Newbie-Is my chlorine level safe to swim

[jonavarro26]

Hello everyone, I recently purchased the TF 100 test kit and have the the following results. I would like to know if the chloring levels are safe to swim. Thanks for you help in advance.

FC - 18
TC - 18.5
pH - 7.5 -7.8
TA - 90
CH - 510
CYA - Recently added 4 lbs. waiting a few more days to test
Salt ppm - 3500 ppm

 

[duraleigh]

4 lbs of CYA in a 20k pool results in CYA of 25ppm. Shock value (safe to swim) for 25ppm CYA is about 12 ppm so you should let FC come on down to about 12ppm and then you are good to go.

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, jonavarro26

Duraleigh beat me...but here is my take:

What was your cya level before adding the new stuff?

Our guidelines for safe swimming are up to your FC level, but you need to know what cya level you have to know your FC level. Use:http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock or poolcalculator.com to get your FC shock level.

Also, you should be able to see the bottom for safe swimming.

 

[jonavarro26]

Thanks duraleigh. How can I reduce the chlorine in a couple hours? I just lowered the output on my t-cell to 30p would this help? Or would you recommend I buy chlorine neutrilizer?.

Thanks for the welcoming linen, I had added 4 lbs 2 weeks before. I did the CYA test a week later and I could still see the black dot. It was cloudy so I figured there was CYA but it was below 20. On the chart you referred me to is the FC Shock, the maximum chlorine allowed??

 

[linen]

So the previous 4 lbs should have raised you to ~24 ppm (using "effects of adding chemicals" section on poolcalculator.com and 20000 gallons), assuming you were close to zero before. How recent was the last 4 lbs (assuming that is in addtion to the first 4 lbs)?

 

[jonavarro26]

Before the first addition of CYA I was at zero. I just did a CYA test and I'm sitting at 45 ppm. Take in mind I just added the chemicals on Thursday night and ran the pool 24 hours straight. In reading the forums it is recommended to wait 3 - 7 days before testing. So I'm not sure how accurate the 45 ppm is.

 

[linen]

So for 45 ppm cya (what are you using to test?), your shock level is 16 ppm per poolcalculator.com. It also sounds like your totalo of 8 lbs has almost all shown up (should be about 48 ppm). I am using poolcalculator.com to get these numbers.

By the way, how does your water look?

 

[jonavarro26]

The water is clear. No signs of any algae. I'm using the TF-100 test kit the chemicals it mentions to use and the "C.A. View Tube" that is included with the kit. When you are saying that my shock level is 16ppm, What does that mean?? Does that dictate how much chlorine is safe to swim?

 

[elwood58]

The water is clear. No signs of any algae. I'm using the TF-100 test kit the chemicals it mentions to use and the "C.A. View Tube" that is included with the kit. When you are saying that my shock level is 16ppm, What does that mean?? Does that dictate how much chlorine is safe to swim?

Completely clear water up to shock level of 16 is safe to swim. Let your FC drift down a bit and you should be good to go. Definitely want to get the kids to stop peeing in the pool.

 

[jonavarro26]

Thanks Elwood