No Available Chlorine

[JoyfulNoise]

pH is fine. You don't have to test CYA, once you know it, it does not change unless you have significant water exchange.

Your FC was consumed by algae and organics. You need to get your FC up to 28ppm and maintain it. It's going to take a lot of chlorine to get there and, initially, it's not going to hold because it's going to get used up killing everything. So be prepared to add what PoolMath tells you to and test very frequently in the beginning, like every two hours. Eventually the chlorine will start to hold. You're going to have to baby sit this pool for a day or so until it starts holding FC.

Going forward, the only thing you need to measure is FC and CC and add chlorine as-needed per PoolMath.


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[scott802]

using poolmath, to get to my initial FC goal of 31 on SLAM, I need to add 8.99 jugs of the 10% chlorinating liquid I bought from Lowes, which are each 128 oz.

I'm assuming I don't need to touch my TA level at this point.

Thanks all

 

[Crackerjack4u]

+1 on what JoyfulNoise said on the pH, and where all your chlorine went to, and what you will see as time goes on in the SLAM. You must have quite a bit of algae/organics in there, but not to worry, you will get it cleaned up, and killed out before you know it .


I too checked on Poolmath, and actually you can add all 9 of those jugs of chlorine to get you to your 31ppm. Be sure to pour them slowly in front of the return with the pump running, and brush/sweep the area below where you poured them very well incase any settles on the bottom.


No need to adjust TA at this time. Just attempt to keep your chlorine level at, or slightly above your shock level at ALL times.
Remember to brush the pool 1-2xs daily, Pay special attention to algae hiding areas such as steps, ladders, lights, skimmers, returns, etc. If your steps or ladder are removable you might want to go ahead and remove them now so they can be thoroughly cleaned. Vacuum frequently, and just keep bumping that chlorine level back up to shock level, hourly if possibly.

If you can't check the FC frequently at 1st you might want to Target a slightly higher FC level to attempt to make up for the drops that will occur while you will be away, and try to maintain it at Shock level during that time. You are well on your way to a nice clean algae/organic free pool. Again I'm sorry about the inconvenience on the pH recheck, I just didn't want you to risk damaging your pool during your SLAM. All appears to be going well, Keep up the Great Job, and Have a wonderful day

 

[JoyfulNoise]

If your CYA is 70ppm, then PoolMath and the Recommended Levels page both say 28ppm FC for Shock level. 31ppm FC is for a CYA level of 80ppm.

Which CYA level are you using?

 

[scott802]

It takes a bit of getting used to with the CYA test as I'm sure you all know, there is a degree of subjectivity to it and it takes a bit of practice. Being brand new to all these chemical tests I wanted to retest to be sure. I think it dropped a little from my initial test.
Partly because I'm here in Texas the sun is extremely strong and I am losing water daily to evaporation so I had to add about a half inch.
But it's stable and I'm not going to add any more water. I will be checking the FC level at least 2 or 3 times today to be sure where I am.

Thank you so much everyone

 

[pabeader]

Just a quick thought, after you add the first big amount of chlorine, check your FC after about 15 mins or so. I just want to make sure you are getting up where you need to be. I have a suspicion in mind that a quick test will clear up.

- - - Updated - - -

Also with the CYA test, you can pour the sample back into the little bottle and drip it in the tube with the dot again. I do it a few times and look for a repeat number. Then round up to the next line.

 

[scott802]

Last test after adding.
FC = 30
CC = 2
TC = 32


I overshot the necessary TC by a bit but I'm going to let it go down a little then retest later.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

TC is irrelevant.

You want your FC to be at shock level. CCs are measured to confirm that your oxidized waste load is decreasing.


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[pabeader]

Thanks scott! At least that's holding for you. Continue testing as you had planned. But note this, the more you test and re-add the faster things can progress.

 

[scott802]

wow. just overnight tested first thing this morning. Where the heck did all the FC go?


FC = 5
CC = 2.0

Tested 09/27 9:00 am

cleaned the entire filter yesterday too removed the cartridges and cleaned.

Amazing that all that FC disappeared overnight.

Will recalculate using pool math to get me back to FC of 28 which is the SLAM level.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

You have/had an algae bloom. Clear water is not necessarily a sign of clean water. The FC was consumed killing algae and bacteria. So now you need to get your FC back up and I would suggesting checking it frequently today to try to maintain shock levels as much as possible. Once you start holding FC and the CCs get down to 0, you will be closer to the end. You may need to pull ladders or lights from their niches to get at all the nasty bits.


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[duraleigh]

Amazing that all that FC disappeared overnight.

I want to repeat what joyfulNoise says above....it is important. Chlorine is a consumable item. The FC was consumed killing algae and bacteria.

That consumption will slow (but never stop) once you have killed the majority of organics (algae) in your pool. You must constantly replenish it

 

[scott802]

I sure am grateful I found this site! Leslie's testing was just horrible. Now, I'm feeling like I am finally getting used to the test kit.

09/27 11:15 am CT
FC = 26.5
CC = 1.5

Will test every few hours today and I can already see a huge difference in the water. Will need to read up a bit more on the SLAM process, i'm hopeful soon I can turn my Aquarite generator back on. It's a brand new salt cell so it (should) in theory be able to maintain a good FC level.

Thanks again everyone for your incredibly thoughtful responses and expertise!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

In clean and clear properly balanced water, a properly sized SWG can maintain FC. Once algae gets going and bloom starts, SWG can not output enough chlorine to overcome the algae growth rate. This is why you MUST maintain the correct FC/CYA ratio or else algae and bacteria can grow.


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[scott802]

All,
I believe my SLAM is successfully complete!
FC = 14
CC = .5

Last night my FC was at 17

The pool water still has a bit of a green tint but that might be from all the staining on the vinyl liner. I have turned my cell back on at about 60% and will continue to monitor the FC level, but since my CC is almost non-existent I assume I don't need to keep adding bleach to keep the FC level at 28.


My next set of questions has to do with the ideal levels on a pool of my size and type. What should my CH, Ph, etc be maintained at? My CYA is still at 70 which is good.

The next problem I need to hit unfortunately is with ascorbic acid treatment to get rid of the horrible iron stains. In reading your procedures it seems I am going to have to drop the FC level way down in order to properly do this.

Thanks again for all your advice and help!

 

[JVTrain]

The SLAM criteria are:
1. You have 0.5 CC or less.
2. You have a loss of LESS THAN 1 ppm FC overnight.
3. Your water is crystal clear.

You do not pass 2 or 3. You lost 3 FC overnight and your water still has a green tint. You need to MAINTAIN 28 ppm FC until you pass those two criteria.

 

[Leebo]

Can you please post a photo of your water. This will also help us determine if this is staining or if you still need to SLAM.

 

[pabeader]

Can you see the bottom? Can you see the screws on the drain covers? The test that I use is a quarter. If I can tell heads from tails, then the water is clear.

 

[scott802]

View attachment 43098Hi all,
Glad I found this site! I have added more liquid chlorine to get back to the 28 FC level and shut my cell off. Will keep the 28 level until I'm not losing any more. The CC of .5 looks good through.
In order to help a little I took a couple of pics of the water. The vinyl liner staining can wait until I get the water chemistry right. Thanks again very much.
Also, the gentleman that asked about drain covers - I don't have anything like that this is an OLD vinyl pool with 2 jets and one skimmer. No drains.

View attachment 43097

 

[pabeader]

Well, it looks like your stuck with the quarter test then. It's a good one, for sure. Just drop it in the deepest part and look. You should be able to easily tell what's up. One member swears he could read a newspaper through his water. Now that's what we call clear!!

I like the look of your pool and surrounding area. Much prettier than mine.

The water looks like you have some more chlorine in your future. Make sure you brush real good. Get in and around anything in the pool. Do you have lights? if so you'll want to remove them to get the yuck that's hiding in there.
Watch your filter pressure. You can't backwash because of the filter cartridges but you will need to clean them often while the algae is dying.