Why won't my pool get clear?
Question:My inground pool water is blue, but it is still cloudy. I even tried floc treatment. This cleared the pool till we vacuumed (on waste), then, cloudy again, the same day. Could it need another floc treatment? Is my sand (in the filter) bad?
Answers:
You need to get a full spectrum analysis done on your pool water. Take a sample (about a pint) down to your local pool store and ask them to test the water. Make sure they test for the following:
Total chlorine
Free chlorine
Combined chlorine
pH
Alkalinity
Hardness
Cyanuric acid
Total dissolved solids
Metals
Phosphates
Bring these results back and post them up or email them to me at robandliz1992@yahoo.com Also include the gallon size of your pool, material it's made of (vinyl or concrete/plaster), filtration system, and chlorination system.
Your sand isn't bad. In fact the dirtier the sand gets the better it cleans the water. Sand filters only need to have the sand replaced when something is wrong or when the sand gets worn down enough to pass through the laterals (about every 5-10 years on normal use).
Cloudy water can be caused by any number of things, but if your water cleared up after floccing and then clouded back up there's something in there that requires mechanical filtration. Having the water test done will just verify this and ensure there's no other problems that might be the cause.
Must test the water and be exact on what chemical treatment is needed. A shock may not be what is required. Run the chemical tests and then buy what is needed for that condition. The pool store can help you figure this out.
The sand in sand filters do need to be changed after a couple of seasons, backwashing does not remove all of the elements. A cartridge filter system is much more efficient than sand filters and if the water is correctly balanced will eliminate cloudiness, but cartridges can be expensive.
When the pool was constructed it was probably a package deal includeing the filter system, in most cases the sand filter in these deals are low end, just bare minimal.
Most commercial pools use a D.E. filtering system, there are now D.E. systems for home use that is constructed similar to a sand filter but much more efficient.
Also check the calcium hardness in the pool water, a low calcium reading will deteriorate the pool interior which also causes cloudiness.
If the calcium is not kept up to its proper range, the interior of the pool will get to the point of needing to be resurfaced, this cost big bucks. Calcium Chloride is used to correct this.
You might want to consult with a second pool supply store, calcium scaling(etching of your pool surface) will not be fixed by what the first pool person told you. Metal Out is sold to remedy high volumes of metals that are formulated in algecides, normaly when you use an algecide you use Metal Out in conjunction with it.
Because of the low calcium is probably where your cloudy water is originating.
Flocking is the right thing to do, but when you vacuumed it out did you take your time and not stir up a lot of the flock? You may need to simply run your filter now if you did. Is your filter in good shape? When was the last time you cleaned it? Did you put in enough algecide and chlorine? They came out with a huge improvement this year allowing you to use the metals out product at the same time you flock, clorinate and treat for algy. Used to have to wait 1 week to clorinate after using metal out, so I used that produce this year while flocking and in 1 day water was clear after vacuuming flow residue to waste. Finally, make sure you are using the right clorine. Pool clorine is much more concentrated than ordinary bleach. Regular bleach will not protect you and will eventually allow algee to take homd. Good luck!
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