Cloudy water, white substance on bottom of pool

[lenad89]

Long story...Ready?

About 5 weeks ago my pool turned green. Took water sample to local pool store and all of my levels were Way off. Free Cl-7.4 , pH-7.2 , Cal Hardness - 100 , Alkalinity- 2 (yes 2 ppm) , CYA - 60 , copper .08. Told me to shock pool with 6 lbs of granular shock that night, then next morning put in 30 lbs of baking soda and 16 oz of algecide. Then the next day i put in 25 lbs of Calcium in the pool (1/2 in am and 1/2 in pm) All the while filtering pool non stop and changing cartridge 1 to 2 times a day. Water was pretty much clear with a little cloudiness and a little bit of green in the corners of the floor on the fourth day. Took another water sample in to the same store. Results were : Free Cl -.2 , pH - 7.7 , C-Hardness-210, Alkalinity -162 , CYA -95 (dont understand the drastic increase because i used absolutly non of my granular chlorine in the pool throughout the four days and from what i understand granular cl is the only thing that has stabilizers in it) and copper - .11. They told me my pool is about to be in "Chlorine Lock" bc of the CYA levels. They told me i will have to drain my pool. They said until then i can shock it and see what happans after a while. I then went to another pool place and had them test my water and they got the same results however not one person there heard of "chlorine lock" and told me to just continue the use of the Chlor Brite granular chlorine (1 cup every other day)and shock the pool again. Used 3 lbs of same shock and the pool immediatly turned very cloudy when I put the bags of shock in that night. The next day the pool was still very cloudy and i could not see the bottom. I was still running filter 24 hrs a day and changing the filter at least once a day. After the next day the pool cleared enough that i could see the floor in the shallow end and there was a bunch of white substance on the floor of the pool. Also when i would clean the cartridges off there was a lot of the same white stuff coming off of them. I tried vacuuming the stuff of the bottom of the pool but i can see that it was coming back in through the return in the pool. I continued this for 2 more days and it started to really clear up(at this time i was using the cl every other day). It was then pretty clear for like 4 days and it started to get cloudy again with white stuff on the floor of the pool every day. i was refered to another pool store so i took a water sample there and had them test it. Results, Free cl-2 ppm , ph-7.7, Alklinity- 120 , C-Hardness-370 ppm , CYA- 100 ppm and total dissolved solids- 750 ppm. they alos never heard of "chlorine Lock" and told me that the levelswere all good and they told me to use 3 more lbs of granular shock and a 32 oz bottle of "ultra bright water clarifier" which is supposed to clump all the particles in the water. That night i shocked the pool and once again the shock made the pool so cloudy that it looked white. The next morning i changed the cartridge and it was caked with the same white substance i mixed 16 oz of the ultra bright with water in a 5 gal bucket and poured it around the perimeter of the pool. I waited a day and the water was still really cloudy. I then added the rest of the clarifier to the pool and waited another day a it was sort of clearing up. This leaves me to the present day. The pool is still sort of cloudy and the white substance is still collecting at the bottom of the pool in the shallow end mostly and on the filter cartridges. The last pool place i went to said that i put too much baking soda in the pool and that that could be the white substance on the bottom of the pool bc that is what it looks like. Could this be the White stuff at the botom of the pool and how do i get rid of it as it seems to be to fine to vaccuum bc it just shoots back through the return of the pool. Why is the shock making my pool so cloudy? I am so very lost and discouraged and sick of spending money and not having any thing fixed ! I need all the suggestions i can get please! i am sorry about the length of this but i want to cover everything bc no one seems to understand the problem im having. Feel free to E mail me any responses at lenad89@hotmail.com. Thank You VERY much!

[adiwan]

Whenever I use granular chlorine likeLeslie's Chlorbrite or PowerPowder+ the pool gets cloudy for a while. I think there is a lot of residue/filler in the chlorine that causes the cloudiness but not as drastic as yours.

There used to be a really fine HTH powder that dissolved instantly without any residue.

If I keep the pH at the high end it also causes cloudiness.

I get best results with pH at the lower levels of the normal scale (see your test strip guide) and keep chlorine levels not too high.

I use granular to prime then use 3" stabilized tabs (9 at a time) to keep the chlorine levels steady for a few days.

[czechmate]

Anytime your water turn cloudy, your pool is raising a warning flag!
It is either a starting algae or suspended calcium, ready to start depositing on your walls.
Your CSI is suggesting potential scaling issue.
Be modest about introducing any chemicals at any single time. Even the baking soda!
That 25 pounds is only needed in a single dose maybe when you neutralizing acid wash on a new plaster in fully filled pool.
Go to a Pool Calculator, which will give you a better idea how to correctly and safely add chemicals to your pool!

[Nikki]

Whenever I use granular chlorine likeLeslie's Chlorbrite or PowerPowder+ the pool gets cloudy for a while. I think there is a lot of residue/filler in the chlorine that causes the cloudiness but not as drastic as yours.

There used to be a really fine HTH powder that dissolved instantly without any residue.

If I keep the pH at the high end it also causes cloudiness.

I get best results with pH at the lower levels of the normal scale (see your test strip guide) and keep chlorine levels not too high.

I use granular to prime then use 3" stabilized tabs (9 at a time) to keep the chlorine levels steady for a few days.

[Guest]

Try changing the (oring) small rubber circle which attaches to filter. do you use de? You may need to add de to your skimmer which may reduce small particles from reentering the pool through return.

[Guest]

I had the same problem last year. After seriously shocking the pool to get rid of some white algae, the pool went all cloudy. I took a sample to the pool store, where I was told that everything was so crazy (in particular, CYA was super high) because I had been buying Walmart chemicals instead of theirs, and that I should simply drain the pool and start over. I didn't like that, so I decided to see how things would go. The cloudiness settled out on the bottom of the pool, and for the next week I was stirring up the pool and cleaning it out of the filter daily. Once I got rid of all the sediment, I took a sample in to the pool store, and it came back PERFECT. My theory is that the cloudy water threw off their measurements --- they're measuring the color of the water after adding some chemicals, and the cloudiness changed the absorption properties of the water, and therefore biased the measurement.

I just shocked my pool again yesterday for the first time in a while, and it clouded again. I suspect it's the shock doing it's job. It's possible from what I've read online that it's due to high hardness levels. But I'm not too worried. I certainly don't think any more that I've ruined my pool by shocking it, even if it turns cloudy. But I may consider using liquid chlorine or bleach to shock the pool in the future. This morning, the pool looks fine, and there's a little sediment on the bottom.

I don't trust anyone any more just because they work at a pool store. I want to look at the numbers myself and understand them, and I want to talk to someone who understands the issues, rather than someone who blames cut-price chemicals so they can sell more of their gold-plated chemicals.

[chem geek]

I suggest you read Pool School. You could have too high a pH, Total Alkalinity (TA) and/or Calcium Hardness (CH) combination causing the water to cloud with calcium carbonate (scale). Or your Cyanuric Acid (CYA) could be high and the cloudiness could be algae starting to grow. There are at least 100 Reasons for Cloudy Swimming Pool Water, but the most important thing to do to know what is going on with your pool is to get yourself a proper test kit -- either the Taylor K-2006 (NOT the K-2005) or the TFTestkits TF-100.

[Barolac14]

I suspect it's the shock doing it's job. It's possible from what I've read online that it's due to high hardness levels. But I'm not too worried. I certainly don't think any more that I've ruined my pool by shocking it.

[guest]

I have had the same problem, I believe its the chlorine itself not disolving properly or something mixed with the chlorine grains to add weight. I mixed some chlorine in a 20 litre bucket and left it overnight the next day the cloudiness had subsided and there was the white sedement at the bottom. Gently poured the chlorine into the pool leaving the sedement at the bottem. Then put fresh water in to mix it up again, the next day the water was evern clearer but the sedement was still there. mmmmm interesting hey?.

[PhD43]

I had problems with cloudy pool water and my pool store suggested that I purchase the circulator. They said alot of my cloudy pool water and chemical problems were due to lack of proper circulation. I have not had a problem with cloudy pool water for years now. I replaced all my fixed wall returns with the circulators and my pool came alive. What a difference it made in my pool. I don't fight with algae anymore either. I would recommend this product to all pool owners who want more fun time with their pool and less hassles.