Pool not holding free Chlorine

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C

chuard

0
May 17, 2012
29
Hello everyone,
This is my first post. YEAH!!!! Seriously owning a pool should not be this hard, but let me tell you a little about my pool to start off with. 33,000 gallon L shaped, vinyl liner, sand filter pool. Sand filter cleaned and replaced with zeo sand on 5/6/12. I didn't open my pool last year because of a lot going on and finances and still have the stress but I'm a single mom and like screw it this year I will open this dang pool. So I opened my pool a couple weeks ago and really it never was green. Just looked dirty. And still looks milky blue. Since opening it I have put tons of bleach(6), liquid chlorine (15)and 15 bags of shock in with as well as 6 liters of phosfree, and 1 quart of sea klear for my phosphates. LAst time I checked I still had like 300 phosphates but everyone I've talked to say its time to shock the heck out of this pool and get it clear because once I do that then I shouldn't have any phosphates. I have also put in metal free, and algecide. Anyway I am on my way to the pool store in 5 min to get my water tested and see if they have a test kit to get myself since driving 30min to get my water tested isn't all that pratical. I'm just giving a brief history before I come back with my numbers. Cause seriously I'm ready to be a pool expert and get this taken care of. Thanks in advance
 
Hello and welcome to TFP!

I would recommend starting in the Pool School section and reading as much as you can. You will soon discover that many of the chemicals, additives, etc, that you have been using are not necessary.

Also, you are on the right track if you are considering getting your own test kit...just make sure you get one that will meet your needs. If you're shocking the pool, it is important that you can accurately measure FC even at high levels. This is why most people here suggest either the TF-100 or Taylor K-2006 test kits!

A little bit of reading, patience, and practice will have you on your way to a trouble free pool!
 
Ask the pool store if they have a kit with the FAS-DPD chlorine test. That is the key to a good test kit. Unfortunately, I doubt they have it and you will have to order online ... see my signature for info on the recommended kits.
 
Thanks for the replies. I know now that the phosphate remover was prolly a waste as I just had them tested again and they were 500. But whatever I'm over it. Just came back from the store and here are my readings. Also just as an FYI last night I put in 15 gallons of liquid chlorine in and today these are my readings at 5pm.
Free chlorine 0.31
Total chlorine 1.6
CC 1.29
Total alkalinity 176
Total al adjusted 159
Ph 6.9
Calcium 204
CYA 51
Copper 0
Iron 0
TDS 60
Saturated index -0.5

Pool guy tried to sell me more phosphate Crud and I said no way. And he suggested I add 6 lbs Of turbo shock that's 70%. But I haven't done anything yet. Thanks in advance for any advice. I'm working on being patient.
 
Why 15 gallons? Was that based on a calculation to achieve a certain FC level?

Stop wasting money by dumping random amounts of chemicals into your pool and order a good test kit. When you get it, post a full set of believable test results and we can lead you through cleaning up the pool the cheapest way possible.

Sorry if I sound harsh ... just trying to help you understand.
 
Hi welcome to TFP! You need to continue the shock process, but I would stick with liquid chlorine either 6% plain bleach or the pool store variety. Your CYA is high enough and you don't want it getting any higher. The turbo shock the guy wants to sell you is calcium hypochlorite. Since you have a vinyl liner you do not need any more calcium. Also you need to bring the pH up to the 7.0-7.5 range. I'm surprised they didn't try to sell you any pH up! You can use washing soda or soda ash to raise the pH. The pool calculator will tell you how much you need to add.

I also recommend the TF 100 test kit. It is a good value and ships in a few days.
 
15 gallons because previously that's what I was recommended by the pool store. And it's fine ur not too harsh but the readings I just posted are the most current. I will order a good kit online tonight but I'm sure I won't have it until Saturday or Monday so this is what I have for now because the p store tried to sell me more strips but I'm done with those things.
 
Also I have liquid chlorine at home and dry shock. My question is if in the pool calculator what do u want my chlorine to be when I shock it. 12 right? Also if it says I need 500 ml 6% liquid bleach then do I need 250ml of 12% liquid chlorine. Thanks again and I'm new at this and seriously will not be offended by anyone.
 
Ok just added some balance pack 200 from bio guard in the pool. I stated with 1.5lbs and can add another in a couple hours if ph hasn't adjusted. Pool calculator said to add 6.3 gallons of liquid chlorine at 10%. My question is since I don't have a kit yet do I shock now to get the chlorine up to 20ppm which I will have no way of knowing since I don't have a kit that goes that high or what do I do until I get my kit. I want to stay on top of things before I get my kit and don't want to wait another 4 days and let the pool get worse. Thanks again.
 

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If there is a Walmart or an ace hardware in your area they may have the hth 6 way test kit which will hold you over until the good kit arrives. You can use the dilution method to test the FC. It not great but it's better than nothing.
 
You should wait for your kit because as you said, you have no way to know when you need to add more and whether you hit the target.

Putting 1-2 bottles in each day will not hurt anything and may help some ... should keep the algae from coming back too strong. Or you could just save it to hit hard when you get your test kit.
 
Quick update. I woke up this am and quickly tested my water and it showed on a strip I had 5 of free chlorine and my total chlorine was high enough that it didint register on my hth 6 way kit so idk what that means. Ph was 7.1. I plan on taking water to get tested at store today after work, BUT I did order tf-100 kit last night so hopefully that comes soon. Water still looks milky blue.
 
Once you get your test kit, your going to want to test your CYA to make sure it really is 51. If your getting a false reading from the pool store, you could be way over which means you need ridiculous amounts of bleach/chlorine to shock the pool and your not reaching it or maintaining it, or you could be way under and the sun is just eating the heck out of your bleach/chlorine.
The other thing I haven't seen you mention, are you brushing your pool at all? You need to brush everything in the pool while shocking. Algae can grow a protective film on it and the bleach/chlorine cannot attack it. By brushing you break it up allowing the bleach/chlorine to do it's job.
 
If there was no color on the 6way test then it probably bleached out. You can use a diluted sample to get a ball park reading on the FC by mixing 1part distilled water with 1part pool water and running the test on that solution. Multiply the result by 2.
 
The 6 way test showed chlorine a lot darker yellow than the test wild read to do I do t know but I m going to try diluting when I get home. Also I have web brushing, but not like what I read in pool school. Seriously this weekend I'm going to brush it a couple times a day.
 
Just wanted to give an update. I do not have my tf-100 test yet but have been checking my fc levels regularly with the dilution method. Fc levels are not dropping near as much as previously. Fc has been running around 24 if doing it properly. Tested this am and they were still 24. I have been brushing and sweeping the pool all weekend. I am still getting leaves and black muck stuff out of the deep end and then fcourse the filter pressure goes up then I backwash. Since I have been sweeping so much the pool pressure raises a lot quicker than it had been so I feel like I have back washed more than usual. This sound right to everyone. Pool still looks Milky tho. No real improvement of appearance. Boyfriend said it looks better tho.
 
Ok got my kit test results are as follows.
Fc 29
Cc 1.5
Cya- 55
Ta 160
Ph 7.4

Soo where do I go from here. My pool is still very cloudy. I continue to brush daily and backwash if needed.
 

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