Pool opening problems
- Thread starter Tyus4
- Start date
I've put in 8 gallons of liquid chlorine and its still at 1 ..I'm using the 6 test, test strips
You need a good test kit. With strips you are just guessing... that's just the simple truth of it.
There can be a number of reasons why 8 gallons hasn't accomplished what you want - but you need an accurate way to test the water to pinpoint the problem. Strips won't do that.
The bottom line is it may take 16 gallons, or more - but the point of shocking is to continue adding chlorine, up to hourly if necessary to reach your shock level.
So you add bleach/chlorine... wait an hour, test the FC again, if it's still low, you recalculate and add more.
The more often you can test and add chlorine the sooner shocking will work.
There can be a number of reasons why 8 gallons hasn't accomplished what you want - but you need an accurate way to test the water to pinpoint the problem. Strips won't do that.
The bottom line is it may take 16 gallons, or more - but the point of shocking is to continue adding chlorine, up to hourly if necessary to reach your shock level.
So you add bleach/chlorine... wait an hour, test the FC again, if it's still low, you recalculate and add more.
The more often you can test and add chlorine the sooner shocking will work.
This thread is 6 pages long and you're still using strips!!!!
For goodness sake, get yourself a good test kit so you can get a handle on this thing and get it over with!
For goodness sake, get yourself a good test kit so you can get a handle on this thing and get it over with!
Don't be intimidated. Alot of people are here to help no matter the length of the thread. It is impossible tho to do accurate testing with the strips. As noted earlier, you need to keep shocking & still may need lots of chlorine to get it clear & a good test kit will keep you from pulling your hair out & feel like giving up. You've had hookup, pump & leak problems & questions, & now that you're over those stumbling blocks & have it running, it will make it all worth it when the water clears up. I hesitated for weeks last year & finally ordered the TF100 test kit from duraleigh. Best thing I've done for the pool in 14 years of having mine running. You do need to keep pouring chlorine in & keep the level up to get rid of all the organics & algea. Never let it fall to 1 if possible. Keep at it till your chlorine holds at least a 4 if nothing else. But you do need a better kit than the strips. I threw all mine away. They are junk & useless in my mind. Keep asking questions as you have them..
I got my TF-100 in today. Results are
Chlorine is 13
Total Alkananity is 140
CYA is 30
PH is 6.8
Pool is blue in color but foggy
Any suggestions?
Chlorine is 13
Total Alkananity is 140
CYA is 30
PH is 6.8
Pool is blue in color but foggy
Any suggestions?
Congratulations on getting a great test kit!Tyus4 said:
Your pH is low. When your FC drops below 10, retest pH and adjust up (use borax) to around 7.2 - 7.4ish.
Does "Chlorine is 13" mean FC or TC?
What is your CC?
What is your CH?
Hang in there. Use POP
An adult beverage of your choice can also help.
Congrats on the test kit also & Ditto to Butterfly's post.
I have the same sized pool as you, so I plugged some #'s into the Pool Calculator, & come up with adding 65 oz of washing soda/soda ash, or 142 oz of Borax (whichever is easier to find) to move your PH from 6.8 to 7.2. Or if you had a way to aerate your water, that would raise the PH also without raising your TA higher. I've never had to raise my PH, so someone else can correct me if I'm in error.
After you get the ph back within range, then get the chlorine back to shock level at 13 or slightly higher & keep it there till you see some progress. I'm assuming you meant Free Clorine by the 13. It would be good to do the second part of the test to see if you had any CC's. (combined chlorines) It would also be good to do the calcium hardness test also. Per our Pm's, keep checking for any extra junk in the pool you can net out. Then as Butterfly said, with some POP (pool owner patience) and your favorite beverage, it will clear up.
Keep us posted...
I have the same sized pool as you, so I plugged some #'s into the Pool Calculator, & come up with adding 65 oz of washing soda/soda ash, or 142 oz of Borax (whichever is easier to find) to move your PH from 6.8 to 7.2. Or if you had a way to aerate your water, that would raise the PH also without raising your TA higher. I've never had to raise my PH, so someone else can correct me if I'm in error.
After you get the ph back within range, then get the chlorine back to shock level at 13 or slightly higher & keep it there till you see some progress. I'm assuming you meant Free Clorine by the 13. It would be good to do the second part of the test to see if you had any CC's. (combined chlorines) It would also be good to do the calcium hardness test also. Per our Pm's, keep checking for any extra junk in the pool you can net out. Then as Butterfly said, with some POP (pool owner patience) and your favorite beverage, it will clear up.
Keep us posted...
Well I got home from work today and there is a white film on top of the water. I have no idea what its from. I"m gonna do another water test in a bit.
Tyus4 said:
Is the film kind of foamy? Check your pump & filter, make sure it's not sucking air. If that seems all fine, I wouldn't worry about it right now. Mine did that also during the process of coming around. It will probably clear up on its own. Check the PH & see if it's in more of a 7.0-7.2 range. If not, you may have to put some more PH + in. Once you get it in range, get the chlorine back up to 13-14. From a level of 10 to 14, pool calc says 107 oz of 6%, or almost a gallon. Dump it all in, let it circulate & test about an hour later. It would be interesting for you to do an overnight test, (test in the am before the sun gets on the pool) & see how much you are losing to organics without sunlight affecting it. Pump it back up to 14, & test again after work. If you only lost 3 ppm, (13 to 10) since yesterday, you might not be too far away.
PH 7.2
chlorine is 7
cc is 2
Total alkanity is 200
CYA is 30
pool is blue but foggy.. can see about a foot down, thats about it..just changed out my sand in my filter too.. any ideas?
chlorine is 7
cc is 2
Total alkanity is 200
CYA is 30
pool is blue but foggy.. can see about a foot down, thats about it..just changed out my sand in my filter too.. any ideas?
You need to shock.
If you're sure your CYA is 30 your shock level is 13.
You need to add enough bleach to get to 13 immediately and test and add to maintain 13 as often as once an hour until your completely done shocking. You will know you're done shocking when you lose 1ppm FC or less overnight AND you have .5ppm CC's or less. I recommend passing the OCLT two nights in a row before declaring your done.
Once you've done that you need to maintain your FC above 3 at all times. You should shoot for 6ppm FC every evening so it doesn't fall below 3 during the day.
If you're not willing to do that you're wasting your time and you will never have a Trouble Free Pool.
I'm sorry for being so blunt but your problems have been ongoing for sometime now and I know it's very frustrating to you and you need to know that with a little work you can have a truly trouble free pool but it does take a few minutes each day and you have to follow the advice closely.
If you're sure your CYA is 30 your shock level is 13.
You need to add enough bleach to get to 13 immediately and test and add to maintain 13 as often as once an hour until your completely done shocking. You will know you're done shocking when you lose 1ppm FC or less overnight AND you have .5ppm CC's or less. I recommend passing the OCLT two nights in a row before declaring your done.
Once you've done that you need to maintain your FC above 3 at all times. You should shoot for 6ppm FC every evening so it doesn't fall below 3 during the day.
If you're not willing to do that you're wasting your time and you will never have a Trouble Free Pool.
I'm sorry for being so blunt but your problems have been ongoing for sometime now and I know it's very frustrating to you and you need to know that with a little work you can have a truly trouble free pool but it does take a few minutes each day and you have to follow the advice closely.
I kept fc at 14 for 2 weeks..i went through 30 gallons of shock...i brought it down cuz i was going through so much
Did you wipe the tip of the R-0009 dropper bottle, with a damp cloth, in between each drop? The TA test can read falsely high from static electricity and that might be why... have you added anything to raise the ALK since your earlier post that showed it at 140?
It's possible something is lurking and you aren't seeing it... Inside wedding cake steps or a ladder, etc., algae can lurk and unless you find the source can just continue to cause problems -
bottom line is the CC of 2 is problematic and you need to keep shocking until the FC holds overnight and the CC is .5 or less, regardless of how much shock you are going thru. There's only one solution to this... sorry to break it to you but you have to continue the shock process.
It's possible something is lurking and you aren't seeing it... Inside wedding cake steps or a ladder, etc., algae can lurk and unless you find the source can just continue to cause problems -
bottom line is the CC of 2 is problematic and you need to keep shocking until the FC holds overnight and the CC is .5 or less, regardless of how much shock you are going thru. There's only one solution to this... sorry to break it to you but you have to continue the shock process.