Chemical balance

[atc]

Hello guys, I'm new to pools, I've been reading the pool school but i have some problems.

Im in Colombia, elevation 7000 feet, water temperature averages 18 to 22 Celcius. i have just installed a SWG but i been trying to get the chemicals right. there are no pool stores here and they don't have the chemicals that we have in the states. i manage to get the PH right but every time i put chlorine in the pool, the next morning is gone. i have the right amount of salt (3500 ppm) but the salt chlorinator doesn't do enough . The water is nice and blue but with lots of particles inside.
I have no means of measuring CYA because the kit i have does not have it.
alkalinity is 50 ppm

Do I need to put a lot of chlorine to fix this ? they sell 70% granulated.

Ill appreciate any help you guys can give me and i hope this is the right place for my problem.

Thanks

Martin

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

CYA is your key. You have to know it, and everything you are saying says you don't have enough.

 

[atc]

is there a chemical that you can buy at a grocery store that would raise CYA ?? in case thats the problem, ill see if a can get a kit ti read it from someone in the states and send it to me !

Thanks

Martin

 

[Bama Rambler]

It also sounds like you may have a nascent algae bloom going on.

18º to 22ºC is about 66ºF to 72ºF so your swcg should be working and it should provide enough FC to keep the pool chlorinated.
Give us a list of your equipment with model numbers if you can.
Also, tell us what the ingredients are in the chemicals you have.

You can't buy CYA at the grocery store unless they also sell pool chems. But, the granules you have may contain CYA or calcium. Once we know the ingredients we can tell you if they do.

 

[atc]

The chlorine I have been using is 70% granulated hth (don't know if that's a brand or what). Today I went to chemical place and bought another type that is 90% and cointains cyanuric acid in it but don't know how much.
The SWG is the compupool 36.

 

[Bama Rambler]

You may in fact have too much cya and you're not maintaining the fc high enough.

 

[atc]

Can CYA be in the tap water ? Because I never added any type of stabalizer.
The Chlorine that I was using so far did not have any other chemical in it as far as the recipient says.

 

[linen]

The chlorine I have been using is 70% granulated hth (don't know if that's a brand or what).

That sounds like it might be Calcium Hypochlorite, you need to look at the label and tell us what ingredients are listed. HTH is the brand.

Today I went to chemical place and bought another type that is 90% and cointains cyanuric acid in it but don't know how much.

That sounds like trichlor, again please let us know what ingredients are listed.

Can CYA be in the tap water ?

Tap water should not have CYA.

Because I never added any type of stabalizer.
The Chlorine that I was using so far did not have any other chemical in it as far as the recipient says.

As Bama mentioned you could be too high in CYA...and as JohnT mentioned you might have none at all. Since you are not able to get a decent test kit (dont give up trying) the only thing we are able to go by is what you believe/know you have put in the pool. Are you sure that trichlor or dichlor has not been used on the pool? What other chemicals/bottles have you put in?

 

[atc]

Hi guys, another chemical that people use here in Colombia is Aluminum sulfate, it comes in small rocks, after it's applied the next day all the dirt or sediments fall to the bottom of the pool and needs to be vacuumed.
Has anybody ever use that ? It's very cheap and is what people use the most besides chlorine.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Aluminum Sulfate is used for a lot of things. Most commonly in pools it's used as a flocculent to aglomerate particles to allow them to be filtered out. I wouldn't just keep throwing things into the pool until we know what's causing the problem. You need to conecentrate your efforts on getting some good test results.

Do you have a friend in the states that can ship you a kit?
You should be able to order a K-2006 kit from Horner Xpress Worldwide.
A good kit will make your life so much easier.