Where did all my bleach go?

[mpatrick14]

I have been having a heck of a time keeping chlorine levels up in my pool.

I think part of the issue is it is just so big, but even wwhen I go above and beyond the pool calculator suggestions, the chlorine is nowhere to be found!

Last night after dark I added 4 full 182oz jugs of 6% bleach to my pool after getting a 0 test result. The water wasa little blurry, but I don't think I have run into any algae problems yet. I put enough bleach in the pool that it should have gone from 0 to 12ppm per the pool calculator specs

This morning I tested the clorine level again, and it is still testing at 0! I put enough bleach in the pool that it should have gone from 0 to 12ppm

I have also been struggling with CYA. I put in about 5 pounds so far, given it over a week, and still am not getting anything to show up on the CYA test. I fill the tube all the way to the top and still see the black dot very clearly. I have used the approach of putting some in the skimmer to run through the filter for 2 weeks, and have also been filling a sock and hanging it in front of the return.

So does the fact that what should have been 12 chlorine is already gone without any sunlight impact a sign that my water is overrun with bacteria?

Here are the rest of my test results, in case it helps:
pH last night was 7.8 - used a gallon of muratic acid last night and now ph is sitting at about 7.3

TA is 180, it has been in this range since I filled the pool a few weeks ago. I am having a hard time keeping the pH low enough to aerate it and lower the TA, pH keeps headig in the 7.8-8.0 range. I was using the hth pH minus before because I couldnt find muratic acid, but I finally found some last night at Lowes.

CH is 210, but it a vinyl pool so no biggie there.

I understand I am losing chlorine fast partially because the CYA is low, but I am trying not to completely overload it with CYA because of what I have read here about the issues if it gets too high.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Do I just keep loading it with bleach until it starts registering?

 

[JasonLion]

Keep adding chlorine every evening until you can keep the same chlorine level overnight. Various things that might get into the pool, like ammonia, fertilizer, etc. can require significant amounts of chlorine.

The CYA you added is probably in the water by now. Keep in mind that the test can read CYA levels as high as 20 as if they were zero. 5 lbs of CYA would only add about 20 ppm to 30,000 gallons. I suggest adding another 5 lbs.

 

[duraleigh]

Mike,

Keep in mind this premise.....chlorine is only lost to two things....sunlight and organics in your pool. Since you have eliminated the sun by testing at dusk and dawn (or close), the only logical answer is organics in the pool.

The answer, As Jason said, is to keep plying your pool with clorox until the organics are consumed. You will then only lose chlorine during the day and can control (retard) that with CYA.

 

[klavant]

Believe exactly what Dave and Jason are telling you. I had the same problem and had a hard time getting past the amount of bleach that I was adding and that it would just seem to disappear. The water looked clear, so there was a problem that I could not "see". Only the chemistry could reveal the problem. If you don't have the proper test kit, you'll never find it and the pool stores will only confuse you. It's frustrating and seems like a never ending battle, but you have to declare war on your pool. I dumped 2 182oz jugs of bleach every hour until the issue went away. Used about 20 jugs in total, but the pool has been clear and keeping chlorine normally since.

IMO- the problem was that I was never told how to properly take care of the pool. After getting the TFT-100 and understanding the chemistry, I hope to never go through this again.