Need Chlorine HELP

[nopoolstore]

Hello all,
I am a new member of this site (done a LOT of reading but now joined). I have learned alot from all of you and am starting this season by never going to the pool store again.
I opened my pool less than a week ago, water is looking great however I am having chlorine problems. I dont want to end up with swamp water!
Using my brand new K-2006 kit my results are:
12000 gal vinyl
PH 7.4
TA 90
CYA 40
FC is hardly registering at all (slight pink hue) and one drop turns it absolutely clear. Same with CC.

I have dumped multiple gallons of chlorine 10% in the pool, along with one bag of old cal hypo shock left from last year.
I did have FC of 2.5-3 last night, however back to nearly nothing this morning.

I have done lots of reading on here and is SLAMMING what I need? if so, how the heck do I get fc level up to 20? 1 gallon seems to get me less than 3ppm, so do I need to dump in 6 gallons? that doesn't seem right?

Thanks to everyone in advance, I appreciate all the advice.

 

[toofast]

Check out pool math above....

Looks like about 2.5 gallons will get you to 20. However is your 10% is old it may be much less and you need more bleach.

 

[DirtyRat91]

If you're losing 3 ppm of FC overnight, then I fear you've got something growing in your pool. Best to be aggressive with the bleach to stay ahead of it. Sounds like you should probably do a SLAM and get the FC up to shock level until you see a less aggressive drop in FC.

Based on PoolMath (link at top of the page) one gallon of Walmart bleach (8.25%, their new 'concentrated' bottle) will bump your FC by 7 ppm. Google Julian dates, and learn how to read them. It's helpful to see how 'fresh' the bleach you're grabbing is. Fresh stuff seems to be MORE potent than the labeled percentage.

I've got a slightly larger pool than yours, (14k) and I drop ~1.5ppm of FC every 24 hours. Only takes a few cups of liquid chlorine (12.5%) to keep my FC at happy levels.

 

[nopoolstore]

Yes, my bad. I was reading the PPM dosage on the chlorine jug. They are vary different than the calculator!
However here is my current dosage problem:
according to the chart my shock level is 16, and calculator says add 239oz of 10% bleach. I just added 2 gallons (256 oz) of 10%. Waited lil over an hour and checked level. I am reading about 3.5 FC.
Any ideas? I am using walmart HTH brand 10 liquid chlorine (best price I have found in my area), date code on cases are this year so its not old stock from last year. Do they lie and not produce 10% as labeled? wouldnt surprise me with Walmart.
OR do I have some other issue?

 

[jcowart]

Could be testing error. Try a 10 ml sample. One good scoop of powder. Count drops till it turns clear, then divide by 2

Sent from my VS870 4G using Tapatalk

 

[nopoolstore]

Jcowart-- tried like you said. 1 drop to make clear. Tried with Oto test just out of curiosity.. Light pale yellow.

I just dumped 2 more gallons in. I will see what that does.

 

[jcowart]

Next time your in Wal-Mart pickup a bottle of GV unscented bleach. Try that and see where you get. I may have been stored bad and is weak. You need to do something quick so you don't loose ground and have to deal with green.

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[nopoolstore]

I am going to agree... after 2 more gallons I am now at 1ppm. The bleach has to be bad, I cant see how else you can put 4 gallons of 10% within a couple hours into 12000 gal pool and be at nearly zero chlorine.

 

[bridgman]

I'll just mention for completeness... the other possibility is that something in the water (ammonia, leaves, early onset of algae) is using up the chlorine.

Either way, trying a different source of bleach is a great next step.

 

[Casey]

I would try to SLAM the pool tonight while it's dark and then retest it in an hour to see where it is. If the chlorine is depleted, you may have a case of ammonia.

 

[nopoolstore]

trying in the dark is a good idea.... had I read that before this morning.....

SO I put 4 gallons in this morning and actually showed a rise in chlorine. I added more and just tested. I am reading 2FC and 5CC.

Am I making headway? keep dumping it in?
I need to make a bleach run (15 miles to town) should I try something other than walmart hth brand 10% liquid?

 

[bridgman]

If there was something in the water that was consuming chlorine, once it's gone (or mostly gone) the chlorine demand will go down and all of a sudden you could end up putting too much in if you don't test before adding each time.

Other than that, though, yeah keep dumping it in

If your CC is 5 then the chlorine is definitely being used up fighting something, first guess would be ammonia.

 

[jcowart]

Well it now really sounds like you have an ammonia issue. Do a search on TFP for ammonia and read up on it. If that is the case, it will take a lot of chlorine but CAN be cleared. It just takes time.

Sent from my VS870 4G using Tapatalk

 

[nopoolstore]

so since I cannot get it to shock level, am I messing up?
I keep adding more, test, add more, and the pool keeps eating it. No prob if thats what it takes and eventually will stop eating chlorine and I can gain ground. I just dont want to be wasting $ and bleach if I am going about this wrong. still at 2CC and 1 FC.

If ammonia is my prob, is it more ecconomical to drain a bunch of water and refill? meaning CYA alkalinity etc adjustment cheaper than endless gallons of bleach?

 

[Richard320]

Bleach is the answer to ammonia. One of these times, the FC will start to stick around, and then you're past the ammonia. Keep doing what you're doing. I know, easy for me to say; I'm not buying all the bleach. But that's what it takes.

 

[nopoolstore]

OK! so 15 gallons or so since yesterday.... Finally showing FC!!!!!
I am at 7FC and .5 CC. It is a great feeling to see dark pink when dumping the powder in the tester.

So here's the question: I have not gotten to shock level FC yet, at least I am showing some at all now. Still need to SLAM it correct? I am leaving in an hour or so for the evening and will not be here to babysit the pool the rest of today. So I figure I will try to bring to shock level tomorrow (or late tonight) and then keep checking and keep there. Is that alright plan? will I be ok for the rest of today?

 

[Richard320]

OK! so 15 gallons or so since yesterday.... Finally showing FC!!!!!
I am at 7FC and .5 CC. It is a great feeling to see dark pink when dumping the powder in the tester.

So here's the question: I have not gotten to shock level FC yet, at least I am showing some at all now. Still need to SLAM it correct? I am leaving in an hour or so for the evening and will not be here to babysit the pool the rest of today. So I figure I will try to bring to shock level tomorrow (or late tonight) and then keep checking and keep there. Is that alright plan? will I be ok for the rest of today?

Why not repeat all the other water tests now? Be sure of your pH and TA and CYA level and all that before you try to SLAM?

 

[nopoolstore]

good call, thats why your name says EXPERT next to it!
So TA 90, CYA 35ish, PH low- pink but below the test range-- I assume from all the bleach?.
I will bring PH up, should I worry about more CYA?

 

[Richard320]

good call, thats why your name says EXPERT next to it!
So TA 90, CYA 35ish, PH low- pink but below the test range-- I assume from all the bleach?.
I will bring PH up, should I worry about more CYA?

Hmmmm... what tester are you using? Below the range should be yellow-orange. Pink leading to magenta is high. At any rate, if FC is truly 7, the pH reading should be accurate.

35 is an excellent CYA level to do the SLAM. Fix the pH, take the FC up and try the overnight test in the morning. If it passes, you're done, right? The water is clear and the CC is .5 or below now.