Please help me diagnose this! Pink bacteria

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Update. Chlorine dropped to 10ppm so I am raising it up again with more liquid bleach. Is it normal to take 4 gallons of 12.5% bleach to get the chlorine to elevate to 15-20ppm? I will have to go buy 4 more gallons tomorrow. My pool is 17,000 gallons. Thanks!
 
ghoover522 said:
Update. Chlorine dropped to 10ppm so I am raising it up again with more liquid bleach. Is it normal to take 4 gallons of 12.5% bleach to get the chlorine to elevate to 15-20ppm? I will have to go buy 4 more gallons tomorrow. My pool is 17,000 gallons. Thanks!
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No, it is not. 4 Gallons of 12.5% should raise your pool BY 29ppm. It is likely that your chlorine is old as it degrades, or your pool is larger than you think.

Chlorine Date Code Decoder - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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Yea, I've had that pink stuff on my skimmer this and last year, I've never considered it a thing.... maybe raise my FC a bit for a day or two and brush the pool twice a day for 2-3 days and that's all. I never had any associated staining at all. But what you showed in the pic was exactly what I had, always just scoured the pool everywhere and that was all.
 
I am testing using the dropper test you sell on this site. I am doing the test as correctly as possible. One heaping scoop of powder into 10ml of pool water. Stir and dissolve fully. Then add drops of the bigger bottle and stir until we go clear. I just tested this morning and we went clear at 6 drops (only 3ppm) I bought four more gallons of chlorine from Home Depot as they had newer stock. Just put 2 more gallons in and will circulate for 2 hours and test again.
 
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If your slamming your slam level is 20 for the 50 CYA level you have. 2 3/4 gallons is going to take you to slam from zero. Check it 10 minutes after its in the water with pump on. If you don't achieve the 20 level add more as per poolmath till it reaches to 20 slam level. Keep it there a few times a day along with brushing minimum 2-3 times daily. Test only for FC now and nothing else. Oh PH should be 7.2 before the slam begins and if you have already higher then 10 FC don't bother as it won't be accurate.
 
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So the question is, do I keep adding what seems to be extreme amounts of liquid chlorine in order to reach 20 Free Chlorine? How often should I add more. I only have 2 more gallons of this. I can go and try to buy more but this would now be going on 6 gallons in less than 24 hours put into the pool.
 
@PoolStored : So if this stuff is degrading in less than a month from production, how in the heck do we know how much we're putting in our pools?? This must be why the 3 inch pucks are more attractive from a longer term chlorination approach. It's extremely frustrating to not know how much is actually being put in the pool to effectively shock the water.
 
ghoover522 said:
So the question is, do I keep adding what seems to be extreme amounts of liquid chlorine in order to reach 20 Free Chlorine? How often should I add more. I only have 2 more gallons of this. I can go and try to buy more but this would now be going on 6 gallons in less than 24 hours put into the pool.
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I would check and replace every hour or two early in the SLAM. When your FC consumption goes down, you can extend the time period. My pool is twice the size of your pool and it took me just over 30 gallons. I've not had to slam again since. You might buy 10-15, easier to have it if necessary, and you can take it back if you don't need it.
ghoover522 said:
@PoolStored : So if this stuff is degrading in less than a month from production, how in the heck do we know how much we're putting in our pools?? This must be why the 3 inch pucks are more attractive from a longer term chlorination approach. It's extremely frustrating to not know how much is actually being put in the pool to effectively shock the water.
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Yup. Frustrating. We check date codes when we buy it. We find the cheapest prices and stores that we know have high turnover and keep fresh stock. We store in a dry cool place. We check after we add. Some buy 6 or 10% because it degrades more slowly.
 
What’s the date code on the LC you’re using now and what’s the code on the bottle you were using when the FC wasn’t going up much. 5 digit code starting with a 22, or possibly a 21 (or even, gasp, a 20j?
 

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