So KiiKii, here's your situation....we are assuming you will be increasing CYA from zero to 30 w/ 4 lbs of stabilizer. It takes a few days for that to register on testing, but we'll assume that is going to be your new CYA level. To fix your water, you need to follow the
Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain. It consists of raising your FC level (base on your new CYA) to an FC of 12 until you meet 3 requirements:
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.
The main issue right now is I don't think you don't have a way to test the FC at that higher level without the right test kit.
Specifically, you need the "FAS-DPD" power & drops testing portion which can be obtained from
TFTestkits.net.
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To answer your last question .. No, stabilizer comes in a separate container marked "Stabilizer or Conditioner". Chlorine will be found at your local grocery store as regular liquid bleach. We rely on this regular liquid bleach as our primary method of sanitizing the water without any residual side effects. It works great when used in the proper amounts as noted above.
