Need input regarding chlorine

[Stianbl]

Hi again!
I did a SLAM about 2 weeks ago. And the pool cleared up perfectly.
Though, I had some issues. I wanted to use Bleach, so bought about 25 Liters of 12%. Or thats what I thought it was. Had to add it all to the pool, and still FC was only at about 3.5ppm... So, I had to add chlorine granules to get the FC up. But it worked out great

Because I currently live in Bali, Indonesia, I cant get my hand on any other chemicals (for CH, CYA, TA...), and apparently I'm stuck with using chlorine tabs and granule (as the bleach was old or too weak).

So, I've always had very low CYA. I fill the tube all the way up and can still see the black dot. But today I finally got a better reading, showing about 40ppm. Which is good.
But now have a question: Is this CYA coming just from the chlorine tabs? And not the granule?

I've only used about 3 tabs in the pool (about the size of a normal hockey puck), but could that alone have raised my CYA? If so, then I've reached my goal and can stop using the tabs.

My other question is; I want to SLAM again, as it seems these past few days it's getting cloudy again. See attached image.
Now, if the chlorine granule only adds to CH, then thats fine. I need more CH. But my tests shows CH is still too low, even after the last SLAM. So what else are in my chlorine granule? Do they put stabilizer in there too?
Just want to know if I can do another SLAM using my chlorine granule.

Todays test results are:

FC: 2 (i know, too low. I aim at 3, because I had 10-20 CYA before) Need to get it to about 5.
CC: nill
PH: 7.4-7.5
TA: 80
CH: 70
CYA: 40 (was 10-20 2-3 weeks ago)

 

[Stianbl]

EDIT: Heres the image of the pool.
Also, I'll test my chlorine now to see what I got.

 

[Abigail K]

Chlorine granules can be calcium hypochlorite or dichlor/trichlor.
Calcium hypochlorite would increase CH but not CYA, dichlor/trichlor would increase CYA but not CH.

 

[Stianbl]

Testing chlorine now. Takes a day or two maybe.
Though, as my CH is the same, but CYA is higher, it seems I might have dichlor/trichlor. Which is too bad. How can I SLAM my pool with that? They dont know any other forms of chlorine down here... :S

 

[Stianbl]

Any other way of reducing the CYA level? Other than draining?

As I've understood it, down here they just put in PAC from time to time to clear it all up. Needless to say, this is a lot of cleaning work, and does not kill all algea or bacteria. It's a wonder they keep doing this over and over, instead of just learning the right way. And they have no idea what chlorine they've got. Tried 3 pool-shops (all 3 that are located nearby (1hr drive) up north in Bali). The Bleach they had is way way way too weak. (said 12%, but cant be more than 3-4%).

I simply need a way to be able to reduce CYA. That way I can SLAM the pool with the granule chlorine and not bring the CYA too high... =/

EDIT: Also, what chlorine should I be using, if I cant get my hands on good bleach? Any common names for that particular chlorine that I can show to the people in the pool-shop so they might be able to understand what I want?

 

[Abigail K]

There isn't really another way to reduce the CYA level.
With the weather/climate in Bali, I don't think there would be anybody offering reverse osmosis service.

You can SLAM using normal household bleach, which should be available in supermarkets and would probably be fresher.

 

[Butterfly]

The only way to reduce the CYA (other than RO treatment) is to drain some water.

There is another granular form of chlorine with no side effects, Lithium Hypo, but it is expensive.
However; in your case, if you can get it, it might be less expensive in the long run over what you are having to do now.

See #5 in the list: http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/142-how-to-chlorinate-your-pool

 

[Tepelus]

CYA can be removed by melamine. It wil react with CYA and will produce a white powder precipitate - difficult ro filter out and remouve. SWG might be a better idea. Chlorine is produced by the SWG cell and all you have to do is to keep the pH under controll.

 

[timerguy]

If your CYA is really 40 there really isn't any reason to decrease it, I would assume Bali has a lot of sun so it probably needs the CYA to be at least 40 and maybe even 50 ( but not more than 50). If you go to using a SWG for your chlorine it will need to be even higher (70-80).

 

[Stianbl]

Thanks for all the answers
Here are my reply to your comments:

-Normal household bleach would require me to buy 42 liters... Just to bump the FC up to 16-17 once. And I would need even more to keep it at this level for a couple days. (And I'm not sure if they added stuff to their "normal" bleach..)
-Not sure I would be able to get Lithium Hypo, as they dont know what CYA, CH, FC/CC, TA or anything is. They only know TC and pH. Tried to ask what chlorine they have, and they just give me the bag of chlorine. "This is what we have". hehe..
-I know that a CYA of 40-50 is not bad. In fact, I'm happy to be at 40-50 now But my concern is that only 1 month ago I was at less than 20 (could see the black dot when test tube was all filled up, and it stops at 30..). So how fast will it rise even further? If I SLAM for a couple days again, will my CYA suddenly be at 70-80?
-Maybe SWG could be an option. At least if I am to do it the TFP way. Local way is to just add PAC (Alum?) when the water gets cloudy. Not fixing any problems, just temporarily clearing the water until its cloudy again. I was reccomended adding about 2dl chlorine granule/day and keeping TC at 0.5ppm ... 0.5ppm does not last long in the sun

Anyways, thanks a lot for your answers. Will look into what you wrote and see whats possible here

 

[timerguy]

Not if you use bleach to SLAM do NOT using any solid chlorine. You do not want any higher cya!

 

[ping]

If you can install a SWG that would be the ideal situation for you. You could SLAM the pool with your chlorine source now and install the SWG to take over. The CYA might be ideal for the SWG after the SLAM.

 

[one_knight4u]

When you calculate all of the negatives and positives the real answer seems to be what Ping suggested:

If you can install a SWG that would be the ideal situation for you. You could SLAM the pool with your chlorine source now and install the SWG to take over. The CYA might be ideal for the SWG after the SLAM.

It seems to be your only long term solution to making things as simple as possible.

 

[Stianbl]

Seems like the best long-term solution, indeed.

Though, I need short-term input too xD hehe.. So, this is how the pool looks today. Big change, too quick. FC has been at 2-4 all the time.
So, I'm afraid to bump CYA too much by slamming with the chlorine I've got. And I cant get any good liquid chlorine at the moment. Me and my wife is also leaving for our honeymoon on Friday, so I cant start the slam now, as I cant see it through.

Though, we've got someone vacuuming the pool every morning. And I do have PAC lying around here. Should I put that in to get most of the **** out, and the do a proper slam later when I have proper chlorine? Or should I just stay away from PAC even though it seems it's my only option right now?

BTW: 20kb image size limit? seriously? Need to save them out as ****ty quality to get them up here.. Anyways..

 

[Abigail K]

I'd say stay away from PAC as it doesn't solve the problem, it only addresses the symptoms.

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