Adding chemicals is not increasing my pool values

[HotKewlAid]

Hey guys. I'm kind of at a loss here. I have a TF-100 kit and this has been my experience. When I first got it, my FC was around 1-2 since I had put some chlorine in the pool already, PH was 7.2.

Friday May 5
I do the full test and my CYA was practically 0 (at least less than 20, no cloudiness in the tube). So I added 4 lbs of CYA via sock method, and ~60oz of liquid chlorine (10%).

During the next week, my chlorine would never get over 2. I added the recommended dose from the pool calculator almost every day.

Friday May 12
FC - 1.5
CC - 0.5
PH - 7.2
TA - 80
CYA - 15
CH - 125 (vinyl pool liner, not sure if this matters)

So I added 42 oz of borax (premixed in water), 2.5 lbs of CYA and 43 oz of liquid chlorine on Friday night. I was unable to check again until Sunday, but when I did TC was 1 and ph was still 7.2

I added 80oz of liquid chlorine that poolcalculator said should raise the TC to 5.

Monday May 13
Total chlorine is still 2, ph is still 7.2. Added 60oz of liquid chlorine and 24 oz of baking soda (mixed in water).

Today
I got up and tested the water this morning to see if maybe my chlorine was just getting eaten during the day. But checking the water first thing, my TC is still only 2.5 and my ph is STILL 7.2

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, but I cannot seem to get the levels right.

 

[JohnT]

When you let your chlorine get low, algae can get started and the only real symptom may be excess chlorine consumption. To really know what is going on, you want to test again about an hour after chemical additions.

 

[HotKewlAid]

I do have some small brown spots in the bottom of pool that I vacuumed up yesterday but are back again this morning. I thought it was just dirt. Would that be algae? If that is the case, does that mean I need to SLAM it?

 

[BenMc19]

Hey guys. I'm kind of at a loss here. I have a TF-100 kit and this has been my experience. When I first got it, my FC was around 1-2 since I had put some chlorine in the pool already, PH was 7.2.

Friday May 5
I do the full test and my CYA was practically 0 (at least less than 20, no cloudiness in the tube). So I added 4 lbs of CYA via sock method, and ~60oz of liquid chlorine (10%).

During the next week, my chlorine would never get over 2. I added the recommended dose from the pool calculator almost every day.

Friday May 12
FC - 1.5
CC - 0.5
PH - 7.2
TA - 80
CYA - 15
CH - 125 (vinyl pool liner, not sure if this matters)

So I added 42 oz of borax (premixed in water), 2.5 lbs of CYA and 43 oz of liquid chlorine on Friday night. I was unable to check again until Sunday, but when I did TC was 1 and ph was still 7.2

I added 80oz of liquid chlorine that poolcalculator said should raise the TC to 5.

Monday May 13
Total chlorine is still 2, ph is still 7.2. Added 60oz of liquid chlorine and 24 oz of baking soda (mixed in water).

Today
I got up and tested the water this morning to see if maybe my chlorine was just getting eaten during the day. But checking the water first thing, my TC is still only 2.5 and my ph is STILL 7.2

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, but I cannot seem to get the levels right.

Yeah, sounds like you are in my boat. I was only able to shock my pool once a night. Granted i had a green pool, but it took nearly a month for me to finally passed the over night chlorine loss test.

~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

 

[Mr Bruce]

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal. A daily loss of 2-4 ppm chlorine is what you would expect. What I suspect is your additions are not frequent enough and not high enough. Take a look at this chart Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart The most important column is the minimum, not the target. You never want to go below the minimum. So if you have to target a little higher to stay above the minimum that's ok. I would start with every day until you really get a feel for what a normal daily loss is. Like JohnT said, it would be a good idea to test the water an hour after your additions to make sure you are hitting the targets you think you are.

 

[BenMc19]

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal. A daily loss of 2-4 ppm chlorine is what you would expect. What I suspect is your additions are not frequent enough and not high enough. Take a look at this chart Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart The most important column is the minimum, not the target. You never want to go below the minimum. So if you have to target a little higher to stay above the minimum that's ok. I would start with every day until you really get a feel for what a normal daily loss is. Like JohnT said, it would be a good idea to test the water an hour after your additions to make sure you are hitting the targets you think you are.

I just started using liquid chlorine. I know it's all based on pool size, sunlight, etc, but what is an average amount of liquid chlorine per day for a pool? And can you get by with adding it once per day or does it need to be twice?


~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

 

[HotKewlAid]

Since I just added the CYA again on Friday, and I've read it takes at least a week to get absorbed or whatever, should I just add chlorine to try to get to get to the amount FC of what I think the CYA level should be at? If the amount the pool calculator is telling me to add is not effective enough, how do I determine how much chlorine to add? I'm just adding liquid chlorine, no tabs, and just adding it in the evening. Is adding more chlorine in the evening better than adding some in the morning as well?

 

[BenMc19]

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal. A daily loss of 2-4 ppm chlorine is what you would expect. What I suspect is your additions are not frequent enough and not high enough. Take a look at this chart Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart The most important column is the minimum, not the target. You never want to go below the minimum. So if you have to target a little higher to stay above the minimum that's ok. I would start with every day until you really get a feel for what a normal daily loss is. Like JohnT said, it would be a good idea to test the water an hour after your additions to make sure you are hitting the targets you think you are.

Also, why does your link take me to this page? I have noticed that many links on here are going to unrelated pages. Is that an issue with Tapatalk or bad links?

Sorry if I'm hijacking this thread.

~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

 

[Mr Bruce]

I just started using liquid chlorine. I know it's all based on pool size, sunlight, etc, but what is an average amount of liquid chlorine per day for a pool? And can you get by with adding it once per day or does it need to be twice?


~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

Once a day is plenty, after a few weeks you should get a pretty good idea of the appetite and can switch to 2 days. In that size pool somewhere around 1/4 gallon of 8.25/day, maybe less.

Since I just added the CYA again on Friday, and I've read it takes at least a week to get absorbed or whatever, should I just add chlorine to try to get to get to the amount FC of what I think the CYA level should be at? If the amount the pool calculator is telling me to add is not effective enough, how do I determine how much chlorine to add? I'm just adding liquid chlorine, no tabs, and just adding it in the evening. Is adding more chlorine in the evening better than adding some in the morning as well?

You can just assume whatever CYA you added is there. If testing tells you otherwise, you can adjust your plan then.

The best time is whenever makes sense to you. There is no way I'm getting up and doing pool stuff in the morning. I have my pump on to run in mid to late afternoon when I get home so that is when I add. I would pick a time and do a daily test and chlorine addition at around the same time everyday, logging to see a pattern. If you have to add a little bit more to keep above the minimum then so be it.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, why does your link take me to this page? I have noticed that many links on here are going to unrelated pages. Is that an issue with Tapatalk or bad links?

Sorry if I'm hijacking this thread. [IMG---]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170516/4dc1c5d8b005d9e35c90bd735354cd4a.jpg[/IMG]

~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

I have no idea. I haven't even read whatever thread that is from It should be the same link as my signature that says Chlorine/CYA/Target/Slam Chart

 

[BenMc19]

Once a day is plenty, after a few weeks you should get a pretty good idea of the appetite and can switch to 2 days. In that size pool somewhere around 1/4 gallon of 8.25/day, maybe less.



You can just assume whatever CYA you added is there. If testing tells you otherwise, you can adjust your plan then.

The best time is whenever makes sense to you. There is no way I'm getting up and doing pool stuff in the morning. I have my pump on to run in mid to late afternoon when I get home so that is when I add. I would pick a time and do a daily test and chlorine addition at around the same time everyday, logging to see a pattern. If you have to add a little bit more to keep above the minimum then so be it.

- - - Updated - - -



I have no idea. I haven't even read whatever thread that is from It should be the same link as my signature that says Chlorine/CYA/Target/Slam Chart

Based on my crude math, 1/4 a gallon, for 30 days, will need approximately 8 gallons? At the price I'm buying at that is $40 per month, let's say $50 if you add an extra gallon for shock. Is that about that you pay for monthly upkeep?

~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

 

[Mr Bruce]

Based on my crude math, 1/4 a gallon, for 30 days, will need approximately 8 gallons? At the price I'm buying at that is $40 per month, let's say $50 if you add an extra gallon for shock. Is that about that you pay for monthly upkeep?

~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

My pool is 3x the size of yours. I buy a 5 gallon bucket of 12.5% bleach from a cleaning company about once a week at $20. Works out the same price-wise as Wal-Mart but I don't have the lugging and recycling of 5 times the bottles and I don't have to go to Wal-Mart . And I have buckets for other stuff left over!

Be careful stocking up. Bleach gets weaker with time. That's a good thing about Wal-Mart, they have good turnover on bleach so it's usually fresh, and it has date codes.

 

[BenMc19]

Pool company around me sells liquid chlorine but you have to bring your own container. They sell it for $5.00 a gallon, but the cheapest i found was $4.50 at Lowe's and home Depot for 11%. Can't find that bleach anywhere for less than $3 bucks. May be worth the convenience to get 5 gallon containers. I have a mountain of empty 5 gallon jugs.

~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

 

[HotKewlAid]

Thanks Mr Bruce. I'll follow your advice and adjust from there and see how it goes. Any thoughts on why my PH wouldn't be increasing though?

 

[Mr Bruce]

I did a quick search and there are 3 Wal-Marts in Alexandria LA. They sell 8.25% for less than $3. Unless you are opposed to Wal Mart which I would understand

I save my jugs to hold down the edges of my cover over the winter.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks Mr Bruce. I'll follow your advice and adjust from there and see how it goes. Any thoughts on why my PH wouldn't be increasing though?

CYA will lower ph a little bit, so they probably counter acted each other. Don't worry about it too much, there is nothing wrong with 7.2. If it drops below 7.0 I would add borax with the pump running and measure in 30 minutes to verify.

 

[BenMc19]

I did a quick search and there are 3 Wal-Marts in Alexandria LA. They sell 8.25% for less than $3. Unless you are opposed to Wal Mart which I would understand

I save my jugs to hold down the edges of my cover over the winter.

- - - Updated - - -


CYA will lower ph a little bit, so they probably counter acted each other. Don't worry about it too much, there is nothing wrong with 7.2. If it drops below 7.0 I would add borax with the pump running and measure in 30 minutes to verify.

Definitely not opposed, just didn't see any when I went to the store. I'll check online again.

~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

 

[Mr Bruce]

Definitely not opposed, just didn't see any when I went to the store. I'll check online again.

~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

It's in the cleaning section, not the pool section. Although some of the big Wal-Marts have 10% in the pool section now, sometimes of questionable age so always check date codes! It's the number of days into the year it was bottled. I just multiply months x 30 to get close. First of the month would be 4x30 so no date codes older than 120ish.

 

[HotKewlAid]

It's in the cleaning section, not the pool section. Although some of the big Wal-Marts have 10% in the pool section now, sometimes of questionable age so always check date codes! It's the number of days into the year it was bottled. I just multiply months x 30 to get close. First of the month would be 4x30 so no date codes older than 120ish.

Walmart by my in MO sells 10% liquid chlorine in pool section for $3.64/gal. And they have another one thats the same strength for $6.44/gal, but I don't know why anyone would buy that.

 

[kimkats]

Also, why does your link take me to this page? I have noticed that many links on here are going to unrelated pages. Is that an issue with Tapatalk or bad links?

Sorry if I'm hijacking this thread.

~11,500 gallon in-ground 27 x 13 ft
3 ft in shallow, 5.5 ft in deep
Plaster bottom/fiberglass sides(?)

It is a problem with Tap a talk...........

 

[Fingaling]

It is a problem with Tap a talk...........

Haha. Tap a talk just told me someone had responded up a comment I made, then when I clicked on the notification it brought me here, where someone is complaining about tap a talk.

 

[Townlakecakes]

@HotKewlAid, I got the stuff that's $6.44, but it's a box of 2- 1 gallon bottles, so $3.22/gallon.
I was only able to find 3 bottles of store brand bleach on my grocery store shelves. I guess somebody else was SLAMing too. Walmart was my last resort but it sure was easier bringing home 6 bottles of 10% than 10 bottles of 6%