"you dont have any chlorine"

[dissfigured]

I hear this every time I go to the pool store.
I get a bunch of conditioner, Shock, etc.

Everything Dies, and the pool is perfect.

Have a pool party ~20 kids

within 3-4 days, the green stuff starts growing.
I take in my sample and once again "You have no chlorine"

I was told you should only have to put conditioner in once but I am losing chlorine like crazy it seems.
They tell me w/o conditioner, I can't keep the chlorine from evaporating so I add in another jar and more shock, etc.

Salt pool. 20k gallons.
Salt cell is in good working order.


Thoughts?

 

[RobbieH]

You are losing chlorine because you have algae. You have algae because FC is dropping below the correct amount relative to your CYA amount.

You should very rarely need to add conditioner (CYA).

You need to get a good, reliable set of test results and post them. Without knowing the chemical balance, we would be shooting in the dark to try to help. It could be any number of things.

Might I recommend reading up on the ABC's in pool school?
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/123-abc-of-pool-water-chemistry

You say you are buying shock. You should never need any shock product with a salt water system. My guess is you've added so much that your CYA is off the charts and the SWG cannot put enough chlorine in the pool to be effective.

If you need a test kit, I will recommend the TF-100 here:
http://tftestkits.net/TF-100-Test-Kit-p4.html

 

[jblizzle]

Please post up test results.
No way to figure out the problem without them.

I would highly recommend you stop getting your advice from the pool store. Chlorine does not evaporate. It is consumed by the sun and organics in the water.
If you have algae in the pool, you have to follow the entire ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process. The SWG can NOT eradicate algae; it should be able to maintain FC levels after your pool is clean and clear.

 

[dissfigured]

I will get a test kit and post my results.
Currently I just have those little strips with the colored squares. I can never make heads or tails out of the strips.

 

[jblizzle]

Throw the strips away and order one of the Recommended Test Kits. The TF-100 from tftestkits.net is the best value and I would suggest getting the XL option as well since you have a SLAM in your future. The SpeedStir is also a great option.

Using the proper test kit, you will quickly see how easy it is to test and understand your water.

 

[dissfigured]

SLAM?

 

[bobodaclown]

Pool have a daily chlorine usage even with out use. More organics you introduce the more chlorine you'll need.

 

[RobbieH]

SLAM?

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl

Pool School is located at the top right corner of this page, and is a very good read. We can answer questions as they pop up.

 

[jblizzle]

SLAM?

The link was in my post in #3 ... makes me feel like you are not reading what I write

 

[RobbieH]

Those links are pretty hard to discriminate from normal text as the color is very close to black. That's why I've been posting entire links lately.

 

[Gilrock]

Thoughts?

My first thoughts were why is someone that joined this site 3 years ago and has 40 posts asking these kind of questions. Looking at your history you had similar issues 2 years ago and it looks like you could follow the advice given in that thread as well.

 

[dissfigured]

I didn't have the energy to mess with it back then. I really just thought "keep putting salt in this and it will generate chlorine and take care of itself"
When I came here and found that was not even close, I just kept letting leslies fix my problems without really diving in and learning what I am doing.
The pool is beautiful every time I leave their store for awhile but the costs are adding up and now I have a bit more energy and free time.

Finally decided to figure this out.

 

[dissfigured]

I bought the good test kit.

for what its worth just from my 2 test kit and my strips.

Cl < .5
Br < 1
Ph = 8.4
Hardness ~500
Alk 180
Stabilizer = 0

All the numbers are extreme.
I will post the test results from the good test when it arrives.

 

[jblizzle]

If your stabilizer is indeed 0 (I don't trust the strips, though), that would be the main problem. The SWG will never be able to overcome the losses to the sun.

The kit will make your life so much easier. No more guessing

 

[easttn]

Using the strips, you cant tell if you have 0 or 50ppm of CYA. There is very little color difference between the two. However if your CYA is real high then you can tell it from the color but still no way to tell exactly how much you have. Since your saying its 0ppm then your probably not over the recommended level but you also may not have any. 20 kids peeing in the pool doesnt help the FC level either. ale:

 

[dissfigured]

I've been out of town on a camping trip in Lake Murry Oklahoma (beautiful lake by the way)
Will be back tomorrow. I had my sister get a pool sample while feeding my dogs. When I get back I will run the test myself with the kit but this is the prelim from Leslie's

FAC: 0
TAC: 0
Phosphates: 400
Iron: 0
Copper: 0
pH: 8.0
Alk: 120
CyA: 25
Acid Demand: 5
Calcium Hardness: 325
Salt: 4000 (Doesn't Jive. My panel was warning me of 2000 when I left on Saturday)

I put in conditioner and 4 lbs of shock ~4 weeks ago and now it seems conditioner is low and chlorine is gone.
I have been informed that the pool is getting greener.

Returning tomorrow, taking a day off for a breather then starting theis SLAM process.

In the mean time, I will leave you with a photo of my digs:

 

[zea3]

Hi, sorry I didn't read all the way back through the thread. Do you have an auto fill system on your pool?

Beautiful photo by the way. I think I have that same tent! Did you get it from Auldi's?

 

[zimm]

Looking forward to the test results. Your PH is way high. If your salt reading is low- you should take out the cell and look at the plates. They could be crusted up and need cleaning.