Do I need to find chlorine breakpoint?

[Poolboy6]

I had mild staining to my vinyl liner 4 weeks ago. I rubbed a spot with a lemon and it went away.

I reduced chlorine to almost 0 and did a vitamin C treatment. Worked great. All stains went away. Per instructions I waited 4 days to shock. In that time massive algae bloom occurred. I did 2 green & clean treatments (which entailed raising PH to 8.0 then super chlorinate ) this failed over 1 week period. Also added non copper algaecide... To no avail. Deep green pool.

I shocked the pool with 12 lbs of 73% calcium hypo and 5 lbs of dichlor. This started to work. Started to clear. Now just grey and cloudy. I replaced the cartridge filter with a new one and added clarifier. For the last 5 days pool staying grey and cloudy.

Continue to shock with 99% sodium dichlor w/ 55% active chlorine. 4lbs per day. Still grey and cloudy.
FC goes to 5ppm+ then goes to 0 over night.

Readings:
FC 0-5+ppm
TC 2-5ppm
CC 1-0ppm
PH 7.3
Alk 90
CYA 30
Phosphates 0
Temp 85

4 weeks in with a green/grey pool. I have put another 10 lbs of dichlor in last 24 hrs and FC again dropping. I would appreciate any thoughts on chlorine breaking point or other strategy.
Many thanks!!

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

You really need to stop adding all those different chemicals, most of which have some significant negative side effects. Dichlor is the worst, as it add huge amounts of CYA to the water, and will rapidly drive your CYA level too high.

Breakpoint is a myth, it doesn't mean anything.

The key to getting control over your pool is reliable test results. That means having your own top test kit (TF100 or K-2006). While you are working on getting that, do some reading in Pool School (button on the top right of every page).

 

[Charlie_R]

welcome to TFP!

Chlorine "breakpoint" is a myth.

With all the dichlor you have poured into your pool, I am seriously doubting the CYA of 30.

Your numbers look like test strips. Are they?

Your best bet for clearing an algae loaded pool is to first get a very good test kit. Strips and pool store testing are notoriously inaccurate. You can get either the TF-100 or the Taylor K-2006. Of those, I would strongly suggest the TF-100, with the XL option. You can get either at http://TFtestkits.net

We here at TFP can help you get your pool clear of all algae, but there are a few things you will need to do:

Start with the ABC's of water chemistry -- http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/123-abc-of-pool-water-chemistry

Next, read about how to clear your pool -- http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl

There are many more articles in pool School, but you should start with those.

 

[Poolboy6]

Reading up. Testing from 3 sources: 1) my Taylor DPD test kit; 2) pool store water testing; 3) test strips

 

[SunnyOptimism]

Poolboy6

It's very likely that you are going to have to SLAM your pool. You might want to read up on the SLAM process and start thinking about where you can get LOTS of liquid chlorine from (Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart, local hardware store, etc). You're going to need a lot so try to research prices, volume and concentrations (6%, 8.25%, 10% and 12% are most common).



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jblizzle]

Reading up. Testing from 3 sources: 1) my Taylor DPD test kit; 2) pool store water testing; 3) test strips

Which one is right?

None are capable of measuring the high FC levels needed for the SLAM process.

 

[Poolboy6]

Hello All—since the last post I stopped adding dichlor and added 2 gallons of 8.25% of bleach every night. Using my old Taylor tester each night FC would be ~5ppm and each morning it would be ~1ppm.
In that time it started to slowly clear. I can now see the deep end bottom. Hosing cartridge filters daily. I received the TF-100 in the mail today. Readings:

CYA=100
PH=7.5
FC=6.5
CC=1
TC=7.5
Calcium=500
Alkalinity=100

Continue slamming?
I would think I can add a clarifier at this point to get rid of the remaining cloudiness??
I would appreciate ant recommendations on sustaining FC levels and reducing CYA.
Thanks All!!

 

[jblizzle]

Your CYA is way too high, only way to lower that is though water replacement. This should be the first step.

With cloudy water and a high CC number, you need to follow the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process.

We do not recommend using any clarifier ... especially when you have not even started to SLAM.

 

[Poolboy6]

Recommendation on how much water to drain?
And As I am still SLAMMING should I wait...or drain and fill simultaneously while slamming and keep filter running?
Thanks.

 

[jblizzle]

Depend on how high the CYA really is. Do the dilution version of the test.
You can not drain more than leaving at least a foot of water in your shallow end without risking the liner shifting.
Drain 50% (or down to 2 foot in shallow end), refill, recirculate, retest, re-drain if needed.

 

[Isaac-1]

What Jason said, with a liner pool you risk the liner lifting, and wrinkling (or worse) if you get below about a foot of water in the shallow end. The CYA test is really only good up to about 100 ppm, anything higher tends to read as 100. You could dilute 50/50 with CYA free tap water and multiply your results by two, but there is really no point since you will still be limited by how much you can drain on a liner pool, so my vote is do a partial drain, refill, mix and then retest.

Ike

p.s. for non SWG pools we suggest a CYA level of no more than 50 ppm for most pools unless it is located in an extreme sunbelt location.

 

[Poolboy6]

Thanks Ike. To be clear should I drain NOW or wait to finish the SLAM?
Readings presently are:
Cya=100
FC 4.5
CC 1
ALK 90
Cal 425
PH 7.5
I can see the bottom. Lightly cloudy. Algae dust shows when I brush.

 

[jblizzle]

Lower CYA, then SLAM.

 

[Poolboy6]

Ok. Drained off and refilled. Present readings are:
CYA=75
PH=7.5
FC=3
CC=0.5
Calcium=375
Alkalinity=70

Should I drain and fill again or is this manageable? And if manageable how many gallons of 8.25% to achieve the FC/Shock FC of 8/28 per the SLAM chart.
Thanks

 

[tim5055]

You should probably drain & refill more. 75 CYA is still high. It is going to take a lot of bleach to SLAM with your CYA that high.

In your spare time you should be reading the Pool School (link at the top of every page). It is a great community here, but we do ask that you read and try to understand the information being taught. Questions are always welcome and folks will try to direct you and teach you the methods.

The goal is for you to acquire the information to care for your pool.

 

[jblizzle]

Use PoolMath to calculate dosages.

 

[Poolboy6]

Thanks Tim and Jason!

 

[Poolboy6]

Update: drained and filled again. Getting ready to SLAM. Present readings:
FC - 2.5
CC- 0.5
PH - 7.5
TA - 60
CH - 300
CYA - 50

CC is already at 0.5--do I need to SLAM regardless of OCLT?
This is my first time SLAMMING so please let me know if this looks correct. Using Pool Math and SLAM Chart:
Add 581 oz (or 4.8 gallons) of 8.25% bleach to get to a FC Shock Value of 20ppm and do OCLT.
For the OCLT am I looking for a 19ppm the next morning?

 

[jblizzle]

There is no reason to do the OCLT until your water is crystal clear and you have no more than a CC of 0.5ppm.
For the OCLT you need to test at least 30 minutes after you last chlorine addition and then do not want to lose more than 1ppm by the morning test.

Realize that the 8.25% bleach bottles are 121oz so not a full gallon.

 

[Poolboy6]

OK. So 2 questions:

1)CC is already at 0.5. Do I even need to SLAM? (water is clear NOT Crystal; minor algae dust during brush)

2) IF YES, then I add 581 oz to achieve a Shock FC of 20 ppm, I am done if 1) water crystal and CC is 0.5 or less; OR 2) OCLT is less than 1ppm. so if I SLAM tonight to achieve 20 ppm; a 19ppm the next morning would be an acceptable OCLT. Correct?

I am not sure if I am reading the SLAM directions correctly or not. Thanks.