please help, starting at the beginning

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frogboy

Member
Jan 25, 2025
13
Los Angeles, CA
Pool Size
13500
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Jandy Aquapure 1400
Hello!
I am a first time pool owner and trying to figure out how to maintain my pool (~19000 gallons, plaster (?), saltwater, Jandy PLC1400 salt cell, Pentair Intelliflo3 VSF, Jandy iAqualink, Dolphin Cayman robot) and failing miserably. Despite the pool temp being 50 deg, algae has started to grow at the waterline and on the steps. I purchased a TF-100 Salt test kit, and the chlorine was absent and pH was 8.2. I ran the salt test and the first drop created an orange precipitate but the liquid stayed milky yellow no matter how many more drops I added. It just made more orange precipitate). The filter runs 8 hours a day and the pump is set at 55% chlorine production.

Can someone please point me in the right direction? Should I measure all of the chemicals and report back?

Thank you!
Frogboy
 
Welcome to TFP.

frogboy said:
Should I measure all of the chemicals and report back?
Click to expand...
Yup.

Get your hands on liquid chlorine. You cannot rely on a SWG with water temperature in the 50s.
 
Last edited:
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Welcome to TFP! :wave:

Add your TF-100 Salt test kit to your signature.

Are you using PoolMath?
Download and install PoolMath on your phone/tablet.
Log in using your forum email and password.
In settings, link PoolMath to TFP so we can see your test results.
 
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frogboy said:
The filter runs 8 hours a day and the pump is set at 55% chlorine production.
Click to expand...

Jandy AquaPure SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Chlorine production is not permitted below 51°F (11°C); operating the chlorinator in cold water might result in over-chlorinated pool water. If more chlorine is needed, activating the “Boost” mode will override this cold water feature allowing chlorine production for 24 hours of operation.
 
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frogboy said:
Hello!
I am a first time pool owner and trying to figure out how to maintain my pool (~19000 gallons, plaster (?), saltwater, Jandy PLC1400 salt cell, Pentair Intelliflo3 VSF, Jandy iAqualink, Dolphin Cayman robot) and failing miserably. Despite the pool temp being 50 deg, algae has started to grow at the waterline and on the steps. I purchased a TF-100 Salt test kit, and the chlorine was absent and pH was 8.2. I ran the salt test and the first drop created an orange precipitate but the liquid stayed milky yellow no matter how many more drops I added. It just made more orange precipitate). The filter runs 8 hours a day and the pump is set at 55% chlorine production.

Can someone please point me in the right direction? Should I measure all of the chemicals and report back?

Thank you!
Frogboy
Click to expand...
Welcome! And yes report back test kit results. Note for the salt test that the instructions can be confusing if you don’t pay close attention. Make sure to only use 10ml of water and not 25ml. The instructions references a 25ml container but that’s not the amount of water needed for the test. It’s has gotten me more than once and results in a never ending amount of drops being added.
 
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CYA: 20
calcium hardness: 950
total alkalinity: 80
free chlorine: it stayed cloudy till I counted 300 drops and I can't count that high...should I have kept dropping?

Thanks!
 
frogboy said:
free chlorine: it stayed cloudy till I counted 300 drops and I can't count that high...should I have kept dropping?
Click to expand...
300 drops? Yikes.

Cloudy doesn't matter. The color going from red to clear matters. Are you using the powder test (FAS-DPD R-0870/R-0871)?

10mL sample. Add 1 scoop of R-0870 of powder, heaping is ok. Then add drops, swirling, until clear. Instructions here:
www.troublefreepool.com

FAS-DPD Chlorine Test

The FAS-DPD chlorine test is used to find the level of Free Chlorine in the … Read more…
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

My guess is that you have 0 chlorine.

I would review all the test kit instruction and carefully follow (ignore the OTO instruction and just do the FAS-DPD FC test)

Extended Test Kit Directions Archives

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

If your CH (Calcium Hardness) is in fact 950, then I would replace 75% of your water to get CH down to 250. Read "no drain water exchange" here:

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

After you have exchanged your water, follow the SLAM process here...Link-->SLAM Process

You Got This Good Luck Today GIF by MOODMAN
 
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PoolStored said:
300 drops? Yikes.

Cloudy doesn't matter. The color going from red to clear matters. Are you using the powder test (FAS-DPD R-0870/R-0871)?

10mL sample. Add 1 scoop of R-0870 of powder, heaping is ok. Then add drops, swirling, until clear. Instructions here:
www.troublefreepool.com

FAS-DPD Chlorine Test

The FAS-DPD chlorine test is used to find the level of Free Chlorine in the … Read more…
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

My guess is that you have 0 chlorine.

I would review all the test kit instruction and carefully follow (ignore the OTO instruction and just do the FAS-DPD FC test)

Extended Test Kit Directions Archives

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

If your CH (Calcium Hardness) is in fact 950, then I would replace 75% of your water to get CH down to 250. Read "no drain water exchange" here:

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

After you have exchanged your water, follow the SLAM process here...Link-->SLAM Process

You Got This Good Luck Today GIF by MOODMAN
Click to expand...
Maybe swapped the CYA and FC test procedure?
 

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I see, when I did the FAS-DPD test the fluid was never red, it was always cloudy and colorless. I thought "clear" meant transparent. IF it was cloudy and white the whole time, does that mean no chlorine? Test strips and the block also showed no chlorine
 
frogboy said:
I see, when I did the FAS-DPD test the fluid was never red, it was always cloudy and colorless. I thought "clear" meant transparent. IF it was cloudy and white the whole time, does that mean no chlorine? Test strips and the block also showed no chlorine
Click to expand...
Yes, no pink = no chlorine
 
If you took a 10ml sample, added a scoop of R-0870 and the water did not turn red, your FC is 0.

www.troublefreepool.com

FAS-DPD Chlorine Test

The FAS-DPD chlorine test is used to find the level of Free Chlorine in the … Read more…
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
frogboy said:
I see, when I did the FAS-DPD test the fluid was never red, it was always cloudy and colorless. I thought "clear" meant transparent. IF it was cloudy and white the whole time, does that mean no chlorine? Test strips and the block also showed no chlorine
Click to expand...
If you add the powder, and it doesn't change from clear to pink/red, you have no chlorine

Your test sample shouldn't really be cloudy tho - are you using a separate sample of pool water for each test ?
 
Agreed. Cloudy doesn't sound right. Is this the test you're running to get your chlorine level?
frogboy said:
I purchased a TF-100 Salt test kit, and the chlorine was absent and pH was 8.2. I ran the salt test and the first drop created an orange precipitate but the liquid stayed milky yellow no matter how many more drops I added. It just made more orange precipitate).
Click to expand...
If so, the orange bottle caps with the milky yellow is your salt (sodium chloride) test, not FC (free chlorine). You'll want to use the yellow lids and follow those instructions to get your FC level.
 
High salt/ CH may make the FC test sample cloudy once the TDS is a certain level. It doesnt change anything and the test is still valid whether the pink changes to clear or cloudy.
 
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Thank you all for your advice. I was out of town for a week and now the pool looks like a swamp. I tested the water again and the values were:
FC: 0
pH: >8.2 (slightly more magenta than the high end)
total alkalinity: 80
CYA: 20
calcium hardness: 875
salt: 3200

I tested the calcium hardness of Los Angeles tap water and it was 175. I attached two pics, one is the FAS-DPD chlorine test after I put a scoop of R-0870 into a new tube of pool water, it became cloudy right away and stayed that way. The other is the disgusting floor of my pool.

Can you please let me know the order of operations? Should I drain 3/4 of the pool and fill it back up before SLAM? Add chlorine and balance the pH and brush the bottom first to filter the algae out first? Call 911?
 

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frogboy said:
Thank you all for your advice. I was out of town for a week and now the pool looks like a swamp. I tested the water again and the values were:
FC: 0
pH: >8.2 (slightly more magenta than the high end)
total alkalinity: 80
CYA: 20
calcium hardness: 875
salt: 3200

I tested the calcium hardness of Los Angeles tap water and it was 175. I attached two pics, one is the FAS-DPD chlorine test after I put a scoop of R-0870 into a new tube of pool water, it became cloudy right away and stayed that way. The other is the disgusting floor of my pool.

Can you please let me know the order of operations? Should I drain 3/4 of the pool and fill it back up before SLAM? Add chlorine and balance the pH and brush the bottom first to filter the algae out first? Call 911?
Click to expand...
Make sure to use a heaping scoop of the powder. Cloudiness doesn’t matter for that test. If the water doesn’t turn pink in that test, there is no chlorine in the water. That’s why there’s algae. Start the SLAM process ASAP like described above.
 
on PoolMath it says to add 18 oz of dry stabilizer to reach a CYA of 30 and 60 oz of 29% muriatic acid to achieve a pH of 7.3. It doesn't tell me how much chlorine I'll need to add ("Not enough information to provide accurate advice"). What am I doing wrong?

Once the SLAM is complete, in the winter since the salt cell doesn't work in cold water, am I supposed to regularly add chlorine (and adjust the other chemicals too) on a weekly basis? Then once it warms up I can let the SWG take care of the chlorine?
 

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