2 fold question - dichlor with trichlor/cloudy

[Cassy324]

Our pool has an auto cover that we keep closed when the pool is not in use. We have an auto chlorinator loaded with Trichlor tabs. Last summer, CYA was nearly nonexistent. The water would continually turn cloudy on me, as I could never keep the Chlorine level up high enough even with the chlorinator wide open. I even added separate stabilizer to try to boost the CYA!!

Last month, we opened the pool as usual. Shocked it, etc. now we have the same issue. CYA nearly nonexistent, can’t keep Chlorine level up, pool goes cloudy.
The only shock I could find today was dichlor.
Q1: Is there any problem adding this dichlor shock with trichlor tabs in the chlorinator??
Q2: Why does the cloudy issue keep coming back. We never had that problem before.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Cassy, it sure sounds like your pool water is so saturated with stabilizer (CYA) that no FC exists freely to fight algae.

We don't recommend the routine use of pucks/tabs/granular products as we know the CYA in those products will build up horribly. Liquid Chlorine or a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWG) are our preferred methods of sanitizing the water.

It sounds like you are going to need a partial drain and then perform a SLAM process--> SLAM Process

Do you test your water? How are you testing and with which kit? Can you tell us:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
FC/CYA Levels

All these levels come in to play in making for a pleasant swim experience, and also protect your investment in the pool and equipment.

Maddie

 

[Cassy324]

Cassy, it sure sounds like your pool water is so saturated with stabilizer (CYA) that no FC exists freely to fight algae.

We don't recommend the routine use of pucks/tabs/granular products as we know the CYA in those products will build up horribly. Liquid Chlorine or a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWG) are our preferred methods of sanitizing the water.

It sounds like you are going to need a partial drain and then perform a SLAM process--> SLAM Process

Do you test your water? How are you testing and with which kit? Can you tell us:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
FC/CYA Levels

All these levels come in to play in making for a pleasant swim experience, and also protect your investment in the pool and equipment.

Maddie

Hi Maddie, thanks for the response
Here are my test levels (and I test my own with K-2006 FAS-DPD kit)
FC - 0
CC - 0
pH - 7.1
TA - 80
CH - 250
CYA - 0 (not a typo)

Late last summer, I even added considerable amounts of stabilizer to try to bring the CYA up, it came up then went back down to nearly nothing. I’m at my wits end. And, I religiously check the chlorinator to make sure it’s not air-locked, so I don’t understand why my CYA stays near zero for so long using trichlor tabs and the chlorinator wide open.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Do you have an autofill device?

So try adding some CYA independent of pucks, and add some liquid chlorine in there also. STAT! Your pool is an algae party waiting to get started.

Use PoolMath to help you determine how much to add.. I would aim for 30ppm of CYA and 5ppm of FC. Then test and add as necessary.

Maddie

 

[Teald024]

CYA - 0 (not a typo)

Late last summer, I even added considerable amounts of stabilizer to try to bring the CYA up, it came up then went back down to nearly nothing. I’m at my wits end. And, I religiously check the chlorinator to make sure it’s not air-locked, so I don’t understand why my CYA stays near zero for so long using trichlor tabs and the chlorinator wide open.

How often do you add new trichlor pucks to the chlorinator?
Do you have an auto fill? How often do you add water to the pool?

 

[Cassy324]

Just added 4 to the chlorinator, and we opened the pool 4 weeks ago. I’m wondering if there’s a blockage, but when I got home and started going thru things, I can’t get the dang pucks out of there to see!! As for an auto fill, don’t have one. And we haven’t had to refill it since we opened it.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Did you add that Liquid Chlorine to get your FC up quickly yesterday? The puck thing isn't working apparently but algae won't wait. Your cloudy water will soon be cloudy and green if you wait much longer.

Perhaps running the FC, CC, CYA and pH tests again would be a good idea to confirm your levels. Make sure to read the instructions.

When you do the CYA test does the dot disappear after you put in about 1/2 inch or so of the pool water solution?? Or does it fill the tube up to the very top??