From green to cloudy!

[MrApathetic]

Well, this is where I'm at.

When I opened my pool my CL was 2ppm and my ph was 7.6. I shocked and that's when it went cloudy. I shutdown my pump and alowed everything to settle out and now the water is clear enough to see the bottom in the deep end fairly well. My CL reading is now 6.5+ (probably higher, but that is the highest test kit I could find) and now my ph is in the 6.5 range, which I kind of expected as shock is acidic. I have alot of sediment on the bottom now, so I will be vaccuming to drain and then will adjust my ph slowly to avoid causing cloudiness again. The water isn't crystal clear, but it's getting there now that all the suspended solids have precipitated out.

As for raising ph, I've seen alot of discussion about using Borax to increase ph, instead of "ph up". Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[mbar]

Yes, borax is the way to go, it will raise your ph without raising your alkalinity. You are probably going to need a lot - if you are measuring 6.5, it may even be lower. I would get it in as soon as possible.

[aylad]

You said that you used sodium hypochlorite to shock, which is the same as bleach, which has a high (around 11) pH. I'm not surprised that your pH went up drastically after shocking. I am curious, though, about why it fell drastically. What is your TA level?
Janet