Pool not holding chlorine

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DKJohnson24

DKJohnson24

Bronze Supporter
May 14, 2022
48
Minnesota
Pool Size
24000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
I wrote last week that the pool store said the reason my chlorine is not holding is due to the high level of phosphates. I have been waiting for my test kit to arrive (it was supposed to arrive today and now they are saying July 2nd!) I can’t wait that long. My fixtures are yellowing/browning and I need to get this fixed.
The last water test the store did was on Monday.
FC-.13
TC- 1.06
CC- .93
PH- 6.9
TA- 76 (but that is up now as I added the alkalinity up from the store)
Hardness-165
CYA -133
Copper- .2
Iron- .1

I have just added a gallon of liquid chlorine. I have also added store product to get rid of the iron and copper which has done nothing to move those numbers.
What should I do??
 
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I would add nothing more for TA this point. TA of 76 is just fine.

I would add 1 1/4 gallon of 10% Liquid Chlorine, or 1 gallon of 12.5% per day. This will add 5ppm per day and keep the algae at bay until you get your kit.

It happens all the time here. People want the pool clear, NOW! So they use pool store tests, add a bunch of stuff they really didn't need, and actually make the situation worse.

In the long run, if you follow this advice until you get your kit, it will take less time to fix it because we didn't make something worse, and you will spend less $ to correct it.

Maybe some inspiration will help --> How Clear is TFP Clear?
 
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PoolStored said:
I would add nothing more for TA this point. TA of 76 is just fine.

I would add 1 1/4 gallon of 10% Liquid Chlorine, or 1 gallon of 12.5% per day. This will add 5ppm per day and keep the algae at bay until you get your kit.

It happens all the time here. People want the pool clear, NOW! So they use pool store tests, add a bunch of stuff they really didn't need, and actually make the situation worse.

In the long run, if you follow this advice until you get your kit, it will take less time to fix it because we didn't make something worse, and you will spend less $ to correct it.

Maybe some inspiration will help --> How Clear is TFP Clear?
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What about the yellowing of the fixtures and steps. Is it possible this is mustard algae? I was told that this is very chlorine resistant
 
It is possible, but there could be a number of reasons. We have a treatment for that when your kit comes.

Can you post a few picture of the condition of the pool and fixtures?
 
It could be, but you need reliable test data to ensure you raise FC to proper level. For a SLAM to get rid of algae, you need to raise FC significantly because your CYA is over 100. Is it feasible to drain some water (like 50-70%) and replace to lower your CYA - assuming it is over 100?
You want to do a SLAM with a CYA of 50 if possible. This would require a FC of 20 ppm for algae and if you have mustard algae you may need to as high as 30ppm for FC.
As noted by @PoolStored it is best to add that 1 to 1.5 gals of LC daily until you can test and verify what the numbers are. And seriously consider if you can drain and replace water if your CYA test comes in over 100ppm
 
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DKJohnson24 said:
What about the yellowing of the fixtures and steps. Is it possible this is mustard algae? I was told that this is very chlorine resistant
Click to expand...
Killing algae in a few day sis much easier than removing the stuff pool stores will sell you to make money. Right now, keep chlorine in the water and wait for your test kit so we can get numbers we can rely on.

Please do not confuse the specificity of the results the pool store gives with accuracy.

Chlorine, that is all you should be adding right now.
 
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Most of us have been there, you add one thing that causes more issues and the. Something to help that.
Once your water is in balance life is a lot easier.

Mustard algae requires a lot of brushing and FC at or above slam level. Here is a link to a article about it

www.troublefreepool.com

Mustard Algae

Today We are going to show you how you can get rid of mustard algae in your pool. By following the steps in this guide and with no expensive chemicals.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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PoolStored said:
It is possible, but there could be a number of reasons. We have a treatment for that when your kit comes.

Can you post a few picture of the condition of the pool and fixtures?
Click to expand...
It’s getting dark but it is pretty clear
PoolStored said:
It is possible, but there could be a number of reasons. We have a treatment for that when your kit comes.

Can you post a few picture of the condition of the pool and fixtures?
Click to expand...
the pool is actually pretty clear. It’s getting dark here, but I think you can still see
 

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How old is the pool and fixtures? The yellowing you are seeing is not from algae. PVC will also yellow naturally with exposure to sun over the years. You can also try cleaning them with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. The magic eraser will fall apart so you want to scrub them out of the pool if you can.
If that doesn't work try getting some vitamin c tablets, put them in a sock, crush them up and put them on the fixtures while they sit in a bowl of water. Check it in an hour and see if the yellowing has faded. If the vitamin C fades the stains, then the stains came from iron in your water. Iron in the water usually comes from well water.

I would not use anything other than chlorine in your pool until the test kit arrives. If the CYA reading is accurate at over 100 ppm you will need to do a partial drain and refill to lower that CYA level.
 

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zea3 said:
How old is the pool and fixtures? The yellowing you are seeing is not from algae. PVC will also yellow naturally with exposure to sun over the years. You can also try cleaning them with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. The magic eraser will fall apart so you want to scrub them out of the pool if you can.
If that doesn't work try getting some vitamin c tablets, put them in a sock, crush them up and put them on the fixtures while they sit in a bowl of water. Check it in an hour and see if the yellowing has faded. If the vitamin C fades the stains, then the stains came from iron in your water. Iron in the water usually comes from well water.

I would not use anything other than chlorine in your pool until the test kit arrives. If the CYA reading is accurate at over 100 ppm you will need to do a partial drain and refill to lower that CYA level.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your help!
 
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my kit arrived today! So I am doing this for the first time and I did watch some videos to make sure I did it accurately. But I just did the test for free and combined chlorine and the sample turned clear after swirling, but I stopped and it turned pink again. Is that supposed to happen?
 
My Testing kit arrived a couple of days ago and I did my first test right away as I have had a chlorine problem now for about 3 weeks.
After doing the test, I just wanted to see how I compared to my regular pool store. Here are the results:
My test. Store 1. Store 2
Ch- 1 .83. .68
Ph- 7.0. 8.2. 7.0
TA- 110 243. 98
CYA- 110 9 80
FC- .5 .83. .68
CC- 0. 0. 0

As you can see, the only thing we all agree on is that I don’t have enough chlorine. The 2nd store was closer to my home results so I trusted that more and did not buy any chemicals to lower my ph. The second store told me to stop buying ph up/alkalinity up and just go buy some baking soda (they were out and they don’t support the other stuff) so I added one bag of baking soda and two gallons of liquid chlorine. I do have a chlorinate and use the tablets.
Retested the next day and my chlorine didn’t move, my PH is at 7.2 and alkalinity is at 90
I asked the pool store #2 to test for phosphates and they came back with 2,600. I watched her do the test manually and they have all the Taylor refill bottles for sale for the kits so I feel like they are more in line with TFP philosophy.

If I had followed store #1’s advice, imagine where my ph would be right now…

So the problem still lies with my chlorine level…my pool has been crystal clear, but I’m showing yellowing on fixtures and stairs. What do I do??
 
DKJohnson24 said:
What do I do??
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First & foremost stay out of the pool store. YOU are in charge now with proper testing. Store inconsistency is proven in the numbers above, and their advice is horrible. So now you do the following:
1. You need to exchange water to lower the CYA. It's the only way. If your CYA is actually 110 (and not higher), if you exchanged half the water the CYA would lower in half to about 60. That should be more than enough CYA in your area for a non-salt pool.
2. After you exchange water to lower the CYA, increase the FC to about 7-8 ppm with liquid chlorine.
3. Since you have been losing chlorine, I would then do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to ensure you do not have algae.

Don't mess with the TA anymore. Focus on the CYA,, then the FC. If your pH goes over 7.8, lower it a little, but that's it for now.
 
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DKJohnson24 said:
I asked the pool store #2 to test for phosphates and they came back with 2,600. I watched her do the test manually and they have all the Taylor refill bottles for sale for the kits so I feel like they are more in line with TFP philosophy.
Click to expand...

Stay out of the pool store. Just because they use Taylor reagents or a drop test does not mean they subscribe to our ways of doing things, nor does it mean they are correctly testing anything. Additionally, don't bother worrying about phosphates. YOU are better at this than 99.5% of pool store employees.
 
When you complete the CYA test, you can pour the sample mixture back into the squirt bottle and repeat the test. As many times as you want. I always do that at least once, often several times, until I am very confident in my result.
 
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DKJohnson24 said:
Should I turn off my chlorinator for now and just use liquid chlorine?
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Until you are able to lower the CYA, it won't hurt to leave it on because your FC level needs to be much higher than normal according to the FC/CYA Levels. Hopefully you can avoid an algae outbreak, so keep the FC elevated. Once you exchange water you can maintain a normal FC level and we'll evaluate more from there.
 

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