Sprung for the test kit

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dirtdog

0
May 4, 2015
53
Waterloo, Ontario
I ended up finding the Taylor 2006c on ebay and happy I spent the coin for it. So much easier to trouble shoot now and solve problems if they arise.

First Results

FC - 1.50
CC - 0.5
PH 7.8
TA - 160
CH - 220
CYA - 65

I am still using a chlorinator with the biogaurd silk sticks but plan on switching to bleach very soon. My test was completed at dawn when the sun was down and then I did another Chlorine test this morning.

Morning Results

FC - 1.00
CC - 0.5

This is with the chlorinator on high (5) with the pump running at 1800 rpm all night, seems like losing this much FC chlorine while the chlorinator is open and no sunlight should not happen
Could the high TA cause the FC to get consumed or is it safe to say that I might have some organic material consuming the FC

Thinking I should SLAM but any other thoughts before I go ahead with that ?
Also should I bring down the CYA a bit - (40-50) and also the TA down to 80-90 before I SLAM or can this be adjusted later ?

Thanks for your help
 
Alright! Well, I can't speak for the biogaurd, but now you can see things more clearly with good readings. For example:
- FC of course is low based on your CYA of 65. FC should never drop from the 6-7 FC range, so you'll want to increase that quickly with bleach if you can.
- TA a little high, and PH right on the upper edge, so perhaps bring them both down slightly?

Before SLAMming ... is the water clear? CC is right on the edge, but okay. You show an overnight comparison of FC, but it really wasn't an good OCLT based on TFPs Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT) because to do that, first you need to bump-up your FC to a higher level to get a good overnight comparison. You could do that first before the SLAM just to confirm.

- - - Updated - - -

The OLCT page doesn't specify the higher FC to start at, but for your CYA I would suggest a starting FC of at least 15. The next morning if it's lower than 14, then you know you need to SLAM.
 
Hey dirtdog,
good on you for getting a test kit. You wont regret it.

So, let me see if I understand this right. You tested last night and your FC was 1.5
And tested this morning and it is 1. Is that right.

What we cant tell, is how much FC the biogard thing is adding. I suggest turning that thing off. Then add enough bleach to get you to your TARGET level FC for your CYA, then do another OCLT so you know exactly how much FC is being lost overnight.

Is your water cloudy at all? If so, then yes you should slam anyway.

Your CYA is manageable, just dont let it get any higher. It will just take more chlorine to slam. No real need to drain unless you just want to.

TA doesnt not have any effect at all on FC consumption. TA only effects how stable (or not), your pH is. No need to adjust TA before slamming.

hope this helps,
 
Good decision on the kit!

TA does not affect chlorine consumption. You very likely have something growing caused by a very low FC compared to your CYA. SLAMing is probably your best course of action. How does your water look?

SLAMing will be much easier if you drop your CYA first. If you plan to switch to bleach right away 40-50 is fine. If you plan to continue using tabs for a while longer you should bring your CYA down to 30 because it will keep rising with tablet use. After the SLAM make sure you maintain a proper FC for your CYA level to prevent future issues.

From my HTC One via Tapatalk
 
Thanks for all the quick replies,

Yes the water is crystal clear, last year I consistently had the chlorinator set low at (2) although I didn't have a test kit the test strips always read 3-5 compared to the 0-2 that I get now with the chlorinator on high.

"So, let me see if I understand this right. You tested last night and your FC was 1.5
And tested this morning and it is 1. Is that right."

Correct and that is with the Chlorinator on high (5) which is max, losing FC overnight with no sun while the chlorinator is full should not be happening I assume it should get higher unless something is slowly consuming it, no visible algae and water is clear

I have a strong feeling something is growing but very minimal, I take good care of the pool vacuuming and scrubbing. I think it could be something in the skimmers, main drain or my sand filter. I did however clean my pool deck with a pressure washer, some gunk got in the pool so I think this is what has caused the higher chlorine consumption

I will drain some water and lower my CYA, I figure it the long run it will save me money as I can keep the FC lower and not use as much liquid chlorine. Then I should SLAM, but for how long...24HR?

Another question, if all of my numbers are perfect with nothing growing and a steady 3-5ppm of FC approximately how much chlorine per day would need to be added with average sunlight and average bather load, to calculate chlorine cost and this just needs to be a ballpark ! Anyone ?
 
ballpark figure of FC loss to UV from the sun, 2-4 depending your CYA level and how intense the sun is in your location.
The location is the reason that recommended CYA level is 30-50. More intense sunny climate will require a little higher CYA to help with the burn off.

Im in Texas and I loose about 3-4 each day with my CYA of 70. Lots of UV here this time of year.
 
I'm the same as Dave. Just finished bumping-up my CYA to 60 here in South Texas. But in your climate, a lower CYA may be just fine. To answer one of your questions above though about the SLAM (how long?).
You must “Maintain” your SLAM FC level until 3 objectives are met:
1. Water is clear
2. You do not lose any more than 1ppm of FC overnight (that's the OCLT)
3. CC (Combined Chlorine) is <.5
** You MUST meet ALL 3 items above to properly do a SLAM. Simply “spiking" the FC higher than normal isn't SLAMming, therefore there’s a good chance your algae will return.

Just a friendly reminder, your chlorinator may not be able to sustain the high FC level on its own during a SLAM, or you may need to shut it off completely to use liquid bleach only - especially when doing the OLCT test because you want no FC "automatically added" to the water overnight. Just wanted to make sure you had that info. Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain
 
Texas Splash said:
I'm the same as Dave. Just finished bumping-up my CYA to 60 here in South Texas. But in your climate, a lower CYA may be just fine. To answer one of your questions above though about the SLAM (how long?).
You must “Maintain” your SLAM FC level until 3 objectives are met:
1. Water is clear
2. You do not lose any more than 1ppm of FC overnight (that's the OCLT)
3. CC (Combined Chlorine) is <.5
** You MUST meet ALL 3 items above to properly do a SLAM. Simply “spiking" the FC higher than normal isn't SLAMming, therefore there’s a good chance your algae will return.

Just a friendly reminder, your chlorinator may not be able to sustain the high FC level on its own during a SLAM, or you may need to shut it off completely to use liquid bleach only - especially when doing the OLCT test because you want no FC "automatically added" to the water overnight. Just wanted to make sure you had that info. Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain
Click to expand...

That makes sense, with the chlorinator sustaining proper FC last year all year with no problems on a lower level tells me that either I have some non visible algae or organic material consuming my chlorine or the chlorinator is broken. I did take the chlorinator apart and clean it think maybe it was clogged up, but do any of you know if a chlorinator can be bad or broken ? How to confirm if its working adequately ?

I will do a SLAM and definitely keep the chlorinator off but it would nice to know if this thing is even working...
 
I started the SLAM yesterday evening,

730-8pm:

FC - 30.5
CC - 1.5

930-10pm

FC - 29.5
CC - 1.0

630am this morning

FC - 21
CC - 0.5

Losing 9ppm of FC overnight... seems a lot right ?

Checked my skimmer and I had a dead bird in it....all melted looking to be decaying with the feathers all burned off, very gross. Would it be safe to say that this could be the reason for most of the chlorine loss ?

CC went down quite a bit to 0.5 and water is still crystal clear, all tests done with CYA at 55-60 with my chlorinator emptied and turned off

So I ramped up the chlorine level to 28ppm for the day and it should burn off in the sun a bit today, so if my overnight loss is less than 1ppm tomorrow morning and my CC is 0.5 or less that means I should be done slamming correct ?

Thanks,
 

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Yeah dead birds do tend to take the FC out of a pool.

I would keep your FC at SLAM level all day to overcome mr. bird.

Maybe try the OCLT tonight or wait until tomorrow night to make sure you FC had a chance to clear your pool!

Kim
 
Sounds good, I will have to go home at lunch today to do another test and try to keep the chlorine at slam level. I would hate to come home after work to see it dropped to much.

"so if my overnight loss is less than 1ppm tomorrow morning and my CC is 0.5 or less that means I should be done slamming correct ?" This is correct...right ?

Thanks
 
New Set of Results;

1PM - FULL SUN TODAY

FC - 18
CC - 0

2PM - Before I left

FC -28 ( added 7 litres 12% )
CC - 0

Lost 10ppm in six hours in full sun today 7am-1pm

Overnight lost 8.5-9ppm in nine hours 930pm-630am

My CC is a solid and steady 0 on the last couple tests, that should mean something since it started at 1.5 right ? Also losing 10PPM just from sun for six hours should not be normal, safe to say my FC is eating up bird germs and algae...thoughts ?
 
I would say Yes, something is using your FC.. Keep doing the SLAM, it should start staying and losing less the longer you go..
 
Todays Results

10PM (last night)
FC - 29.5
CC -0.3~

7AM
FC - 27.5!!!!!!!!!!!
CC - 0

Nice, OCLT of 2ppm, I have a good feeling it will be good by tomorrow. The recommended SLAM was 24ppm but I have been keeping up closer to 30 to speed it up. Thank god because this weekend is suppose to feel like 41C...105F for the American guys

Today is over cast dark and rainy with no sunlight what is the approximate loss I should see, just a ballpark ?

Thanks
 
I would guess 2-4ppm.

Wow! That is hotter than texas! It is safe to swim when FC is below shock level. I would swim no matter what. We swam every day during our slam.
 

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