White Sediment On Pool Bottom
by Rich
My wife shocked the pool 3 weeks ago before returning to States. When I arrived, pool was super clear and nice with some leaves and things on the bottom. When I started cleaning I noticed a rather heavy layer of fine white powder on the bottom. I backwashed the filter and a high volume of white cloudiness poured out. When I started vacuuming, this fine white powder from the bottom came back into the pool via the jets. Any idea what has caused this problem? Could my wife have over-chlorinated (we use Trichlor powder)? I will test for alkalinity and hardness. Thanks for the question Rich There are so many reasons for a cloudy pool, but this link will give you a good list: Cloudy Pool Water..Algae Swimming Pool..Swimming Pool Chemistry Trichlor is good but it may be acidic so you need to adjust your pH level after shocking. Some facts about chlorine: For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it will increase Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm. For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it will increase CYA by 9 ppm. For every 10 ppm FC added by Cal-Hypo, it will increase Calcium Hardness (CH) by at least 7 ppm. I use Calcium Hypo. when I shock the YMCA pool and there's always a powdery film on the bottom. It takes about 2 1/2 hours to vacuum. I first fill the pool all the way to the top, then vacuum to WASTE. This way the powder doesn't get caught in the filter. It goes straight into the sewer. If you use this technique be sure the keep an eye on the water level. Don't allow it to get below the skimmer or else your system will draw in air. This will work after a wind storm as well, when the dirt has settled to the bottom. I did this when I maintained pools in Arizona. Without knowing the chlorine level after the shock it's difficult to say if your wife used too much shock. If all the readings were fine before and now you have cloudy water, there's a high chance it's the shock that did it. Keep the chemical levels correct: Pool Tips..Swimming Pool Chemistry..Cloudy Water..Green Algae You want to bring the shock level up 10Xs the normal level you normally run. Pool Shock..Chlorine Shock..How To Shock A Pool I would encourage you to get an FAS-DPD K-2006 Taylor test kit. It's the best on the market. You only need to shock if the chloramine level is 0.6ppm for 3 consecutive days. Other than that you're wasting money and time. Water Testing Kit..Swimming Pool..Water Hardness..Cyanuric Acid..Chlorine.. Swimming Pool Supplies If you keep your chlorine level between 1.5ppm - 3.5ppm and the CYA between 30 - 50ppm, there should be no reason to shock other than after a very heavy bather load, bad wind storm, etc... It's the chloramine level that dictates whether you shock or not. Not because it's Saturday. The FAS-DPD kit has that test. Hope this helps and let me know how it turns out for you All the best Robert |
