Okay,tested pH and free chlorine level. pH level was 7.6 and my Free Chlorine was 9.5
Is my FC too high?
What is an acceptable level for FC?
Is my FC too high?
What is an acceptable level for FC?
Free Chlorine,Level too high?
- Thread starter mommark
- Start date
Depends on your CYA level 
If anything more than 20ppm for the CYA, it is perfectly safe.
See the chart in Pool School.
If anything more than 20ppm for the CYA, it is perfectly safe.
See the chart in Pool School.
As of now, there doesn't seem to be a CYA reading. I have added dichlor the past 2 nights. My test for CYA this morning was barely cloudy.
If you added dichlor then you have CYA, it might just take a few days to a couple weeks to show on the tests. You can treat it as if it's 20, so it is a little high (unless you are SLAMing) but it will drop. Anything below 10 you are fine to swim and you want to keep it above 2 FC.
Thank you for the help. I have added the dichlor the past two nights. I will keep adding that and keep my eye on the chlorine level. I won't be adding borax tonight in order to drop my pH level down to 7.4
Post up exactly how much Dichlor you have used. In your pool, the CYA will add up quickly. Use PoolMath to keep track how much CYA you have added.
Having a heck of a time with chemical levels
Merged by moderator. Please keep your questions together so your full story is in one thread. Thanks, jblizzle
Well, my chlorine has been up very high over the last several days.
While my pool was filling I only added bleach until my test kit K-2006 and Kem trichlor arrived.
Then I switched to just using the trichlor in the evenings, using 1 cup of the granules.
My chlorine levels have been up to 15 mm, with very little CYA (less than 30).
Today I checked my levels again,
FC = 11.5
pH = 7.2
CYA = less than 30
Any ideas or help would be great. I skipped adding the tricholr last night in hopes of getting my FC lower, but how can I raise my CYA without adding FC to my Intex 18' x 48" AG pool?
We have a solar cover that we have been using, yesterday I pulled it most of the way off during the day so that the sunlight can reduce my chlorine.
Merged by moderator. Please keep your questions together so your full story is in one thread. Thanks, jblizzle
Well, my chlorine has been up very high over the last several days.
While my pool was filling I only added bleach until my test kit K-2006 and Kem trichlor arrived.
Then I switched to just using the trichlor in the evenings, using 1 cup of the granules.
My chlorine levels have been up to 15 mm, with very little CYA (less than 30).
Today I checked my levels again,
FC = 11.5
pH = 7.2
CYA = less than 30
Any ideas or help would be great. I skipped adding the tricholr last night in hopes of getting my FC lower, but how can I raise my CYA without adding FC to my Intex 18' x 48" AG pool?
We have a solar cover that we have been using, yesterday I pulled it most of the way off during the day so that the sunlight can reduce my chlorine.
Re: Having a heck of a time with chemical levels
Slow down on the trichlor additions. Poolmath says each 8 oz adds 8 FC. Your other thread mentions dichlor -- what exactly are you adding?
Just add enough powder to bring up the FC to 5 or 6 target. Don't worry; the trichlor will rise fast enough that way. You won;t lose much FC if the pool stays covered, so you actually don't need a whole lot of CYA anyway.
The alternative would have been to buy CYA separately.
Slow down on the trichlor additions. Poolmath says each 8 oz adds 8 FC. Your other thread mentions dichlor -- what exactly are you adding?
Just add enough powder to bring up the FC to 5 or 6 target. Don't worry; the trichlor will rise fast enough that way. You won;t lose much FC if the pool stays covered, so you actually don't need a whole lot of CYA anyway.
The alternative would have been to buy CYA separately.
Re: Having a heck of a time with chemical levels
You can get a container of just CYA and add enough to a sock to raise the CYA level to 30 ppm. Hang the sock of CYA in front of the return and squeeze it several times a day to help it disperse. Walmart usually sells containers of HtH brand CYA. It may say stabilizer or conditioner on the package. Just make sure the main ingredient is cyuranic acid and it does not contain copper or minerals.
You can get a container of just CYA and add enough to a sock to raise the CYA level to 30 ppm. Hang the sock of CYA in front of the return and squeeze it several times a day to help it disperse. Walmart usually sells containers of HtH brand CYA. It may say stabilizer or conditioner on the package. Just make sure the main ingredient is cyuranic acid and it does not contain copper or minerals.
Re: Having a heck of a time with chemical levels
Sorry, it is Kem-tex dichlor. I was at 15 FC the other day, yet my CYA is still very low.
Sorry, it is Kem-tex dichlor. I was at 15 FC the other day, yet my CYA is still very low.
If you tell us exactly how much dichlor you have used, the with PoolMath you can calculate how much CYA it has added.
This is exactly the reason we are not recommending the use of dichlor for people new to pools and the chemistry any more. You have to try to keep track of 3 different effects at once and clearly you have added too much dichlor too fast if your FC is that high.
This is exactly the reason we are not recommending the use of dichlor for people new to pools and the chemistry any more. You have to try to keep track of 3 different effects at once and clearly you have added too much dichlor too fast if your FC is that high.
Re: Having a heck of a time with chemical levels
Just keep dosing the FC with it according to poolmath (you can select dichlor as a source) until you've added whatever amount of dichlor it takes to get CYA up. So what if it takes a month? If the pool is covered, you don't need a lot of sun protection. It will get there. If you're at 15, you won't need to add any today and maybe not any tomorrow. When it dips, add FC.
Re: Having a heck of a time with chemical levels
Where would I purchase CYA? And is there a particular brand for the sock method?
Where would I purchase CYA? And is there a particular brand for the sock method?
After coming home from our camping trip, I checked the levels. I added 1cup of dichlor Thursday afternoon,just prior to leaving.
FC was 18.0 ppm
PH was 7.0
CYA was less than 40
Last night I added 1cup of borax to bring up the pH.
We want to swim,but with a FC that high I'm afraid to let my children in the pool.
We have had a solar cover on the pool continuously,so I removed it this morning. I am contemplating buying sodium thiosulfate. Will this help?
FC was 18.0 ppm
PH was 7.0
CYA was less than 40
Last night I added 1cup of borax to bring up the pH.
We want to swim,but with a FC that high I'm afraid to let my children in the pool.
We have had a solar cover on the pool continuously,so I removed it this morning. I am contemplating buying sodium thiosulfate. Will this help?
The FC will drop below shock level within a couple hours in sunlight. By the time you go to the pool store to spend money and get back and add thiosulfite and wait, it will be safe anyway.
Thank you, another question.
When the pool solar cover is on,do the rays from the sun still lower the FC level? Our solar cover is 12 mil and is a light blue?
When the pool solar cover is on,do the rays from the sun still lower the FC level? Our solar cover is 12 mil and is a light blue?
Yes, but at a very, very reduced rate. This is one of the reasons I have the cover on the pool most of the time.
