High Chlorine Levels! YIKES!

[mattafact]

Size Pool: 13,500 Gallons
Filter: Jandy Model #DEV60 (DE)
Filter Run Time: 8:00AM - 8:00PM
SWG: Jandy AquaPure PLC1400

Hello!

I am a first-time pool owner and have been drinking from a fire hose for a few weeks now!

Our pool has been maintained by the pool company for about the past year. (Installation was in Dec 2021)

I recently made the decision to take on maintaining the pool myself.

The last time the pool was serviced by our pool company the readings were as follows:

(I apologize the formats are a little different. They use an app called Skimmer and I use the Pool Math app.)

Date: 11/21/22
3000 ppm salinity
12 psi
3 ppm total chlorine
7.0 ph
40 ppm alkalinity
30 ppm cyanuric acid
360 ppm calcium hardness

I took my own readings using a Taylor Technologies K-2006-SALT Test Kit.

Date: 12/4/22
FC: 17.0
CC: 0.0
pH: 8.0
TA: 110
CH: 430
CYA: 50
SALT: 3200

The first thing that jumped out to me is my chlorine level! WOW!

The pool company had the SWG flow set to 55%, so I set it to 0% to slow down the chlorine production. A very helpful gentleman at Leslie’s recommended a Chlorine Neutralizer, which I bought but have not added yet.

So my question is how on earth did my chlorine levels jump in such a short amount of time??? And I know that these levels can be harmful to swim in AND to the pool equipment itself. Am I in trouble here???

Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated!

THANK YOU!

Matt

 

[Texas Splash]

Matt, welcome to TFP! While your FC level is elevated a bit, it's by no means unsafe or anything to worry about. Take a look at our FC/CYA Levels and you'll see that with a current CYA of 50, you are still below what we call the "SLAM" level - safe for swimming and the pool. No worries. Just adjust the SWG output and/or pump run times to let it fall and you'll be fine.

Also see our Pool Care Basics page for more info. Enjoy the forum.

 

[duraleigh]

So my question is how on earth did my chlorine levels jump in such a short amount of time???

Welcome to the forum

I doubt very much that it (chlorine) did. First, you are in no trouble so rest easy.

I believe the pool company gave you poor and inaccurate testing. Trust your own testing with the accurate K-2006C and go from there.

You don't need the chlorine neutralizer. The chlorine's harshness is buffered nicely by the adequate CYA in your pool. I suggest you keep the SWG "OFF" or perhaps 10% output and let you chlorine drift on down into the 4-6 maintenance range. Use the FC/CYA chart as Texas Splash has suggested.

Simultaneously, add enough muriatic acid to get your pH in the 7's. The TA will come down at the same time and that's good, too

Read the Pool Care Basics link that Texas Splash provided you......that covers a LOT of info.

 

[mattafact]

Matt, welcome to TFP! While your FC level is elevated a bit, it's by no means unsafe or anything to worry about. Take a look at our FC/CYA Levels and you'll see that with a current CYA of 50, you are still below what we call the "SLAM" level - safe for swimming and the pool. No worries. Just adjust the SWG output and/or pump run times to let it fall and you'll be fine.

Also see our Pool Care Basics page for more info. Enjoy the forum.

Thank you very much for the welcome and fast reply! Everyone seems so willing to help and I appreciate it!

 

[mattafact]

Welcome to the forum

I doubt very much that it (chlorine) did. First, you are in no trouble so rest easy.

I believe the pool company gave you poor and inaccurate testing. Trust your own testing with the accurate K-2006C and go from there.

You don't need the chlorine neutralizer. The chlorine's harshness is buffered nicely by the adequate CYA in your pool. I suggest you keep the SWG "OFF" or perhaps 10% output and let you chlorine drift on down into the 4-6 maintenance range. Use the FC/CYA chart as Texas Splash has suggested.

Simultaneously, add enough muriatic acid to get your pH in the 7's. The TA will come down at the same time and that's good, too

Read the Pool Care Basics link that Texas Splash provided you......that covers a LOT of info.

Thank you very much! This is great info and brought my blood pressure down! Hopefully it brings my FC level down too!

 

[JJ_Tex]

Take the chlorine neutralizer back, and hopefully, that is the last time you step foot in a Leslies. You are in much better hands here, as we are not trying to sell you anything. The most expensive thing I have bought for my pool is the test kit.

 

[Mdragger88]

Welcome to tfp
Just jumping in to concur with everyone’s advice above & to give a reminder that the ph test is inaccurate at fc levels above 10ppm so don’t test & adjust ph until fc comes down to 10ppm.

 

[jark87]

You’ve been given good advice and sounds like you’re set. A couple of comments: since you have a SWCG, you’ll find pool maintenance to be a piece of cake. My only regular chemistry maintenance task is adding a little muratic acid once a week to keep pH in check. Add in time for testing and that totals less than 10 minutes per week - even less during winter. The other comment is about your FC level. It’s perfectly fine to keep it a bit higher than the Target shown in the Chlorine/CYA Chart. I try to keep FC at around 10% of my CYA, which I maintain at 80 during the summer. Therefore I keep FC around 8 and have no concerns if it gets up to 10. By keeping FC a little high, your risk of an algae outbreak will be much lower. Many of the TFP Experts give similar advice - that’s where I learned about it after an algae outbreak.
Enjoy your pool and the peace of mind that comes with understanding what’s going on with it!

 

[JamesW]

As the water gets colder, the amount of chlorine needed goes down, so you need to test daily until you get a good idea about where the FC is stable.

If you use any type of cover, the FC needed also goes down.

As you get the FC stable, you can test less often.

 

[mattafact]

Welcome to the forum

I doubt very much that it (chlorine) did. First, you are in no trouble so rest easy.

I believe the pool company gave you poor and inaccurate testing. Trust your own testing with the accurate K-2006C and go from there.

You don't need the chlorine neutralizer. The chlorine's harshness is buffered nicely by the adequate CYA in your pool. I suggest you keep the SWG "OFF" or perhaps 10% output and let you chlorine drift on down into the 4-6 maintenance range. Use the FC/CYA chart as Texas Splash has suggested.

Simultaneously, add enough muriatic acid to get your pH in the 7's. The TA will come down at the same time and that's good, too

Read the Pool Care Basics link that Texas Splash provided you......that covers a LOT of info.

Thanks again for the great advice!

I have a few more questions, if I may, with regard to my filter and SWG run times.

1. Once my FC level is in check, what do you recommend I set my SWG flow rate to? (Currently at 0%)

2. What should my filter run time be set to? (Currently at 12 hours/day)

3. What should my variable pump speed be set to? (Currently at 3450)

Thank you again!

 

[Newdude]

Once my FC level is in check, what do you recommend I set my SWG flow rate to? (Currently at 0%)

Your SWG makes about 11ppm per 24 hours in 13.5k gallons. Roughly 1 ppm every 2 hours and with the shortest day of the year less than 2 weeks away, 1 or 1.5 ppm loss per day is probably where you're at. Try a 3 hour run time @ 100%, or any equivalent of that and monitor it to prove it's enough.

What should my filter run time be set to? (Currently at 12 hours/day)

With the falling debris long done, the filter time can be cut down much lower. More often than not, whatever runtime you need for the SWG automatically covers your filter time.

What should my filter run time be set to? (Currently at 12 hours/day)

The pump is used for a specific purpose. Find the lowest speed that activates the SWG, makes the skimmer doors flap away, heater turn on, etc. Then add 100 RPMs to each speed to account for the filter getting dirty (lower flow) over time.

When you run the highest RPM function, the other ones are satisfied by default.

I only use full speed for draining and parties (kids like 'the jets').

 

[mattafact]

Your SWG makes about 11ppm per 24 hours in 13.5k gallons. Roughly 1 ppm every 2 hours and with the shortest day of the year less than 2 weeks away, 1 or 1.5 ppm loss per day is probably where you're at. Try a 3 hour run time @ 100%, or any equivalent of that and monitor it to prove it's enough.

With the falling debris long done, the filter time can be cut down much lower. More often than not, whatever runtime you need for the SWG automatically covers your filter time.

The pump is used for a specific purpose. Find the lowest speed that activates the SWG, makes the skimmer doors flap away, heater turn on, etc. Then add 100 RPMs to each speed to account for the filter getting dirty (lower flow) over time.

When you run the highest RPM function, the other ones are satisfied by default.

I only use full speed for draining and parties (kids like 'the jets').

Great info! THANK YOU!