Cloudy Pool Water - Could use some help

[mbar]

Just so you know from my own experience water mold takes a while to clear out. It really takes mega doses of chlorine as you now know The other thing is to keep on with the shock levels for a while, because watermold comes back very easily if it isn't all gone (from more experience) Don't get discouraged for how long it takes for the cloudiness to go away - it does take a while to filter out, keep your filter going 24/7, and backwash as needed. You are over the worst! Congrats

[Watermom]

How is the filter pressure doing? Backwash when it goes 8-10 psi over clean filter pressure. You might try some skimmer socks and also adding a little DE to your sand filter. Info in this thread:

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=3742

Sounds like you may be on the home stretch! Keep hammering it with bleach. You are doing a good job.

[bcooper27]

Filter pressure is remaining pretty steady as to where it should be. I'll keep my eyes on it and backwash if it gets too high.

I tested at 3pm and the levels were as follows:

FC = 17.0 ppm
CC = 0
pH = 7.4 (yippee!)

I put in (2) more 96oz bottles of bleach to keep the shock level. I'll continue doing that until it clears up. The good news is that I think I'm starting to see the bottom of the pool liner. Still a ways to go though.

I'm trying to read as much as possible to stick with the BBB method as I think it's great. I admit I neglected things the first two seasons and I'm determined to get a good process down to keep the pool in great condition. It's actually pretty fun checking levels and staying on top of things so that's good too (although my wife and kids are starting to call me "bleach boy" for some unknown reason!) Maybe it's the bleached stained shirt I'm wearing......which by the way was one of my favorite shirts until I forgot about how things SPLASH when you put them in the pool!

Does anyone have a routine you use during the week for adding chemicals, brushing, vacuuming, etc that they could recommend? Or maybe there's a post I haven't found yet.

I'll continue to check and post results until I'm 100% clear and good. Hopefully this also helps someone else too.

[Watermom]

I usually turn my pump on aroung 11:00 or so in the morning and also the solar panel. It runs throughout the day until the sun starts to go down and then I turn the solar panel off. As far as testing, I just spend about 5 minutes each evening when we get out of the pool checking cl and pH and adding bleach. Usually I end up adding 2 or 3 quarts of bleach. Then, I let the pump run for an hour or two and then shut it off for the night.

After I open the pool in the spring and get the levels where I want them (namely cya), I only run a full set of numbers a couple of times a season. But I have been doing this a long time and know my pool. My pool is consistently maintained thus I don't have problems.

I bought a Wanda the Whale vac this spring and I throw her in 2 or 3 times a week. Usually in the morning and let her do her thing for a couple of hours and then take her out before we get in to swim. We use our pool more in the evenings than in the heat of the day.

It takes awhile to "get to know" your pool, but as you do and you learn what works for your pool, your routine will become simple and quick as well. Good maintenance can head off most problems.

[bcooper27]

Good Morning everyone! Just wanted to check in and give you the latest on the condition of my pool. Here are the test levels from this morning:

FC = 15.0 ppm
CC = .2 ppm
pH = 7.4
ALK = 120
Calcium = 290

The FC number maintains itself overnight so that's a good thing. The pool is still not sparkling yet. Still a bit cloudy but I can definitely see the bottom. I keep wondering whether maintaining the high shock level will eventually make the water crystal clear or whether there's something else I can do.

At what level of FC is it safe to swim? I know the kids and wife are dying to get in the pool but I want it to be safe.

We're getting there.

[Watermom]

I just scanned quickly back through this entire thread. It appears (unless I missed it) that you haven't had a CC reading over 0.4 for 2 or 3 days now. Is that correct? Was last night the first night that you didn't lose cl overnight? If so, how much cl did you lose overnight the night before?

Did you try the DE powder and the skimmer socks? I think they might really help.
Are you running the pump 24/7?
Before you reply, retest and post another set of chlorine readings and answer the other questions. It may be, depending on your readings and some of the answers you give, that you may be ok to swim this weekend in old suits that you don't care if they fade some. But, I want to see your reply first before I make any suggestions or recommendations.

[bcooper27]

Hello...

Here are the cl readings for 1:00pm:

FC = 10.6 ppm
CC = 0

I tested the water on Thursday 7/1 at 7:30pm and the FC was 19.6 (cc=0) and I tested again Friday 7/2 at 5:30am before work and the FC was 12.4 (cc=.2). One note is that Thursday evening (at about 10pm) I did put in another (2) 182oz bottles of bleach to keep shock level through Friday since I knew I would be gone most of Friday. So if the idea is not lose hardly any FC overnight, I would say that is not happening. As you can see I went from FC of 15.0 this morning at 10am to 10.6 at 1pm so there is definitely loss there. Whether that's a function of not having higher CYA values or what I don't know.

I didn't try the DE idea yet but will definitely look into it. The pump has been running 24x7 for probably 4-5 days now. This morning at about 11am I decided to vacuum the pool for the first time as I was able to see to the bottom where there was a lot of old brown leaves clumped up. That's all clean now. I also did a backwash right after vacuuming until the water ran clean and then got the pump back on now filtering as normal.

Let me know if you have any other questions. And thank you for the help, especially on a holiday weekend.

-Brian