Cloudy Water After Alum

[PoolDoc]

You're right -- since the Metal Remover is ascorbic acid (vitamin C!), we don't have to worry about HEDP. (And, since you have chlorine, it's all gone, too.)

Your contractor knows your pool. Ask him again, and confirm that it's safe to drain as far as he said, and then do that -- NO FURTHER!

Since the mess is just alum, that will eventually filter out. Draining it partially should reduce the problem to a more manageable level. I'll call someone, and see if anything will speed that up.

Do go ahead and remove & replace the two 2" of your sand, which should also remove the Fiber Clear. And do remember you MUST keep your chlorine levels up during this entire process or you WILL have algae again!

[At wits end]

We emptied the pool to 6" in the shallow end this weekend which would leave around 2 1/2 feet in the deepest portion of the pool. Even at that level I really had to look for the main drain to find it......disturbing.

The pool is filling at the moment. Should be full around 7-9p.m. tonight.

I'll need to work on the water balance - chlorine, ph, alkalinity, cya, hardness, salt. Can you tell me where to begin at this point?

I did order and have received the K2006 kit.

We recalculated the pool and have come up with 14,000 gallons. It's 16 x 32 with steps on each end, 5 1/2 deep in the middle and 3 1/2 on each side. Would you agree with 14,000?

[waterbear]

5. I talked with customer support at Natural Chemistry. Their "Metal Free" is just citric acid, so if there's chlorine in the pool, there's no citric acid left, since chlorine rapidly destroys citric acid.

Ben,
Unless the MSDS I have from natural Chemistry and the correspondence from them is wrong, Metal Free is basically EDTA (since they tout it as a 'phosphate free metal sequatrant). Their Stain Free product is ascorbic acid. I used to retail their products.
So much for their "customer support"!

[PoolDoc]

Ben,
Unless the MSDS I have from natural Chemistry and the correspondence from them is wrong, Metal Free is basically EDTA

I don't have Natural Chemistry MSDS sheets, for the most part; would you mind sending me copies of the ones you have, so I can add them to the SwimmingPoolResearch files?

Once I publish all that, we'll have better info on most of the pool chemicals, than the 'support staff' do!