At my wit's end - cloudy water

Causes and cures for cloudy swimming pool water.
Milky pool water, white, pink, brown, purple, black cloudy water.
MikeHNY
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At my wit's end - cloudy water

Postby MikeHNY » Wed 10 Aug, 2011 12:00

I've actually used some clarifier before I tried the DE thing. I didn't know if they were compatible so I haven't used clarifier since using the DE.

FWIW here are today's test results:
Total Chlorine 3
Free Chlorine 3
PH 7.3
TA 180
CYA 100


chem geek
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At my wit's end - cloudy water

Postby chem geek » Wed 10 Aug, 2011 22:06

What? Your TA is 180 ppm? What is your CH level? If it's high, then your water may be over-saturated with calcium carbonate and that's what is making it cloudy. Put your numbers into The Pool Calculator to calculate the saturation index. In your first post, you said the CH was 140 ppm. If I put those number in, the saturation index is negative, but I'm not sure I trust any of those numbers since they aren't from a proper test kit you are using yourself. If the cloudiness were to go away when you lower the pH, then that would be a sign of over-saturation with calcium carbonate -- lowering the TA level would be one solution.

Also, with a CYA of 100 ppm (are you sure it's not higher than 100?), you would need at least 8 ppm FC at all times to prevent algae growth unless you were to use a supplemental algaecide (or phosphate remover). When you first reported, the CYA was 70 ppm, so what happened? Have you been continuing to use Trichlor pucks/tabs or did you add Dichlor granular/powder? You should be using chlorinating liquid since your CYA is high and you should be diluting your water to lower the CYA level. Also, why is your TA level so high? Have you been adding pH Up for pH control (that raises TA over time in addition to raising pH)?

You never said if you got a proper test kit (either of the kits I linked to earlier). I'm thinking that perhaps your CH number might be a lot higher or your CYA might be through the roof. At any rate, if your CYA is high, don't let your FC get low -- keep it at least at 8 ppm until you know what is really going on in this pool. You should dilute the water to lower the CYA level as that will have to be done eventually anyway.
MikeHNY
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At my wit's end - cloudy water

Postby MikeHNY » Fri 12 Aug, 2011 09:14

It was a pool store test and their equipment is pretty sophisticated (and unlimited tests are free) and I trust them. I'm sure the CYA isn't more than 100 because their test obviously can read higher numbers and it has come back higher before (and on your advice I stopped using trichlor pucks). The CH is 120, also down a bit from the test several weeks ago. And, as you noted, the TA is also coming down (on purpose). By the way, I did once check the pool store test against another test at another store (different equipment) and got virtually the same results (that's why I trust them).

Changing the sand is on the agenda today.
green to milky

At my wit's end - cloudy water

Postby green to milky » Fri 12 Aug, 2011 12:02

How many weeks has this been going on now? just from july 27th until today is way to long! Are you running the filter 24/7? There is no way in heck a DE or cartridge filter would take this long to clear a pool.

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