More Ammonia problems (as if last year wasn't enough)

[Rescue30]

Again,I've got CC in the pool.Started out great , water really turned clear quickly, couple of set back days due to large rains here in Jersey.
my numbers are for 33k inground vinyl liner pool.

FC 2
CC 3
Ph 7.5
Alk 200
CYA 50

I want to start adding in bleach tomorow , how much ? the ratio is 10ppm of Chlorine to 1ppm of Ammonia ? I did the test strip ammonia test which only goes up to 6ppm, it got green (indicating 6 ppm of Ammonia) How much do I add at a time so I won't kill mi vinyl liner ?
THANKS

 

[JasonLion]

With CYA at 50, your FC shock level is 16. The highest I would go in a single addition is FC of 25. So you want to raise the FC level up to 25 as frequently as possible, as often as once every half hour at first, less often once your FC level starts partially holding after half an hour. The reaction will slow down significantly about half way through, at that point you should switch back to aiming for an FC level of 16 and add chlorine even less frequently (but still at least once a day).

 

[Rescue30]

Thanks for you reply, It's bringing back memories from last year.I picked up an Ammonia drop test kit in Petsmart, turned dark green indicating between 4 and 8 ppm in the pool .I'm going to shock it Thursday , when I have most of the day off .I'm going to shoot for a FC of 18 , so I will start with 6 Jugs of 182 oz Bleach. I have a few questions :
A) Should I leave the filter on "filter" or "recirculate" ?
B)After initial dose , how long should I wait before I test the FC level ?
C) How long do I wait after "top off" the FC level to test again ?
THANKS

 

[PaulR]

As it's ammonia, not algae, seems like there wouldn't be particulates to filter out, so recirculate ought to be fine. The usual suggestion is to wait an hour after adding chlorine to see where the new FC is, to give it adequate chance to disperse. I seem to remember the ammonia reaction is pretty quick, though, maybe one of the more experienced hands could say whether a shorter interval would be okay.
--paulr

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I would go ahead and test hourly at first, see if it's holding.

 

[Rescue30]

Thanks everyone for your help ! I started the day with 24 182 oz jugs of Clorox 6% Bleach , dumped in 7 , then more throughout the day .I have 5 left
The FC was at 6.5 tonight , the CC was .5 . Ammonia test shows .25ppm of Ammonoia still. I added in 3 jugs to bring the FC up again to 16, and letting the filter run overnight. I'll test it in the morning , pool looks ssoooooo much clearer . if it stays at CC of .5 is that bad to leave and shouyld I try for no CC ? Can I leave a drop of Ammonia (.25) and let it be or will it attach to polutants in the pool and become stronger again?
THANKS

 

[JasonLion]

You continue until the FC level remains the same, or only goes down slightly, overnight. At that point there won't be any ammonia left in the pool, regardless of what the ammonia test says. Ammonia and chlorine can't co-exist, one wipes out the other.

Having 0.5 or less of CC is fine. Pools often have just a tiny bit of CC in them.

 

[Rescue30]

Just tested the pool. FC is 10. CC is 0. Ph is 7.2. Alk 170 what can I use to raise ph and not raise Alk ?

 

[Butterfly]

Just tested the pool. FC is 10. CC is 0. Ph is 7.2. Alk 170 what can I use to raise ph and not raise Alk ?

Borax. Or, you could just wait and let it rise on its own? Aeration, kids splashing, etc. will raise the pH.

It would be helpful if you would list your pool/equipment specs in your sig. Go to User Control Panel, upper left under TFP logo, then Profile, then Edit sig. :-D

 

[Rescue30]

Its going to rain a whole weekend here. Won't that further reduce the Ph ?

 

[Butterfly]

Its going to rain a whole weekend here. Won't that further reduce the Ph ?

um, guess that depends on the type of rain you have. Here's a recent thread on the impact of rain on your water balance:


impact-of-rain-on-water-balance-t13700.html

 

[learthur]

Just curious, where does your ammonia come from?
Kids, rain, cya....

At any rate I wonder if more water aeration using aerators, fountain etc would help retard the ammonia build up.

 

[chem geek]

The ammonia most likely comes from bacteria converting CYA into ammonia. This can happen if the FC gets to zero allowing the bacteria to grow. The conversion can happen rather quickly -- in my own pool it seemed that about 20 ppm CYA got converted to ammonia in just 3-4 days (as described in this thread, but my pool is rather rich in nutrients for bacteria and algae (so is rather unforgiving if the FC gets too low relative to CYA).

 

[Rescue30]

I had the same problem last year .I have alot of trees by the pool and a lot of leaves on the mesh cover accumulate over the winter , I'm sure this is the cause .Next winter I'm going to rush the leaves off every 2 weeks .