To Shock or Not to Shock?

[JoanC]

Hi everybody!
I'm back with a much better pool this season thanks to many of you!
Metal Stains from last year are still gone or at least sequestered.
That is a big deal if you've ever dealt with staining on a liner! Lots of work last year.

Water is clear and numbers look pretty good except for CC-1.
Pool School says shock above 0.5 which is where I was 2 days ago but not now.
For stain prevention I added 3 quarts of Jacks Pink Magic 5 days ago (Saturday) which is 1 quart per 10,000 gallons.
This is for start up. I will add small amount as weekly maintenance. Either in their instructions or in forum I read not to shock for 3 weeks after adding sequestrant.

My CYA is questionable at this point because it was also added 5 days ago. (actually over 3 days) I added 7lbs granular 100% and also 3 trichlor pucks to floater so another approx. 21 oz. Pool calculator stated I needed a little over 7lbs and 7 was all I had on hand. It's in there and working because chlorine is holding. I have the hardest time with my T-100 test kit CYA test too. I even ordered more test solution this year to see if that was the issue. Last year I could always see the black dot. When I tested today, even though the CYA had not been in a week yet, the solution was cloudy at about 25%.
My point is, I need a good CYA level to determine shock level if I DO need to shock.

And if I don't shock, is it safe to swim with the CC of 1? My pregnant daughter in law is visiting and I want to take all precautions with her.
The first set of numbers were at 8 a.m. I added 57oz of 12.8% bleach and tested again 1.5 hours later and got the second set. It may have been too early for that to bee accurate.

Thank you all for your help!
Joan

PH- 7.5
FC- 2 FC- 4
CC- 1 CC- 1
TC- 3 TC- 5
TA-100
CH-75
CYA-25 Questionable

 

[jblizzle]

Have a consistent CC of 1ppm is a sign that you should go through the SLAM process.

As long as the water is clear and you maintain adequate FC levels, the pool is safe to swim in.

The 7 pounds of stabilizer you added will raise the CYA by about 30ppm (odd that it started at 0 though). So, I would just assume the CYA is around 30ppm to determine your FC levels until you test again after a week.

 

[JoanC]

Thank you Jason!
I will continue to monitor levels and keep it "balanced" until I can shock in another 9 days.
I'll still be crossing my fingers that the stains won't come back out! Lots of work to get rid of those.
If my FC does not remain adequate, swimming won't be aloud until after the shock process is completed.

Hopefully I will be able to get a good CYA reading and know the appropriate shock level by then.
I can take a sample to the pool store and have them check.

As for why I started at zero CYA- I have questioned that myself as I added a lot last season but did do considerable backwashing throughout the winter months.
We don't cover and "close" our pool. I don't add chemicals through the winter as the water doesn't grow algae because of the cold. We run it to keep it from freezing and rarely get horrid winters here in north GA although this past got pretty cold into single digits. So, there was lots of backwashing to get rid of lots of rain which would deplete the CYA.

Thank you again for your help!!
I'm sure I will need someone again.

Joan

 

[jblizzle]

Forget the pool store ... they are horrendously bad at the CYA test.

I would suggest boosting the FC up to about 10ppm (still safe to swim) and then test the FC and CC after an hour. Then keep the FC around 4ppm.

 

[Casey]

I may have missed it but why are you wait 9 days to SLAM the pool?

 

[JoanC]

Thank you again for your response and help Jason.
My reason for waiting 9 more days to SLAM the pool is the sequestrant ( Jack's Magic- The Pink Stuff) was put in 5 days ago and it is recommended to wait at least 2 weeks before shocking.
Besides being expensive, I don't want to wipe it out and risk the stains coming back that I worked so hard to get rid of last year. I am fearful of high chlorine doing just that anyway.
That is why I have raised the chlorine slowly after adding the sequestrant this year.

On another note, I retested when I got home this evening at 8 pm. Change in numbers since this morning were FC- 4.5 CC-.5
Is this possible? I will retest in the morning before sun hits the pool. I was simply too tired to redo the test tonight. Perhaps a mistake on my part.

I have polyquat 60 in the pool for algae prevention by the way. Initial dose was a quart and then weekly maintenance dose.
Thank you again,
Joan

 

[JoanC]

Morning results before sun on the pool (6:30 am) FC- 3 CC- .5 PH- 7.5

I'm iffy on the CC- .5 because the solution was clear with one drop then after swirl to mix, seemed to be a very faint, very pale pink when sitting on white paper.
It may have still been considered clear to most but on the white paper I thought it to have some color to it. Retest proved the same on both numbers.

I put the numbers in the pool calculator and will add 58oz of 12.5% bleach for a goal of 5.
I am not opposed to SLAMming the pool after waiting the designated time for my sequestrant if SLAM is what is needed.


If you would please give me your opinion I would appreciate it.

Thank you!
Joan

Water is crystal clear! Yay!
PH- 7.5
FC- 3
CC-.5
TA- 100
CH- 75
CYA- 25-30? will test this weekend as that will be the one week mark of it being in pool

 

[JoanC]

Good Saturday morning!
Thank you for your help Jason.
Pool is still clear with no chlorine added in at least 2 days.
Numbers look good without shock thus far.

FC-4 & CC- 0.5 for past two days without adding chlorine.
PH-7.8 both days. Will add a little dry acid to bring down slightly as I have some on hand and only tiny bit of muriatic acid.

Very slight, and I mean very slight, iron staining appeared with raising chlorine and maybe combo of little rise in PH. This is tricky with the stains.
The staining is so slight it may not be noticeable to others but I know where the liner stains so I look for it. I just don't want it to get out of hand.
I did my weekly test and all looks pretty good actually except for the PH which is only a bit high for my situation.
I put in my maintenance does of polyquat 60 and also maintenance dose of Jack's magic the pink stuff then brushed, emptied skimmer and got few leaves off the top.

As long as the CC stays at 0.5 I will hold off on the shock. I have a small amount of debris to vac out from recent rain and that may help change the CC too.
CYA registered today so I have a number! Glad for that.

Happy weekend everybody and I hope you're enjoying your pool!
For me I call it my yard art! I love to look at it even more than get in it.

Thank you again Jason,
Joan

PH- 7.8
FC- 4
CC-0.5
TA- 100
CH- 75
CYA-40

 

[jblizzle]

I do not understand your FC numbers. There will always be losses to the sun and stuff in the pool ... usually 2-3ppm a day. And there is certainly no way for it to go up without adding any chlorine.

 

[Isaac-1]

Have you added anything else to the pool? MPS can show up as CC on the test...

 

[JoanC]

Jason, to respond to your query as to the FC number going up without adding chlorine: I did add 58oz of 12.5% on the 29th if you re-read my post. Prior to adding it I had a FC-3. Pool calculator gave me the 58oz for a goal of 5. As you see in my post on the 31st my FC is 4. I think two things can contribute to this. 1) In my first post I stated I added 3 trichlor pucks to floater to add to my CYA because I only had 7lbs of dry on hand and needed a little more to get some in pool. Those are not completely dissolved and although add only small amounts of chlorine it is a little. 2) Some sun but cloudy with several pop up showers past couple of days. Today is cloudy again with rain predicted.
These are the only things I can think of at this time.
Isaac- I don't know what MPS is but will search it out. I thank you for bringing it up.
Pool remains clear. Debris vacuumed out.

PH-7.5 dry acid added yesterday 18 oz (volume) to bring down from 7.8
FC- 3.5
CC- 0.5

Thank you all!
Joan

 

[JoanC]

Isaac,
I found a thread in which Chem-Geek had explained the properties of MPS. I have not added it or anything else that I haven't noted in my posts.
I may need to add that a bit of my chlorine has to work on the bacteria of a dead mole in the pool each day for the past 3 days. I didn't add the mole each day but it was added!
Anyway, my chlorine level isn't high enough to make the CC go away.
I realize this. With stains lurking to come out of Pandora's box it is a balancing act. I'm good with the CC at 0.5 for now. Patience is more than a virtue in dealing with the stains. It is a reward I assure you.
FC is holding which is a blessing too! Shock may be in my future but not quite yet thankfully.

Thank you again for trouble shooting my CC's. Any other ideas on them I appreciate.

Joan