Chlorine Fluctuates Weekly

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T

TxBgWood

0
Nov 23, 2013
8
Texas
Our in-ground pool is 4 months old. Each week I take all the readings, and for the most part the reading have been staying consistent, except the chlorine.

One week it's perfect, the next week it's below 1 PPM. Can anybody tell me what is causing this ?

This week's readings, using ColorQ 10, is as follows:

Calcium Hardness 325.0
Free Chlorine 0.35
Total Alkalinity 95.0
CYA 51.0
PH 7.5

I added 5.6 oz. granule chlorine to correct the problem, but can't figure out why it's not staying within proper range. I checked the AutoChlor and the tabs have been dissolving.

I live in North Central Texas, where the weather fluctuates quite a bit. This winter has been for the record book. We live in a rural area, and have a Trinity Well. The water is soft. The pool company was here last week for a courtesy check up, but they don't see the problem. Since I'm new to the forum, let me know if you need any other info.

I was testing daily, until the pool water stabilized. Once is stabilized, then I went to once a week.
Thank You
 
I'm sure before anyone will be able to address your question you are going to have a post set of test results and how you obtained them. especially your cya reading.
 
Likely the amount of the tablets dissolving is fluctuating, plus weather affects how much FC is lost to the sun, plus the amount of use affects it.

We recommend testing nearly daily and adding bleach to maintain appropriate FC levels. Tablets are not a long term solution as they add stabilizer which builds up. The higher the CYA, the higher you have to maintain FC, and eventually you have to drain the pool.

Please post your test results and what kit you are using.

Some reading in Pool School well help you understand our methods.
 
Many things affect chlorine consumption: temperature, sunlight, use, organic debris falling in the pool, water additions, and in your case, the rate at which the tablets dissolve.

There are a few problems I see here:
1) You aren't testing often enough.
2) You are chlorinating with pucks. In your pool, each 8 oz trichlor puck will raise FC by 5.6, raise CYA by 3.4, lower pH by .3. Each and every puck.
3) Because your CYA level is climbing constantly, the level of FC required to keep algae at bay also increases, and if it doesn't - and it won't if you think chlorine is a set-it-and-forget-it proposition -- then it can get started and use up all the FC that is available, which leads to low FC levels.


yodapoolschool.jpg​
 
Also, can you narrow down your location for us a bit, Texas is a big place, and knowing the general location a person is in can help us give better advice, as it lets up know a bit about the local climate and conditions. As the advice we might give someone on the gulf coast in Houston might be a bit different from someone in Odessa.
 
Chlorine Fluctuates Weekly
Our in-ground pool is 4 months old. Each week I take all the readings, and for the most part the reading have been staying consistent, except the chlorine.

One week it's perfect, the next week it's below 1 PPM. Can anybody tell me what is causing this ?

This week's readings, using ColorQ 10, is as follows:

Calcium Hardness 325.0
Free Chlorine 0.35
Total Alkalinity 95.0
CYA 51.0
PH 7.5

I added 5.6 oz. granule chlorine to correct the problem, but can't figure out why it's not staying within proper range. I checked the AutoChlor and the tabs have been dissolving.

I live in North Central Texas, where the weather fluctuates quite a bit. This winter has been for the record book. We live in a rural area, and have a Trinity Well. The water is soft. The pool company was here last week for a courtesy check up, but they don't see the problem. Since I'm new to the forum, let me know if you need any other info.

I was testing daily, until the pool water stabilized. Once is stabilized, then I went to once a week.
Thank You
 
I'm still going to recommend getting yourself one of the test kits that I gave you a link to in my previous post. Your CYA level is now at the upper limit for a non SWG pool if the test result from the Color Q kit is to be trusted. Your FC level is very low also for that CYA level. You FC level should be at least 6 ppm and never below 4 ppm. Continuing to use the pucks will only increase that level and that's where the trouble starts. I recommend that you switch over to bleach for chlorine. Liquid chlorine has no side affects like the pucks and granular chlorine has.
You still need to test more often also.

If you get yourself one of the kits you can take control of your water chemistry and get rid of the pool service and save yourself some money. That money will pay for the good test kit.

With that very low FC, how does your water look ?
Here are some articles to take a look at.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/123-abc-of-pool-water-chemistry
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/142-how-to-chlorinate-your-pool
 
Thank you for being willing to learn some new things. The methods here are really easy once you gain the knowledge and you seem to be willing to learn. ?

Any questions you have don't hesitant to ask. There are lots of people here to help you out. ?
 

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You will want to read Pool School, take notes and maybe print off a few parts. I can't tell you how many times I read it over until suddenly it started to make sense as a whole.

I suggest you get a Pool Log Book started. Keep track of what you know and what you add. If you know what you did and what you expected, you will learn what works.

The point is to understand the interconnectedness of pool chemistry. When you get it, pool maintenance becomes easy. You won't need expensive mystery potions from the pool store. When something is "off" you can test and find out exactly what your pool needs, then add that one thing, to correct what was out of whack.

Before long you will become a pool snob. When you catch SparklyPoolitis you can't bear to get into a pool that is less than clean and clear and sparkling. The key to to have a super-duper test kit that tells you all the vital measurements of the water. We have found that pool stores are not so good at testing. Some are fine, some are great, most are inconsistent, some are apparently intentionally wrong for their own reasons. Having your own test kit can therefore even help you find a good pool store!
 
I can't offer you any "expert" advice except for the advice the experts gave me..." get one of the recommended test kits". I bought the Taylor K2006 and using that kit along with the "pool math" on-line calculator has made maintaining my pool a breeze. Thanks much to the experts here.
 
TxBgWood,

Unlike the other parametrs for which you test, Chlorine is consumable.

Chlorine starts to be reduced the instant you put it in your pool and continues downward until you replenish it to acceptable levels.

I suggest you read "ABC's of Pool Water Chem9istry" up in Pool School. It will teach you all about the parameters you need to know and what to do about them if they get out of normal range.

Chlorine will always be depleting in your pool and you must replenish it.
 
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