Too much Chlorine

[lurch]

Argh. I wasn't thinking clearly and tested for chlorine wrong while trying to shock with bleach. I thought my algea problem was so bad it was consuming what I was putting in so I kept putting in more.

I finally realize somethings not right and start testing correctly, only to find that I'm now at 50+ppm! This was Sunday and now 5 days later, it still does not appear to be below 50. We've had a lot of cloudy days so I'm assuming its not coming down much.

Looks like my options are 1) Keep waiting, but I need to get this right by next weekend so I have a full week to get rest of the chemicals right before a pool party, 2) drain and fill (20000 gallons, obviously not preferred!) or 3) Jack's Magic, etc, which best I can tell will cost $60 or so.

Am I missing any other options?

ETA: I have a heat pump I could turn on if that would help

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

What is your CYA level?

(Don't worry, everyone's done something like this at one point or another.)

Edit: How are you testing? End Edit

 

[Casey]

I was just gonna ask the same thing.

How bout a full set of numbers with that outrageously high chlorine? How many gallons did you accidently put in the pool?

 

[lurch]

PH was near 8 which I started bringing down but now cant test for it of course
TA 110
CH 380
CYA 10-20
Salt 3550

At this point I'm using the OTO test. 1 drop in 10ml turns orange. I was (incorrectly) using the Taylor kit which uses DPD Regant 1-2-3 (I was testing after 2, not realizing that I needed to use 3!)

12 182oz jugs of 6% bleach were used to get here

Thanks guys!

 

[257WbyMag]

Yikes!

So, 12 jugs of bleach with 182 oz each...that's a total of 2194 oz. of bleach. Assuming that it is 6% bleach, that raises your FC by 52 ppm. I would hazard to guess that this is probably not a good thing for the equipment. Would anybody suggest that maybe a partial drain and fill is in order or can they just let the sun take care of it. That's really high!

 

[Casey]

OMG. Atleast you don't have a liner pool.

 

[duraleigh]

YOur CYA level will have a significant effect on how quickly it comes down. 10-20 CYA is an unusual test result. Let us know how you're testing.

Meanwhile, let your FC come down on it's own. it will not take as long as you think. In fact, if your CYA is less thantwenty, I believe it will decrease quite rapidly........a couple of days.

The heat pump nor Jack's magic will do no good.

I don't think you are in as bad of shape as you might believe.

Once your FC gets down to 10 or so, post a full set of test numbers and you'll get good advice on what needs attention.

Of course, accurate testing and dosing is a key ingredient in the pool care methods we teach here on the forum. I realize you know that but it is a reminder to all of us justy what BBB is all about

 

[LovesClearWater]

Why is a CYA test result of 10-20 an unusual reading ? I think he means its just hard to tell sometimes when the black dot is not visible anymore. I sometimes shut one eye, then cant refocus, and its like is that a black dot or a mirage lol. I just did my first CYA test and I think I posted about the same, 10-20, wasnt really sure when the dot fully dissappeared.

 

[duraleigh]

Why is a CYA test result of 10-20 an unusual reading ?

The test only goes as low as 20....some view tubes only as low as 30. New testers frequently have troubles with that test and it's a good idea to reconfirm their results.

 

[Butterfly]

Many of us have had problems learning how to read the CYA test!

See if this visual helps (scroll to bottom pf page):

http://www.taylortechnologies.com/Chemi ... ntentID=44

 

[lurch]

Looks like I'm in the clear. For some reason my OTO test keeps suggesting Chlorine is super high (a 5 ml test calling for 5 drops of OTO) in that I can add just one drop to the 5 ml sample and it goes straight to an orangish color which made me believe it was 25+. HOWEVER, the Taylor DPD test reads 2 ppm. I actually have a second Taylor kit I pulled out and it gave the same 2ppm result.

So my numbers are now:
FC - 2
TC - 2
PH - 7.6
TA - 80
CH - 320
CYA - 30 (I retested and feel better about this number. The 10-20 was from earlier, outside, when it seemed to disappear only when I got to the very top of the test tube)

 

[lurch]

Agree with this approach now?

1) Take TA down from 80 to 60
2) CYA up to 80
3) Chlorine up to 3 (SWG)
4) Add Borates

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

So long as your FC is holding overnight, your CC is .5 or less and your water is clear, that is an acceptable plan.

 

[PaulR]

With my TF100, the FAS-DPD and OTO are always in the same ballpark, as far as I can tell (I find it hard to distinguish 3 from 5 in the OTO test). But the DPD from the old kit is invariably lower, I no longer trust it at all. YMMV.
--paulr

 

[cubbybeave08]

PH was near 8 which I started bringing down but now cant test for it of course
TA 110
CH 380
CYA 10-20
Salt 3550

At this point I'm using the OTO test. 1 drop in 10ml turns orange. I was (incorrectly) using the Taylor kit which uses DPD Regant 1-2-3 (I was testing after 2, not realizing that I needed to use 3!)

12 182oz jugs of 6% bleach were used to get here

Thanks guys!

Lurch,
I think you were using the taylor correctly...5 drops of DPD from bottle 1, then 5 drops from bottle number 2 tells you your chlorine level. The last bottle tells you your total chlorine...TC -Fc = CC you know that...but I think from what you were saying above, you were using your taylor correctly...You don't alway have to use bottle number 3 just to get your CC reading. Does that make sense or am I misunderstanding what you are saying...I use the Taylor DPD and I don't always use the 3rd bottle maybe twice a week to check combined chlorine.

 

[lurch]

Well, I just found this at the poolforum which is making me question it all again!

OTO only tests Total Chlorine but can read chlorine at high levels (color is orange to brown when chlorine levels are very high)...problem is that most OTO kits only go up to about 5 ppm on the color comparator. It is good for quick daily checks on your pool or to make sure that you have chlorine if a DPD test bleaches out. OTO turns yellow if chlorine is present. Some OTO kits tell you it will read Free Chlorine if you do the reading within 15 seconds but I would not trust these results.

DPD can read both Free Chlorine and Total Chlorine. It's biggest drawback is that it bleaches out (turns colorless) at chlorine levels above about 10 ppm or so. This might lead you to believe that there is no chlorine in the pool when actually the level is high. DPD turns pink if chlorine is present.

So, perhaps I was using DPD correctly, but the results were bleached out making me think the chlorine had been used. Still doesnt explain the current results, though, as 5 drops of 1 and 5 drops of 2 give me a obvious result of 2 ppm, while the OTO still reads off the chart with just 1 drop.

 

[JasonLion]

Your results are confusing. I suppose the FC level might actually be 2, and the OTO test could be showing a really high CC level.

 

[lurch]

Your results are confusing. I suppose the FC level might actually be 2, and the OTO test could be showing a really high CC level.

Just went and did another DPD and now its showing 5ppm. SWG is off so there is no way it could be going up. I think what I may be seeing is a reduction in the bleaching effect as the Chlorine is coming down, but it's still very high (25+). I'm back where the thread started, but it looks like we may have a sunny day today which would certainly help!

 

[JasonLion]

This is one of the situations where having a FAS-DPD chlorine test really helps!

It is a little unusual for the DPD test to only partially bleach out, but it can happen. One way you can get a little more information would be to try the DPD test with dillution. To do that you mix the pool water with an equal amount of chlorine free water (distiller water for example). Then do the test with that and multiply the result by two.

 

[valleyofthesun]

You might want to make sure your reagents are not too old. I was getting a no chlorine reading with my reagents R0001 and R0002 from my Taylor kit. These bottles were stored inside but were about two years old. I bought new reagents and got a FC 3 using the same water sample I got a no chlorine reading from with my old reagents so these reagents do go bad over time.