Lost CYA over winter, Ammonia took it's place CYA or SLAM first?

[Scice77]

Hi Everyone,

Over the winter, my CYA disappeared and was replaced by Ammonia. Below are my current #'s

FC- 0.0
CC- 2.5
TA- 130
pH- 7.5
CYA-0

Ammonia is at 4 ppm (using aquarium test kit)

The pool is not holding FC, I use liquid Chlorine.

So I think I have to get my FC up to about 40 ppm to kill the Ammonia, but is this safe for my liner with a CYA of 0? If I raise the CYA first, is there a chance that will just be converted to more Ammonia? I have Granular CYA, but would I be better off using liquid in this situation (thinking it would raise the CYA faster).

Anyone have a suggestion of which step first? The water is fairly clear.

Thanks

 

[pabeader]

I have read that it take 10 ppm chlorine to eliminate 1ppm ammonia so you just need to keep pouring in the liquid chlorine until it starts to hold. Remember, the chlorine is being used to eliminate the ammonia, so it really can't have too much effect on the liner.

 

[jblizzle]

I would not add it all at once.

Just dose for 10ppm and retest after 30 minutes or so and repeat until the CC are gone and the FC holds ... then add 30ppm of CYA and follow the SLAM Process process.

 

[zea3]

^^^^^^What he said!^^^^^^^ When you maintain at least half the FC after 30 minutes it will be time to add CYA.

 

[PoolGate]

I just went through this with a 24k gallon pool. It took 35 gallons of 8.25% bleach over 2 days to clear the ammonia. Do not add CYA until all of the ammonia is gone. I was adding 6 gallons at a time which was eaten up within 20 minutes.

 

[Scice77]

I just went through this with a 24k gallon pool. It took 35 gallons of 8.25% bleach over 2 days to clear the ammonia. Do not add CYA until all of the ammonia is gone. I was adding 6 gallons at a time which was eaten up within 20 minutes.

I just added 3 gallons (12.5%) which should've brought it up to 10.....1/2 hour later it's all gone. I guess I'll keep adding chlorine. Unreal!!

 

[zea3]

I've had this joy before too, ammonia eats up the chlorine fast!

 

[jblizzle]

But, isn't it nice to know exactly what is going on in the water and not just having a pool store sell you random chemicals to throw in

 

[pooldv]

Right!!!!!!!!

 

[Scice77]

But, isn't it nice to know exactly what is going on in the water and not just having a pool store sell you random chemicals to throw in

Oh, I am extremely thankful for the great amount of knowledge on these boards. I am not anywhere near expert level, but as you said it's great to have a little understanding on how it all works.

I would've never thought to even check for ammonia, if it wasn't for researching these boards first. I still buy my liquid chlorine and de from the pool store and I'm sure I'll get a strange look later when i make my second visit of the day to pick up a couple 5 gallon jugs of 12.5%, but I'll no longer buy any non-sense. I would bet they even have something called "Super Ammonia Eater" for $30 gallon....and I would need to buy 23 of them.

 

[jblizzle]

Not only that .... They have chemicals (like Green to Clean) that actually ADD AMMONIA to kill algae

So they easily could have thought, man you have a high clorine demand which must be algae so here add this ... putting MORE ammonia into your pool

 

[Scice77]

After 5 rounds, and 13 gallons of 12.5%, my ammonia is down to about 2 ppm and my FC is starting to drop much slower (last check was about 4.0 after a half hour). My CC didn't drop as much as I'd expect though, it's still at about 2. That's all for tonight. Gonna keep the filter running and see what it looks like tomorrow.

Thanks again for everyone's assistance. I'll post an update tomorrow afternoon.

 

[PoolGate]

With 2 parts ammonia in 33k gallons you may still need another 10 gallons of bleach.

 

[Scice77]

With 2 parts ammonia in 33k gallons you may still need another 10 gallons of bleach.

I loaded up at the store last night, but I think things are going in the right direction now. I'll get some readings after work. Did you eradicate all the ammonia before you added CYA or did you just get it very low? Thanks

 

[PoolGate]

I loaded up at the store last night, but I think things are going in the right direction now. I'll get some readings after work. Did you eradicate all the ammonia before you added CYA or did you just get it very low? Thanks

I eradicated every bit of it. Then I waited like 12 hours to make sure it didn't come back. Then I loaded up my CYA. No problems since. I tested 4 times in a row with pure yellow reading on my ammonia test to make sure. Water has been crystal clear ever since.

 

[Husky25]

I just went through this with a 24k gallon pool. It took 35 gallons of 8.25% bleach over 2 days to clear the ammonia. Do not add CYA until all of the ammonia is gone. I was adding 6 gallons at a time which was eaten up within 20 minutes.

Holy Christmas!!!! That must have been A LOT of ammonia. It took me about 2 hours and 10 gallons of 12.5% to get rid of 4ppm when I opened. I didn't wait the 1/2 hour though. I tested after 10 minutes in the same spot that I dosed and re-dosed every 15. Got it down to 0.25ppm before I went to bed, and retested in the morning after bringing the water to SLAM levels without CYA.

...Did you eradicate all the ammonia before you added CYA or did you just get it very low? Thanks

It was very difficult to tell to 0.0 test result from the 0.25, but my FC was more or less holding (ton of algae growth over the winter), so personally, I made the assumption that I got it all and dropped the sock.

 

[PoolGate]

Holy Christmas!!!! That must have been A LOT of ammonia. It took me about 2 hours and 10 gallons of 12.5% to get rid of 4ppm when I opened. I didn't wait the 1/2 hour though. I tested after 10 minutes in the same spot that I dosed and re-dosed every 15. Got it down to 0.25ppm before I went to bed, and retested in the morning after bringing the water to SLAM levels without CYA.



It was very difficult to tell to 0.0 test result from the 0.25, but my FC was more or less holding (ton of algae growth over the winter), so personally, I made the assumption that I got it all and dropped the sock.

This wasn't my pool it was my neighbors and he had been using chlorine pucks for 15 years without a water change. The last 2 years or so he could not keep the pool clear. I suspected sky high CYA readings but when I tested 0 CYA that led to the ammonia. It is documented in this thread.

Very strange test results!

 

[Husky25]

This wasn't my pool it was my neighbors and he had been using chlorine pucks for 15 years without a water change. The last 2 years or so he could not keep the pool clear. I suspected sky high CYA readings but when I tested 0 CYA that led to the ammonia. It is documented in this thread.

Very strange test results!

I don't think I've ever seen a shade of green that deep.

 

[Quant]

How does ammonia develop in the pool?

10 gal of 12.5% is about the same cost for me to drain and fill my 31k gal pool--pump rental notwithstanding. Seems like that would be more practical to drain unless you deal with it too late in the season and it is too hot to drain.

 

[PoolGate]

How does ammonia develop in the pool?

10 gal of 12.5% is about the same cost for me to drain and fill my 31k gal pool--pump rental notwithstanding. Seems like that would be more practical to drain unless you deal with it too late in the season and it is too hot to drain.

There is a bacteria that feeds on CYA and results in ammonia.