Very High Total & Free Chlorine

[Aspento]

Hi,

We have a new 16' x 40' fiberglass pool with salt system. I am using test strips to test the water and our chlorine level (both total & free) is very high, around 10 ppm. We decreased the salt system's output to its lowest setting and it did not help. Total hardness, alkalinity, and stabilizer are OK. The pH is about 7.8 so I added MA to lower it. Our swg is Jandy and it is on 24/7. Do I need to turn it off for a while to lower the chlorine level? Please advise.

Thanks.

 

[kimkats]

HI! Welcome to TFP! We can help you out!

The first thing you need to do is get a good test kit. We do not trust "guess strips" or pool store testing as we have seen SO many times where they were wrong

See my siggy below to see where to get the test kits we use and love!

Kim

 

[Aspento]

The pool is not completely done yet so the pool builder is still maintaining the water. They tested the water last Monday with a test kit and the chlorine level was very high then as well. That's when we lowered the swg output to its lowest setting. I will get a test kit asap, but for now, if we assume the test strip result is accurate, would turning off the swg for a while lower the chlorine levels?

 

[kimkats]

Do you have any pucks or tablets in it?

Kim

 

[jblizzle]

I don't think anyone here would ever assume that the test strip was accurate.

If the FC is high (what do you mean by high? What is your CYA which determine the required FC level?), then yes, you would turn down the SWG output.

 

[pooldv]

Congrats on the new pool!

10ppm is not "very high" depending on what your CYA level is, Chlorine CYA Chart. My CYA is 70 and I keep my FC between 8 and 10 most of the time and sometimes higher.

Do you have one of the Recommended Test Kits? I use the TF100 from TFTestkits.net.

Here are some of my fave Pool School articles in case you missed any of them.
TFPC for Beginners
ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry

Here is the Water Balance for a saltwater pool.
Here are the Recommended Pool Chemicals and how to add them.
Use PoolMath to figure out how much to add.