Radiant 17x33 pool, zero chlorine

[hvafit2]

Hi, new here, and I don't see well, so I will keep this short.

17000 gallons
Semi Inground Pool
Vinyl
Sand filter, with 17 3/4" tall filter
Hayward Super series 1.5 pump
pool installed 6/2011

Readings: Chlorine 0, PH 6.5, alkaline 40, cyanuric acid 0 Pool is cloudy, and I keep dumping shock in and it rises to where it should be then drops to zero......was told phosphate issue....zero phosphates.

Please help!

Paula

 

[JohnN]

First, what kind of test are you using? Also, what type of shock are you adding? Basically, you have an algae issue and if your CYA is 0, the sun is burning off your chlorine.
1) Get a good test kit, which is linked to in my signature.
2) While waiting for test kit, read pool school a few times.
3) Adjust pH if needed based on test kit.
4) Adjust CYA to 30 if needed based on test kit.
5) Follow shock process in my signature.
Oh, and phosphate removers are just a way to drain your wallet. Phosphates don't matter.

 

[hvafit2]

HTH 6 way test strip. What is the best product to raise the CYA? We added Natures way super shock. I will order the good testing kit for future. Thanks for your help I appreciate it very much. Never had these problems the first two years.

 

[JohnN]

I wouldn't do anything to CYA until you get your own proper test kit. Strips are horribly inaccurate. What do you use for daily chlorine? Nature's Way Super Shock is Cal-Hypo, which increases CH. You don't have a CH or TH number, so I don't know if you can safely use any more of the shock. For now you should just stick to liquid chlorine/bleach. It will be difficult to know just how much you will need by using test strips. For now, until you get the proper test kit, I would target 3 ppm of chlorine. You can use poolcalculator.com to know how much to add.

 

[Jerry Lee]

4) Adjust CYA to 30 if needed based on test kit.
5) Follow shock process in my signature.

I would switch these two steps around....at 20 CYA shock level is minimum 10 FC, at 30 it's rises to a minimum of 12.

 

[JasonLion]

JohnN is correct. For an outdoor pool it is best to raise CYA to at least 30 either before shocking or at the same time you start shocking. Lower CYA levels result in losing huge quantities of chlorine to sunlight, more than wiping out the small savings in target level.

 

[hvafit2]

What is the best product to raise the CYA level?

 

[Smykowski]

It'll be labelled "stabilizer" or "conditoner." It doesn't matter what you buy, but read the label: you're looking for cyanuric acid in the 95-100% range on the ingredients list.