I shocked my pool (intex 24x52)metal frame sunday morning and checked it about an hour and half later the chlorine level was good i get up monday and check it and its low and still low and i have two chlorine tablets in the floater.Anyone have any suggestions?
Cant get my chlorine to stay up
- Thread starter brendalankford
- Start date
Do you have a test kit? Can you post a full set of test numbers. Two things I can think of would be you have organics consuming your chlorine or you are losing it to sunlight because you don't have any CYA in your water.
The first thing I would do would be to get a complete set of numbers. If you don't have a test kit you really need one to maintain your pool properly.
Post back those numbers and we can get you an answer.
The first thing I would do would be to get a complete set of numbers. If you don't have a test kit you really need one to maintain your pool properly.
Post back those numbers and we can get you an answer.
Let's start with the numbers from that. (But look into getting a test kit, it helps you to know what's going on in your pool.)
i have a three way test kit that test chlorine bromine and ph and its not even showing any chlorine in my pool and the 6 way test strips show its very low
If you will use the 6-way and post the results of all the 6 elements it tests, that will give us a better idea of what is going on.
It will probably show results for:
FC = Free Chlorine
TC = Total Chorine
TA = Total Alkalinity
PH = PH (
)
CH = Calcium Hardness
CYA = Cyanuric Acid
It will probably show results for:
FC = Free Chlorine
TC = Total Chorine
TA = Total Alkalinity
PH = PH (
)CH = Calcium Hardness
CYA = Cyanuric Acid
okay here they are
total hardness-ok
total chlorine-very low
bromine-very low
ph- ok
total alkalinity-ok
stabilizer-ok
total hardness-ok
total chlorine-very low
bromine-very low
ph- ok
total alkalinity-ok
stabilizer-ok
For some better advice you may need to take a sample to a pool store before you get a better kit. We can't guide you in the right direction with ok and very low 
Then come back and post your actual numbers and we can guide you from there. Don't take pool stores advice or buy their chems.
My suggestion is buy the TFP kit it is worth the $ in the first month.
Then come back and post your actual numbers and we can guide you from there. Don't take pool stores advice or buy their chems.
My suggestion is buy the TFP kit it is worth the $ in the first month.
Some tips:
Free/Acrive Chlorine = FC
Combined/Consumed Chlorine = CC
total chlorine = TC (FC + CC = TC )
FC is good chlorine, it'll eat your algae
CC is spent/bad chlorine. It gives you the chemical smell
stabilizer = CYA (Cyanuric Acid; also known as Stabilizer)
Stabilizer helps your FC survive the sun during the day. But the more CYA you have the more FC you need to keep things clean.
total hardness = CH (Calcium Hardness) (Not too important in a vinyl pool)
You probably want to get this cleaned up ASAP. Have patience... it takes time. Numbers help, cause they can get plugged into the Pool Calculator. (http://www.poolcalculator.com/)
Even numbers from the pool store will help. They'll try to sell you expensive stuff though, so people here warn you against buying their stuff. But the folks here are real helpful.
Free/Acrive Chlorine = FC
Combined/Consumed Chlorine = CC
total chlorine = TC (FC + CC = TC )
FC is good chlorine, it'll eat your algae
CC is spent/bad chlorine. It gives you the chemical smell
stabilizer = CYA (Cyanuric Acid; also known as Stabilizer)
Stabilizer helps your FC survive the sun during the day. But the more CYA you have the more FC you need to keep things clean.
total hardness = CH (Calcium Hardness) (Not too important in a vinyl pool)
You probably want to get this cleaned up ASAP. Have patience... it takes time. Numbers help, cause they can get plugged into the Pool Calculator. (http://www.poolcalculator.com/)
Even numbers from the pool store will help. They'll try to sell you expensive stuff though, so people here warn you against buying their stuff. But the folks here are real helpful.
Other thoughts... if your level stays good for 1.5 hours, that's good. But 'good' could vary by 3-5 parts-per-million (ppm). You want a 4-7 ppm chlorine level for normal swimming, so you can see how a 3-5 ppm shift could be a big deal.
Also, the chlorine tablets will add chlorine and CYA. As was mentioned earlier, more CYA makes you need more chlorine. Most here will recommend adding just chlorine, and the cheapest chlorine is household bleach. (Yup, really.)
If you have 'ok' chlorine and CYA levels, you're usually fine. But to have 'ok' CYA and 'low' chlorine tells us your CYA level and chlorine level are out of sync. Adding tablets, or shock that has CYA in it, will raise your chlorine up... but also your CYA. (Sounds a little confusing, but you'll get it.)
Also, the chlorine tablets will add chlorine and CYA. As was mentioned earlier, more CYA makes you need more chlorine. Most here will recommend adding just chlorine, and the cheapest chlorine is household bleach. (Yup, really.)
If you have 'ok' chlorine and CYA levels, you're usually fine. But to have 'ok' CYA and 'low' chlorine tells us your CYA level and chlorine level are out of sync. Adding tablets, or shock that has CYA in it, will raise your chlorine up... but also your CYA. (Sounds a little confusing, but you'll get it.)
Another thing I've learned caring for my pool myself: Shock is a process, not a tool. To 'shock' your pool properly means to maintain a high level (> 10-15 ppm) of chlorine for a period of time to ensure all things algae green and nasty are dead. Pool stores tend to recommend putting shock in weekly, which gives you a spike of chlorine that runs out toward the end of the week, and simply keeps the algae weak, not dead.
Properly shocking your pool will get the algae count to 0, allowing you to maintain your pool weekly without expensive 'shock' chemicals being used every week all summer long.
Properly shocking your pool will get the algae count to 0, allowing you to maintain your pool weekly without expensive 'shock' chemicals being used every week all summer long.
okay on the 6 way test strips this is what i get
Total Hardness-250(ok)
Total Chlorine-0(verylow)
Free Chlorine-0(verylow)
Bromine-0(verylow)
ph-7.2(ok)
Total Alkanlinity-120(ok)
Stabilizer-100(ok)
I dont know if this helps any
Total Hardness-250(ok)
Total Chlorine-0(verylow)
Free Chlorine-0(verylow)
Bromine-0(verylow)
ph-7.2(ok)
Total Alkanlinity-120(ok)
Stabilizer-100(ok)
I dont know if this helps any
If your stabalizer is really 100 thats not ok. You should take a water sample to a pool store and have it tested. FC levels that you need are based on the CYA ( stabalizer ) . We can not really tell you what to do untill you have some reliable numbers. Test strips should be against the law! Really they are that bad . Testing your water is also free, just dont buy thier expensive chemicals.
Yes, 100 for CYA is high, but the bad part is... it may be over 100. 100 is about all a test strip can handle.
Generally you want 30 - 70, depending on how much light you get. (Read here for more info: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_water_chemistry)
Here is a chart that shows how much FC you should have:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock
(The shock FC is the level you want to maintain while going through the shock process to kill algae.)
If your CYA is 100 or more... you need to replace water.
If your chlorine/FC level drops quickly during the day, or more than 1PPM at night (with no sun) you've got something in the pool, even if it looks clear. That means you need to shock. But you'll want to get your CYA under 100 first.
If you are going to replace water, brush the pool (sides and bottom) real good, that'll get algae and stuff loose, and will flush it out when you drain. You want to drain to waste if your filter let's you. Then bring the water level back up. (Other more experienced folks here can give you more specifics.)
Generally you want 30 - 70, depending on how much light you get. (Read here for more info: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_water_chemistry)
Here is a chart that shows how much FC you should have:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock
(The shock FC is the level you want to maintain while going through the shock process to kill algae.)
If your CYA is 100 or more... you need to replace water.
If your chlorine/FC level drops quickly during the day, or more than 1PPM at night (with no sun) you've got something in the pool, even if it looks clear. That means you need to shock. But you'll want to get your CYA under 100 first.
If you are going to replace water, brush the pool (sides and bottom) real good, that'll get algae and stuff loose, and will flush it out when you drain. You want to drain to waste if your filter let's you. Then bring the water level back up. (Other more experienced folks here can give you more specifics.)
PS. Don't get frustrated and/or frightened. It's early yet, and with some work and POP (Pool Owner Patience) you'll get your pool clear AND you won't be feeding chlorine (and $$$) to hungry algae.
I just talk to my uncle that lives next door and he had the same size pool and he said that our water where we live is hard and he shocked his pool and checked it in 24hours and if it was low he shocked it again he repeated this til he got it up and where it needed to be and then all he had to do was shock it once a week.
it stresses me out sometimes and that only because its summer time and school is out and i have four kids that love being in the pool
it stresses me out sometimes and that only because its summer time and school is out and i have four kids that love being in the pool
Don't stress too much Brenda. If you'll learn from Pool School and apply what you learn, weekly shocking will be a thing of the past. You'll learn how to deal with high calcium hardness levels and about anything else you can think of. You'll also learn not only what you should put in your pool but why you're putting it in there. You won't have to wonder of your water is safe to swim in, you'll know.
The best investment you can make in your pool is getting a good test kit.
The best investment you can make in your pool is getting a good test kit.