2.5 yrs with pool no problems, now struggling

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C

Corysm

Active member
Jul 8, 2016
29
Omaha/ne
Pool Size
26000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I have a 29,000 gallon swg pool. Having trouble holding chlorine level and CYA level seems to have dropped from 50 to 10 in 2 weeks. I had this issue a month or so ago and appeared to solve the problem but now here I am again. I am in Omaha, ne where we have had a few stretches of 95+ temp weeks with a cool week last week. Also a couple 2-4 inch rains in there. I have cartridge filters so do not normally remove water, but had to remove a couple inches twice. I have an in floor cleaning system and there is a strange off white to light brown film like substance turning up in the canister from floor drain. Pool has been very clear and no evidence of any algae in pool or in any other components of the system. the last two weeks but I have to run chlorinator at 100% way more than the normal 12 run time at 80% I have run it for last 2 years. I'm at a loss. Please help.Thanks

reading 6/24
TC. 2.5
FC. 2.5
ph. 7.5
alkal. 110
calc hard. 100
cya. 45

readings 07/08
TC. .2
FC. .0
ph. 7.4
alkal. 105
calc hard. 100
CYA. 10
 
Welcome to TFP! Good to have you here :)

Provided the numbers are all from one of our recommended test kits, and you're confident in the testing, what I would do is restore your CYA to 40 ppm for now and get chlorine to around 5 ppm FC using chlorinating liquid.

Then perform the overnight chlorine loss test (OCLT) found here Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)

Algae is not visible until it gets bad, so this test can rule algae out or in and is easy/quick to do.
 
Thank you so much for your reply. I am new to this site. I do not have the test kit. Can u tell me which one is your "recommended" kit? My readings are unfortunately from the often incorrect pool store. They have never been this bad though. I will have to try your suggestion tomorrow. I shocked the pool earlier tonight as a first attempt before finding this site. Can you explain SLAM further?
 
Ordered TF-100 today but will be a few days. Took pool water to different store today just to check and they say CYA at 40 and FC at 7.5. I shocked with about 9 lbs 68% cal hypo last night at about 7:00 PM. Frustrating to see such a difference in CYA readings. Can't wait until test kit gets here.

Pool slightly cloudy. Can still see bottom pretty well. Tons of tiny bubbles on pool walls as well. Any thoughts and/or suggestions until I get the kit.
 
Good decision getting the kit ordered :) Bleach is all you need until your get the kit. No more CalHypo. No more anything but bleach. Keep reporting the pH and free chlorine (FC)

If the good test kit is anymore than a few days away, you need to test your chlorine and keep it at 3 ppm FC bare minimum, preferable around 5 ppm FC. If you don't have a test kit now, you can buy a little $10 one that does just FC and pH. It will have little bottles inside. Not test strips. We call those guessstrips and use them to light cigars.

Your pool is pretty big, so I would add about 3/4 to 1 gallon per day of 8.25% bleach. Buy only a type that has the % on it. Only plain, unscented (not splashless) bleach. Pool chlorinating liquid is the same thing if you prefer that, it may be 10% or 12.5%. In either case, it will have a manufacture date such as e.g. 16120 which means 2016 and the 120th day of the year (29-Apr-2016). Buy the freshest stuff.
 
Still waiting on test kit. Should be here tomorrow. I believe my FC is about 1.5 based on strip test and pool store.

Need some help. Pool math says I need 332 oz of 6.0% bleach to get to FC 7.0. Am I doing this correctly? How i.e. much bleach should I add and any advice on how (where in pool and direct or diluted in bucket???) to add the bleach.
 

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Thank you all so much. Hope to get test kit tomorrow and I'm sure I'll be back once I get readings and do overnight free chlorine test. hope to solve this chlorine loss once and for all.
 
I'm back. Got kit. TF-100. Added some liquid chlorine about 1.5 hrs ago and waited an hour to test. Here are my readings. Did some of them twice to make sure as a first timer.

FC. 8.0, 9.0 first time
CC. 0.5 both times
TC. 8.5, 9.5 first time
CYA. 50 and 60, boh times right in between 50 and 60
calc. 350
ph. 7.8. (I struggle some with color differences )
TA. 140, 150 first time. (Is any red or does it have to be true red)
salt. No reading now but at 3,200 last couple checks

going to do OFCLT

do I need to adjust anything right now?
 
Corysm said:
I'm back. Got kit. TF-100. Added some liquid chlorine about 1.5 hrs ago and waited an hour to test. Here are my readings. Did some of them twice to make sure as a first timer.

FC. 8.0, 9.0 first time
CC. 0.5 both times
TC. 8.5, 9.5 first time
CYA. 50 and 60, boh times right in between 50 and 60
calc. 350
ph. 7.8. (I struggle some with color differences )
TA. 140, 150 first time. (Is any red or does it have to be true red)
salt. No reading now but at 3,200 last couple checks

going to do OFCLT

do I need to adjust anything right now?
Click to expand...

No, just leave it for now- your FC is high enough to survive till tomorrow. Please make sure you take your measurements when the sun doesn't shine as it's the primary natural reason for FC loss and it will invalidate your OCLT. OCLT simply tries to determine if you're losing chlorine due to something else besides sunlight.

When testing TA you count drops until the next one doesn't make it more red. That would be the last one and it doesn't count. So if after 15th drop color doesn't change it would mean 140.
 
Ok, I'm back. Life got a bit crazy today so didn't have time to do anything about my readings but here are my OCLT results.

Last night (9:40 PM) as shared above

FC. 8.0
CC. 0.5
TC. 8.5
ph. 7.8
TA. 140
CYA. 50

5:40 AM this morning

FC. 5.0
CC. 0.5
TC. 5.5
ph. 7.8
TA. 140
CYA. 50

salt 3,200
calc. 260

What do I do? I assume slam.

Can an I delay slam and just keep chlorine at a reasonable level for a couple days or is it not safe? I have a couple pool party's planned for next couple days. Great timing eh.

I ran SWG all day and added chlorine couple of hours ago just to keep chlorine at reasonable level. it just tested 6.5, 0.5, and 7.0. I probably put enough ( about 3/4 gallon) in to raise it about 1.5 to 2.0 tonight and swg at 80% ran for about 12 hrs today ( not sure how much it would add) but I guess this means I lost about 3 to 4 today. Kind of confused because thought I'd lose more during day than night.

Please advise away. I am definitely looking for guidance.
 

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