Low chlorine/No free chlorine

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Thanks. My CYA started out high. I dont recall exactly I was 120-130 so I drained some off to get to the 90 to start SLAM. I drained some some and re-filled to get to the current level.

I think the summary of my issues was; due to the high CYA in the 120+ range that it was creating an environment for algae or organics. There was definitely algae (behind lights) in the pool at some point of my pool not holding FC from the SWG. I tested the SWG and it was producing a lot of chlorine.

I will buy the liquid or bleach tomorrow. The bleach didnt have much punch therefore went with the granular.
 
Mark......your chlorine requirement for your pool is dependent on your CYA value. The higher your CYA the more chlorine you need whether to just maintain adequate sanitizing OR slam/shock. When you add granulated chlorine that also has stabilizer (CYA) you are going backwards and elivating your CYA again therefore you will need a higher level of chlorine. Nobody is joking about reading pool school......it may take a couple of times of reading it but if you do so with the intent of understanding what and why you use the products then the light will come on and you be in control of your own pool.

Oh...and further explanation on CYA.....it isn't consumed by the organics in your water. In other words once it is there, it stays. The only way to reduce it is the drain process you went through. So by adding stabilized chlorine you are creeping it back up. You said in one post you thought you had algae because your CYA was too high. That really isn't entirely the case but rather because most likely you didn't have enough chlorine for your CYA level. They go hand in hand.

Check this post
chlorine-cya-chart-t2346.html
 
Bioguard Super Soluble is DiChlor. In your pool, using DiChlor, for every 2.2 point increase in FC you're also raising CYA by 2 points.

You drained water to lower CYA from 90 to 75 in order to SLAM your pool, a decrease in CYA of 15 points. After the drain, you started with a FC of 0 and dosed to FC of 41. With that one dose you raised your CYA by 37 points. Every dose you've added since has increased your CYA even more. Your CYA should be well in excess of 100 at this point. Not sure how quickly the increased level is measureable with this product, but, if its not showing on your CYA test now it will within about a week. Unfortunately you're going to have to do a lot more draining to get this straightened out.
 
Ok, I just went to get 17 gal of Chlorine and have 3 gals of liquid chlorine. I will drain more and refill. Dang!! Ive been all over pool school and didnt see the charts to Aimee posted until she did (thanks - helpful). On a side note, I have been running through 0871 FAS/DPD at a fast pace. I ordered more 0871/0870/0013 yesterday (express shipping). Any recommendations on what I should buy if I happen to run out before it gets here to use with the 0870 powder to get accurate measurements.

Thanks for everyones feedback - its been useful.
 
mark46143 said:
I ordered more 0871/0870/0013 yesterday (express shipping).
Click to expand...
Hopefully you ordered the R-0003 and not the R-00013?

mark46143 said:
Any recommendations on what I should buy if I happen to run out before it gets here to use with the 0870 powder to get accurate measurements.
Click to expand...
Hopefully your powder will come quick since there isn't a substitute. Other test methods will not work well either since you need to maintain a high FC SLAM level for your higher cya level.
 

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Good deal. I wish we could've caught earlier that you weren't using bleach/liquid chlorine to dose with. Would've saved you a lot of wasted effort and chemicals. You were taking one step forward and 3 steps back, but, now that thats all sorted hopefully it'll be smooth sailing going forward.

And don't feel bad that you didn't do everything exactly right the first time. Its a learning process with a TON of information available to help. So much that it can be more than a little confusing to begin with. I've been here over a year reading/learning my tookus off and I feel like I've just scratched the surface, and I've definitely made my share of mistakes and wrong assumptions along the way. I still learn something new every day and I'm constantly finding issues I thought I understood well but really didn't. You definitely have to take your hat off to those experts here that have such an amazing grasp of the whole big-picture of pool care & chemistry.
 
I'm sorry I didn't point out the Chlorine CYA chart, but it is the second prerequisite in the SLAM process. There is also a link to it in that same sentence. Since we were talking about lowering your CYA I thought we were on the same page.

Glad you have gotten some bleach and have more reagent on the way. Now this will start moving your way. :goodjob:
 
Ok, if it is holding, that is a good sign. As much as I hate wasting water, the more you can drain the better. Every bit will help so do all you can. If it held at 32 last night that is a good sign. Refill, and keep SLAMing it.
 
Sure it could if it is on. You should have it off for a SLAM. If it was not on, it was simply test error. Or it's possible you weren't fully mixed when you took the last sample.

Stop testing CYA daily. There is no need until you do another water change, and then give several hours or overnight before running another.
 
Sounds like you are getting there. I do leave my SWG running during the day during a SLAM process because I can't be there to add more chlorine BUT you DO need to turn it off at least 30 minutes before doing an evening test for overnight chlorine loss test and leave it off all night before testing again in the morning.

Just to reiterate.....that overnight test is to rule out losing chloring to sun. If you lose chlorine in the dark then it must only be to organics consuming it (algae). When you have beat the algae you won't lose any (much) chloring overnight when it is dark. This is why you need the SWG not producing CL overnight to get accurate test result. Sounds like you are getting there :)
 

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