The pool store said my phosphate level is too high(500, they said it should be around 300) and is eating my chlorine(they said chlorine level was 0). I've read on here that phosphate level doesn't matter. Should I add anything to bring it down before I add some bleach?....or what should I do? ...I have a 20,000 gal. pool with vinyl liner.
phosphates
- Thread starter johnny88
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!
Ignore phosphates.
Add some chlorine right away (unless the pool is a total swamp, in which case chlorine can wait).
Post a full set of water test results and we can give you much more specific advice.
Ignore phosphates.
Add some chlorine right away (unless the pool is a total swamp, in which case chlorine can wait).
Post a full set of water test results and we can give you much more specific advice.
Yep. Phosphates are one of those things they throw out if they don't know what is really going on. For 99.99% of pools, phosphate level just doesn't matter.
Thanks for the advice. I added some chlorine last night, took a sample back to the pool store, and all my levels were good.(without adding anything to the pool for my "high" phosphate level). Also, since I just opened my pool this week and all my levels are good now, is it necessary to add any algaecide?
Welome to TFP 
No algaecide...what are your levels? How are you testing your water? Pool store results are notoriously inconsistent.
Taking control of you pool will eventually require you to be able to test you own water. I would recommend picking up a tf100 or taylor k2006. Yes they are somewhat pricey, but they will keep you out of that dreaded pool store.
No algaecide...what are your levels? How are you testing your water? Pool store results are notoriously inconsistent.
Taking control of you pool will eventually require you to be able to test you own water. I would recommend picking up a tf100 or taylor k2006. Yes they are somewhat pricey, but they will keep you out of that dreaded pool store.
Re: maintaining fc level while on vacation
My current levels in my pool are FC 4, CC 0, PH 7.5, TA 130, CYA 35, temp 76 in a 20K pool, vinyl liner. To maintain the FC level if I go away for 7 days, should I put some pucks/sticks in my skimmer?....or any other suggestions?
My current levels in my pool are FC 4, CC 0, PH 7.5, TA 130, CYA 35, temp 76 in a 20K pool, vinyl liner. To maintain the FC level if I go away for 7 days, should I put some pucks/sticks in my skimmer?....or any other suggestions?
If you can, maybe have a neighbor or friend add bleach every day, or every other day at the longest. If that's not an option, then use pucks. They're better than nothing!
Re: maintaining fc level while on vacation
Well, not unless you leave the pump on 24/7. Buy a floater if you must use pucks. Actually, it's not a bad idea, your CYA is a little low.
NO!johnny88 said:
Well, not unless you leave the pump on 24/7. Buy a floater if you must use pucks. Actually, it's not a bad idea, your CYA is a little low.
Re: water sampling questions
I've had the TF-100 kit for approx. 2 weeks.(nice eay to follow instructions). My current levels are FC 4, PH 7.5, T/A 130, CYA 40, water temp 76 in a 20K vinyl pool. Question #1: My T/A levels have consistently been between 120-140. Over the past 10 days I took water samples to the pool store and both times they said everything was good, except my T/A level was low and I needed to add 12lbs to raise alk. Should I disregard what they said? Also, my CH levels consistently run between 350-400,(which seems high) my water is very clear, and do I need to do anything?
I've had the TF-100 kit for approx. 2 weeks.(nice eay to follow instructions). My current levels are FC 4, PH 7.5, T/A 130, CYA 40, water temp 76 in a 20K vinyl pool. Question #1: My T/A levels have consistently been between 120-140. Over the past 10 days I took water samples to the pool store and both times they said everything was good, except my T/A level was low and I needed to add 12lbs to raise alk. Should I disregard what they said? Also, my CH levels consistently run between 350-400,(which seems high) my water is very clear, and do I need to do anything?
The ideal TA level depends on what source of chlorine you are using. If you use trichlor and/or dichlor then it is good to have TA fairly high. But if you use bleach, liquid chlorine, cal-hypo, or a SWG you can keep the TA much lower.
If you use trichlor and/or dichlor then your TA is fine where it is, and also fine somewhat higher, though perhaps not quite as high as they are suggesting.
If you use bleach, liquid chlorine, cal-hypo, or a SWG then your TA is already higher than I would recommend, though still OK, and I certainly wouldn't raise it any further.
If you use trichlor and/or dichlor then your TA is fine where it is, and also fine somewhat higher, though perhaps not quite as high as they are suggesting.
If you use bleach, liquid chlorine, cal-hypo, or a SWG then your TA is already higher than I would recommend, though still OK, and I certainly wouldn't raise it any further.
Re: TA Level
My current levels are FC 4, PH 7.5, T/A 140, CYA 40, water temp 76 in a 20K vinyl pool. My T/A levels have consistently been between 120-140. Whenever I take water samples to the pool store they say everything was good, except my T/A level is low and I need to add 12lbs to raise alk. I use bleach(6 %) for my chlorine....Why would the pool store say that I need to raise the alk?......I usually add 192 oz. of bleach every night to my pool. My FC level is usually between 4-5. Is it normal to add 192 oz. of bleach every night?...thanks
My current levels are FC 4, PH 7.5, T/A 140, CYA 40, water temp 76 in a 20K vinyl pool. My T/A levels have consistently been between 120-140. Whenever I take water samples to the pool store they say everything was good, except my T/A level is low and I need to add 12lbs to raise alk. I use bleach(6 %) for my chlorine....Why would the pool store say that I need to raise the alk?......I usually add 192 oz. of bleach every night to my pool. My FC level is usually between 4-5. Is it normal to add 192 oz. of bleach every night?...thanks
Re: TA Level
Maybe it's time to do an overnight drop test?
According to Pool Calculator, that amount of 6% bleach will raise FC 4.6 ppm. That's a bit high. Most people lose about 2.johnny88 said:
Maybe it's time to do an overnight drop test?
Re
vernight drop test
My current levels over the past 5 days are FC 4.5-5, PH 7.5, T/A 140, CYA 40, water temp 76 in a 20K vinyl pool. I use bleach(6 %) for my chlorine, I usually add 182 oz. of bleach every night to my pool. My FC level was averaging between 4.5-5ppm and I was adding 182 oz. of bleach each night. Last night my FC level was 6 before I did the overnight drop test. In the morning the FC level was 4.5, losing approx. 1.5 ppm overnight....Do I need to shock my pool?...and if so, how much bleach should I use?....or any other advice?.....p.s. my pool gets about 6 hrs. of sun a day.
vernight drop testMy current levels over the past 5 days are FC 4.5-5, PH 7.5, T/A 140, CYA 40, water temp 76 in a 20K vinyl pool. I use bleach(6 %) for my chlorine, I usually add 182 oz. of bleach every night to my pool. My FC level was averaging between 4.5-5ppm and I was adding 182 oz. of bleach each night. Last night my FC level was 6 before I did the overnight drop test. In the morning the FC level was 4.5, losing approx. 1.5 ppm overnight....Do I need to shock my pool?...and if so, how much bleach should I use?....or any other advice?.....p.s. my pool gets about 6 hrs. of sun a day.
Yes, you should shock the pool. Any time you lose more than 1.0 of FC overnight you should shock. With CYA at 40, shock level is 15. You can find more information on shocking here.
Should I add a container of bleach every hour, then test my FC level, until my shock level is 15?JasonLion said:
Re: shocking question & FC Levels
I did a overnight drop test last night. My FC level was 6 and this morning it went down to 4.5. Tonight my FC level was 3.5. my cya has been between 30-40. I added (2) 182 oz. each containers of bleach at 7:40 p.m. to shock my pool. I re-tested my FC level 1hr later and my FC level was 12.
All my other levels are good, my water always seems to be clear, the water temp is around 80 and the air temp has been around 100 the last few days. My pool is 20K, vinyl liner.
Do I need to do anything else right now and what should my FC level be in the morning?..thanks for your help
I did a overnight drop test last night. My FC level was 6 and this morning it went down to 4.5. Tonight my FC level was 3.5. my cya has been between 30-40. I added (2) 182 oz. each containers of bleach at 7:40 p.m. to shock my pool. I re-tested my FC level 1hr later and my FC level was 12.
All my other levels are good, my water always seems to be clear, the water temp is around 80 and the air temp has been around 100 the last few days. My pool is 20K, vinyl liner.
Do I need to do anything else right now and what should my FC level be in the morning?..thanks for your help
Re: cya level
My cya level usually is between 30-40(hard to tell when that black dot totally disappears)....I did the overnight drop test and I did lose approx. 1.5 ppm of FC.....I shocked my pool(bleach 6%, 2 182 oz containers) at night and after 1 hr. my FC level was 12. In the morning my FC level was 11. Today was around 100 degrees and after sundown my FC level was 8, CC 0.5, with my cya level between 30-40, my other levels are PH 7.5, T/A 130, .....The chlorine/cya chart for a cya of 30-40 shows FC should be 4-5 FC. Since my FC is 8, is it ok to swim?...Also, as long as I don't lose over 1 ppm overnight, at what FC level should I add bleach(when it gets down to around 2-3 FC?....I have a 20K pool with a vinyl liner...thanks
My cya level usually is between 30-40(hard to tell when that black dot totally disappears)....I did the overnight drop test and I did lose approx. 1.5 ppm of FC.....I shocked my pool(bleach 6%, 2 182 oz containers) at night and after 1 hr. my FC level was 12. In the morning my FC level was 11. Today was around 100 degrees and after sundown my FC level was 8, CC 0.5, with my cya level between 30-40, my other levels are PH 7.5, T/A 130, .....The chlorine/cya chart for a cya of 30-40 shows FC should be 4-5 FC. Since my FC is 8, is it ok to swim?...Also, as long as I don't lose over 1 ppm overnight, at what FC level should I add bleach(when it gets down to around 2-3 FC?....I have a 20K pool with a vinyl liner...thanks
If I am following you correctly, then yes it is safe to swim. Swimming is fine as long as the water is clear, CC is 0.5 or lower and FC is between the minimum for your CYA level and shock level for your CYA level, and nothing else obvious is going wrong.
You don't ever want to allow FC to go below 3. Keep FC between 3 and 7, and never below 3. Typically that means raising FC up to around 6 or 7 in the evening, so that it will be at least 3 the next evening.
You don't ever want to allow FC to go below 3. Keep FC between 3 and 7, and never below 3. Typically that means raising FC up to around 6 or 7 in the evening, so that it will be at least 3 the next evening.
JasonLion said:
So is it typical on hot sunny days to lose approx. 3-4 ppm. of FC from morning until night? My FC this am was 7 and and after a hot sunny day today and swimming, my FC was 3 at night...I added 182 oz of bleach(6%), waited 1 hr and my FC was 8. Does that seem right that adding this amount of bleach should raise the FC 5 ppm? So based on this data it seems I should be adding approx. 182 oz. of bleach per night?