Free Chlorine

[1Scenic0]

I'm a new pool owner, I just bought a home with a pool that was built in 2000. It's roughly 16,000 gallons. When I bought the home, the pool was a grayish green and cloudy. I took a sample to a local family owned pool store. They told me to shock it every 12 hours and brush it twice a day until clear. I also ran the pump 24/7/. My pool is now nice and clear.

Here is the problem, I can't get it to hold any free chlorine. Every time I test it I am in the 0.1-0.5 range. I have a Rainbow inline tablet chlorinator set to 5 and a float with 3 tabs in it. The pool store says not to use any liquid chlorine, that the tablets with an occasional shock treatment should suffice. I have used the Super Zappit shock.

Any tips? It seems crazy to me that the pool is not holding the chlorine.

Here are the most recent (from yesterday) results
free chlorine 0.1
total chlorine 0.1
combined chlorine 0.0
pH 7.8
hardness 345
alkalinity 77
CYA 42

 

[Stuamurr]

Welcome!!

First things first - stop getting advice from the pool store, which you have achieved by coming to this website.

Now Chlorine, Wallmart Bleach or Sodium Hypochlorite from your pool store will add the chlorine you need, stop using the pucks, as they add Cyanuric Acid on each dose (keep them for when you need to increase CYA)

I think you need to perform the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test (OCLT) which is detailed here: pool-school/shocking_your_pool

You have satisfied the demand for chlorine in your pool when you pass this test and will have far less problems down the road The OCLT requires three items to be passed: 1) Less than 1ppm Free Chlorine (FC) loss overnight; 2) Combined Chlorine (CC) of 0.5ppm or less; 3) Clear Water. I would recommend bringing your pH level down to 7.4/7.5 for maximum bather comfort also.

Anything you don't understand or wish clarified, do not hesitate to ask.

PS Do you have an FAS-DPD Test Kit yet? You can get them very quickly and at good prices here: http://tftestkits.net/splash-page.html

Regards
Stuart

 

[Stuamurr]

Oh, and one more thing, please read this thread pool-school/read_before_you_post and update your signature strip accordingly (it helps us give the best advice possible)

Stu

 

[Bama Rambler]

Liquid is the preferred method of chlorination. The pool store doesn't want you using it because they don't sell it and they won't be able to take your money anymore if you start using it and learn how to take care of your pool properly.