Water not holding chlorine level

Jump to latest Follow Reply
I'm getting really frustrated and I guess it's because I'm really not sure what to expect. Since I've opened my pool weeks ago today I've put in at least 70 gallons of chlorine (12.5%) and it appears I'm not anywhere near ready to swim yet. I will say that after I had the pool topped off with 13K of fresh water the overall color of the water changed from light green to blue and the clarity of the water has improved so that now I can just barely see the main drain in the deep end of the pool, however, there hasn't been any significant changes over the past 3-4 days. Over the past 24 hours I've added 13 gallons the last 2 1/2 gallons about 45 minutes ago.

The following are my latest reading, FC 2.5; CC 2.5. I also added @ 2#'s of stabilizer about 2 hour ago. I know this isn't an exact science and every situation is different but I sure could use some insight into how long of a process I am looking at. Also I know that the preferred chlorination method is liquid chlorine but since my CYA is so low I'm wondering if I can add powered chlorine until the problem is corrected or until my CYA level (currently 0) gets somewhere near the normal range. I just want to explore all options and alternatives, however, I don't want to make my situation any worse. So any information would be greatly appreciate.
 
You must have ammonia that was the result of the CYA being converted. I was reluctant to suggest adding CYA in case there was still bacteria in the pool converting it.

Stick with liquid until the FC holds. If yoy are diligent and test and dose 2-3 times an hour, then you could have the ammonia gone in a matter of hours.

Search the forum and read all the ammonia threads this spring.
 
This can be frustrating, we all understand that. Jason seems to think you are dealing with an ammonia issues an quickly reading over what has happened I agree. Ammonia issues tend to drag out and break folks spirits. Stick with it and you will achieve your goal.

You seem to have a good understanding of the reactions of additions to your pool. As long as you calculate the CYA effect of using a granular chlorine (dichlor/trichlor)and don't overshoot your final goal there is no reason not to use it. Or, if you CH is on the lower side you can use Cal Hypo (WalMart sells it as a shock product) as it increases CH instead of CYA. But, before you do do a cost analysis as liquid chlorine usually wins on cost. In the end you want the chlorine to oxidize the organics. It doesn't matter the source of the chlorine - as long as you take side effects into consideration. To quote Dave, Site Owner of TFP “TFPC will never be about Cal Hypo vs tri-chlor- vs something else but it will be about our informed decisions to know the difference and what to do about those differences.”
 
Please keep in mind that clearing a green pool is not a sprint race, it is a marathon. They can take from a couple of days to well over a month. Every pool is different and nobody can tell you how long yours will take. You have been getting solid advice. Keep at it and it will clear up.
 
I had to go out this morning and replenish my stock of chlorine and while I was out I picked up an ammonia test kit. Prior to adding my 1st 2 1/2 gallon treatment of the day I tested the water and the following are the results;

FC .5-1.0
CC 1.0
Ammonia 1.0

I plan on treating /testing every 30-45 minutes. I will report my results periodically throughout the afternoon.
 
I just added my 3rd treatment and the following are my reading after the 2nd treatment;
FC 1.0-1.5
CC 1.0
Ammonia .25-.5
Just an observation, I've also noticed that the water is getting a little cloudier after each treatment. Is that what I should be seeing at this point?
 
If there were organics in the pool, some of the FC may be starting to kill it and cloud up the water now that the ammonia is almost gone and not using up all the chlorine.

Seeing tangible progress with that Ammonia kit :goodjob:
 
+1 on what Jblizzle said "If there were organics in the pool, some of the FC may be starting to kill it and cloud up the water now".

Dead algae will make it look a little cloudy. It's a good thing :goodjob:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I just added the 5th treatment. The test results after the 4th are as follows;

FC 2.5
CC 1.5-2
Ammonia .25

I'm going out to dinner so I won't be able to add another treatment for at least 3 hours. Hopefully that won't set me back any.
 
The following are my last reading of the day (Thursday) taken @ 4 hours after the 5th treatment;
FC 1.0
CC 1.0
Ammonia 0.0-.25

I added my 6th treatment at 10:00 PM and will report the results in the AM. It appears that the ammonia problem is just about gone so hopefully the chlorine will begin working on the organics. I did check the CYA in the afternoon and I can still see the DOT in the bottom of the tube with the tube completely filled. I guess I wasn't expecting any change from yesterday since the pool school says it can take a week to begin seeing a raise in the CYA after the stabilizer is added.
 
I've added my 1st treatment of the day (8:00). The following were my readings prior to adding the 1st treatment;
FC .5-1.0
CC .5-1.0
Ammonia 0.0-.25

I also checked the stabilizer sock and the two #'s I added on Wednesday is almost gone. Should I add the final two #'s I have?
 
Just checked my readings again, did three treatments so far today. They've been spread out some because I had an appointment I had to go to but here are the latest results;

FC 6.0
CC 1.5

I didn't check the ammonia level since it hasn't change since yesterday still at 0.0-.25. I also need to know if I should add the remainder of the stabilizer in have (2#'s).
 
If your cya was truly 0 you will need 234 oz of stabilizer to get you to 50 so I don't see why not. At 4 lbs, you're not even putting a dent into that, just 14 so to get to 30, 6 lbs more is in order just to get near 30. Walmart has 6.5lbs bottle of 100% cya if you can find it locally (my salt pool) brand for <$20. you might want to do a cost comparison with Home Depot, I've seen in another thread some one got it there for <$18. Here locally, I saw my HD had it for over $27
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply