Question:
Hi, I am having cloudy water issues and have tried many things at the recommendation of a local shop that has tested my water. My original problem was I had copper in the water, and I purchased a product called Pool Magnet plus. My levels eventually returned to normal. I was told I had low alkalinity and low ph. I was told to first shock the pool with liquid chlorine and there was organic material at the bottom of the pool the next day. I vacuumed it to waste.
Next, I was told to use Balance Pak (alkadjster) to raise the alkalinity. I did it 3 separate times to space it out. This resulted in the water turning very cloudy (milky white color). I was told to then try floc which did not work and made the water even more milky/cloudy. Next we shocked again with liquid chlorine with it still remaining the same. I am reluctant to keep trying different things that they are suggesting. After watching one of your videos, I see now it could be our sand filter. I don’t even know when it was replaced last. So, I will try that.
Any other suggestions? I am frustrated with it all. Thanks
Answer:
The first thing I would do is definitely change the sand. If it has been more than 3-5 years, it is time. It is also very necessary when your pool won’t clear up.
If you add floc to the water you should add, allow it to circulate, and then turn the pool off. What it does is clump debris together so you can vacuum it out of the pool – the best way is to vacuum to waste so it bypasses the filter altogether.
If you add liquid chlorine to the pool and you have sediment form on the bottom it could be metals coming out of solution, or your total dissolved solid level may be high. For a high TDS level the only remedy is to remove some of your pool water and refill with fresh water.
The best product for getting trace amounts of copper out of the water that we use on our pools is SeaKlear by Natural Chemistry. It acts as a water clarifier and will handle trace minerals/metals in the water. Of course if you have more copper being added from copper algaecides, or if your heater core is corroding, you’ll need to remove the source (or replace the heater) and keep sequestering (treating) the minerals or metals until it is completely removed.