No FC reading

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snagot923

snagot923

0
Jul 19, 2016
15
Chester, CT
Hello! Just got this pool and I already want to drain it. Water was slightly cloudy....ph was reading 7.4 but no FC. Pool lady said I needed stabilizer. Added what she recommended for stabilizer and the pool proceeded to turn green...like pea soup. Brought water back....was told I had phosphates and needed to clear them up now. Stabilizer level was ok. Add phosphate remover...nothing....still green. So then I read up on shocking. Poured 2 gallons of bleach in the pool. Low and behold the water turned back to blue but was really cloudy...looks like blue milk. FC level was between 1 and 2. Next day looked at the pool...starting to get a green tinge again...tested ph....abt 7.6.....FC level nothing! CYA level between 90 and 100...i have an hts kit....ordering the better one.So I am thinking I have borderline too much stabilizer and need to add bleach daily but not sure how much. I am also thinking I need to get a clarifier to clear the water up. Help please. I'm so frustrated. Oh and this pool has no skimmer...just pump in and out valve. The intake has a small filter screen over it.
 
Welcome to TFP!

Skip the phosfree, floc, clarifier. How much CYA did you add? Any idea how many PPM is in the pool? You need to know what your CYA level is to know how much chlorine you need, [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA].

PoolMath will tell you how much bleach to add. There is a link at the top of the page. Keep FC at 10 ppm until you know how much CYA is in the pool.

This is how we kill algae, SLAM Process

This is how we take care of pools
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Pool School - Getting Started
 
Welcome to TFP! Which State is Chester in? Good to have you here :)

You mentioned the option of draining, so that would include the cost of a water exchange and scrubbing the pool. The scrubbing is harder work than testing and adding bleach. Some people get there quicker that way, for example 2-4 days elapsed time. If you pay $10 per thousand gallons, that's $50 plus around $30 for chems.

As pooldv explained, it can be cleared up without ditching the water in a five to ten days of steady chlorine at shock level (we call it SLAM). Just depends on what you find easier / cheaper IMO. To SLAM you need one day of multiple additions when you can be near the pool a good portion of the day, then be able to top up the chlorine at least three times a day (four times is better), and be able to brush the pool a couple of times a day. You can probably clean it up with a partial drain (say $20) and $40-60 worth of bleach, then maybe another $20 to touch up the other chems.

Either way, move fast and order a proper test kit if you can swing it... TFTestkits.net
If you're going to keep the water, buy the XL option with the TFTestKits TF100 kit

The HTH style kit can only handle a re-start, and we have a procedure for that: Pool School - Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools

Ignore bromine (BR). And don't put any bromine in your pool. The test just senses both chlorine and bromine. There won't be any unless you added it. Where your test says Cl, it is the very same as what we call FC.
 
FC is definitely 0...got the cheap strips. CYA is 100...i am SO MAD with the pool store. Test kit is on its way....slam says i need to get FC to 39....no way to measure that yet...any way I can start the process before I get this test kit....this is depressing me :(
 
I would add a jug (128 Oz) of 8.25% bleach right away, then another half jug per day until your test kit arrives.

Don't be surprised if you measure FC with your OTO test and it's orange. This will be expected.

You should start to see some improvement pretty quickly.
 
Just fyi that CYA could be much higher than 100. That is the top end of the test. We've seen people with pool store and test strip results of 100 actually have CYA of 200, 300 or more.

The FAS/DPD chlorine test measures FC up to 50 ppm.
 

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I assume you have a cartridge filter. Have you cleaned or replaced it lately? Once the green turns back to blue, it's just a matter of filtering out the dead algae.
 
Ok...got a water test done at the pool store

FC 11.49ppm
TC 11.97ppm
CC 0.48ppm
pH 7.9
Hardness 160ppm
Alkalinity 114ppm
CYA 149ppm
Phosphates 38ppb
Copper 0
Iron 0.2

Pool still looks like blue milk...cannot see bottom...any thoughts appreciated :)
 
Your CYA needs to be between 30 and 40. Drain the pool to lower it.

FC is set based on CYA and the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. For the pool to be safe and properly sanitized FC MUST be maintained above minimum at all timew. When FC drops below minimum bacteria, viruses and pathogens are not effectively killed and risk of person to person disease transmission is increased.

To kill algae we follow this process, SLAM Process

Read in Pool School to learn more about maintaining your pool.
Start here, SLAM Process
And here, Pool School - Getting Started
 
Honestly I have no idea who to trust...some have said as long as i keep my fc level higher (following the CYA Chart) then I am ok. I am so confused....what was supposwd to be a happy fun thing for the summer has turned into somewhat of a nightmare....
 
That will work if you SLAM to get rid of the algae, then maintain commensurate FC, as you mention. To do that you'll use a known CYA level from doing your own testing. Chances are you will have to drain a fair bit of water to achieve a manageable CYA level. And then do the SLAM, followed by maintaining the correct FC level for the new CYA level.

Or you can drain, scrub it out, refill, and start over, adding a known amount of CYA to achieve a known level.

Which part are you struggling to trust?
 
I guess I am just upset that the pool store would say my CYA level was low and were actually the ones that created this mess. We are also in the midst of a drought and have well water...i am not sure where to drain the pool water to without it affecting someone's well. In your opinion what is the highest CYA level that is manageable
 

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