Closing in a few hours and polyquat dropped FC lower than expected

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poolnewbie4

0
Sep 20, 2018
56
N TN
Pool Size
19000
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Closing is in a few hours and I just discovered that the polyquat I added 10 hours ago decreased FC from 8 to 4 so it is barely above minimum chlorine level for my CYA now. This concerns me because the water temperature has risen to 65 degrees because of warm weather this week and it likely won’t go down lower than that for several more days since more unseasonably warm weather is expected today and this weekend. I always close with polyquat since I have a mesh cover but I have never experienced such a big FC drop like this before and never have used it with water this warm. Should I increase FC back up to shock level (8) or my normal chlorine level (6) before closing or would that decrease the effectiveness of the polyquat if I did this? If the polyquat and warmer weather decreases the FC lower or to zero, how long will the polyquat protect my water from algae?
 
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If you are using PQ 60 then let Polyquat work the way it should. Chemicaly it resists algae different then chlorine.

A mix of PQ and chlorine is your best protection. If you top off your chlorine after adding PQ then you are breaking the PQ back down and might as well not add it.

Read this and follow the directions for best results…

Algaecide - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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That my friend, is the PQ conundrum. If you skip the PQ, you'll retain more FC and likely not need the PQ. If you use PQ, you'll likely need the PQ with the FC it erased. But you'll have the PQ instead so it's still all good. Man my head hurts. :ROFLMAO:

PQ remains active even at a weaker strength so it's still a good option. More FC would mean less PQ and also less FC. In your case here, some of each is best as Allen suggested. (y)
 
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Newdude said:
PQ remains active even at a weaker strength so it's still a good option. More FC would mean less PQ and also less FC. In your case here, some of each is best as Allen suggested. (y)
Click to expand...

PQ lasts in the water resisting algae blooms longer then chlorine does.

If your chlorine lasts through the winter and you don’t get so much algae that all the chlorine is consumed then chlorine alone for the winter works.

With chlorine + PQ then when the chlorine is consumed and gone the PQ will be there to resist the algae bloom. Unless you breakdown the PQ immediately after adding by adding chlorine on top of it.

Lower pH, set your FC, add the PQ, and close the pool. Don’t test pH or FC after adding PQ.
 
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