Help..Bioguard Pool Juice Zero is keeping my pool cloudy for 4 days already

[lsisle]

Hi,

Every year, once I feel I have my pool balanced, I bring a water sample to the local pool store, and they test it using what seems to be the industry standard machine.

This year, they said my phosphates were high (4000) as well as iron (.3). They had me add 4 qts of pool magnet, wait 15 minutes, 1/2 gallon of acid, wait 15 minutes. All was good.

Then they had me add 4 quarts of Pool Juice Zero about 30 minutes later. This clouded my pool as expected per the directions. The issue is this was Tuesday at 5pm and my pool is still cloudy with only about a 30% improvement at 7am on Saturday.

Here is what I have done so far:

Thursday morning, I cleaned my filters (very dirty so I thought this was the issue)

Friday evening, I replaced my filters hoping new filters would speed up the process.

I am concerned I was given bad advice and now am stuck with cloudy water.

The pool is skimming fine, and PSI is where it be with clean filters. I see no issues there.

What else can I be doing? Shock? Clarifier? I need to have clear water for July 4 weekend.

Pool is balanced for Chlorine, PH and Acid. Minerals are 3100.

[lsisle]

Follow-up data on pool chemistry. I am now at day 5 and water still very cloudy..And I should note, the water was clear before I added the Pool Juice Zero. Water went cloudy as Pool Juice dispersed .Pool is 40K Gallons, saltwater, pebbletec with mineral springs. 4 PC1015 Cartridge filters. 15 year old pool

Chorine 3.0
pH 7.6
Alkalinity 130
Minerals 3200

[Teapot1]

The advice you were given was right but the warning about phosphate removers clearly not mentioned sufficiently. Sadly one learns quickly how good the filtration system is or in your case isnt. You cant use flocculent with cartridges so patience is needed. You could try adding some cotton towels into the skimmer baskets, that is quite good at helping not so good fitration. The alternative is switch everything off and leave it 24-48 hours to settle then vacuum it out.

[lsisle]

I will try both of your suggestions, Thank you. Bioguard suggested I add some BioGuard Natural Clarifier which I do have on hand. Do you think that will help? I have used the product many times in the past with good results.

[Teapot1]

If its suitable for cartridge filters then yes it will help as it collects fine particles that pass through cartridges.

[lsisle]

Thank you for your advice. How about adding a non-chlorline shock as well. Would this help speed up the process? If so, what type would you recommend? I have Bioguard Smart Shock step two on hand which I have used successfully in the past but I see they make many others such as Oxysheen which they say is Fast-acting, non-chlorine shock oxidizer that destroys contaminants and Clears cloudy water. I don't want to overload on chemicals of course and have any negative interactions or worsening results.

[Teapot1]

Oxysheen is monopersulphate, it will test as combined chlorine on a tester. Not sure you'll gain much over using a bit of extra chlorine which is what I would do. Chlorine is usually half the price or less.
Edit:
Smart shock is mainly Dichlor so will increase CYA levels, if you have been using these products for a while that can be an issue. What is your CYA level currently?

[lsisle]

I will skip the non-chlorine shock per your advice. CYA was 73 before I added the Pool Juice. My pump is off now and I am letting pool sit for 24 hours and then will vacuum and rinse filter. When pump is back on, I will set dial to 100% so it produces the max Chlorine level from the salt. I have Bioguard Super Soluble on hand? Should I add that when I turn filter back on? I typically add 4Lbs for my 40K gallon pool but I only do that if I am not generating chlorine from the salt. But maybe I should add some of this? Do you recommend and if so, how much?

[Teapot1]

Bioguard super soluable is just more Dichlor chlorine with yet more CYA and you are at 73ppm already. I would use liquid bleach (chlorox) or similar un perfumed thin bleach. This mixes in seconds and doesnt add more CYA. Manually adding bleach will save your chlorinator the hard work of making a lot of chlorine so the cell will last longer.

[Jtex]

I would like to know how you make out. I am currently having the same issue. I had high phosphates and they had me add a double dose to the pool and it's been horrible since. Pool was clear before the pool zero was added. Now completely cloudy and can't see the bottom. Having a party on Saturday. Very disappointed in the advise I received.

[Teapot1]

I believe the advice was good. The warning about it cloudying the water was not stressed sufficiently.
I am also intetested to see how this works out letting it settle with everything off and vacuuming. If you are not on DE or cartridge filtration then flocculent can be used to clump the cloudiness quicker but adding cotton towelling to skimmer baskets does help but make sure the have been washed without phosphate cleaner/detergent.

[lsisle]

@JTEX: No real change and I am at day 8. I did try letting it settle and vaccuum but that did not help. I have not tried the towel trick yet as I only wanted to that when I can see how the pool is working in case that makes the system work too hard. I just added a double dose of Bioguard Natural Clarifier and I will let you know if there is any improvement tonight. Let's keep in touch. Bioguard misrepresents the time required for cloudiness to clear. There should be a warning on there. I have contacted Bioguard and they keep trying to blame it on my filtration but I have never had an issue there nor do I see one. My pool company said they will test my main drain once they can see the main drain but I am concerned that will be many days.
Out of curiosity, where are you located? I am in Annapolis, MD
My gut feel is there are more customers out there having this issue and Bioguard should be involved and responsible until the pool clears.

[Teapot1]

Its not just bioguard and for the record they may put names on their products but they really are just industry standard products. I could get any name I wanted printed on bottles of chemicals. Also it is your filtration, as I said before you can tell how well the system works when you get a situation like this, the longer it takes, the worse it is.

[Jtex]

@lsisle We are from Southeastern Massachusetts. I am finally starting to see some results. We have had our sand filter running for 48+ hrs and have been backwashing and refilling about every 8-10 hrs. We are finally starting to see the bottom of the pool through the murky cloudiness. I would have said initially it looked milky. We also have some cotton socks in the skimmer basket. We also have our robot vacuuming very frequently. I definitely think we were given bad advise. I think we overdosed the pool with adding a double dose after the initial dose. Very disappointed with the customer service from my local pool store (still waiting on a call back for some suggestions after their bad advise). I also don't think it's a filter issue since this is only the third season for the pool and filtration and we haven't had an issues. I am hoping to continue seeing results and hopefully have a clear pool by Saturday. I wish you luck and hopefully you also start seeing some results soon.

[lsisle]

The clarifier did not make any noticeable difference. I will try the towels tomorrow during the day.