chlorine level won't go up

[joe_g]

hi,

new pool (new to me, but it's probably 10 yrs old) and i opened it 2 weeks ago. i have repeatedly shocked it, way beyond the recommended dosage, and put 1, 2, and finally 3 simultaneous floating chlorine dispensers full of chlorine, and fully open. it's only a 5000 gal pool and yet the chlorine level remains around 0.

what am i doing wrong and how can i get the chlorine level up? every other chemical is perfect, including cya (or whatever the chemical to stabilize chlorine is called).

thanks!

 

[JasonLion]

Please post a full set of water test results. Also, can you describe what the water looks like?

 

[duraleigh]

Posting your test results will be very helpful.

Remember, chlorine is consumed by two things only....the sun and organics in your pool. Some combination of those two is consuming your chlorine.

 

[Jamison04]

What are you using to test the water, strips or drops? As the others have said something has to be consuming the chlorine, sun, algae, some form of organic matter. A full set of test results and a description of how the water looks will help everyone on here help you figure it out.

 

[JamesW]

In some cases, high chlorine will bleach out the chlorine test reagent and it will look like there is no chlorine when the chlorine is actually very high. Try testing with FAS-DPD or OTO (Orthotolidine).

 

[joe_g]

hi,

thank you all so much!

i think it may be the CYA, which is literally off the charts, but i am also wondering if it might be that the chlorine is actually so high as to ruin my test as James suggested? i have gotten the level from no reading at all to the lowest possible reading, i.e., .5 - 1, but i noticed that after sitting for awhile, the sample actually gets darker, so that the reading after 20 or 30 minutes is more like 5-6. i don't know if that suggests that the original reading is right, the later reading is right, or neither. i am ordering a taylor kit, but it will be a week or more before that arrives, and my main concern is knowing whether it's safe to swim

pool is 5,000 gal
above ground
water is crystal clear (the best looking water i have ever seen - and no thanks to me - all i have done is dump chlorine in)
74-79 degrees
part sun for 3 hours, otherwise full shade

chlorine: .5-1
ph: 6
alkalinity: 10
Hardness: 300
Cya: 80 or more (test only reads up to 80)
test kit is HTH drops (wal-mart)

 

[JasonLion]

You should replace some water to get the CYA level down to something more reasonable.

You also need to raise the PH to at least 7.2.

I suspect that you have an OTO chlorine test (drops turn the sample various shades of yellow). If so, the test is showing that you have very little FC, but a significant CC level.