded the water??? i need to add more water also. ch 6.0, ph 6.8, ta 150. i have added one cup of borax and will recheck in 2 hours. do i add a maintenance dose of metal out while adding water? any suggestions on getting out whatever is suspended in my water?? HELP please!
also..there is a hint of green to the color of the water. is that because where i added more water last night and it has added metals to it again?? shew!

[mbar]

Hi, sorry I was away from a computer. I know that this is tricky - I would add a maintenance dose of metal sequester, and add water. It is ok to add more metal sequesterer than it says. You should not have any algae, as your chlorine is fine. I wouldn't worry about the green for now. It is normal for the water to cloud again after vacuuming to waste when there is a lot of sediment in the pool. Now I would leave the filter on 24/7, and use the skimmer sock - you can also put in some DE to make your sand filter more efficient, add 1 cup to a bucket of water and mix it up - add it directly to the filter. If your filter pressure doesn't go up, you can add another cup. Just make sure you add it to water before you put it in the skimmer. Then just let it keep filtering - it will clear up. Make sure you keep an eye on the filter pressure, and backwash as needed. If you backwash, you have to add more DE if you are using it, as it will backwash out. I know this is confusing, but it will clear - you just have to have some patience. If you don't see any clearing in a day or two, then we will try again. Just a though, are you sure your filter is working properly? Just trying to cover all bases

[waterbear]

Poolhelp,
The most important thing you need right now is a big bottle of POP (Pool Owner Patience). Apply liberally to yourself and then continue to follow Mbar's advice!