My pool is using up too much chlorine through the course of the day so a shock was in order. I need to bring my FC level up to 20 and hold it there until my FC loss at night is less then 1ppm. So, last night I start the process, get the pool up to 22ppm at sunset, this morning it has dropped to 14ppm so I add another case of chlorox bringing it up to 23ppm =/-. When I get home from work my FC has dropped to 8ppm. How does one manage to keep the ppm above 20ppm and still have a job. Do I need to really load up to offset the drop? With it dropping back to 8, did I lose any progress I might have made putting me back to square 1?
Shocking question?
- Thread starter BadOleRoss
- Start date
It will take a little longer, but it can be done. As long as the FC stays above 0 you are making progress. After a couple of days the FC will hold longer as the algae dies off. Keep the pump running as much as you can, bring the FC up to shock level first thing in the morning and check it when you get home. Bump it back up to shock level, backwash if needed, and check the FC again just before sundown. Bump it up to shock level again and check in the morning. Don't worry, it sounds like you are doing fine so far.
After the pool is cleaned up be sure to keep the FC in the acceptable range for your pool to prevent this from happening again. If you post a complete set of test results we can help you find your FC range.
After the pool is cleaned up be sure to keep the FC in the acceptable range for your pool to prevent this from happening again. If you post a complete set of test results we can help you find your FC range.
The strange thing is the pool is clean, I don't see any algae it just wont hold FC. My PH is 7.4, CYA 50, TA 70, CH 50. I did a overnight test and lost 1.2ppm which is not mush over the 1.0ppm or less target but I am still losing FC like a champ. Sun is setting now so I will check in again tonight and in the morning.
Yes, as soon as I got home and saw it was 8 and added chlorine. Just tested it and I am at 21.5 FC. I will test it again in the early AM and if the drop is more then 1ppm I will boost the chlorine to get it through the day a little stronger.
Tested this morning the FC had dropped from 21.5 last night to 19.5 this moring. Went ahead and raised the FC to approx 26.5 to offset some of my loss while I am at work. Will check it again when I get home.
Got home and the FC had dropped to 12, bumped it back to 21! Time to head to Sam's to get more Clorox!
Don't give up! There are some recent success stories here if you need encouragement!
Not going to give up, I have too much Clorox invested! Is it safe to swim in a pool with the FC at 20? Nobody has asked yet but it's 95 degrees here and it's only a matter of time.
There's no chance you have a bunch of debris in the pump strainer or in the filter itself consuming all the chlorine, is there?
Richard320 said:
Similar thing happened to me last year or the year before. I shocked for days but the water looked great. I finally backwashed even though the pressure was fine. The backwash was disgustingly brown and green. Chlorine held just fine after that
I would swim in that water and have happily done so. Nevertheless, the forum sort of needs a go/no-go point to give newbies some guidance and that point we have decided is shock level. So with your CYA at 50, that means shock level is 20 so, in theory, you should let it get a little lower.
Thanks for the input everyone. I checked my pump pressure last night and the pressure was fine but I will backwash my filter just in case and make sure all of the skimmer baskets are cleaned out good. My FC dropped to 18.5 overnight so I raised it back up over 20 and will watch it through out the day. I didn't realize that debris in a skimmer basket would consume chlorine......learn something every day!