low pH, High TA, almost zero FC...HELP!!!!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
T

tatey34

0
May 13, 2009
7
kokomo, IN
My husband and I are new pool owners and are becoming increasingly frustrated with trying to get our pool chemistry balanced. We opened the pool May15th and within a week it was sparkling and clear. This week, has been a disaster. The water has gotten cloudier and we can not maintain any level of FC. The TA is really high and has been every time we have tested it. The pH was at first high, but has gone as low as 6.8. Here are our most recent test results:

pH-7.2
FC-0.5
TC-1.5
TA-190
CYA-0 (and we put 10 lbs of it in last weekend)
CH-230

We have a trichlor puck feeder from Hayward and it is currently set on 3. any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Welcome to TFP.

Stop worrying about he pH and TA for now. They are good enough. If you put 10lbs of CYA into the pool and are using trichlor pucks, you have CYA. Apparently some kind of testing issue. You have some combined chlorine, which indicates you have a problem. You need to get your chlorine up to about 15ppm, and hold it there faithfully. It make take retesting and redosing every few hours for the first day. It's getting away from you quickly, so you need to be aggressive. I'd recommend using bleach or liquid pool shock, and use http://www.poolcalculator.com to figure out how much.

How are you testing the CYA? Strips or liquid reagents. I'd highly recommend a pool store test to check your results. If your results are from a pool store, try a different one, or better yet your own kit.

The feeders are fairly inconsistent, and may not be able to introduce chlorine quickly enough to deal with your issues.
 
We actually have gone to the pool store for testing the CYA, and a home kit for TA, FC, TC and pH. My husband just purchased a more complete test kit today that I will try to figure out when I get home from work.

We have tried liquid shock, but it seems to make the pH drop and then the next day, there is no chlorine again. I have read the pool school and it has been helpful.

Which is more important, getting the pH right or getting the chlorine up? I t just seems like I am counter-acting one for the other.

ps. we are planning on shocking this afternoon.
 
your kit probably won't do all the things that you will need for your pool, particularly the fas-dpd chlorine test which will help a lot now that you're fighting algae/organics. before using it, if it's not a taylor k-2006 or the leslies equivalent, which it probably isn't, see if you can take it back and get one of the recommended ones instead.
pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison
read through pool school! it will help you a lot.
 
tatey34 said:
We have tried liquid shock, but it seems to make the pH drop and then the next day, there is no chlorine again.

Which is more important, getting the pH right or getting the chlorine up? I t just seems like I am counter-acting one for the other.

ps. we are planning on shocking this afternoon.
Click to expand...

Raising the chlorine can interfere with the pH test. Your pH and TA are close enough for right now. Worry about chlorine only until you get a handle on it. You have to test and add chlorine every 4 hours or so when you have a problem like this.
 
tatey34 said:
We have tried liquid shock, but it seems to make the pH drop and then the next day, there is no chlorine again. I have read the pool school and it has been helpful.
Click to expand...

How much did you put in, and how long did you wait before testing again?

You need to use the pool calculator, it will tell you how much you CL you need to get to a shock level.

You need to add enough bleach/liquid chlorine to get it to a shock level of at least 15, and then test in about an hour. If its still low, you need to add more bleach, to get up to 15. And keep repeating this.
BTW, bleach should not change your ph very much.

I am also worried about your CYA level. 10 lbs of CYA in a 30,000 gal pool means you added 40 ppm. If you are using a puck feeder, and have been for a while, your CYA may be high.

Good luck
Randy
 
Which is more important, getting the pH right or getting the chlorine up?
Click to expand...

For emphasis, I'm repeating what JohnT and the others are saying.....

1. Chlorine is your #1 problem....get it up to 15ppm and hold it there.

2. Disregard your pH.......it's fine for now.

3. If you put in #10 of CYA, it's in there.......the pool store tested incorrectly

4. Chlorine is an item that get consumed. You will have to add it ovger and over to maintain it @ 15ppm in your pool.

5. Read "ABC's of Pool water chemistry" in Pool School for starters.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Good luck
It may seem frustrating, but just keep at it, until you get your CL up, and it stays overnight.

Before I found this place, when I would try to get my pool going in the spring, I would add some CL, and then come back in a day or two or three, test, find little if any free CL, and then add some more. Over the course of 2-3 weeks, I would go through a LOT of CL, and wonder why. After reading the stickies here, I learned that you have to test and add CL VERY OFTEN at the start of a shock cycle. After you start getting high levels of CL, you can test/add CL less frequently.

Plus you have a pretty big pool, so it will take even more CL to get it back in shape.

It take some work, but my pool looks amazing now, water is crystal clear. Keep at it, and yours will too.

Randy
 
tatey34 said:
Well, after 24 gallons of shock, the chlorine level has maintained overnight. We are still at shock level and are going to take a new sample to the pool store.

What's next?? the pH was @ 6.8 this morning.
Click to expand...

Don't trust your pH reading while the chlorine is high. Maintain your shock level of at least 15ppm and filter 24/7 until the pool clears or until you can do an overnight chlorine loss test with no loss. Try to get an accurate CYA reading so you know what maintenance and shock chlorine level you need.
 
May I suggest that you supplement your kit by ordering the FAS-DPD test. You will find it most helpful and much more accurate.

Your PH is too low. High chlorine levels make the PH read false-high, and if your's is 6.8 at a FC of 10+ it could be even lower. I would raise the PH up to 7.4 using Borax or Soda Ash/Washing Soda, as soon as possible this morning.
 
Do you know what the active ingredient is in the liquid shock?

Something seems strange, liquid chlorine/bleach has a high ph, so it should drive you ph up, not down.

Whatever you are adding must have a low ph (acid) to drive the ph down that much.

But, it does sound like you are making good progress. Congrats on a good start.

And, as others have said, you really need to get a good test kit.

The FAS-DPD chlorine kit and a CYA kit are really nice to have.
Most people also use a OTO chlorine test kit. THe OTO kit is easier to use, so it can be used daily. The FAS can be used once or twice a week, or if shocking the pool.

Randy
 
Actually, I find the FAS-DPD test easier to use. I can't tell the difference between 2 - 5 on the OTO. With the FAS-DPD - there's no color matching, it's just counting drops. I find it much easier to use - I really don't even use the OTO anymore.
 
randytsuch said:
Do you know what the active ingredient is in the liquid shock?
Click to expand...
It's gotta be sodium hypochlorite.
randytsuch said:
Something seems strange, liquid chlorine/bleach has a high ph, so it should drive you ph up, not down.
Click to expand...
Yes, but the process of chlorine combining with organics etc. drives it back the opposite way, and is a net wash.
--paulr
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply