High Chlorine levels

[Albert]

now that i have the pump all fixed and everything i tested the water and the chlorine levels are pretty high.
Free chlorine is 10
and chlorine is at 7
what should i do to lower them? because the sun hasnt been out much.

 

[tnthudson]

Jason or a long-timer may chip in here, but if you mean that your FC is 10 and your CC is 7 (meaning a Total Chlorine of 17), that is high, BUT if your CC is 7, you need to get rid of that...usually done by shocking.
If you look at the pool calculator in Jason's signature, you can see how much chlorine you would need to raise your chlorine for your size pool.
--BUT the best thing to do is post a full set of test results (FC, CC, pH, TA, CYA) and you can get a better answer than I gave here.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Assuming the CC is an error, the chlorine will dissapate over a couple of days...can't hurt anything and if you want to swim it should be okay just rinse off after.... I've had my chlorine over 10 plenty of times and there's been no issues...

 

[Butterfly]

I agree with Todd.

--BUT the best thing to do is post a full set of test results (FC, CC, pH, TA, CYA) and you can get a better answer .....

 

[duraleigh]

Albert,

Share with us why your pump wouldn't prime....I could not figure that out!

 

[Albert]

took the drain king to it and then a lot of gunk started shooting out of the returns and also i took your advice and checked the impeller and man let me tell you was that clogged with leaves so i took a small screwdriver and cleaned that off then i filled the basket with the garden hose and that took care of the problem with the priming. now i cant seem to figure out how to clear out the murky water i have.

 

[JasonLion]

You want to shock the pool, basically lots of chlorine. See this article for a through write up on shocking.

 

[Albert]

ok so ive tried shocking the pool everyday and it hasnt cleared up yet. on the top layer of the water it looks fine but its just a little foggy and in the deep end it is foggy with a small tint of green. i have a week before we are going to have a party and i have not the slightest clue on what to do. i am hoping to have it ready if not then i think im going to close it for the season because this is becomming more of a headache then i thought it would be. any help would be great.

 

[Titanium]

albert,

To reiterate tnhudson's advice that he gave you two days ago:

-BUT the best thing to do is post a full set of test results (FC, CC, pH, TA, CYA) and you can get a better answer than I gave here.

We NEED a full set of test results to give you the help you are looking for. Without solid DATA we would just be guessing (and you could use your local pool store for that ).

If you don't have forum member Duraleigh's TF-100 kit, or the Taylor K-2006 kit, or the Leslie's FAS/DPD kit, then your best option right now is to go to the local pool store and have them test your water, paying special attention to the CYA level. Even better would be to get two pool stores to test your water. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM YET. That will come later - maybe. Post the COMPLETE test results here as soon as possible.

Maybe we can still salvage your swim party for you. 8) But you have to hurry.

Titanium

 

[Albert]

ok i will test my water and post a full set of results.

 

[Albert]

ok i took the water to get tested and all he told me was that the
alkalinity is at 180 ppm
pH- is at about 8 or so
and the CYA was at 0
so i put in some stabilizer. will that help with the clearing?
they said that the chlorine level is just a little high but that shouldnt matter much.

 

[JasonLion]

Yes the stabilizer will help. You should also lower your PH to about 7.4. You can lower the PH with either 7 cups of muriatic acid or with just under 5 lbs of dry acid.

 

[Albert]

ok so i lowered both and i still have no results to show for it. how much would a pool company charge to come out and clean the bottom of my pool and set my water right? because i am having a party in a week and am willing to do just about anything to get it ready to swim in. we have had about 10 good days that we can swim but the pool isnt ready.

 

[Matt]

When you're shocking the pool, how high is your chlorine getting?

 

[Butterfly]

Albert, you still need to shock your pool. Here is Jason's previous post w/a link to 'clearing the green swamp....'. If you follow the steps, your pool WILL clear.

You want to shock the pool, basically lots of chlorine. See this article for a through write up on shocking.

 

[Albert]

ok i will try that today

 

[Titanium]

albert,

You are going to have to test your pool's FC several times a day. The basic idea behind raising the FC to shock levels is to hit the algae hard and fast and keep hitting it hard. The algae dying will consume chlorine, as will the sun. Testing for FC several times a day will ensure that the FC level never falls to a level that lets the algae regain a foothold back.

Tell us exactly what you do and what your test results are through today and tomorrow. And also what the water looks like.

Good luck.

Titanium

 

[Albert]

ok so first i had a little help from the leaf vac just to get all of the organic junk that was still at the bottom and that worked really well then i shocked it but before i did that i tested the water.
free chlorine- 5
pH-7.2
Alkalinity- 170
CYA-110

 

[Albert]

so far the water looks like a grayish green i added some copper based alge killer today and scrubbed it and the water levels are as follows
Free Chlorine-12
pH-8.4
Alkalinity-160
CYA-100

 

[JasonLion]

CYA was 0 a little while ago and now it appears to be around 100? How much CYA/stabilizer did you add? Or perhaps you are using test strips? Many test strips are quite bad at measuring CYA levels.