Cant keep chlorine in pool!

[HAKUNAMATATAPOOL]

Hi, my name is Ryan and I own and operate a pool cleaning and repair company in Lake County FL. I have aquired 4 new pools that have me totally baffled. I have the water test results for all 3 pools and they are as follows: (note - all test were done 1 week after last service)

POOL 1: 35,000 gallon pool, diamond bright
FC - .5
TC - .5
PH - 7.6
ALK - 90
CH - 230
CYA - 50
PHOSPHATE - 50
NITRATE - 0
AMMONIA - 0

The week prior there was 7.5 gallons of liquid chlorine put into the pool along with 2 3" chlorine tabs. This pool keeps a constant PH balance of 7.6. I haven't seen it drop below that or raise any higher than that. There is no algae growth but pool is cloudy every week when I return.

POOL 2: 20,000 gallon pool, diamond bright
FC - 1
TC - 1
PH - 7.8/2
ALK - 90
CH - 310
CYA - 60
PHOSPHATES - 0
NITRATES - 1
AMMONIA - 0

This pool takes 2.5 gallons of chlorine per week and 1 chlorine tab. Usually has the same PH upon return every time.

POOL 3: 10,000 ABOVE GROUND POOL
FC - 0
TC - .5
PH - 7.8/3
ALK - 110
CH - 250
CYA - 40
PHOSPHATES - 0
NITRATES - 0
AMMONIA - 0

This pool takes 2.5 gallons of chlorine per week and 1 chlorine tab. PH usually goes up to 7.8/1 - 7.8/3 every week.

POOL 4: 16,000 gallon vinyl inground pool

FC - 0
TC - .5
PH - 7.8/4
ALK - 100
CH - 260
CYA - 45
PHOSPHATES - 0
NITRATES - 10
AMMONIA - 0

This pool I just started last week and was frog pond green. I treated with shock and phosphate remover then realized it had level 10 nitrates. I am going to drain half the pool and refill. It will not hold chlorine at all, I am going threw 2.5 gallons a day.

With these pool I am going out of my mind. I am going threw so much chlorine its not funny. I have tested and treated for everything I know how to. Any help is much appreciated.

 

[alanpaul]

Hi, Ryan H Matata!

Let me be the first to welcome you to TFP.

And the first to recommend you press the button, above right, and read Pool School.
If you look at the complete table of contents, you will find articles that will address your issues.

Note: If the pools are consuming lots of chlorine, they've most likely got organic (ie. algae) problems.
See the article on the Shock Process. The process takes a lot of chlorine, hour after hour, for several days, but it beats back the algae, balances the chemicals, and gets the water sparkling.

Welcome and good luck.
Alan

P.S.
I'm sure others here, more experienced than I, can give you more specific directions.

 

[ping]

I'm guessing the pools are using a little more than average chlorine due to a lower CYA value and needing to raise the chlorine level really high once a week. At the high FC levels the chlorine will be used up at a faster rate than normal so this rate of decline is expected. Pool 1 is averaging 4 ppm loss a day, pool 2 is doing just fine at 2.5 ppm loss a day, and pool 3 is the worst at 7 ppm a day. Pool 2 is the best and has the highest CYA and pool 3 is the worst and it has the lowest CYA.

When the FC gets low, the pools probably start growing algae, not blooming, and then when you raise the chlorine, it gets consumed faster by the algae and also at a higher rate due to the high level of chlorine.

Some services that can only visit their pools once a week raise their CYA on the high side, 100 ppm, so the chlorine is protected more. Do a search, Chem Geek has written a lot on this throughout the boards. You might try raising the CYA some and see if they don't improve for you. A pool service company that services once a week in FL needs to run a little different than what is taught to the home owner, but TFP is a great resource to really understand what is happening with the pool's chemistry and equipment.

 

[Butterfly]

Welcome to the forum

Before you think about raising CYA, you should complete the shock process.

What test kit are you using?

 

[harleysilo]

Welcome! Keep reading and learning here. Search for user frustratedpoolmom, she services pools and has posted a lot of info on how she accomplishes it. I love seeing small business people showing up here and learning and improving their company and service. Knowledge is power, once you get a grasp of the chemistry you'll understand what to add, what to ignore, and be able to communicate that better to the customer.

If I owned a pool service I would explain to customers what the pool really needs, and how no service can afford to do it with out charging prices people wouldn't pay. Get them involved enough to maybe dump some bleach in two three times a week. That would make things tons better. Might loose some customers but I doubt it. Just leave a pre measured bottle that says pour me Tuesday evening....