Chlorine won’t hold, clear pool, just did reverse osmosis

[Westpoint1995]

I’m about to commit hari kari here!!! We just completed a reverse osmosis treatment to help reduce nitrates because the pool was not holding chlorine. After the treatment, the nitrate levels came down, but they are still between around 50ppm.

The chemistry appears balanced.
7.4ph
102 Alk
30 Cya
204 Ca
58 phosphayes
500 TDS
Crystal clear water
Put one gallon of chlorine in a bit earlier (2 gallons last week) plus approx 4 lbs of granular (around 5 hours ago).
Test right now shows no chlorine
Nitrate test shows somewhere around 50ppm, maybe slightly higher, the test strip is difficult to interpret.

Any ideas what could be causing the chlorine to disappear so fast? Or what I can do to fix this problem?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Where did those test results come from?

You need to do your own testing with your test kit to diagnose water chemistry problems. Get the Taylor K-2006C or TFT Test Kits

Who told you that you needed to do an RO for nitrates? That is not something we recommend.

You may want to read up on TFPC Methods and see what we recommend here…

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Bperry]

I’m about to commit hari kari here!!! We just completed a reverse osmosis treatment to help reduce nitrates because the pool was not holding chlorine. After the treatment, the nitrate levels came down, but they are still between around 50ppm.

The chemistry appears balanced.
7.4ph
102 Alk
30 Cya
204 Ca
58 phosphayes
500 TDS
Crystal clear water
Put one gallon of chlorine in a bit earlier (2 gallons last week) plus approx 4 lbs of granular (around 5 hours ago).
Test right now shows no chlorine
Nitrate test shows somewhere around 50ppm, maybe slightly higher, the test strip is difficult to interpret.

Any ideas what could be causing the chlorine to disappear so fast? Or what I can do to fix this problem?

Chlorine is consumed by organic matter (algae) and sunlight.

The problem TFP has found is that those test strips are junk. And the pool store tests aren’t any better and so no one should trust them. If you get a reliable self- test kit, we can help you through it. Please don’t commit hari kari!

 

[kimkats]

I hear you! So disappointing for sure! You spent good money and things are not any better. Well you found TFP and all will be better in no time.

I know you just spent a bunch of money but there is one more thing you need to spend money on. A good test kit. Here are the test kits we use:
Test Kits Compared The place for the test guess strips is in the trash can. I have a thread that was just started to share with you. It is how people came to find TFP and how it has helped them care for their pool:

I knew I was Pool Stored when...

With the influx of springtime new members rolling in, oddly, I found myself astounded at the number of members that have been Pool Stored. I don't know why it struck me this year, after helping so many that have been pool stored in the past, and even having the username PoolStored, but...

www.troublefreepool.com

@PoolStored started this thread to help others know they are not alone.