Had the water fully tested...

Causes and cures for cloudy swimming pool water.
Milky pool water, white, pink, brown, purple, black cloudy water.
Sissy907
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Had the water fully tested...

Postby Sissy907 » Thu 22 May, 2008 15:57

Follow up to the post I accidently started under the sticky...

These are the results of the test the local pool store gave me;

Total Chlorine - 0
Free Chlorine - 0
Combined Chlorine - 0
Ph - 7.6
Total Alkalinity - 120 ppm
Calcium - 100 ppm
Stabilizer - 10 ppm
Total Dissolved Solids - 300 ppm
Salt - 0

They were guessing it was a 24,300 gallon pool which is totally wrong. It's closer to the 5000 gal range. (18' round, 4' deep -vinyl - I sent my teen instead of going myself lesson learned :( )

I typed the information into the pool calculator and this is what came up;

I obviously need to increase the FC and the pool calculator is calling for 31 oz of 6% bleach (is chlorine the same measurement?)

I need to bring up the CH by adding 118 oz/95 oz of Calcium Cloride. (which is what exactly? and found where?)

The CYA needs to come up with 20 oz/ 21 oz of stabilizer but is going to lower my Ph.. (so what would I use here?)

There was no "borate" measurement so I am assuming that I wont need to worry about this?

- the pool volume calculator is saying my pool is about 7600 gallons yet I am almost positive that the box read 5000 gallons. Which should I follow?

Being a military wife and money being tight right now, what are your suggestions to get this cloudy, grey/green water in tip top shape on a dime?

Your help is most appreciated~

Alli


Sissy907
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Postby Sissy907 » Fri 23 May, 2008 11:35

Anyone?

I need to get this pool in shape for the little one who wants a pool party for her birthday. Daddy is in Iraq and insisted I giver her what she wants... I need to get moving on this because I know things take time. I only have until the 31st to work it out!

Thanks!

Alli~
muss08
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Postby muss08 » Fri 23 May, 2008 19:23

First, is the 18' measurement the circumferance, radius, or diameter? To find the volume of a round pool you need the radius (from center of pool to wall). If you are not using bleach what kind of chlorine are you using (active ingredient). Could be cal hypo (usually granules labeled shock) dichlor or trichlor pucks or liquid. These would all have different measurements but bleach is going to be cheapest. Calcium Chloride can usually be found at home depot or lowes or a pool store, however, for a plaster pool 100ppm CH is at the low end of a normal level so I wouldnt worry about it. Stabalizer is cyanuric acid (also home depot or lowes) and shouldnt lower your pH too much(7.2-7.6 is normal). Plus you should start by adding a small amount anyways as it takes along time to dissolve (best method I have found is stuffing a sock with it and putting it in the skimmer to dissolve). I'm assuming you want to get your CYA to about 30? Also, you need more bleach then you think. You need to bring your pool to shock level which is about 10ppm. This would require 156oz of 6% bleach. You need to maintain this shock level until the FC holds overnight (more bleach). This ensures all the organics in the pool are dead. I know it seems high but the levels will lower very quickly over a day. Also, what kind of filter do you have? The pool will need to run 24hrs/day until it clears and you need to brush daily and vacuum often. Watch the pressure reading on your filter and backwash or clean cartridges as necessary. BTW, my brother just got home from Iraq last week (Alabama national guard). Also I would invest in your own test kit. I use the Taylor K 2006- very accurate and reliable. You cant always trust the pool store's readings. I've seen people on here who have taken samples to three different stores and gotten three different results.
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Postby Guest » Sat 24 May, 2008 10:17

What kind of filter system do you have? (sand, cartdrige, de)

A trick that I found is let the filter get a little cloged up. I wouldnt clean it or backwash until the pressure goes above 10 psi. Also have you tried any clearifiers or floc? Having the pump running on the highest setting will also help and leave it running as long as you can.

Your pool has the potential to be 7600 gallons. Since I doubt your filling it up to the very top 5000-6000 is close enough just go by that.

Do you have a chlorinator on your pool? ( do you use chlorine? Some people will use other sanitizers instead of chlorine)

Stabilizer is CYA. This helps keep the chlorine in the water. Adding it will bring down your pH but just use something to bring it up (baking soda, or anything to increase pH from a pool store).

Calcium hardness in other terms is how soft/hard your water is. If your water is too soft it has a tendency to become corrosive.

Since you are stating there is some green it the water that could be algae and you would want to shock it and definately bring the chlorine level up. Also putting in aglaecide and scrubbing and vaccuming the pool will help.

I work in a pool store so I always use our own products so I know how much of that too add not sure for what ever you are using (ratios could be different but I'm not sure). Anyway there are usually instructions on the back anyone at a local pool store should be able to tell you exactly how much you need (just hope they know what they are doing).

Hope some of this helps and good luck.
Sissy907
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Postby Sissy907 » Sat 24 May, 2008 16:13

OK lets see if I can answer both your questions in one shot. I did take a gallon of chlorine and some stabilizer/shock/chlorinator stuff and add it all last night right before a big storm came rollin thru. Took some water to the same pool store and this is the current standings;
TC - 0
FC - 0
CC - 0
pH - 7.2
TA - 150 ppm
CH - 135 ppm
So overnight again the chlorine is gone! I added another gallon of chlorine this afternoon and I put some stabilizer in a sock and dropped that in the skimmer...

My pool is 18' from one side to the other, and 48" deep. The box said 5000 the calc says 7600. When I set it up last summer it was lvl and beautiful and now it is starting to lean. I was gonna drain it and move it and fix it but, we arent gonna be here much longer, the reason it is tipping is because the heavy rains here have moved the sand from underneath and we have a decent slope to our yard and the dogs have dug up all the grass, it was perfect before the grass poofed on me. Being I am in a new part of the country than I am used to I have found growing grass to be near impossible and I have wasted about ... 300 bucks on grass seed and fertilizers. Altho I am determined to get grass to grow back there and have my beautiful yard back again..

So, what I have looks like this;

Pool - http://www.intexstore.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=307&CategoryID=45

Skimmer - http://www.intexstore.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=304&CategoryID=26

Filter Pump- http://www.intexstore.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=272&CategoryID=29

Filter - http://www.intexstore.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=275&CategoryID=29

I am sure you guys run much higher tech stuff and this is baby equipment. But being military we are limited to what we are allowed to have. All the backwashing and vaccuming to waste and whatnot is beyond me (for the moment - I want a real pool in my very own house when my husband returns from deployment).

Thanks for the help.

Alli~[/img]
muss08
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Postby muss08 » Sat 24 May, 2008 18:14

I am not surprised all the chlorine was used up. Almost instantly the chlorine in the shock and bleach you added is killing organics, plus, rain storms will add more organic debris. Was it a thunderstorm? Rains from thunderstorms contain a higher amount of nitrogen than a simple shower. Nitrogen feeds algae. I'm sure you are frustrated but be diligent! Add a couple 96oz. jugs tonight and again in the morning. Wait a couple hours and get your water tested again. Everything besides your chlorine readings are normal and with your pH at 7.2 the chlorine will be much more effective. I would have to estimate that it is going to take about 4 jugs of bleach a day to kill everything and clear your water. With the pictures I looked at you are not going to be able to vacuum to waste and with a cartridge filter you cannot backwash. You have to remove the cartridge and hose it down or get a cartridge filter cleaner/degreaser for a more thorough cleaning. Do you know how to do this? If it hasnt been cleaned in awhile (in your situation 3-4 days) do this ASAP.
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