Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to high

[ricka057]

I am very new to pool maintenance and am having trouble raising the chlorine to the proper level in the pool. Both my free and total chlorine are only 0.5 ppm and the SWG is set at the max setting. Should I shock the pool by adding chlorine to boost it? My salt level is fine, it tested at 3,500 ppm.

Also, the pool is less than a year old and about 13,000 gallons, I usually take the water to a pool store on a weekly basis and have it tested. It seems like every week I need to add 3 to 4 cups of muratic acid, is that normal?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[JasonLion]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

Welcome to TFP!

You should post a full set of water test results and also describe how your water looks.

 

[HarryH3]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

It is also important to let us know how long your pump runs each day. The salt cell only works to generate chlorine while the pump is running, so short run time means less chlorine.

 

[ricka057]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

I run my pump usually about nine hours a day, the water is pretty clear. I've recently been getting what I believe is a yellow algae around the sides I thought it was from the low chlorine level. What the the vacuum misses I can brush off fairly easily.

The latest levels I have are below:

TC: 0.5
FC: 0.5
CC: 0.0
PH: 8.0
TA: 90

Is there anything else I should test for?

Thanks guys

 

[JasonLion]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

It is important to know your CYA level. It is not nearly as important, but useful to know the CH level.

Your PH is a little high, and should be lowered to 7.5, but that wouldn't have anything to do with your current issues.

 

[ricka057]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

Jason is the CYA the same as the Stabilizer? If it is for some reason they didn't test for that or the Calcium Hardness.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

Yes, CYA is Stabilizer.

Inadequate pool store testing is one of the main reasons we advocate your own reliable test kit.

You need it in order to do an overnight FC loss test, to determine if organics are consuming the chlorine which is making it impossible for the cell to keep up (I suspect that is the case.)

 

[ricka057]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

Yes, CYA is Stabilizer.

Inadequate pool store testing is one of the main reasons we advocate your own reliable test kit.

You need it in order to do an overnight FC loss test, to determine if organics are consuming the chlorine which is making it impossible for the cell to keep up (I suspect that is the case.)

By organics are you referring to sun and rain? If so that is possible I live in Florida and it has been extremely hot the last few weeks.

I'm starting to agree about me doing my own testing, I just thought taking it to a local pool store was not only a little easier for me but I thought they could test all my levels with much more sophisticated equipment. I guess I'll have to do some research on which type of test equipment to purchase.

Thanks everybody for all your help.

 

[JasonLion]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

I recommend getting the TF100 from TFTestKits.net. The Taylor K-2006 is also good. Both of them have the FAS-DPD chlorine test, which is really the only chlorine test that works when you are shocking the pool. They both also have extremely good reliability ratings.

 

[ricka057]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

Thanks Jason, in the mean time do you think I should add liquid chlorine to raise the level?

 

[JasonLion]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

You certainly need some chlorine, but you need to know your CYA level to know how much. Do you have any idea what your CYA level is? If you have no idea what CYA is, add at least 2 ppm of chlorine this morning. If the water is cloudy add 10 ppm of chlorine.

Also, the last I saw, the PH was too high. If you haven't already you should lower PH to 7.5.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Re: Help! Chlorine registers Low and Generator is set to hig

By organics are you referring to sun and rain?

No, I meant nascent algae. doing the Overnight test takes sun out of the equasion. Rain has some effect depending on how much and if organic debris is blown into the pool during the rain.