Unexplained FC Consumption - SOLVED - although the Mystery Remains

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Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

Well, it is Wed, and the good olde stenner pumped in nearly 15 gallons over the last 5 days, my calcs said about 20 PPM per day.

Water is crystal...seems to be a fine layer of brown dirt (assume it is my invisible algae) but my FC is only 11.5 :-(

Vacummed, brushed and brought up to 16 PPM at 10 PM

Will check in AM and see what fun we have.
 
Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

The insanity continues....consumed nearly 20 PPM of FC Today and pool is sparkly. I think it is time to drain the water and start over....any other suggestions ?



- - - Updated - - -

Here is one from the deep end



And yet another

 
Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

6:30 AM - it is light out, but no sun in the pool.

FC = 19 when I last tested at 10:30 PM

Now

FC = 16
CC = 0

FAILED AGAIN

I think I have the record....2 weeks of crystal clear water....if I let my FC drop to normal conditions I pass OCLT - then during the day massive amounts of FC are consumed.
At SLAM levels I can't pass OCLT - close, but no cigar.

I am really lost...
 

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Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

my thinking is possibly a circulation issue and maybe a bad batch of bleach
try not testing until 1 hour or more after adding bleach with pump on high
im thinking you may be testing a more concentrated area of water/bleach at night and then in the morning it has mixed thoroughly
also what times of day does the stenner add bleach?
did you turn the stenner off when you did the oclt
 
Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

I will explore all ideas...but

I have 3 intakes (2 bottom drain and 1 skimmer) and 3 returns located through the pool. If it is circulation I am thinking I would have seen this last year, but of course I could have algae now and my circulation is not helping me...I will try your idea.

As for the bleach, it was from 3 different stores, over 50 gallons and same results, can't be the bleach. Each time I dose and test results are as expected. Caveat being that since the stenner doses slow, my pool is eating during the day as much FC as the stenner puts in.

Yes stenner off for OCLT

I am dosing 3 times a day 8-12 / 1 - 5 / 6 - 9 (while traveling) trying to maintain FC levels at SLAM and failing.

I keep wondering if I have mustard algae - as I DO ALWAYS seem to have a fine layer of "brownish dust"....I did not see the patches or other signs of Mustard, but it is a variable that has not been considered. at least by me
 
Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

3 different batches of bleach... what if one batch was labelled wrong and was a different strength?
not doubting you at all but is it possible you are not measuring your cya level correctly?
after all this time and money might be worth buying the cya test solution
http://tftestkits.net/R-7065-CYA-Standard-Solution-p34.html
measurung cya with back to sun in Ohio would give a different result to South California?
 
Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

The CYA test idea is a good one...I am confident my testing is accurate, but for $8 a double check seems well worth it.

Does anyone know if Mustard Algae can take on different characteristics...meaning I always seem to have a LIGHT BROWN layer of dirt on the bottom (sometimes the sides) of my pool. When I brush I get a slight bloom of dirt that quickly disappears. Could this be another form of algae and even though my water was/is clear I did have a problem and because I could not SLAM totally perfect it went on FOREVER (oh and still going on)
 
Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

I also had spotty "dust spots" that would just poof up when I brushed them, my chlorine always read accurately and never showed any cc's from where I was pulling my test water from, The water always remained crystal clear and sparkly, but there was always "dirt in the divots and creases. scrubbed every thing down not a stitch of algae in sight, but I started noticing that my chlorine that usually held to 5 by the evening was barely holding on at 4. I went ahead and pulled the ladder out. There was no sign of visible algae anywhere. My ladder had a few pre drilled holes in it, I guess to let the water in to hold it down, and when the water started to drain out, it was disgusting, green, pink and orange crud was flowing freely out of it. Did a slam with the ladder out and guess, what? After 2 days no poofy "dust" on the pool floor. My chlorine must have been enough to keep a full blown algae attack at bay, but I now believe my "dirt" was dead algae. Maybe bump your slam level a bit to see if that helps, you were so close to passing the OCLT, sometimes it seems to just need a little extra nudge.
 
Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

What a run you have had. I wonder what it is?

I have also had a run of losing more chlorine than in the past. I am treating it as some kind of bloom that cannot be seen.

BUT after reading the post about the ladder.................I think I am going to pull my ladder just in case. I do not have a light.

Kim
 
Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

A random hint for those of you with a ladder with the holes in it...I bought my ladder from craigslist and was scared to death to put it in the pool. I cleaned it as best I could on the outside. It was mainly dirty from just sitting in someone's yard not being used.

What scared me was that it has the holes to fill it with water from the top and each step also has a small hole or 2 in it. Unlike pepsiholic's experience, the water seemed clear and clean coming out but I was still scared.

I found an old syringe that I had laying around from some medication I had for my cat or something and found that it was the perfect size to "inject" some chlorine right into those holes. Before I put the ladder in the pool I made sure each rung that would be submerged had a couple squirts of chlorine in it just in case. I plan to squirt some in every now and then just to be safe as I can't see any way that water will circulate properly through those tiny holes.

If nothing else it sure made me feel better to shoot straight bleach into those holes and know that the FC inside the ladder rung would be nice and high for a while.
 
Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

Yes, quite a run.

No ladder - so rule that one out.

I will try for an OCLT tonight...just got home again and pool is so clear it is not even funny. Jumped in and brushed like mad and I do have a bit of dust, but better than before that is sure.

There is ONE THING I've never considered...what about my solar cover. Even though there has never been algae on it, I wonder if SOME HOW it is growing "on the under of the cover"...Mmmmmmmmm

I will push to SLAM again tonight and see what happens. I am home for 3 days straight (a record) so maybe I will finally beat this invisible beast!
 
Re: Unexplained FC Consumption (updated title)

And the run continues...figured I would vacuum just for fun after the brushing...then my little guy swam for a while. The stenner pumped in the massive dose yet again today (almost 15 gals since I left a few days ago)

Just tested for the OCLT start and to bring it up a bit...but WOW.

FC - 4.0
CC - 0.0

OMG - really how is this possible.

I was dosing nearly 4 gallons a day and I could not keep up with my FC loss...I know, this sounds insane!

I will add my last gallon of bleach (thought I had more but they were empties) and I will start the SLAM all over tomorrow. Will a OCLT at regular levels even be worthwhile tonight ? No way did I figure my FC would be so low after all that dosing.
 

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