Crystal Clear Water with little to zero chlorine levels?? Is it safe?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
B

blackbart10

0
Jul 11, 2016
3
Willows, California
I can't seem to get the chlorine levels to register with my test kit. The water is crystal clear with no complaints about irritation. On private well that comes out of the ground at about 7.8ph with very high calcium bicarbonate levels. I add muriatic acid by the gallon. And have added a double amount of CYN over the last while. My biggest question is, is the pool safe with out any detectable chlorine levels. The SWCG (compupool cpsc36) runs 8 hours a day at 90%, from 8 pm to 4 am. Thanks
 
Hello and welcome to TFP! :wave: Short answer - no. No chlorine means no sanitation protection. But that's odd considering your SWG is running so much. I think the first thing that would help us evaluate your situation is to see a full set of water test results so we can put it all together. Do you have a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C test kit (link below)?
 
Thanks for the reply, current test with a Taylor kit is: Ph 7.4, FC 0, TC 0, CYN 0, CH 300. I don't understand the CYN because I have added enough for double this size of pool. Last test from local leslies store (6-24-16)was Ph 7.2, FC 0, TC 1, CYN 0, CH 330, TA 200, Salt 2750, phosphates 500. Since the leslies test I have added a dose of phosfree, a dose of Cyanuric acid, and not sure how much muriatic acid. The pool is on a farm so it gets some organic matter in it. (bees, leaves, dirt etc.)
 
You bring-up a vital point - the organic matter. I wonder if you have something else going on in that water. Here's something you might want to try:
1. Begin a SLAM and dose FC up to SLAM level. If your CYA test is showing as zero (perhaps converted to ammonia), use a SLAM/Shock FC of 10. Do not add additional CYA at this point.
2. Retest FC at 10-minute intervals.
a. If FC loss is greater than 50%, add FC to bring back up to SLAM level and continue retesting FC @ 10-minute intervals.
b. IF FC loss is 50% or less, add FC to bring back up to SLAM level. Go to Step 3.
3. If CYA is below 30 ppm, add enough CYA to bring level up to 30 ppm.
4. Continue SLAM as directed in the SLAM article until the SLAM Criteria of Done are met. Test as directed in the SLAM article - no longer need to test FC at 10 minute increments at this point.
Click to expand...

This may be needed to break-through that wall that's prohibiting you from increasing FC and CYA. Let us know if this does the trick. FYI - Have a good amount of bleach on-hand for those first few applications. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: rbrand1003
I would be concerned when there is no FC. That means that it is being consumed faster than it is being generated and that is not normal.

If you have no CYA, that is a issue for sure. CYA for a SWG pool is recommended to be 60-80. Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

Assuming a loss of FC loss of 2ppm per day, your SWG cannot keep up with the demand.

At 90%
To recover 1ppm per day, you need to run the SWG 5 hours per day.
To recover 2ppm per day, you need to run the SWG 10 hours per day.
To recover 3ppm per day, you need to run the SWG 15 hours per day.
To recover 4ppm per day, you need to run the SWG 20 hours per day.

You should probably perform a OCLT to see if you need to SLAM to bring it back to a clean state and then restart with your SWG.
Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)

Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

Hope this helps. There is a calculator to determine SWG run time here:
Formula for SWG / Pump Runtime?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply