I posted up a week ago with help for my green pool after vacation. Well we have been shocking it since last Friday. The water looks so good but it hasn't passed the overnight test. We want to swim, it is sooo hot here in Texas. Can we get in anyway? My husband is very frustrated with this whole process and tells me he thinks this method is crazy and time consuming and he just wants to swim in his pool. I basically told him I was probably just going to swim later today anyway. Is this ok? The chlorine levels have been at about 30ppm (CYA level 70) Should I let it come down a bit before we get in or keep it at this level until we pass the overnight test? It's been about 2 weeks since we've gotten in it. Help!! We want our pool back.
Been shocking for a week, water clear, can we swim?
- Thread starter akaedge
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Well ... we say it is safe to swim below shock level (which is 28ppm for you) and your CC are not more than 0.5ppm and the water is clear.
What are you usually showing for the OCLT? What have your CCs been?
Likely, you would be fine letting it drop into the mid 20s and swim for awhile.
What are you usually showing for the OCLT? What have your CCs been?
Likely, you would be fine letting it drop into the mid 20s and swim for awhile.
Sounds weird to me but last night I put chlorine and tested about an hour and a half later the reading was I think at 35ppm or maybe 32 I wrote it down at home but anyway I tested it at about 7:30 this morning (when the sun is out but hasn't hit the pool yet I don't think) and it was at 13ppm. It hadn't been that bad the previous night so I don't really know what happened there. My CC was .5 last night and zero this morning. I thought I'd be done with this process by like Wednesday since the water looked pretty good but nope. Maybe I did something wrong this morning I was half asleep 
I added the rest of the bottle of 8.25% bleach and tested it again at noon and it was at 29 I think. So I think I will just leave FC down where it is now and add more bleach this evening and try the test again. Hopefully this works this time. I'm tired of scrubbing every day in this heat and then not being able to just jump in. Errr
I added the rest of the bottle of 8.25% bleach and tested it again at noon and it was at 29 I think. So I think I will just leave FC down where it is now and add more bleach this evening and try the test again. Hopefully this works this time. I'm tired of scrubbing every day in this heat and then not being able to just jump in. Errr
It is not really the FC level that is of concern while shocking ... it is more about what is in the water causing you to be shocking the pool in the first place ... and CERTAINLY we say it is not safe if you can not see the bottom of the pool. Your pool is clear, so likely safe to jump in ... with possible irritation if there are CC in the water or after getting out of the pool when the water evaporates leaving a higher chlorine concentration on your skin. If you rinse off right after getting out of the pool (as you should anyway), that will lessen any affects.
If you have been following the shock process for a week and still can't pass the OCLT, I suggest that you try:
First, increase the shock level (up to Mustard Algae level if you want tonight) and then make very sure that you brush the entire pool, including walls, floor, steps, skimmer, under ladders, everywhere.
If you have underwater lights, they should be removed from their niche and the niche inspected and cleaned out as needed and exposed to the shock level.
If you have fountains, or waterfalls, or other water features, they also need to run shock level.
Hope you pass the test tonight.....fingers crossed
First, increase the shock level (up to Mustard Algae level if you want tonight) and then make very sure that you brush the entire pool, including walls, floor, steps, skimmer, under ladders, everywhere.
If you have underwater lights, they should be removed from their niche and the niche inspected and cleaned out as needed and exposed to the shock level.
If you have fountains, or waterfalls, or other water features, they also need to run shock level.
Hope you pass the test tonight.....fingers crossed
Once my water is clear, I generally let the chlorine come down for the day and go back to shock level only at night.
Thanks for all the replies. Generally I have been keeping the FC above 30 since I had it at the recommended level for 2-3 days without much difference in water appearance. I think CYA levels are maybe a little higher than the pool stores results. And yes once I run out of the dpd reagents I bought at Leslies I will by my own better test kits to test for CYA. AS for now I will use the FAS-DPD chlorine test and leslies dpd test for everything else. I look forward to getting in the pool even if it is to clean the algae in hard to reach places. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again
Ah. Pool store results. I bet your CYA level was wrong and that's why your pool hasn't cleared.
I was having the same problem, but lower numbers. My water looked great, but I could never pass the OCLT. Butterfly (who has made suggestions to you in this thread) gave me the same suggestions. We took off our light and it was a disgusting! Algae, slime, and lots of dead bugs. No wonder I couldn't pass the overnight test. We also removed the steps and they are waiting for a good cleaning. The bumpers on the steps had algae in them, too. I brushed them real good and let then soak overnight.
I got the shock level up to 20, even though I only needed to be at 16.
The next morning, I passed the test!
Good luck!
I got the shock level up to 20, even though I only needed to be at 16.
The next morning, I passed the test!
Good luck!
Well the evening after posting this I passed the test!! We did get in the water but chlorine was too too high and quite overwhelming so we ended up getting out and calling it a night. The next day we were ready to swim and what do you know a storm blew in and dropped about 6 inches of rain in my newly clean pool. Not only could we not swim I had a pool that was practically overflowing and lots of leaves and dead bugs to fish out the following day... :? But at least we got rid of the algae. By the way it hadn't rained in about a month... Geez great timing huh?