Brand new poster with my test results

[suziequsie2945]

Scott and Debbie,

Thank you both so much! That was such a helpful explanation. We went and bought a bunch of liquid chlorine to do the shock process according to the CYA-chlorine chart. Now, I read the shock process information here and I notice that you do the process until the water is clear (along with the overnight FC loss test and the CC level). However, since our water is totally clear and we just have something at the bottom, which very well could be dirt, how do I know how long to continue the shock process? Am I going off the FC overnight test and CC level only at this point as an indicator as to when we should stop shocking?

 

[jblizzle]

You have to pass the 3 criteria ... you claim that the your water is clear, but the picture you posted looks cloudy to me (or out of focus). "Clear water" also means there is no sign of algae anywhere.

IF the water is truly crystal clear and you see no algae, then you just have to water the CC and pass the OCLT ... it could happen quickly if there is not much in the water.

 

[techguy]

As I see it bleach=chlorine=chlorinator=sanitizer=CL as long as the active ingredient is "Sodium hypochlorite". They are same thing in different "strengths" mixed with water (and a few other minor things at times).

CYA=stabilizer

"Shock in a bag" and "pucks" are sanitizer (psuedo-bleach) + CYA to make it into a stable tablet/powder. When you add a bag or puck to your pool, you are adding both sanitizer and CYA. This can be good, This can be bad. You need to know before you add that bag or puck if you need the CYA/stabilizer.

If your CYA is too high, you need very high levels of chlorine for it to actively sanitize (kill the algae) in your pool. If you add CYA (pucks bags, powder) when your CYA is near 100, you may never get enough CL to clean the pool and you will have green mess you cannot control (voice of experience)

 

[scott.MI]

The only thing I have to add, can't say that I've seen it mentioned. The shock process itself will not make "the thing" on the bottom just disappear. I think you should vacuum or at the very least brush it and if it re-settles to the bottom its dirt and needs to be vacuumed. This is best done while the chlorine is at shock level.

 

[suziequsie2945]

Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

Mod Edit: I merged your 2 threads for continuity ... please keep your questions together. Thanks, jblizzle

I just posted yesterday with our very first pool-opening results before adding anything.

We followed the shock process last night. Our water opened clear yesterday but there was stuff at the bottom in dark clumps and I figure shocking upon opening is probably a good idea anyway.

According to the pool calculator, my husband added 4 gallons of liquid chlorine. He also has tablets in the chlorinator, which he originally had set at full power when adding the gallons of chlorine. We needed our FC at 20, according to the CYA-chlorine chart. After one hour of doing this, I checked the chlorine levels and they were exactly at 20. I got nervous that it would continue to go up since they were already at 20 only one hour later. I know they can go up a little, however. This is trial and error for us at this point. My husband assured me it would be fine but I had him lower the chlorinator flow at that point since we were going to bed soon and I didn't know what to expect with the chlorine levels. I didn't want them to shoot through the roof and cause issues with the pool equipment etc.

Again, this shock process (per your guidance) is all new to us and is the first time we did it, so please keep that in mind when reading my post, and be gentle. You only learn by asking questions, right?

I just went out this morning to check the chlorine level and pH only at this point. The pH is still at 7.2 (it rained here last night apparently so this is a mystery as to while it stayed low. It was at 7.2 before the shock process as well).

FC: 12
pH: 7.2.

This is all trial and error for us right now as we are learning this new shock process vs. what we always did with the bagged "shock." Very different. We've never monitored chlorine levels so closely, so this adds a whole other perspective and more questions. I didn't know what to expect as to how long chlorine will stay at shock level after adding so much chlorine. I was planning on doing the FC overnight test tonight to see what happens.

I thought the stuff at the bottom may have turned white this morning since we dumped so much chlorine in it if it was true algae. It looks a little more grayish to me this morning (like it may be on its way out to turning white) but can't tell.

Ok, so here are my two questions:

1. Do these results mean there is algae in the pool for the chlorine to drop from 20 last night to 12 this morning after putting all of that chlorine in and when there was no sun OR does chlorine dissipate within so many hours on its own like that?

2. What is the next step at this point? Continuously adding gallons of chlorine to stay at 20? This can get very costly as we just spent $40.00 on 8 gallons and already used 4 of them.

BTW, I read the shock process article several times, so if I am missing something here it's because I am just learning and need a little more guidance from those who are experienced.

 

[BoDarville]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

I read the shock process article several times

1. Do these results mean there is algae in the pool for the chlorine to drop from 20 last night to 12 this morning after putting all of that chlorine in and when there was no sun OR does chlorine dissipate within so many hours on its own like that?

An FC drop like this at night indicates there is something (algae) living in your pool. In a pool free of algae or other organic contaminants, FC should not drop by more than 1 ppm overnight.

2. What is the next step at this point? Continuously adding gallons of chlorine to stay at 20? This can get very costly as we just spent $40.00 on 8 gallons and already used 4 of them.

Yes, you need to maintain FC at around 20 ppm at all times during the Shock Process until you pass the three criteria of done ( CC is 0.5 or lower, An overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less, and the water is clear).

The pH is still at 7.2 (it rained here last night apparently so this is a mystery as to while it stayed low. It was at 7.2 before the shock process as well).

Do not test pH while FC is at shock level. High FC invalidates the pH test and you might overcompensate on adjusting it if you test while shocking.

He also has tablets in the chlorinator...

Ditch the tabs and use bleach only. The tabs will add to your CYA, possibly to the point where it moves (increases) your shock FC target.

 

[suziequsie2945]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

Thank you above. That all makes very much sense.

I have two questions in response to yours in order to rule everything out:

1. Could it be possible that since my husband tapped back the chlorinator to the lowest setting overnight that that is why the chlorine dropped so much, even though there was 4 gallons dumped in?

2. Could the chlorine tablets increased our CYA to bring down our chlorine by that much overnight?

I haven't checked CYA but am going to do that shortly after I recheck the chlorine.

 

[BoDarville]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

1. Could it be possible that since my husband tapped back the chlorinator to the lowest setting overnight that that is why the chlorine dropped so much, even though there was 4 gallons dumped in?

Nope. If you had FC of 20 ppm after sunset, a clean pool would not have lost more than 1 ppm overnight with no further chlorine additions. Even if your chlorinator was on its lowest setting, some additional chlorine was still being added to the pool (along with some additional CYA). When I run the overnight chlorine loss test (OCLT), I manually add bleach, wait about an hour, and retest FC. I record that result and add nothing more to the pool that night. The next morning I retest FC. The most I have ever lost overnight is 0.5 ppm, but usually I lose 0 ppm.

2. Could the chlorine tablets increased our CYA to bring down our chlorine by that much overnight?

No. CYA does not consume chlorine. It actually lessens chlorine loss due to sunlight. However, it also lowers the effective strength of the FC by holding some of the FC in reserve. This is why the FC targets increase with higher CYA levels.

 

[Bluechip]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

How did you determine your shock level if you have not checked your CYA level? Stop using the tabs, especially during the shocking process. Liquid only please. You want to be able to tell if your levels drop overnight. If you leave your chlorinator running then it's adding chlorine during the night while the pump is running. You won't be able to tell how much chlorine you lost to the algae.

The tabs will continue to add CYA to your water. If it's too high it will cause problems and make it harder to shock.

 

[suziequsie2945]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

How did you determine your shock level if you have not checked your CYA level? Stop using the tabs, especially during the shocking process. Liquid only please. You want to be able to tell if your levels drop overnight. If you leave your chlorinator running then it's adding chlorine during the night while the pump is running. You won't be able to tell how much chlorine you lost to the algae.

The tabs will continue to add CYA to your water. If it's too high it will cause problems and make it harder to shock.

I determined the CYA yesterday before we did the shock process. Our CYA was 50. Therefore, needed our chlorine at 20.

Nowhere in the shock process article does it state to turn off the tablet dispenser so I wasn't aware of that.

So in that case, what does I use in replacement of the chlorine tablet dispenser? Someone mentioned bleach but we are already using liquid chlorine. Do we just use striclty liquid chlorine? If the algae is consuming the chlorine, that liquid chlorine is not going to last and we are going to spend tons of money on gallons.

 

[BoDarville]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

How did you determine your shock level if you have not checked your CYA level?

Good question! OP had posted CYA test results of 50 ppm on a different thread dated yesterday. Shock FC target for that CYA is 20.

suziequsie2945: Going forward, I would suggest posting test results on each new thread that is started.

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

If you have debris in your pool that you can see, you REALLY need to remove it mechanically (scoop it out). Nowhere in this thread do I see that addressed and that should be the first thing you do......even before you start to shock

Secondly, always remember that ONLY two things consume chlorine....sunlight and organics in your pool. Knowing that, you can envision how that debris is consuming your chlorine, perhaps a lot of it.

Pull the tabs. You don't want any more CYA in your pool.

 

[BoDarville]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

So in that case, what does I use in replacement of the chlorine tablet dispenser? Someone mentioned bleach but we are already using liquid chlorine. Do we just use striclty liquid chlorine? If the algae is consuming the chlorine, that liquid chlorine is not going to last and we are going to spend tons of money on gallons.

You wouldn't use anything in the chlorine tablet dispenser. You can either shut it off or just let the water circulate through it.

Bleach and liquid chlorine are the same thing (sodium hypochlorite), just different strengths.

Chlorine consumption is high when you are shocking and fighting algae, but this is temporary. Once the Shock Process is complete, your FC consumption will drop dramatically. Also make sure there is no debris in the pool as well as in the skimmers or pump filter basket. The latter two areas are often overlooked but debris in those areas will act as a drag on your FC consumption just as much as if the debris were on the pool floor.

 

[Bluechip]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

Bleach and liquid chlorine are the same thing. The only differences are the % of chlorine in the mixture. Most bleaches are 6% or the more concentrated 8.25%. Pool liquid chlorines are generally 10%- 12%. You will need to adjust that % in the pool calculator to determine your amount needed

 

[SkyKid]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

Bleach and liquid chlorine are one in the same
Just higher percentages in liquid chlorine
The system they have in place here works
I followed the pro's advice here and my pool went from green to Sparkling Clean less than 2 weeks

 

[suziequsie2945]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

Okay, thanks guys. This is starting to all make sense.

I finally figured out bleach and liquid chlorine were the same thing yesterday but was wondering if you were saying to add bleach along with the liquid chlorine when I turn off the chlorine tabs as another source. Not sure why that is but I gathered that was what I was being told, even though bleach and chlorine are the same things. I assume maybe buying bleach instead of liquid chlorine is cheaper?

 

[suziequsie2945]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

If you have debris in your pool that you can see, you REALLY need to remove it mechanically (scoop it out). Nowhere in this thread do I see that addressed and that should be the first thing you do......even before you start to shock

Secondly, always remember that ONLY two things consume chlorine....sunlight and organics in your pool. Knowing that, you can envision how that debris is consuming your chlorine, perhaps a lot of it.

Pull the tabs. You don't want any more CYA in your pool.

Someone in another thread told me the best time to vacuum is DURING the shock process. I can't "scoop" it out. We'd have to vacuum it up. We haven't vacuumed it yet but I'm thinking before adding more liquid chlorine again, we should vacuum, or should we wait until we add all of the liquid chlorine, get the levels to shock level, and then vacuum? Getting conflicting advice.

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

Whether you scoop it or vacuum it, get the physical debris out of your pool and then continue the shock process. Disregard any advice that says otherwise.

 

[Smykowski]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

I assume maybe buying bleach instead of liquid chlorine is cheaper?

In general bleach/liquid chlorine should be the cheapest form (in dollars per unit) of chlorine available. $5 per gallon of anything is way too much. Do some shopping and price it out. 10% or 12.5% are usually better deals, but depending on where you are in the country, sometimes 8.25% is better at the grocery store /Fleet Farm. I can get 12.5% for 2.50/gal regular price at The Great Escape or American Sale.

 

[Bluechip]

Re: Morning after our first attempt at the shock process

I've only been doing this for a year. I found this site just before the digging started on our first ever pool. I read everything they said to read but most of it went way over my head. Maybe 10% stuck. By the time my pool was finished I was fairly confident in what I was doing but lacked practical experience. Within a month of running the pool it all seemed so easy. Now I am answering questions from others (hopefully correctly). Hang in there, it will all get easier very soon and you will have a crystal clear pool that practically runs itself.