I need help!!

[Alexisbrooke]

So I was gifted a use intex pool (10' by 30") and I shocked it yesterday using 2.4 ounces of clorox pool shock plus, and this morning I tested the water and the chlorine levels are still 0, but the PH has suddenly dropped. Yesterday when I tested the chlorine was 0, and ph was 7.2. But today after using the shock the chlorine is still 0, but pH is showing slightly lower than 6.8. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. The water was cloudy yesterday but a little better today. And I can smell chlorine so idk why it isn't showing in my testing kit. Never owned a pool before so idk what to do. And my kids are dying to swim but I don't want to let them until I get thus figure out. No one has swam in it since we set it up

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Hi Alexis!

Are you following the guide for seasonal/temporary pools? Which test kit do you have?

Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools

Smaller seasonal pools can see just as much enjoyment as their larger counterparts. In this guide we'll show you how to maintain your temporary pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

If so, you're ahead of the game. Use PoolMath to calculate the amount of chemicals needed.

I'm not sure what happened with the FC level. Adding 2.4 oz of dichlor to 1,300 gallons should have raised FC by by 7.7 ppm. Without CYA at 30 ppm or more, FC will burn off fast in the sun. Dichlor is acidic, so it will also lower pH by 2.9 ppm (hint; I used the "Effects of Adding" function in Pool Math to calculate that). No surprise that your pH crashed.

If it were my pool, I would dump the water is start over. Follow the guide for adding CYA and use liquid chlorine. If you insist on using dichlor and your fill water pH is already low, you may need to use soda ash or borax to increase pH into range.

 

[SoCalTFP]

here is the impact of adding 2.4 ounces of dichlor to your pool. Looks pretty inline with your PH drop. Without a full set of test results from an accurate kit we can’t make many recommendations. Likely Algae or something is living in there if you lost 10 FC from the addition and it’s cloudy.

In order to get the chemicals dialed in you need a Taylor K2006c or TF-100/TF-PRO test kit, we can guide you from there.

Depending on the state of the water it may be best to just dump it and start over, assuming the pool is indeed ~1000 gallons. The other alternative is to SLAM the pool, which you need accurate testing for as well.

For chlorination you will want to stick with liquid chlorine/bleach, other forms impact other chemicals too much to be consistent for daily dosing.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

here is the impact of adding 2.4 ounces of dichlor to your pool. Looks pretty inline with your PH drop. Without a full set of test results from an accurate kit we can’t make many recommendations. Likely Algae or something is living in there if you lost 10 FC from the addition and it’s cloudy.

In order to get the chemicals dialed in you need a Taylor K2006c or TF-100/TF-PRO test kit, we can guide you from there.

Depending on the state of the water it may be best to just dump it and start over, assuming the pool is indeed ~1000 gallons. The other alternative is to SLAM the pool, which you need accurate testing for as well.

For chlorination you will want to stick with liquid chlorine/bleach, other forms impact other chemicals too much to be consistent for daily dosing.

All good advice, but for seasonal/temporary pools, a basic test kit is okay. Check out the link I posted above...

 

[SoCalTFP]

All good advice, but for seasonal/temporary pools, a basic test kit is okay. Check out the link I posted above...

Checked it out thanks! I didn’t know you could get by with more simple testing for the seasonal pools, good read. Makes sense given you can start over pretty easily if things get messed up.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

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