How long will my chlorine take to go down?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
W

Wandersen

0
Mar 2, 2015
21
Sydney, australia
Hi, this is my first post.

I'm a relatively new pool owner and just trying to get things balanced so I can have a stable pool. It's been an up and down process over summer and I've suffered a few algae outbreaks over summer. The last was last week and I shocked the pool, probably a little too much.

I just tested with my test kit and the levels are as follows:

FC: 46ppm (yes, that is not a typo)
CC: (I didn't test as I didn't want to use all the reagent)
CY: 30

I didn't do he other tests. I added lots of chlorine on the weekend and left the SWG running for 2 days 24x7. I'm in sydney and it was cloudy here today.

What should I do now to bring the chlorine level down? Just switch off the SWG and leave it for a couple of days? How many days will it take to go down?

Many thanks.
 
Turn off the SWCG until the FC comes down. I have a similar problem (53 FC) and it's coming down even with shade and a 60 CYA reading. Water temp is 76F/24C. I just tested again this morning and in 8 days mine went from 53 to 29. So, maybe around three weeks to get back to a reasonable level.
 
First, Welcome to TFP!

Yes, turn of the SWG and let it come down on it's own, but it's going to take several days. I assume you were trying to shock the pool to kill an Algae bloom. We refer to a process of doing that as a SLAM procedure. Are you familiar with some of the basics here in Pool School? Please check that out, particularly beginning with the ABC's and get familiar with that as soon as you can. What we really teach here is knowledge and understanding versus "tricks" or products. Understanding what to do and why is the cornerstone of everything we do. Again, depending on what's going on the pool now will determine how long this will take.

Is the pool still green or cloudy?
 
No the pool is completely clear. I was trying to remove algae but went a bit over the top with the chlorine. The water temp is 26 and I had read the "slam" procedure. I was waiting for my test kit (Taylor k-2006) however so couldn't really test much without going to the pool shop. On Saturday my FC was 1.2 but TC was 12, even though the pool was clear (pool shop test with a lamotte spin). That's when I "slammed" the pool and clearly have gone overboard. I guess I'll wait a couple of days and see where it's gone. I actually don't have a lot of the R-0871 reagent left after having to add 96 drops on my first test!!
 
This is why we push the TF 100. The 2006 is terribly skimpy on reagents.


1.2 and 12 are a bit confusing.

If it's clear, this will take several days at earliest to come down. Order some refills while you wait. TF test kits just put them on a big sale today. Check back and verify those numbers please.

EDIT: sorry, I just noticed you were down under. My apologies.
 
Yes, they make Chlorine Scavengers, but since I don't suggest using them usually, I can't tell you which ones. It will likely be something with a BiSulfite component. If you decide to use one, make sure you have a good handle on your pool volume, and follow directions carefully.
 
You did not SLAM the pool. You nuked it which we NEVER recommend. You are 4 times the FC we would ever suggest with a CYA of 30ppm. I suggest you review what we mean by the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process.

With a CYA of 30ppm, I would expect you to see a 50% FC loss each day. So tomorrow it would be in the mid 20s and the next day in the teens and close to safe. We say it is safe when the FC is less than the Shock level shown in the FC/CYA Chart.

BTW, with a SWG, we suggest a CYA of 70-80ppm. If you were to raise the CYA, then the shock level also goes up and thus the FC level where it is safe.
 
Hi Wanderson,
Where about in Sydney are you? is it a new pool or new to you? What size/litres?
I had mine finished in December and have been lucky for a newbie, I managed to find this forum before I did too much damage :). The key is keeping up FC at all times.
I would be inclined to let that FC drop to about 4ppm, get yourself some cheap test strips(cue screams of Noooooo) they may bleach out at the moment but close enough is going to be good enough for the moment, otherwise you will do your brains in in reagents.

Once you have FC about right, you can test properly, get your CYA upto 70/80ppm, then tinker with your SWG output level and pump time to try and maintain FC at 6ppm.

After nearly 3 months, I'm testing twice a week, dropping approx. 500mls Acid p/wk and its pretty much looking after itself.
 
I realise I have gone way too high by appreciate the advice :). I have had the pool for 18 months but its been an up and down process with visits to the pool shop. I want to take control myself and hence I'm here. I'm in the east in Malabar in sydney. Hoping to just get to something stable where I can test once or twice a week. I'm hoping this is possible with an swg.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
It will be possible, but up front you need to test every day or two at most to get a feel for how your pool behaves.

I get Dibbler's sarcasm on the strips, but respectfully diagree. Close enough isn't what we teach, and if they bleach out, what good is that? They are pretty much a waste of money anyway. You have enough FC until a re-fill kit arrives.
 
Wandersen said:
I realise I have gone way too high by appreciate the advice :). I have had the pool for 18 months but its been an up and down process with visits to the pool shop. I want to take control myself and hence I'm here. I'm in the east in Malabar in sydney. Hoping to just get to something stable where I can test once or twice a week. I'm hoping this is possible with an swg.
Click to expand...
Once you get your test kit, stop visiting the pool shop. If you have read around here much you have probably seen that not much credence is given to pool store testing. If it the same down under as we have found it in the States testing and advice given is wildly inaccurate. While you would think that a "professional" would be the best, unfortunately in most cases it is quite the opposite. Between employees who blindly trust the word of chemical sales representatives and high school kids working in the pool store for the summer you end up with poor results from their testing.

How much Pool School have you read? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals

Once you read and understand the methods taught here and you get the pool under control and verify it by conducting an Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT) you can stretch out the testing a little. While daily testing is the best method, I admit I will stretch it out to every two or three days.
 
Its more than possible with a SWG, that's part of their attraction, you cant just set and forget though, its producing a set amount of chlorine based on its output level and the pump on time, if you have lots of cloudy days, you'll lose less chlorine to the sun so FC will go up, if you adjust for that and the sun comes out for a week it will burn more off so you have to find a happy medium and test fairly regularly. I run my pump overnight through the week for cheaper power so my FC has to last the day, its perhaps a little higher than it should be to counter that. I run it several times through the day at weekends when it gets most use and we are on shoulder electric. I'm tight like that...

edit, my bad on the test strips, its certainly discouraged here, I just wouldn't be using 50-100 drops of a reagent 2-3 times a day when the FC is so high its mental, I have no idea when they bleach out but its certainly not going to drop from 46ppm to Zero without registering on a strip sometime in the next 2-3 days. I have had to wait 3 weeks for a test kit to come from the US so am in no hurry to reorder reagents anytime soon.

Other advice here is better than mine.
 
I have some test strips and that is what was what got me into this issue in the first place. The test strips I have show TC which in my case was mostly CC - I switched off the SWG as a result, and of course ended up in an algae outbreak. That's when I decided I needed to do more to take control :) Good plan though - at least for the next couple of days I know there is no CC in the pool, so the reading should at least tell me whether it is worth testing with the real kit or not.
 
I tested again today. This is my result:

FC: 28
CC: 0
CYA:45 (I think I made a mistake on this test last time)

At least it is coming down. I didn't bother with the PH test for now as I know it is going to be inaccurate. A couple more days before it is swimmable I hope!
 
Ok, after a couple of weeks, I think my levels are now close to acceptable.

I just did a full test using my K-2006 (plus salt option). Results as follows:

FC: 8.5
CC: 0 - 0.5
PH: 7.4 (I have an automatic doser which seems to be keeping this in check).
TA: 130
CH: 275
CYA: 42
Salt: 5200

I also had my water tested at the local pool shop. It uses a Lamotte Spin Lab (I thought these things were meant to be accurate). This is what their test says:

FC: 1.71
CC: 7.74
PH: 7.9
TA: 0
CH: 103
CYA: 43
Salt: 4460

The only one that is even close to what the Taylor gave is CYA!

I think the only thing I need to do now is raise my CYA to a recommended 70-ish. I'll leave the SWG off for one more day so that chlorine goes down just a little more.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply