Chlorine Level Help

[rowiac]

I got my test kit and if I did everything correctly....here are my numbers: (The FC was the most difficult to get an accurate reading) Also, I did the testing after a moderate thurnderstorm.

FC 6ppm
TC 4ppm
CYA 60
PH 7.9-8.0
Alkalinity 110
Hardness 230-300

I was finally able to get the chlorine to hold for a few days. It took about 7 gallons of liquid shock over the course of 5 days.
It is a 24-foot round above-ground pool with approx. 13,000 gallons.

The FAS-DPD Chlorine Test should not difficult if you are doing it correctly. 10 ml pool water, reach as far down in the pool as you can. 1 scoop of R-0870 powder. Swirl. It will turn pink if chlorine is present. Count drops of R-0871 reagent. Each drop of R-0871 represents 0.5 ppm of chlorine. Swirl after each drop and keep going until it turns clear. I use the SmartStir which eliminates swirling by hand, and it has an LED light to make it easier to see the color change.

Typically the most difficult test to do is the CYA test. It's kind of subjective and I can't really do better than +/-10 ppm.

 

[Lprecords]

The FAS-DPD Chlorine Test should not difficult if you are doing it correctly. 10 ml pool water, reach as far down in the pool as you can. 1 scoop of R-0870 powder. Swirl. It will turn pink if chlorine is present. Count drops of R-0871 reagent. Each drop of R-0871 represents 0.5 ppm of chlorine. Swirl after each drop and keep going until it turns clear. I use the SmartStir which eliminates swirling by hand, and it has an LED light to make it easier to see the color change.

Typically the most difficult test to do is the CYA test. It's kind of subjective and I can't really do better than +/-10 ppm.

Thanks for the instructions on the chlorine test. I redid all my numbers and hope these are more accurate:
Free & Combined Chlorine (FAS-DPD) = 4
PH = 7.4
Alkalinity (TA) = 120
Calcium Hardness (CH) = 280-300
Cyanuric Acid (CYA) 45-55

What do these numbers mean?
What should I do to keep my chlorine, PH, and Alkalinity levels stable?

 

[PoolStored]

All of these are fine.
Keep your pH in the 7s. When it rises to 8, reduce to 7.6 with muriatic acid.
TA is fine, generally don't mess with TA unless it is below 50. Manage pH and TA will take care of itself.
Your calcium is fine.
You should read your CYA at the lines on the tube, or if you read between the lines, round up. You should consider your CYA to be 60.
I would add chlorine to the pool. Use pool math. Link-->PoolMath
You always want to maintain FC for your CYA. Link-->FC/CYA Levels

You can use this tool on recommended levels...

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Lprecords]

Thanks for the instructions on the chlorine test. I redid all my numbers and hope these are more accurate:
Free & Combined Chlorine (FAS-DPD) = 4
PH = 7.4
Alkalinity (TA) = 120
Calcium Hardness (CH) = 280-300
Cyanuric Acid (CYA) 45-55

What do these numbers mean?
What should I do to keep my chlorine, PH, and Alkalinity levels stable?

 

[Mdragger88]

Is the water crystal clear?
Any visible algae?
If clear & no visible algae but you suspect you had some due to the previous chlorine demand you should do an
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test with fc levels in target range for your cya to rule out something brewing & be certain you’re really in the clear.
If you pass the Oclt you just maintain target fc levels daily.
If you fail the OCLT you do the
SLAM Process to eradicate the algae.

As Poolstored mentioned If cya is reading as 55 you roundup & call it 60 as there aren’t inbetweens on the test. You must chlorinate accordingly, which means targeting 7-9ppm.

FC/CYA Levels

Your ph is fine (ph in the 7’s is fine)
Your ta is fine (any ta 50 & above is fine)
When ph rises to 8 add muriatic acid to lower it to the mid 7’s use
PoolMath to calculate amounts.
This will lower your ta over time.
There’s no need to adjust ta unless it is below 50.

Fc of 4 is low
Is your cc 4 or zero?
Lets be sure you’re doing the fas dpd test correctly & recording the results correctly

 

[Mdragger88]

Have you removed the permasalt contraption from your plumbing? If not, do so as soon as possible because it is adding copper to your water.
Your cya is a bit high but not unreasonable, as you backwash & replace water it will get lower so long as you aren’t adding any stabilized products (cya, Trichlor, dichlor) & stick with liquid chlorine. & always follow the
FC/CYA Levels
These exchanges will also lower the copper level so long as you aren’t adding any more copper containing chemicals (Algaecides, anything with blue in the name) & have removed the copper thingy.
Ideally you don’t want any copper in the water but levels .5 or less may be low enough to prevent staining/ green water,hair,nails. If these things occur you will need to exchange water to lower the copper level.
Your ph will likely only rise so long as you aren’t adding acidic products (dichlor,trichlor, mps/non chlorine shock) & you will just need to manage that with Muriatic acid as mentioned above.
Same with Ta, taking care of ph will take care of ta.
Continuous use of the acidic products mentioned above are what generally cause ta to go too low and in turn the pool store sells you very expensive baking soda to remedy the situation. Without the use of those products you likely won’t have that problem.

 

[Lprecords]

Have you removed the permasalt contraption from your plumbing? If not, do so as soon as possible because it is adding copper to your water.
Your cya is a bit high but not unreasonable, as you backwash & replace water it will get lower so long as you aren’t adding any stabilized products (cya, Trichlor, dichlor) & stick with liquid chlorine. & always follow the
FC/CYA Levels
These exchanges will also lower the copper level so long as you aren’t adding any more copper containing chemicals (Algaecides, anything with blue in the name) & have removed the copper thingy.
Ideally you don’t want any copper in the water but levels .5 or less may be low enough to prevent staining/ green water,hair,nails. If these things occur you will need to exchange water to lower the copper level.
Your ph will likely only rise so long as you aren’t adding acidic products (dichlor,trichlor, mps/non chlorine shock) & you will just need to manage that with Muriatic acid as mentioned above.
Same with Ta, taking care of ph will take care of ta.
Continuous use of the acidic products mentioned above are what generally cause ta to go too low and in turn the pool store sells you very expensive baking soda to remedy the situation. Without the use of those products you likely won’t have that problem.

My pool water is clear. See photo. I have removed the Perma salt chamber a week ago. As stated in my original post, I put in 2 quarts of metal remover a week ago along with a paceket in the skimmer. My metals have gone down from 1.5 to 1.
I went to the pool store to have my water tested to compare to my results. They were pretty close. The cya was off as I had it at 50 and the store is showing 36, and the alkalinity I had was at 120, and the store said 99. Also they did a phosphate test showing 4000. The difference in my free Chlorine and total chlorine is .4. The tc is at 4 and free chlorine is at 3.6 how much chlorine should I add? And what should I do about the phosphates?
Thank you for all the help!!

 

[proavia]

Fill out your signature with pool, pool equipment (including manufacturers and model numbers) and test kit info.
This assists us in providing help based on your specific pool without needing to ask you for this info each time.

https://www.troublefreepool.com/account/signature

Only report FC and CC - we don't need/use TC.
Pretty much everyone here knows that FC + CC = TC

Report your results as follows (makes it much easier to read):
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Water temp
Salt (if you have a SWG)

Or use PoolMath to enter your testing results.
Set up PoolMath to track CSI, CC, Water Temp and Salt (if using a SWG).
And share your PoolMath logs to the forum (linked to your user profile).

 

[Mdragger88]

Don’t worry about phosphates. So long as you have adequate fc in the water you shouldn’t have algae no matter how much “algae food” you have.
Trust your testing - the pool store uses “adjusted ta” so they can sell you baking soda.
Use your tested ta value
They are also wrong about cya more than they are right
Trust your testing.
Use only your testing from your kit to base additions on.
You need to add enough liquid chlorine to reach high target fc level for your cya
FC/CYA Levels
PoolMath will help you calculate that amount based on your pool volume & strength of liquid chlorine.
You must be sure to replenish fc before it falls to minimum lest nasties will grow. The average algae free pool loses 2-4ppm of fc per day so it must be fed.

About the metals- the sequesterant just hides them from the tests as well as the pool water, as it wears off they will show up if you don’t continue to replenish it.
You can keep using sequesterant if you wish but it is expensive. The permanent solution is to exchange the metal laden water with fresh.
The culator packets have mixed results. Most find they just remove $$ from your wallet.
Glad you removed the permasalt deal.

I am glad it looks clean & clear. I really like your liner!
My suggestion to do the
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to be certain you’re in the clear still stands.
To recap:
Use your test results from your kit
Follow the
FC/CYA Levels
Use
PoolMath for all calculations
Do an
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

The only test you need from the pool store in the future may be metals.
Ignore phosphates.
As it stands you only need liquid chlorine & possibly some muriatic acid once ph rises.
You can buy these at lowes, Home Depot, walmart, ace hardware etc.
If they are a better value at the pool store go ahead but otherwise you don’t need anything else.

 

[Lprecords]

Don’t worry about phosphates. So long as you have adequate fc in the water you shouldn’t have algae no matter how much “algae food” you have.
Trust your testing - the pool store uses “adjusted ta” so they can sell you baking soda.
Use your tested ta value
They are also wrong about cya more than they are right
Trust your testing.
Use only your testing from your kit to base additions on.
You need to add enough liquid chlorine to reach high target fc level for your cya
FC/CYA Levels
PoolMath will help you calculate that amount based on your pool volume & strength of liquid chlorine.
You must be sure to replenish fc before it falls to minimum lest nasties will grow. The average algae free pool loses 2-4ppm of fc per day so it must be fed.

About the metals- the sequesterant just hides them from the tests as well as the pool water, as it wears off they will show up if you don’t continue to replenish it.
You can keep using sequesterant if you wish but it is expensive. The permanent solution is to exchange the metal laden water with fresh.
The culator packets have mixed results. Most find they just remove $$ from your wallet.
Glad you removed the permasalt deal.

I am glad it looks clean & clear. I really like your liner!
My suggestion to do the
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to be certain you’re in the clear still stands.
To recap:
Use your test results from your kit
Follow the
FC/CYA Levels
Use
PoolMath for all calculations
Do an
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

The only test you need from the pool store in the future may be metals.
Ignore phosphates.
As it stands you only need liquid chlorine & possibly some muriatic acid once ph rises.
You can buy these at lowes, Home Depot, walmart, ace hardware etc.
If they are a better value at the pool store go ahead but otherwise you don’t need anything else.

Thanks mdtagger88. I’m going to trust my kit testing results. I’ll do the overnight chlorine test. I’ve been testing every night and early morning and the chlorine seems to be holding. I’ll test each day for a week and then go to twice a week to maintain. Will chlorine pucks in the skimmer be okay along with weekly doses of liquid chlorine? I’m trying to not have to drain any of the water until winterizing.

 

[Mdragger88]

Thanks mdtagger88. I’m going to trust my kit testing results. I’ll do the overnight chlorine test. I’ve been testing every night and early morning and the chlorine seems to be holding. I’ll test each day for a week and then go to twice a week to maintain. Will chlorine pucks in the skimmer be okay along with weekly doses of liquid chlorine? I’m trying to not have to drain any of the water until winterizing.

*Never put pucks in the skimmer- they are acidic & will damage your equipment. If you must use pucks (like for vacation) use a floater.
* pucks add cya, your cya is high enough (it’s actually at the top of the recommended range for manually chlorinated pools)
* did I mention pucks are acidic? They will affect your ph & subsequently your ta.
Just use liquid chlorine for chlorination.
Here’s the effect of each dissolved 8oz Trichlor puck on your pool water

You can see how that would increase cya levels & negatively impact ph fairly quickly.
If you grow tired of lugging jugs & adding liquid chlorine daily you can always enlist a salt water chlorine generator to do the task for you. For your sized pool a 30k gallon rated unit or larger would be sufficient for your pool size.

 

[newdude]

Hey LP !!! The folks above are knocking it out of the PARK.

Sorry for a momentary hijack, but now that you've mentioned permasalt, anyone coming in searching for their own issues with it will likely find this thread for the next while.

I wish to point out what happened in case they couldn't read between the lines. You were sold an expensive product that added copper the pool. Then they told you that copper was bad, and sold you another product to remove it. Except it doesn't actually remove it so the only thing removed is from one's wallet. Twice. So then the solution is to use sequesterant to more or less hide the copper, and one will pay over and over and over for the life of their pool.

Don't beat yourself up, most of us were Pool Stored one way or the other right with you.

*now back to the regularly scheduled programming*

 

[Lprecords]

*Never put pucks in the skimmer- they are acidic & will damage your equipment. If you must use pucks (like for vacation) use a floater.
* pucks add cya, your cya is high enough (it’s actually at the top of the recommended range for manually chlorinated pools)
* did I mention pucks are acidic? They will affect your ph & subsequently your ta.
Just use liquid chlorine for chlorination.
Here’s the effect of each dissolved 8oz Trichlor puck on your pool water
View attachment 504614
You can see how that would increase cya levels & negatively impact ph fairly quickly.
If you grow tired of lugging jugs & adding liquid chlorine daily you can always enlist a salt water chlorine generator to do the task for you. For your sized pool a 30k gallon rated unit or larger would be sufficient for your pool size.

Ok, I did the oclt and think I’ve finally got some good numbers.
Last Night:
FC 8
CC 0
TC 8

This morning
FC 7.5
CC .5
TC 7

I also did these measurements this morning.
PH 7.4
TA 100
CH 210
CYA 40

I want to swim tomorrow and want to know if these levels are okay. I don’t think I need to add anything to my water, just circulate with pump? Also, again, my metals were at 1. I’m hoping this is low enough to not have anyone’s hair turn green! I’m concerned because the of the level of chlorine.

 

[newdude]

I want to swim tomorrow and want to know if these levels are okay.

They are great. In order to swim, you need FC between min and slam and to be able to see bottom for safety.



The other parameters won't usually keep you from swimming.

Also, again, my metals were at 1. I’m hoping this is low enough to not have anyone’s hair turn green!

Nothing says it *has* to happen, only that it's a possibility. My kids needed alot of exposure to see the affects. YMMV.

I’m concerned because the of the level of chlorine.

Why ? It's 8.5 ppm below SLAM, and entirely safe and comfortable.

 

[Lprecords]

They are great. In order to swim, you need FC between min and slam and to be able to see bottom for safety.

View attachment 504811

The other parameters won't usually keep you from swimming.


Nothing says it *has* to happen, only that it's a possibility. My kids needed alot of exposure to see the affects. YMMV.

Why ? It's 8.5 ppm below SLAM, and entirely safe and comfortable.

Great! Thanks for everyone’s help. We shall swim tomorrow’

 

[Mdragger88]

Great! Thanks for everyone’s help. We shall swim tomorrow’

Passed oclt
You’re numbers are fantastic
Don’t wait till tomorrow- hop on in!
Don’t forget to remove the pucks & test/dose daily as you “learn your pool” & its daily fc consumption.
This will increase as the summer gets in full swing so be watchful.
Using the pucks to add a little fc & some cya when needed is ok just be mindful of all the effects (use poolmath effects of adding) & use a floater.