No Chlorine

[jsbacarisse]

I have no chlorine showing up when I and or Leslies Pool Supply test my water balance. NO chlorine = algae and my pool starts to get it every 4-5days prior to me shocking the pool. This is an ongoing problem. It started last summer. Pool chlorinator is maxed out along with chlorine floaters in pool and spa NO chlorine when tested (YES chlorinator/floaters are full w/ tabs). I can shock the pool with 2lbs of power plus shock and chlorine will start registering (4+ppm) algae will go away and within 2-3 days pool has NO chlorine when tested and algae starts to reappear. Leslies tested my water and showed me that my water balance is perfect with the exception of chlorine. They want to sell me different things but after everything they tell me to buy and do I still have the same issues, NO chlorine which equals algae.
What is the problem?
Can someone steer me in the right direction?

I have spent over $400 dollars over the past 3 months in shock, algaecides, and stabilizer.
Thanks

[DohenysPoolSupplies]

There is a chance that the chlorine you bought has lost its potency. You always want to store chlorine in a cool, dry and dark place. Sunlight and moisture can dramatically effect chlorine. Next time, try using Doheny's Pool Supplies Fast's chlorine. It's amazing and less expensive than Leslie's! Plus, it's made here in the USA.

http://www.doheny.com/poolsupplies/Swim ... -Tabs.html

[chem geek]

It's far more likely that your Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level is high and you are not shocking to a high enough Free Chlorine (FC) level to kill off the algae. So the chlorine you are adding is simply getting used against the algae, but it's not enough to kill the algae faster than it can reproduce. I suggest you read Defeating Algae in the Pool School.

Having solid forms of chlorine go bad is unusual. Trichlor and Dichlor and Cal-Hypo don't go bad in sunlight the way that chlorinating liquid does and generally you store the solid forms in containers that don't let sunlight in anyway. The following are chemical facts independent of concentration of product or of pool size:

For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also increases CYA by 9 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Cal-Hypo, it also increases Calcium Hardness (CH) by at least 7 ppm.

Note that Leslie's "3" Jumbo Tabs", "1" Chlorine Tabs", "Mighty Tabs" and "Chlor Sticks" are all Trichlor. "Chlor Brite" is Dichlor. "Power Powder Plus" and "Power Powder Pro" are Cal-Hypo.

So it doesn't take long for the CYA to rise a lot unless you have a lot of water dilution. If your CYA is significantly above 50 ppm, you'll need to do a partial drain/refill to lower it.