Can't balance free chlorine - nothing is working

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Okay, tested this morning at around 7am. I'm at 7ppm of FC. Pool is more yellow than green....planning on cleaning the filter for the first time this Sat. since I bought it a few weeks ago. I'm hoping I'll see some clearing soon...I have to leave the house for work today so will not be able to keep such a close eye on the pool. Before I leave, should I add any more bleach? Lastly, I'm assuming this process will continue for a bit so I'm assuming I should find another Walmart to clean out of Liquid Chlorine?

7am test, overnight. 7ppm of FC, about 8 hours after adding 2 jugs of 128 oz liquid chlorine...

pool_7_ppm.jpg

Can't add additional photo...says my quota is reached...but the photo is only like 34K - I optimized...I tried to add to another reply and optimized so I'm not sure why that's not working...
 
Hello Steve. Definitely increase the FC back to at least 15 if you get this message in time before leaving. That's a must. Maintain FC 15 as much as you can based on your hectic schedule. If your DE filter has no multiport valve to perform a good "backwash", then I would think you should at least have a plunger valve to perhaps bump & send junk to waste. But if not, then do what you can this weekend to inspect it.

Something for future considers: Order more R-0870 (powder) and R0871 (drops) to sustain you through this process; remember that when the conversion is complete, you will need to replace the filter media. So if you haven't thought of that yet, consider shopping around for the new filter grids and DE. I'm pretty sure you'll want to just swap-out those grids as I don't think they can be cleaned all that well. Lee will confirm for us.

The color change of the water is a good sign, and so is the FC holding more & more each day. Hind-sight 20/20, we know the store advice and CYA slowed this down, but we'll help you get through it. The key continues to be holding an FC of 15. Have a great day.
 
Texas Splash said:
Hello Steve. Definitely increase the FC back to at least 15 if you get this message in time before leaving. That's a must. Maintain FC 15 as much as you can based on your hectic schedule. If your DE filter has no multiport valve to perform a good "backwash", then I would think you should at least have a plunger valve to perhaps bump & send junk to waste. But if not, then do what you can this weekend to inspect it.

Something for future considers: Order more R-0870 (powder) and R0871 (drops) to sustain you through this process; remember that when the conversion is complete, you will need to replace the filter media. So if you haven't thought of that yet, consider shopping around for the new filter grids and DE. I'm pretty sure you'll want to just swap-out those grids as I don't think they can be cleaned all that well. Lee will confirm for us.

The color change of the water is a good sign, and so is the FC holding more & more each day. Hind-sight 20/20, we know the store advice and CYA slowed this down, but we'll help you get through it. The key continues to be holding an FC of 15. Have a great day.
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I ordered my reagent today, both R-0870 (powder) and R0871 (drops). I should have enough until it arrives.

Going to add 3 more gallons of Liquid Chlorine right now (9am) before I leave for work. I will test when I return home.
 
Added 3 more gallons before leaving for work. Scrubbed after and tested. I'm at 15.1 ppm :) Now, I just need to stay there.

In regards to cleaning my filter, I've never once in my life cleaned a pool filter. I have the manuals for my Sta-Rite System 3 DE and there's YouTube videos with demonstrations on how to clean. Apparently a removable cartridge that can be hosed down and then put back in the unit. Apparently they are expensive to replace. Are you thinking I'll have to replace mine? It's brand new and they have a long life-time so I hope not. From what I've read, when I take the cartridge out I need to wash it down with water and then replace. After replacing I need to add 9 lbs of Diatomaceous Earth (DE) to my skimmer to recharge my filter medium. I've seem some add the powder directly and some dissolve in water. Not sure what is best.

Off to work. I will test when I get home. I really hope I'm still floating near 15 ppm. Going to have to restock on chlorine as well...only have like 5 or 6 jugs left.

If anyone is interested, this is the exact filter and model # that I have. This pool man takes it apart.

Sta-Rite System 3 Modular DE Pool Filter Cleaning- Model S7MD60 - YouTube
 
That filter looks like a hybrid between a cartridge and a DE. They make Cartridge filter cleaners that is supposed to really deep clean and get all organics and contaminants out of the media. Personally I think they are an overpriced version of a diluted Muriatic solution mix.


I have a question about the 15ppm FC levels. Is that a minimum he should maintain? Any ill-effects of significantly going over 15? I ask this to see if he can give himself a little extra margin of error while he's at work and away from the pool.
 
scoobasteve1982 said:
This is a good question. I'd be interested to know this as well.
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The same applies to SLAMming. If my "Shock Level" on the cart says 28ppm. Any harm in overshooting to say 35 or greater just "to be sure"? (Gunite w/ plaster, so not concerned with a fading liner). Sorry I don't want to derail this thread as you are in the middle of a very important process here. But if someone can chime in on a quick answer to that while your conversion process is "in session".
 
Stephen, great to hear you've got some reagents on the way. Well really hit it hard once those get to you. For now test and increase your chlorine to 15ppm as frequent as possible.

As per the FC levels we are targeting. Normally during a Baqua conversion there is zero CYA in the water and maintaining a 15ppm chlorine level at zero cya is VERY aggressive. If you were to attempt to maintain a pool at those levels in your average chlorine pool you very likely would damage the liner. The conversion however consumes the chlorine so fast however that the risk of liner damage is rather low. In your case however with 60ppm CYA you have a TON of wiggle room to increase your FC before you risk any equipment. In fact you're converting well below a normal slam level. My thinking is once your reagents arrive we will start really getting aggressive in maintaining an even higher FC level to help your conversion.
 

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The same applies to SLAMming. If my "Shock Level" on the cart says 28ppm. Any harm in overshooting to say 35 or greater just "to be sure"? (Gunite w/ plaster, so not concerned with a fading liner).
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Just because this question was asked (and it's a common thought), typically no, we don't advise going above the SLAM FC level during a normal SLAM. Obviously it's not a fading issue with a Gunite pool, but more of efficiency. The Chlorine/CYA Chart is based of off years of research and evidence proven to show not only will X-number of FC be safe for the pool AND swimmers, but also to adequately kill algae. When FC gets too high, it simply becomes too easy a target for the sun, becomes a waste, and also harmful to swimmers. Remember, the key word in SLAM is "maintain", and that is because algae won't disappear with one solid "punch". If it was that easy, like the pool store makes it out to be, everyone would simply bomb their pool with 80-100 ppm of FC and call it good, but we know better. So it's always best to stay as close to the SLAM as possible.

Now what Lee is referring to about proposing to Steve (more aggressive later) is a bit different because of his unique situation and the residual baqua's ability buffer the effects of high FC levels in the pool.
 
Got home from work around 3pm. I did a FC and CC test. My last test was around 8ish AM and I was at 15.1 FC. After about 7 hours these were my results:

FC = 10 ppm
CC = 13 ppm

I added 3 jugs of liquid chlorine. My pool looks like a giant pool of Mountain Dew soda, but slightly darker, maybe light brownish. I'm going to do another test in 1 hour and post results here.

Sunny day here in Connecticut in the low 70's.
 
Testing 1 hour later, 4:35pm on June 10th for Free Chlorine.

Results:

FC = 20 ppm

So, when I was down to 10ppm, 3 jugs got me to 20 ppm after testing 1 hour later. Gonna be dark in a few hours and going out this evening so I will likely test one more time before I leave. When I return I will test again. Pool continues to look like a giant urinal :)
 
Texas Splash said:
Steve, I think it's good you are elevated slightly to an FC of 20. Based on the residual baqua and stabilizer already in the water, I think the extra FC is beneficial. You're doing a great job staying on top of that FC. :goodjob:
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Thanks! Lord knows it's consuming my thoughts throughout the day haha...I really would like to be successful here. The look on the kids' face (and the wife, though she tries to hide it) is what motivates me :) Next week is said to be in the 80s and sunny all week :(
 
Three quick requests,

First......can you post an updated photo. You mentioned you've hit your limit on attachment space so additional options are mentioned here to post additional photos.

Second small request......can you test your calcium level.

Last request.......can you quickly explain how you're performing the chlorine tests. It sounds like you're doing it right but I wanna make sure. :)
 
Leebo said:
Three quick requests,

First......can you post an updated photo. You mentioned you've hit your limit on attachment space so additional options are mentioned here to post additional photos.

Second small request......can you test your calcium level.

Last request.......can you quickly explain how you're performing the chlorine tests. It sounds like you're doing it right but I wanna make sure. :)
Click to expand...

I'm leaving for a family function but will be home later tonight and can perform the Calcium Hardness test. I will do this and report back.

I'll post a picture ASAP. I did take one but have to put it online for you.

As far as testing, because I'm using so many drops I've gone down to filling the test tub at 10ml. I'm doing this by going to the deep end of the pool, mid way from the jet and end of deep end, and with the test tube upside down going down to my bicep and then gently turning over to fill - not a swooping motion. I dump out until I'm at 10ml mark. Then I take inside and add two scoops of R-0870 and swirl gently until fully mixed and dark pink. Then, I add dropwise R-0871 making a gentle swirl motion with my hand counting each. Right when it goes clear I multiply the drop number by 0.5 per the instructions. Hopefully that's right or I've wasted a lot of reagent.

I tested again on the second hour after adding the 3 jugs after returning home from work. I am now down to 17 ppm of FC. So over the two hours I lost about 3ppm. Because I'm leaving for a 4+ hours I'm going to add another jug to bump it back up a bit...
 

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