Shock process for people with day jobs?

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E

ecowolf

0
Jul 21, 2012
74
California Central Coast
I was just wondering:

I have been shocking my pool because I am not passing the OFC loss test (losing 2 ppm overnight). But I have to go to work! So I bump it up very high in the morning before I leave, but when I return home, the FC is always below shock level. It seems the higher I raise the FC, the more drastically it drops during the day. I've been going at this for two weeks now and I have run out of testing agents and re-ordered, got those and re-started, and poured through about 20 gallons of bleach. On weekends I can keep it above shock, but when Monday rolls around I have to go to work, and it falls back down again.

So my question is: Is it impossible to do this unless you are sitting around monitoring it all day for several days? And, am I wasting my time and money because I can't be here all day and I am just spinning my wheels? My water is crystal clear, and as mentioned my OFC loss is 2 ppm. It was much higher, around 6 ppm loss until last night when I only got 2 ppm loss.

CYA 40
FC normally 6, shocking between 16-20
CC 0
PH normally 7.6
TA 90
CH 300
 
You will still make progress, just a little slower. Generally, you lose a certain % of FC to the sun that depends on your CYA level ... so the higher you raise the FC, the more you will lose to the sun.

Sounds like you are getting closer to eliminating whatever is consuming your FC at night. I agree it can be frustrating, I pass the OCLT, but the FC loss during the day seems to be more than it should be ... but I have a LOT of AZ sun, so likely just need to raise the CYA a bit more.
 
Burn up some vacation time. :jocolor:

It does sound like you're getting closer. Got a nearby retired neighbor who could come over at noon and pour in a jug? Or a stay-at-home mom? I hesitate to suggest that, though, because then you'd feel obligated to invite her and her kids over to go swimming...
 
ecowolf said:
Richard: I could pay them to haul away the all the bleach jugs too!
Click to expand...

LOL. My wife literally just sent me a IM complaining about all the bleach bottles filling up the recycling bin and asking how the forum suggests dealing with that .... I said "Get a SWG" ;)
 
I'd ask the grade schools and preschools in the area if they have a use for the empty jugs. Some kind of arts and crafts project, perhaps? Or slice off the tops and use them as planters, or to hold the rinse water while watercolor painting, mixing papermache or fingerpaint in a disposable bucket...
 
I'm in the same boat! Opened the pool a couple weeks ago and hit it hard on the weekends. I add some bleach in the morning and again after work during the week. Still a bit cold to swim anyway and I'm real close on clarity and OCLT. Should be perfect by memorial day! :-D
 
Went thru gallons of chlorine last year. This year I tried the "close late,,open early" way. Based more on water temp than the month or day. Opened at 58 degrees and had just a little algae started. I was easy to clear and took lots less chlorine than waiting too late like I did last year........ Guess it's the way to go..... I know it's too late this year but give it a try starting with this years closing....... You're getting there just keep at it.
 

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Same boat here. I work M-F, we're emergency response so if emergency projects starts I go until the project finishes. I test in the morning, top it off as I should ~ add extra for the day & then test when I come home, add more and test at bedtime., adding more if necessary. I go by the afternoon's prior burn off and the weather to determine how much extra to give it at the next dose for while I am gone.

Only been since Saturday that I got my CYA in ~ kids feel like it is taking forever & are discourage we are still seeing so much murkiness. I just told them they had to have patience & that it will eventually clear. When the cover is off though, they don't care what the water temp is or what chemicals are in it ~ they want to swim.

Really though I don't want anyone dumping anything in or testing besides myself~ opens too many doors for a setback. So with that I just do the best I can and it seems I find a bit of religion ~ as I start "praying" it will clear & quickly. I am anticipating a couple nice mixed drinks and some good tunes in sparkling water~ it really can't clear fast enough for me either :cheers:
 
As someone who also works in an office, I understand this dilemma. I'll throw some ideas on the table and perhaps one or more will work for you. Disclaimer: Some of these ideas will not necessarily be convenient, but just think...it's only temporary :)

• Work From Home (WFH) for a few days
• Come home for lunch, assuming you don't have a killer commute.
• Wake up two hours before you leave for the day. This will allow you to get two tests/dosages in before you leave.
• Burn a few vacation days as Richard320 suggested.
• Work half days. Several companies allow their employees to use PTO on a half-day basis
• Work the morning in the office and the afternoon from home
• Is there a trusted teen / friend nearby that can test/dose during the day? You could compensate them by $ and/or throwing a pool party when the pool is ready.
 
A little of both. At first I was just testing after the sun went down, figuring that was a good base-line, then I noticed how much I was losing even after sundown and I started feeding it bleach even after sundown and then testing before bed time. I'm getting the sinking feeling I've been doing something wrong....
 
It has been a bit strange. Last year after several partial drains and refills I got it down to 45 and it stayed there consistently. This year at opening it was at 40, which seemed a bit odd, but I figured maybe I had more splash-out than I realized or something. I tested it a few days ago and it filled the whole tube and the dot never dissappeared. I then found a small leak in the heater connection and figured the water loss there was causing me to add more water than normal and drop the CYA. I chlorinated once with dicholor to bump it back up, and the next time I tested it was somewhere between 30 and 40, so I rounded up to 40. Tested again recently and got the same result. Maybe that one weird reading I made a mistake, I don't know. But the whole time I have been shocking based on 40, to be on the aggressive side.

I am testing with a Taylor test kit, and have read all instructions, watched all the videos, and read all the posts on here I could find about testing CYA; waist level, north light, etc.
 
Two weeks seems like a long time to be in the shock process. Your pool seems like a good candidate for a night time nuking. If all your tests are correct and your equipment is solid I would just blast the heck out if at night. Or even a weekend of nuking if you've got something really nasty in there. It seems like you are just spinning your wheels at this point or something is fouled with your testing. Hoefully you get it knocked out soon.
 
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