Trouble with Chlorine level

[cw282]

We recently bought a house with a pool and the kiddies are all over me to get it open. All of the levels were okay with the exception of the chlorine levels which were so high they were bleaching out the tests (both my kit and the store's). The pool has been covered all winter with the pump running about 3 hours each night. For about a week we lept the pool uncovered during the day so the sun would hit it, but no change in the chlorine levels. The store that did the testing thought the level was up over 10ppm, so I added enough sodium thiosulfate to lower the chlorine level by 10ppm. However, now I am showing a chlorine level of 0 and I'm sweating because I think the pool store gave me bad info and I should have added the chlorine neutralizer in small amounts rather than all at once; I may have added too much of the neutralizer and I may be into negative chlorine numbers. Here's where we are now:

Size: 40,000 gals
type: plaster
FC=0
TA=80
PH=7.2
CYA=60

I also have an inline chlorinator that is set to 'full' and has chlorine tabs in it.

I had seen some references to bucket tests that others had used to gauge how much chlorine they would need and am wondering if there is a similar test I can do before I start putting granular chlorine in the pool...

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Do you have your own test kit?

An OTO yellow drop test kit will tell you if there is chlorine or not - bleaching out is rather unheard of, despite what the pool store said.

IF it truly is 0, then shocking the pool with liquid chlorine is the answer.
Read "How to Shock your Pool" in Pool School for more information.

The best investment you can make to protect your wallet from the pool store is a good test kit....either the TF100 or the TAylor 2006.

Hope this helps

 

[cw282]

THanks. I cannot remember which kit I got, but I bought it at leslie's and it tests for CL, PH, TA, CYA and hardness. I'll check out the shocking section.

 

[cw282]

BTW, I think the test kit I have is The OTO...the reagent bottles have the yellow caps on them. The test is showing 0 chlorine.

 

[geekgranny]

Is your question about maybe having residual neutralizer in the water? If so add chlorine to your target, keep water circulating, and test for chlorine in a couple of hours. Add more liquid chlorine, as needed and test again. Keep doing this until you reach your target.

I've used the chlorine/bromine neutralizer in my stand alone spa when the bromine level is higher than I want and we want to use it immediately (my ozonator works sporadically so it is hard to keep the bromine level at my target - I really need to disconnect it. )

I've found that a tiny bit of neutralizer goes a long way and I usually use less than directions on bottle calls for and then testing to see if I need to add more. In the spa one can get all the jets going and bubbler so testing can be done pretty soon after adding it.

gg=alice

 

[cw282]

Thanks Alice - residual neutralizer is exactly what I am worried about. I bought some granualized chlorine today but it looks like liquid bleach is the better way to go. I'll keep the granualized stuff for shocking later.

I appreciate the advice.

 

[geekgranny]

Great. I assume that the liquid chlorine would mix in faster so you could test sooner.

With pump and even cleaner running divide your additions between each of the returns. I usually go around the pool to each return, at least twice, if I'm adding more than a few cups. If you haven't read about it.... to prevent splashes put the chlorine bottle down in the water, with the jug opening just above the water, to sort of float it. The pool water will give a little support to the bottle especially as it empties. This is especially great if one has weak wrist (and can bend down easily - for inground pool) My good friend can't bend down but she has a four foot sheer descent on one whole side of the pool, so the splash doesn't get up to her when she pours. If she didn't have that I would rig up a piece of PVC with a funnel on the end for her. She is already using a long 1/2" diameter piece of PVD to get her water out for testing.

gg=alice

 

[geekgranny]

Thanks Alice - residual neutralizer is exactly what I am worried about. I bought some granualized chlorine today but it looks like liquid bleach is the better way to go. I'll keep the granualized stuff for shocking later.

I appreciate the advice.

BTW......... welcome to TFP.

You may not even want to use the powdered/granular after you do some studying in Pool School and could take it back to store. And after practicing the methods here you may never need to shock your pool again. There may be exceptions like when you open your pool after it has been closed for periods of time but some people actually open their pools with water that doesn't have to be shocked.

Liquid chlorine is usually much cheaper to use than granular. If you can't easily get pool 10-12 % chlorine Walmart Store brand, 6% plain bleach, is a great alternative. That's what a lot of us here use. Three pack Clorox from Costco or Sam's is a pretty good bargain too. Be sure to rinse, squash, and recycle the jugs please.

gg=alice