Doing a SLAM with a CYA of 90 is gonna be hard. SLAM Should only be done with liquid chlorine/bleach. I’d recommend replacing half your water before trying to SLAM but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Pool Chlorine Level Keeps Dropping (Please help! Incurring astronomic costs in chemicals)
- Thread starter qsch1
- Start date
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,001
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
This is also cal hypo -
use liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) only
The island where I live we have to use rain water for our water storage so I don’t think (especially now in dry season) a good idea for me to use my water storage resources? I am not sure where to get that liquid chlorine (trying to locate even though) which means I will need to use Clorox, one guy makes it and says he uses the unstabilised chlorine granules to make it?
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,001
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
The clorox brand bleach in the US has “cloromax technology” in it which is polymers so we recommend plain cheap bleach that doesn’t have anything extra in it. Let us know what you can find.
Buying watered down cal hypo won’t really help your case & sounds dangerous anyway (it heats up when mixed with water)
Cal hypo should never be mixed with any other chlorine type or other substance or an explosion can occur. It should be handled & stored very carefully.
Buying watered down cal hypo won’t really help your case & sounds dangerous anyway (it heats up when mixed with water)
Cal hypo should never be mixed with any other chlorine type or other substance or an explosion can occur. It should be handled & stored very carefully.
Can I use this (attached) (there is no stabiliser in it) and it is different than the Cal Hypo? It is what a guy uses to make Bleach he says or shall I just use shop purchased “natural” bleach from Clorox? I am going to take back the Cal Hypo to the supplier.
Attachments
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,001
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Cal hypo (calcium hypochlorite) raises your already very high calcium levels.
Use Sodium hypochlorite aka liquid chlorine aka BLEACH-
Bleach only adds chlorine & a little salt
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,186
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
You can't make sodium hypochlorite by dissolving calcium hypochlorite in water. You would create a watery chlorine solution that contains extra calcium instead of extra sodium, but that's not the same as what is referred to as "liquid chlorine" or "bleach".
The bottles that this guy is producing will contain after a short while only salty water. Bleach is only stable because of the high pH it is kept at. Once diluted, the chlorine turns quite quickly into chloride ("salt"). Same with a chlorine solution created by dissolving cal-hypo in water.
Can you post a picture of the label of that "natural bleach"?
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,001
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Anything that’s “solid” or granular adds extra things with the chlorine.
The chlorine gets consumed quickly but the extra stuff stays until you exchange water
- dichlor (granules) & trichlor (tablets) add cya
(you already have too much)
- cal hypo (granular or tablets) add calcium
(you already have too much)
Show us the label of the clorox/ bleach you have available to you.
The chlorine gets consumed quickly but the extra stuff stays until you exchange water
- dichlor (granules) & trichlor (tablets) add cya
(you already have too much)
- cal hypo (granular or tablets) add calcium
(you already have too much)
Show us the label of the clorox/ bleach you have available to you.
aehaas
Member
I just came upon this thread. I had a similar issue some years ago. There are several issues involved but I am confident that solving them will quickly stabilize your pool:
Use ONLY liquid chlorine.
You have to get the CYA level down to 50-60 by draining out half the pool water and replacing it with clean water. I personally keep the CYA level around 30 - 40. The FC is kept at around 7 - 8. This is more than needed in theory but this is what I have found to be needed to prevent any algae even in the remote corners of pool areas. The pump only runs for 12hr a day and my environment is a tough one here in sunny Florida. In the winter the percent of SWG use is as low as 15%. As summer approaches I gradually up it to around 40%.
STOP using algicide. I did an experiment and found it somehow uses up all your chlorine. Algicide is for closing the pool down for the winter season only, not for algae elimination nor maintenance. You have to get it in your head that the only thing that keeps a pool clean is high chlorine, no algicide at all.
Chlorine works better in a pH range of 7.0 to 7.2. I keep the TA around 40-50 and need less hydrochloric acid. Use only liquid HCl acid. Keep the LSI slightly negative, Never positive.
STOP using algicide - I say it again as this is why your chlorine is gone. The day I stopped using it as a "maintenance" algicide was the day I never had algae again.
Ali
Use ONLY liquid chlorine.
You have to get the CYA level down to 50-60 by draining out half the pool water and replacing it with clean water. I personally keep the CYA level around 30 - 40. The FC is kept at around 7 - 8. This is more than needed in theory but this is what I have found to be needed to prevent any algae even in the remote corners of pool areas. The pump only runs for 12hr a day and my environment is a tough one here in sunny Florida. In the winter the percent of SWG use is as low as 15%. As summer approaches I gradually up it to around 40%.
STOP using algicide. I did an experiment and found it somehow uses up all your chlorine. Algicide is for closing the pool down for the winter season only, not for algae elimination nor maintenance. You have to get it in your head that the only thing that keeps a pool clean is high chlorine, no algicide at all.
Chlorine works better in a pH range of 7.0 to 7.2. I keep the TA around 40-50 and need less hydrochloric acid. Use only liquid HCl acid. Keep the LSI slightly negative, Never positive.
STOP using algicide - I say it again as this is why your chlorine is gone. The day I stopped using it as a "maintenance" algicide was the day I never had algae again.
Ali
aehaas
Member
Finally, get this: Pool eXact® EZ Photometer with Bluetooth®
It takes the guesswork out of testing your pool. Many will say it is excessive but you get real, repeatable numbers for your tests. Yes, more costly at first but your saving in chemicals will make up for it in a few months. I do not like its pH function however. You get an accurate NaCl value from this unit as well- I use: PC60 Premium Multiparameter (pH/EC/TDS/Salinity/Temperature) Pocket Tester/Meter Kit-Apera Instruments
Another benefit for this pH meter is that it is temperature compensated. Any other time you need to calculate the Actual pH based on a temperature chart.
Easy to calibrate periodically and relatively inexpensive. Both last for many years. Again, some say this level of accuracy is not needed but once you start using these you will not be able to go back.
Ali
It takes the guesswork out of testing your pool. Many will say it is excessive but you get real, repeatable numbers for your tests. Yes, more costly at first but your saving in chemicals will make up for it in a few months. I do not like its pH function however. You get an accurate NaCl value from this unit as well- I use: PC60 Premium Multiparameter (pH/EC/TDS/Salinity/Temperature) Pocket Tester/Meter Kit-Apera Instruments
Another benefit for this pH meter is that it is temperature compensated. Any other time you need to calculate the Actual pH based on a temperature chart.
Easy to calibrate periodically and relatively inexpensive. Both last for many years. Again, some say this level of accuracy is not needed but once you start using these you will not be able to go back.
Ali
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Thanks what is the LSI? I am using Muriatic acid to drop the PH. That’s very useful thanks!
Guys good news! I think I have found the correct product (see attached). The CYA is now 90 and the PH is around 7.2-7.8. Let me know what to do please, I want to start the process and the algae keeps growing back and causing lots of work for my gardner. I understand where I need to keep the chlorine level up until it is all clear and looses less than 1 level of chlorine overnight. I can not drain a third of the pool (water on Bequia is costly) but I can add about 500-1000 gallons right now.
Attachments
I would have purchased this had I not just sourced a brand new TFP Pro Salt testing kit. Appreciate
It’s ok, those photometers aren’t very accurate. The trouble with that bleach may be the sodium hydroxide. Someone more knowledgeable may need to comment on that.
Thanks, awaiting a response. This seems the only thing close I can get so far?
It’s gotta be sodium hypochlorite, not sodium hydroxide with chlorine.
I have attached above the only Bleach with Sodium I found. I just checked another supplier, and their Bleach also has Sodium Hydroxide. Also not sure how much percent this is, so I can calculate the level of slam in Pool Math. Thanks for your help with this...
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Mr Google tells me that mixing cold sodium hydroxide with chlorine produces salt, bleach, and water. So they seem to be listing the initial ingredients used to produce the bleach in the jug.
chemguide: CIE A level chemistry support: Learning outcome 11.4.1
That sounds about right as the salt it would produce is ok, I am trying to get away from the calcium or stabiliser. The question is, will this work, and how much do I need to use?