Red eyes at 6ppm

[ElkPool]

I'm doing fine so far at ~100 CYA after being quickly pool-stored after opening my pool. I am taking the time to spill out a few hundred buckets a day while I swim and tan...as long as I don't see any algae, I'm just gonna keep slowly reducing the CYA level that way. Anyways, I am running high chlorine levels, since everyone assures me that's okay despite what the pool stores tell me. I was swimming underwater today and my eyes look a bit red. Not TOO bad mind you--I'll be fine--but do I need to me more careful at 6-9 ppm chlorine levels? Should I not open my eyes underwater?


Thanks

 

[ElkPool]

pH looks to be acidic...that could be it too...WHY does my pH constantly drop to 7 or below? I have put in I don't know how many boxes of Borax, and I rarely need to use acid for anything.

 

[JohnT]

I'd be inclined to think pH is your problem. What is your TA level? A little salt in the water can do wonders for how your eyes feel.

 

[ElkPool]

I didn't test TA today, but normally it hovers pretty high (140ish)

 

[zea3]

It can be related to the pH or also if you have any CC that can cause redness and stinging as well.

 

[anonapersona]

Full test results, please! Perhaps someone here can see something in the data.

 

[ElkPool]

I don't wanna test now because I just raked a bunch of stuff from the bottom...I wouldn't swim in the water now. I will test again once the water clears up. Thanks!

 

[Richard320]

I'll guess pH is the problem, not the Chlorine.

I have much higher CYA than you (140ish), and with water restrictions, no cheap and easy way to get rid of it. So I keep FC much higher than you, and have no problems. I was swimming around out there less than an hour ago, underwater, eyes open, working over the corners with a brush, since they're hard to get with the pole brush. No irritation whatsoever at 16ppm FC. pH is 7.5, CC is 0.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Stirring up the water won't affect your test results.
Do you keep your pool covered most of the time? This could cause the PH to drift down instead of up (which is usually what happens when your TA is above 100.)

 

[ElkPool]

I screwed up and prepared and used my pool today before doing a complete test. I should have done a comprehensive test before doing anything else. However, for what it's worth, my numbers are:

6.0 FC
8.0 pH (?!)
negligible CC
190 TA
250 CH
90ish CYA

These numbers are from right now...I dumped in a big container of bleach and a box of Borax maybe five hours ago.

I have no idea where the high pH came from! Normally I am struggling to keep it over 7.0. And the strange thing is, I do have a feeling it will somehow be right back at 7.0 tomorrow :/

Higher TA is not surprising, given all the Borax I've had to use.

I like to think my CYA is a bit down, though it's hard to tell at that high range. As I said earlier, I'm very gradually dumping out some water and adding more. This is a slow enough process that I would not think it would affect numbers other than CYA very much (since I'm being very careful not to put anything with CYA into the pool this season)

I never keep the pool covered! It's in bright sunlight every day :/

Thanks all Off for more swimming and perhaps some "eye tests" at these levels

 

[ElkPool]

The eyes are a tad red after a few minutes underwater. One other thing I should mention is that the water is somewhat cloudy. I'm still working on getting all the stuff out of the bottom of the deep end (it's almost done, but it needs a few more days of filtering). I'll keep my eyes shut until the water's crystal clear