OK, I just went through getting my CYA from 200 down to 50 with 2 large water changes. Now the pool is crystal clear but is eating up chlorine. I am having to add a 1.42G container of bleach every day just to keep my chlorine above 2 or 3 ppm which is still low. Last night I checked my FC after sunset and it was at 4.0, this moring ir was at 2.8 so I am losing FC at night. I am going to bring my FC up to 20 and hold it there until I no longer see the large drop at night....is this correct? Everything else (PH, Alk, etc) is in line.
Eatin' up the chlorine!
- Thread starter BadOleRoss
- Start date
Correct - until the FC holds overnight (1ppm or less loss) the cc is .5 or less and the water is clear.
Is there an estimate as to hold long this process takes or does it all depend on what the chlorine is dealing with? Are we taking a day or 2 or a week?
Depends, every situation is unique. I cleared a green pool in 2 days with 4 bottles of chlorine and another similar size pool with basically blue cloudy water took over a week and 60 bottles of 12.5% chlorine because the pool was full of ammonia. You just can't predict how long.
The harder you hit it the faster it will go. Meaning, test as often as every 1-2-3 hours and keep it at 20 - don't let it drop down at all if you can, and that will speed up the process.
The harder you hit it the faster it will go. Meaning, test as often as every 1-2-3 hours and keep it at 20 - don't let it drop down at all if you can, and that will speed up the process.
It's hard to tell, in some cases 2 days, in some cases it can take a 5-7 days. The key is to shock hard and fast, and keep FC above shock level as long and consistently as possible, until FC holds overnight, the water is clear and CC is 0.5 or below 
edit...FPM beat me to it...but we are saying the same :blah:
edit...FPM beat me to it...but we are saying the same :blah:
Thank you! On a side not just wanted to thank TFP, I never thought taking care of a pool would be this interesting. Cant say enough about the pool calculator...what an amazing tool!
Okay, this shock thing is going to end at some point right? My water is crystal clear but every day it's a battle to keep my FC at shock level. Due to work and life in general I do manage to keep it in the 15-21 range but I am really getting tired of adding over 300oz of bleach every time I check the water. My current numbers CYA 50, FC 21, CC 0, PH 7.6, TA 70......... I am still losing 3-4 ppm overnight. I vented, I feel better!
Are you using the Fas-dpd to test FC? Also on the OFCLT, are you taking the FC measurement in the evening when it get's dark and before the sun comes up?
Just double checking the obvious
Just double checking the obvious
Yes and Yes, last night the FC dropped 3.5 overnight.....granted, I was a little late checking my FC this morning but it's still clear there was a pretty good drop.
BOR,
Keep the faith, my friend. :lol: You have an excellent grasp of the concept so now you just have to keep executing the plan.....it WILL work....it ALWAYS does.
Yours seems excessively troublesome and I can't answer why but remember that two things (and only two things) consume chlorine.....sunlight and organics in your pool. The OFCLT eliminates sunlight so you are left with only one possibility.
Hold that shock level up there as best you can and we'll keep cheerin' for ya'.
Keep the faith, my friend. :lol: You have an excellent grasp of the concept so now you just have to keep executing the plan.....it WILL work....it ALWAYS does.
Yours seems excessively troublesome and I can't answer why but remember that two things (and only two things) consume chlorine.....sunlight and organics in your pool. The OFCLT eliminates sunlight so you are left with only one possibility.
Hold that shock level up there as best you can and we'll keep cheerin' for ya'.
I think tomorrow I am going to be pulling apart my sand filter to see if there is a dead cat inside it. I have been shocking for over a week and my pool isn't smart enough to pass the overnight test. What I have decided to do is raise the FC up to 23 and see if we can move this thing along. Right now it should be sitting around 26 to give me a little wiggle room when it drops like a stone tonight. In the morning, it's getting 2 more 182oz bottles of bleach! On the brighter side, the pool is crystal clear!
Went to bed last night with the fc at about 26, got up this morning and added 2 more 182oz bottles of bleach. Could not test the water, ran out of regent. Anyway got home, found more regent in the mailbox, tested pool and fc was down to 13. Added 3 more bottles of bleach. Cya 50, ph 7.4. I will do a fc/cc test tonight to see what happens. I just don't understand what could be in the water that is eating up this much chlorine. The temps here today were 95+ and my pool sits in full sun all day.
Okay, added the 3 jugs around 530 this evening which, according to the pool calculator should have brought my fc up to 23. Its almost 9pm and my fc has already dropped to 19 cc is 0.5. I'm open for suggestions! BBB for this pool is Buy Bottles in Bulk!
When you raised FC to 23 per the pool calculator, did you confirm you in fact acheived 23ppm. It almost seems as if your gallonage may be off.
No, I did not confirm that with a test but I will follow up on that tomorrow. In the early morning I will check the FC and then add a bottle of bleach and measure again in an hour or so. When I see what the increase is I will play with the pool calculator and my gallons.
Well, my FC held at 19 overnight. I didn't add any more chlorine to test the volume, I look at that tonight. I was just pleased that it didnt drop!
About time!BadOleRoss said:
Guess your pool is smart enough to pass the OFCLT :-D Just wondering, did you ever check your filter?
If you are talking about checking the filter for a dead cat....no! I have no idea why it took so long to get whatever it was out of the water, I am just glad that part is over!