My free chloride is off the charts

Chlorinating, maintaining the right chlorine levels,
chlorine problems. Dichlor, trichlor, cal hypo, bleach,
granules, chlorine pucks and chlorine sticks.
Lilbit13mp
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I'm new here
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun 24 Jun, 2012 11:46
My Pool: Above ground, 5000 gallons
Location: Georgia

My free chloride is off the charts

Postby Lilbit13mp » Sun 24 Jun, 2012 12:08

New pool owner... small 5,000 gallon above ground pool.
Today's test redings...
Hardness- 0
Total Chloride- 3
Free Chlorine- 10 (as high as my test reads)
Bromime- 20 ( also as high as my test reads)
Ph- 7.2
Total Alkalinity- 40
CYA/Stabilizer- 50

Help! I didn't think it was possible for my free chlorine to be higher than my total chlorine.
. It's been reading like this for over a week now! Yesterday, I replaced my filter and backwashed some of the water out and refilled it with fresh water to hopefully bring down the levels some but obviously it didn't work. The pool stays uncovered and I've read that the sunlight will eventually break it down but no luck there. I use a chlorinator floater set for the gallons of water in the pool and I haven't shocked in over two weeks. What am I doing wrong here? How can I fix it? And is my pool safe to swim in?


chem geek
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Joined: Thu 21 Jun, 2007 21:27
Location: San Rafael, California

My free chloride is off the charts

Postby chem geek » Sun 24 Jun, 2012 16:11

You are right, the Free Chlorine (FC) cannot be higher than the Total Chlorine (TC). The high chlorine level is partially bleaching out the test. You would be better off with a proper test kit, either the Taylor K-2006 or the TFTestkits TF-100 where the latter has more volume of reagents that you use the most.

As for safety, IF your CYA level is truly 50 ppm, then 10 ppm would be on the high side, but still OK. However, you don't know how much higher than 10 it might be. If you take out the chlorine pucks and have sunlight on the pool, then the chlorine level should drop reasonably quickly. Read the Pool School to learn how to properly manage your pool.

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