Chlorine not registering

[James Watson]

Ok, I understand that it is a lot to learn. Here is a simplified program to help you from getting too far behind until you have a chance to catch up.

1) Test at least once per day.
2) Subtract the chlorine reading from 5 and add that many quarts to the pool.

Chlorine reading..........quarts of bleach to add
0...............................................5
1...............................................4
2...............................................3
3...............................................2
4...............................................1
5...............................................0

Allow the feeder to run out. Run the pump 24/7 until your water is clear. After that, you can reduce the run time if you want.

You can use tabs in moderation as long as your cyanuric acid is less than 60 ppm. Once your cyanuric acid hits 60 ppm, you should not use any more trichlor. If you do use trichlor, you should raise your Total Alkalinity by at least 20 ppm. At this point, I recommend that you not use more than one or two 3-inch tabs per week.

I recommend that you use bleach as your primary source of chlorine from now on.

When you get a chance, clean your cartridge filter. You should get a spare cartridge so that you can do a quick swap and then clean the dirty cartridge when you get time.

Here is a page of demo videos that shows how to do the chemistry tests. Go to the bottom and choose the video of the test you want to see demonstrated.
http://www.taylortechnologies.com/produ ... ber=K-2006

[shhurs]

Well by Taylor kit finally arrived. Was using a Walmart OTO test. I think I'll get better at this as we go but here are my readings:
CYA 80
Total Alk 100
pH 7.1 (low)
Calcium hardness 100
chlorine .5

I did add 3 quarts of bleach today (6%) and Chlorine still low. However, my pool is sparkling clear again. Also, in attempt to raise pH without chemicals I aerated for about 5 hours today. Still low so I guess I'll need to add product to raise it.
Weather is cooling off, so I may close the pool by month end.

Thanks much

[chem geek]

You can use 20 Mule Team Borax to raise the pH with only half as much rise in TA compared to using a pH Up product (or Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda which is the same thing). You can use The Pool Calculator to calculate dosages.

[James Watson]

You're doing well. With your cyanuric acid at 80 ppm, you should stop using trichlor tabs. To raise your pH, I recommend that you add 4 pounds of baking soda (regular baking soda from the supermarket) or 2 pounds of Borax (from the laundry aisle in the supermarket or general store). Dissolve 1 pound in 3 gallons of water and pour the solution into the pool.

You should maintain a free chlorine level of 5 to 6 ppm at all times.

Did you have any CCs (Combined Chlorine)?

[shhurs]

still having trouble getting chlorine reading, free and/or combined. Turned off feeder, added bleach. Pool water is sparkling clear. Brushed it tonight and added more bleach.

Am I going to have to go through the drill of 1 gallon per hour again.

[James Watson]

You shouldn't turn off the feeder until all of the tabs are dissolved and the feeder is empty.

Add enough bleach at the end of the day to raise your level to 15 ppm and let us know what level you get the following day.

Are you using the FAS-DPD?

[shhurs]

so with a zero chlorine reading now that means 467 oz of 6% bleach or almost 4 gallons to get to 15 ppm - that's alot.

yes, I am using the FAS-DPD

[shhurs]

Also turned my feeder back on; not too many tablets remaining. Mine uses 1" tablets.

Pool looks good.

[James Watson]

Using your reported volume of 13,500 gallons, I get 420 ounces of 6 % bleach to go from zero to 15 ppm.

Add enough bleach to get to 10 ppm at the end of the day. Wait 1 hour and retest the FC and CC. Then test the FC and CC again in the morning. If the level is less than 10 ppm in the morning, add enough bleach to get back to 10 ppm. Retest again at the end of the day.

Do this for three days. Take good notes and report back what the results are. Allow your system to run continuously until we get the results.

Until all of the tabs are cleared from the feeder, we are not going to know for sure what is happening. Therefore, you will need to do this for a few days beyond the time that the feeder clears.

I know that 10 to 15 ppm seems high for your chlorine. However, the cyanuric acid dramatically slows the chlorine down, and 15 ppm of FC with a cyanuric acid of 80 is actually equivalent to less than 1 ppm of FC with no cyanuric acid.

You should clean you filter when you get a chance. Trapped debris can create a chlorine demand.

Have you added anything to raise the pH?

[shhurs]

I cleaned the filter today even though it looked good before. I added the bleach and turned the feeder back on - not much left in there; uses 1 inch tablets.

I didn't see your message before I added the bleach for today so added 467 ozs. I added soda ash earlier in the week and have aerated for 2 days. pH still low, at 7.1

[James Watson]

467 ounces is fine. It should raise the FC to about 17 ppm. Test FC and CC in about an hour, if you get a chance. Retest again in the morning. Keep raising the FC to 10 to 15 ppm. Once we get about 3 days of results, we can better determine what is happening. The pool is fine to use at 10 to 15 ppm.

Add 4 pounds of baking soda when you get a chance.

[shhurs]

tested at 7:30 am

[shhurs]

Tested at 7:30 am
fc 2.0
cc 1.8
ph 7.2
akalinity 110
ch 260
cya 100 (a little high)

i'll go ahead and add the bleach and pick up some borax/baking soda today.

[duraleigh]

FC 2.0 You are wa-a-ay too low. With your CYA as high as it is, I suggest you use around 25-30ppm to shock the pool (which you need to do) and hold it there until your CC's drop below .5ppm

CC's 1.8ppm This test result indicates the need to shock your pool.....even though your water may be crystal clear, this needs to be .5ppm or lower and high FC is the only way to get it down.

pH and TA are fine. I would leave them alone for now. CH of 260 is fine, too.

CYA 100 = Here's your largest problem. The reason you need your chlorine so high is because your CYA is too high. However, I assume you are approaching the end of the swim season, so I wouldn't adjust this right now. I would wait 'til Spring and then make a very determined effort to get your CYA down below 70......You'll probably have to do a partial drain and refill.

Your numbers indicate you need to keep your FC at shock level (30-35ppm) until that CC result goes below .5pp. Even then, just maintenance level for your FC should be between 6-9ppm or you will risk another algae bloom.

[shhurs]

ok; I shocked. Still need to keep adding 6% bleach and the baking soda/borax as Watson stated?