No chlorine reading

Causes and cures for cloudy swimming pool water.
Milky pool water, white, pink, brown, purple, black cloudy water.
stumped

No chlorine reading

Postby stumped » Mon 18 Aug, 2008 08:01

I'm have a new recurring problem this year. I cannot get a chlorine reading no matter how much I use or shock. I've had 3 different stores check my water and all tell me it's okay but I cannot get a chlorine reading even after shocking. The result is recurring algae. I had phosphates but used a treatment and last reading was 200 which I'm told is okay. I'm not sure if the stores I went to had a CYA reading. How do I get this?


muss08
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Postby muss08 » Mon 18 Aug, 2008 10:41

Are the pool stores getting a chlorine reading or is it just you who is not? Hopfefully you have your own liquid test kit. If not you need to get one. It is the best investment in your pool you can make. I use the Taylor K 2006. It is very accurate and reliable. Your kit should test for chlorine (free and combined), pH, TA, CH, and CYA. If you are using strips the chlorine could be bleaching them is the chlorine is really high. Strips often get contaminated as well.
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stumped

no chlorine reading

Postby stumped » Mon 18 Aug, 2008 13:31

I have test strips but have also had water tested at Leslies, Namco and Poolman Pools. All show 0.5 or less reading on chlorine even after I shock it. Namco told me my total chlorine was ok but not my free chlorine but nobody could tell me what is the difference. I put 2 pounds of dry chlorine in the other day and it still read 0. I bought new test strips thinking the old had gone bad but they read the same. At one point I was low on conditioner and added some. I was told in my last couple of water tests the conditioner is fine, although I don't have the reading off hand. I've heard something about Nitrogen or Ammonia eating up chlorine. I do have a lawn fertilizing service so I don't know if that could have an effect. I had major algae when I got home from vacation a week ago have shocked and treated it, vacuumed and backwashed several times. The water is still cloudy and there appears to still be debris (algae?)in the water. Should I continue to add a bunch of shock or is that just wasting money?
Guest

check phosphates

Postby Guest » Mon 01 Sep, 2008 08:33

phosphates have been a real problem this year!!
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Postby chem geek » Mon 01 Sep, 2008 12:30

I have 2000-3000 ppb phosphates in my pool and keep away algae using chlorine alone. One needs to maintain (in a manually dosed pool) a Free Chlorine (FC) level that is at least 7.5% of the Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level. If you are using stabilized chlorine, your CYA level if probably high and you need to have the FC higher to prevent algae growth. You can certainly use an algaecide instead (at extra cost), but such use of PolyQuat 60 or of a phosphate remover is not necessary -- it's just another approach to preventing algae.

Richard

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