Above Ground Pool - opened it and it's cloudy?
Question:We opened our pool last week and it is cloudy. We have run the filter non-stop for 6 days, and can't seem to get it clear. Any suggestions??
Answers:
When my friend had the same problem once, he ended up [out of frustration] turning his filter off overnight. To his surprise the next morning all the sediment had settled to the bottom and he was able to vacuum it out. Hey, its worth a try!
The place where you buy your chemicals should have a product called SHOCK! It is made to get you started at the start of each season! Try it and see if it works for you!
get some chlorine in it.
you need to get a chemical test kit and see what chemical it may be low on or to high on. you can also take a sample of the pool water to the pool supply store and get it tested. take about 2 cups of water out of the pool to them. Good luck :)
I agree with the shock if you shock your pool and it is still cloudy more than likely the ph or alkalinity are off. You can buy test strips at Wal-Mart for under $10 that you simply dip in your pool and will will tell you exactly what you need. If all of your chemicals are level try using some clarifier in your water.
first clean your filter then buy some shock and put it in, run the pump for about 24 hours brush the walls and vacuum your pool and it should look good again.
Do a test on your water. If you don't have an accurate test kit (if you are using those horrible dipping strips) then take a sample of the water down to the pool store and have them run a full spectrum test on it. Don't purchase anything they recommend at this time, just return here and post the results. Specifically we are looking for Free and Total chlorine, pH, alkalinity, hardness, cyanuric acid, total dissolved solids, metals, and phosphorous.
If your water is green or yellow and cloudy then it could be algae, metals, etc. If it's white and cloudy then it could be calcium precipitation, pH off, etc. If it's kind of bluish/green cloudy then it's most likely copper.
But, without a proper water analysis it's impossible to tell you exactly how to fix the problem. All of the suggestions that don't ask for you to get your water tested are just guesses.
Post the results back here or email them to me at robandliz1992@yahoo.com for a more personalized response. Please include the type of material your pool is made of (vinyl, plaster, etc), filtration system, chemicals used in your pool, gallon size, etc.
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