Cloudy Water

[ComeShareACupofTea]

Thanks so much!
We went to Leslie's and had it tested:
Free available chlorine 2
Total available chlorine 2
Ph 7.5
Total alkalinity 80
CYA 0
Calcium hardness 180
Total dissolved.solids 600
Phospahtes 200

They recommended adding CYA, otherwise said all else was fine. Though he did say we should run the filter 24/7...we usually run four hours at night. He said since its new sand it may take a few days for the water to clear up. We bought some bleach, will add it when we get home.

Anything else?

[aylad]

You need to shock the pool, as Watermom posted above, and keep it at shock level (12 ppm for your pool with no CYA) until the pool clears up, with pump/filter running 24/7. Your other numbers all look pretty good, except for the CYA, which you need to add, if you haven't already. Follow the label directions to target about 40 ppm of CYA, and either add it slowly through the skimmer (but you can't clean/backwash the filter for several days after the addition because it takes awhile to dissolve) or put it in an old sock and tie it in front of the return until it dissolves. Since you're going to be filtering out what is probably algae and needing to clean your filter, I would go with the old sock method.

[ComeShareACupofTea]

Isn't 12 ppm a little high? I'm worried about my daughter's skin...last year she was raw from swimming 3 days in a row...2 to 3 hours a day with friends.

[Watermom]

Yes, it is but it isn't the permanent level. It is only while you are trying to clear up the pool. Take a look at the Best Guess chart in my signature below. Once your pool gets cleared up, you'll run it at a lower level based on your CYA level.

[ComeShareACupofTea]

Oh! Ok, thanks so much! So...can we swim in it at 12 ppm?

[Watermom]

Since you stated that your kids were sensitive in the past you might decide to wait until it comes down some, but actually, it is fine to swim for most people. I'd suggest wearing old swimsuits, though.