Chemgeeks chart has always confused me.. So will 9 gallons of bleach brake the block , and test 8 or so hours after that..I remember someone saying i had to keep it there for a while..... Why if there is suppose to be "no chlorine" in the pool is it killing our eyes no big deal just thought it was strange.
Tired and in Tears... Chemical blocks and kids
- Thread starter tiffains4
- Start date
Hello Tiffaini.
I suspect that you have combined chlorine, also known as chloramines, in your pool. Chloramines can easily irrittate eyes. I have read through this entire post and I can't seem to find any test results by you for combined chlorine.
The quote above was by jjparrish 11 days ago. By many of your questions, and the fact you are still having pool problems, I strongly suspect that you have not read these stickies. PLEASE READ THE STICKIES NOW.
Also, please post new test results in the following format:
FC (free chlorine):
CC (combined chlorine):
PH:
When you do the FC test, do not use the one with yellow color. Use the test that uses the powder. After this test is done, you can use the same sample to test for CC.
What does your water presently look like?
Titanium
I suspect that you have combined chlorine, also known as chloramines, in your pool. Chloramines can easily irrittate eyes. I have read through this entire post and I can't seem to find any test results by you for combined chlorine.
The quote above was by jjparrish 11 days ago. By many of your questions, and the fact you are still having pool problems, I strongly suspect that you have not read these stickies. PLEASE READ THE STICKIES NOW.
Also, please post new test results in the following format:
FC (free chlorine):
CC (combined chlorine):
PH:
When you do the FC test, do not use the one with yellow color. Use the test that uses the powder. After this test is done, you can use the same sample to test for CC.
What does your water presently look like?
Titanium
Try adding 10 gallons of 5.25% bleach (make sure the bottles are 1 gallon each). Test every few hours and keep the levels of chlorine up (if it drops, keep adding more bleach to maintain the levels... this means it is being consumed as it kills stuff or through loss to UV light). Going a little bit higher won't hurt anything in the short term. I have a pool about the same size as yours and went to 30ppm to kill a big algae growth. Mine is vinyl lined and it suffered no adverse effects from a short course of 30ppm chlorine.
There are a number of problems that can cause red eyes. Low pH, high chlorine, high combined chlorine (which ideally should be 0), and bacterial infections in the water are among them.
To be on the safe side, keep your chlorine level high for 4-5 days or so, then let it slowly drop to normal range. Continue to run the filter as much as possible Don't go swimming again until your chlorine leves are in normal range and pH is acceptable (try to get it between 7.4 and 7.6 if possible, but 7.2-7.8 is ok).
Be ready to keep adding bleach as necessary. Never let it drop under shock levels. I prefer to go a bit higher sometimes so that even if it drops a bit it will still be over the shock level.
As mentioned above, the DPD test (the one with powder) for chlorine is superior in terms of precision and in terms of range of values it can test to the OTO test (the yellow to red color matching one). It also has the added benefit of not being carcinogenic (OTO is a suspected carcinogen... nothing horrible, but if you're like me and like to be extra safe, it's a nice added bonus to the DPD test, which is better anyways).
There are a number of problems that can cause red eyes. Low pH, high chlorine, high combined chlorine (which ideally should be 0), and bacterial infections in the water are among them.
To be on the safe side, keep your chlorine level high for 4-5 days or so, then let it slowly drop to normal range. Continue to run the filter as much as possible Don't go swimming again until your chlorine leves are in normal range and pH is acceptable (try to get it between 7.4 and 7.6 if possible, but 7.2-7.8 is ok).
Be ready to keep adding bleach as necessary. Never let it drop under shock levels. I prefer to go a bit higher sometimes so that even if it drops a bit it will still be over the shock level.
As mentioned above, the DPD test (the one with powder) for chlorine is superior in terms of precision and in terms of range of values it can test to the OTO test (the yellow to red color matching one). It also has the added benefit of not being carcinogenic (OTO is a suspected carcinogen... nothing horrible, but if you're like me and like to be extra safe, it's a nice added bonus to the DPD test, which is better anyways).
We don't know just how much chlorine it will take, the 6 (or 10) gallons of bleach is just the starting place. You keep adding more from there until the pool can maintain a FC level.
Matt, the chlorine test you are talking about is the FAS-DPD test.
Matt, the chlorine test you are talking about is the FAS-DPD test.
Sorry, should have been more precise about that. Yes, I'm referring to the FAS-DPD where you can neutralize the pink to clear, not the one where you color match after adding the DPD reagent.
and Yes to answer someones question yes i have had a chlorine demand..My water was extremly cloudy until i started using bleach and i put some heavy duty stuff in it before all this to get it up but no luck.. now my water is going a little cloudy but every ones eyes were killing them..Hey got a b-party for my 6 year old this sat... we have already put it off for a week so do i need to do what i can to get buy or what do you think ?.... alright got that i need to get that chlorine level up high and you say keep it there how long does it usally take ,just an educated guess.... ? And the stickies yes i have used but as far as chem geeks formula i dont even get.
It's hard to say for sure... this year for me, when I opened I had algae. It took me about 2 days to kill off all the algae. I maintained a level of about 30 ppm chlorine with virtually no CYA (it got eaten by the algae). Then it took another few days to filter everything out and vacuum all the dead biomatter. Brushing, vacuuming, and skimming will all speed up the process. Run the pump/filter 24/7. Keep testing the chlorine and don't let it fall.
If you could post a full set of test results for your pool now we can take it from here. I would suggest that no one swim until we get a handle on things. I have a few idea but I would like to see a new set of test results. Once I see that I can help 'translate' chemgeek's chart for you to what applies to your pool.tiffains4 said:
If you opened the pool and had less Cyanuric Acid (CYA) in it compared to what you had when you closed it, then your pool may now have ammonia in it (you said CYA was 91, but it could have been higher when you closed the pool). Soil bacteria that get into the pool can convert CYA into ammonia. You can get an inexpensive ammonia kit from a pet/fish/aquarium store. To get rid of the ammonia it takes a cumulative FC that is around 10x the ammonia amount.tiffains4 said:
If you have ammonia in the pool, then this would explain why your eyes might sting and why you can't seem to hold any chlorine. Any chlorine you add will almost immediately combine with the ammonia to form monochloramine which measures as Combine Chlorine (CC) as Titanium said (also as he said, monochloramine can sting the eyes) so you need to test for CC as well.
Richard
Okay after doing the test a second time I can see where my numbers might have been of from a drop or two,I learned that the drops can come out fast..
Ph-7.2
Cya-30
Ta-200
Fc-4
Cc- 5
Ch-120
I really dont see how the cc can be right when I did a dropper test to while i was in there and I couldnt get a hint of yellow.. I added 12 gallons of bleach last night and it doesnt look like I did anything.. Any way all the bleach is gone at walmart(we bought it all last night) and they said there were alot of people in town having this problem.. Anyway I have to have this birthday party this weekend what do you want me to do next..
Ph-7.2
Cya-30
Ta-200
Fc-4
Cc- 5
Ch-120
I really dont see how the cc can be right when I did a dropper test to while i was in there and I couldnt get a hint of yellow.. I added 12 gallons of bleach last night and it doesnt look like I did anything.. Any way all the bleach is gone at walmart(we bought it all last night) and they said there were alot of people in town having this problem.. Anyway I have to have this birthday party this weekend what do you want me to do next..
Continue adding bleach to bring your FC level up to shock level as frequently as you can manage, up to once per hour. You can use my Pool Calculator, see the link in my signature, to calculate the amount of bleach you need each time.
Jason the calculator is telling me no bleach added Jason just for courosity i used the yellow dropper test to see what it had to say and it never turned one shade of yellow. And my free chlorine,how can it be a 4 and my cc a 4 and my pool look like it does.. And the calculator says add no bleach when i put new results in.. I know I am learning a whole new way to take care of my pool but none of this adds up to me.. I am going to find a store for more bleach..
Jason also I have 2 boxes of 6 in 1 shock which i have learned has alot of cya and at the time mine was to high.. can i use this,i hate to see it go to waste.. Anyway i will do what you say..
Jason also I have 2 boxes of 6 in 1 shock which i have learned has alot of cya and at the time mine was to high.. can i use this,i hate to see it go to waste.. Anyway i will do what you say..
In my Pool Calculator, you enter the size of your pool, 30,000 gallons, into the orange size box at the top. Then you enter your current FC reading into the Now column of the yellow FC row, then the appropriate shock level you are trying to achieve, 15, into the Goal column of the yellow FC row. Then hit TAB or press the calculate button and it will display how much bleach to use, just over 5 gallons of 6% bleach this time around.
Jason i put all the test results in and the first thing i do is change the gallons in top left and start the results from there.. I put in 7.2 cya 30- ta 200- fc4 ( which i think is way wrong) cc 5 and ch 120 and ran mouse over for results and it said none.. Jason the test are very easy and im pretty sure i am doing them right but something is wrong. I am doing everything i know to do .
okay so i can test the water every hour but if i use my new test i wont have enough so can i use the dropper or what? i know you have another way :~) I really do appreciate ALL of your help ....
okay so i can test the water every hour but if i use my new test i wont have enough so can i use the dropper or what? i know you have another way :~) I really do appreciate ALL of your help ....
The pool probably looks clear because the CC isn't coming from algae but rather from ammonia that is in the pool. As I wrote in my earlier post, I suggest you go to a pet/fish/aquarium store and get an inexpensive ammonia test kit. This will tell you how much chlorine it will take to clear your pool -- it will take a cumulative FC that is 10x the ammonia amount plus somewhat more than half the CC amount.
Richard
Richard
tiffains4 said:
You just listed every step except one, you apparently didn't do:
JasonLion said:
Okay off to another store.. This is crazy huh ? Have any of you had or at least had someone with this much trouble trying to get there free chlorine up.. and no chemgeek my pool is not clear. it was until i had about 15 kids in it all weekend . Thank oyu all so much.
Results of ammonia is 0.25 dont know wha that means.. Keep pouring in the bleach and its not working..