FC Loss

[Gm0ney]

I'm pretty new to the pool thing - we just got ours last summer. Started out with the pool store chemicals but quickly found this site, picked up a TF-100 while in Minneapolis and started with BBB last fall. Pool was very murky at opening (dark green/black water, maybe 1 foot of visibility) but quickly cleared up. It was looking good the first week after it cleared, then the weather turned cold and rainy and I've been fighting slight cloudiness since then. It seems to be pretty clear now, but it's not sparkling crystal clear like it was last summer. Should I keep it at shock levels? I did the OCLT the other night when I was shocking. Had a reading of 15 TC/FC at 11pm, and dropped 1 ppm to 14 at 8am...water looked clear so I thought I could let it drop down to normal. I tested again after 10 hours of sun on the pool and a few swimmers and it was 5.5. I added 5L (1.3 gallons) of 4% bleach, put on the solar cover and it was at 4.5 this evening (24 hours later). Is this a reasonable rate of chlorine consumption? It seems like a lot to have to add a 5L jug of 4% every day to maintain levels around 5ppm.

Here are the latest results from the TF-100:

FC 4.5
TC 4.5
CC 0.25 (sample turns faintly pink and then clears completely with 1 drop using the FAS-DPD method)
pH 7.3
TA 130
CH 210
CYA 45 (I can still see a hint of the dot at the 50 mark, but it's completely gone at the 40 mark)
Borate 20-30 (strip test)

From the pool store test:
Copper 0.1
Iron 0.0
TDS 748

Note: The pool is pretty much fully in the sun from 9am - 5pm (and partially from 7:00am - 7:00pm). And there are a number of mature trees around that drop a lot of seeds, pollen, leaves, twigs, etc...I've been having to fish that out every day. It's hard to believe how much stuff a big mature tree can drop every day. We have an 80 foot silver maple that hangs over a bit of the deep end (from the north, so it doesn't block any sun) and the neighbours have an American Elm that has been dropping seeds for a couple of weeks now.

 

[duraleigh]

That 1-day drop was excessive but your overnight loss, while not passing the OCLT, is almost acceptable.

How often are you running and cleaning your filter?

 

[Gm0ney]

How often are you running and cleaning your filter?

Filtration is running 24/7. It's a cartridge filter - the pressure gauge on the filter hasn't changed since startup so I thought it was okay (the gauge appears to be working - it goes to 0 when I shut down the pump and I can move it up and down a bit by playing with the valves for the waterfall, slide and returns). Wouldn't hurt to take it out and hose it down though.

I just reread the Pool School stuff about OCLT and I think I'll bring it up and hold it at shock until I get it < 1.

 

[duraleigh]

Yeah, sounds like you have things pretty well under control. Don't worry about the gauge....it sounds to me like it's working. I suspect that excessive loss you had may have been a testing error which is very common when you first start.

I like your plan of shock value again until you pass the OCLT.