Intek pool very cloudy?!?

[Debster]

Hello,

I Just purchased one of the intek pools. It holds 529 gallons. I figured I could learn about pool care and see if I can handle it then move on to an 18 foot round above ground pool. All was going well but now I have cloudy water, can not get rid og it. I have been going to the pool store adn being Bilked out of $$ getting all kinds of stuff. I am reading about the BBB and liking what I am reading but have to be honest getting confused too.

I will keep reading and tomorrow will try to use the bbb way but am trying to figure the amount of bleach to use, I downloaded the calculator but seem not to understand it. I will read more.

The questions I would like to ask at this point is what is FLOCK? I read it on here but I could not find a description for it. Also can I add an aerator to an intexk pool. I saw one person made a fountain out of PVC, can this be done on this small pool?

Thanks for any help.
Debbie

[Debster]

Hello again.

Woke up this morning and went to check on the pool, it is even more cloudy then yesterday. I am in the process of cleaning the filter cartridge. I only have the test strips, I will order the taylor kit today to see where I stand.

I just do not know where to start in getting rid of this, should I just throw some bleach in it or what?!?

I will go out and test with the strips but yeaterday it all stated ok.

Test strip results:
Chlorine 3
TA 80
PH 7.2

Debbie

[Debster]

I used bleach last night and this morning it is getting clearer. I need to know how to lower the TA. It is high, I see how to raise PH and TA and how to lower PH but I have not found how to lower the TA. Will I need to take out come water?

[Backglass]

You lower TA with muriatic acid. It will also lower you ph at the same time though, so you need to be ready to aerate to bring up the ph without affecting the TA. Yu can do this with a bubbled, fountain, air hose or even turning your return UP so the water gurgles. This will raise the ph...you then add acid and bring both down...and repeat until your TA is inline.

Draining some and refilling only works if your water supply has low TA. Have you tested it?

[lurking]

you have algae in your water, and need to burn it off by increasing your free chlorine (fc) to at least a level of 10 and hold it there for at least 24 hours...
( adding 1 cup of bleach should increase your cl level from 3-10 ) take a fc reading at night, and then in the morning. If your fc level has stayed the same, then you have killed off the algae......Good Luck !!

[Debster]

I came home form work and it is clear.

Lurking, I added 2 cups of liquid bleach last night, clorine level was high again this morning. It is still at 5 this evening, I think I got rid of the algae

Backglass, Thanks about the muriatic acid referance. I will try to get some tomorrow. A few questions though, how much do you think I should add (528 gal pool) and how long after can the kids go in.

Lurking and Backglass, right now I only have the test strips so I can not really tell about the levels, only can tell if low or high. I want to get the taylor test kit but have to wait a bit to purchase it.

chloine 5
ta 125 (i think)
ph 8 (using muriatic should be ok then)

I have been thinking of aerating it but for a fountain I do not think the jet is strong enough to make it work. air hose sounds interesting but I do not think I ever seen one (or is it self made?)

Thanks for your replies...and this site

[Backglass]

Backglass, Thanks about the muriatic acid referance. I will try to get some tomorrow. A few questions though, how much do you think I should add (528 gal pool) and how long after can the kids go in.

Download BLEACHCALC (link in my sig). It will also calculate Acid as well as a bunch of other chemicals. Wait 30 minutes after adding acid to be sure (filter running).

[Debster]

I actually have downloaded the calc but had a bit of difficulty:
Pool size: (ok, 528)
Chlorine strength 6
qty of bleach ?? (isn't this what I am trying to figure out, what number do I place here)
PPM increase ?? (huh?) the alkalinity had ppm change field

I do not mean to sound like a dweeb but I got confused on those.

Can you eplain those two fields?
Thanks

[Backglass]

I actually have downloaded the calc but had a bit of difficulty:
Pool size: (ok, 528)
Chlorine strength 6
qty of bleach ?? (isn't this what I am trying to figure out, what number do I place here)
PPM increase ?? (huh?) the alkalinity had ppm change field

I do not mean to sound like a dweeb but I got confused on those.

Can you eplain those two fields?
Thanks

Sure! The calculator works both ways. You punch in ONE of the fields, and it will calculate the other.

Let's assume you have 0ppm chlorine, but you WANT 3ppm. Using your pool size (568) you put 3 in the "increase desired" box, leaving the "quantity field" blank. Click "calculate" and it indicates you that you would need a whopping 4 ounces to achieve 3ppm.

On the other hand, say you wanted to know what a gallon of chlorine would do to your pool. Put a 1 in the "Quantity" box and click calculate, and you will see that a gallon of 6% will raise your pool to 105.6ppm. a potentially dangerous and certainly pool/suit bleaching level. This is why you need to go very slow & easy with small pools. They are so small, it's easy to overdose and much harder to get balanced. There is a misconception of "small pool, small problems", but I have found the opposite to be true.

[Debster]

Thanks for the explanation. 4 ounces WOW, not sure I can handle that much chlorine

Yea, I was definately thinking the smaller the easier the pool. Well I have learned a lot so that is a good thing.

Thanks for all your help.