I have a pool that was closed last August, opened on April 27th this year. The water is very clear, but I've been testing it with the DPD/FAS and K-1000 tests from the TF100 kit. I was troubled by the two tests not correlating well at all- K-1000 showed very low FC, and DPD/FAS showed (I thought) OK. However, I think I was not getting the proper pink color. I was getting a very faint pink after minutes of stirring with the Taylor Stirrer (probably should've considered it clear), not the bold, dark pink I think I need. Now that I realize this, I added 8.25% bleach throughout the day. After many gallons more than the Pool Calculator says, I'm finally getting it to register in the DPD/FAS test, turning a darker pink when I first add the powder. However, I'm still only up to 1.5 ppm (I just added more, so we'll see where that puts it). What's troubling is that the water is very clear. It seems like this problem only happens to green water pools....So is it possible to have clear water and have a lot of chlorine consuming organisms living in it?
Can Chlorine Consuming Organisms Live in Clear Water in a High Density?
- Thread starter 440dodge440
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It's possible you have Ammonia from CYA decomposing over the winter. In which case, your CC readings will be really high, the pool will have an insatiable appetite for bleach, and the CYA will be lower than you expected it to be.
This makes alot of sense to me as ammonia is a very well known antichlor.
CYA was zero until I added some stabilizer. It's now 30-40...Is the solution to keep adding bleach? Can I just get it to FC=5, or do I need to shock it? They always used the tablets, so I'd say the ammonia from the CYA is a good bet.....
You need to bring the FC up to SLAM level and keep it there if at all possible.
Its going to take quite a bit of bleach, but it will eventually break it down.
If your CYA is 30, your SLAM level is 12
If your CYA is 40, your SLAM level is 16
Its going to take quite a bit of bleach, but it will eventually break it down.
If your CYA is 30, your SLAM level is 12
If your CYA is 40, your SLAM level is 16
Thanks....I'm buying out the bleach many area stores, but I'm going to keep trying. Is there a max gallons I should add at one time? I've been adding 4, but I must've added 20 so far....
I put in about 25 gallons today. I just checked and it's back close to FC=0. I added 12 more gallons. What's my timeline to get this ammonia beat? Can I pick some up after work tomorrow and continue, or is all lost once the FC gets back to zero?
Ammonia won't keep growing if you stop adding bleach the way algae will. What is your CC reading?
I will check my CC reading this evening, as well as rechecking pH, etc. I actually had a 6.5 FC residual overnight (down from about 9 last night), but I'm just happy to have some FC showing. I added just over 2 gallons this morning to hopefully bring it to 16 and will try to maintain it there for a few days. For a new pool owner, this was really an odd thing to add chlorine and not see the FC change. Thanks for the ammonia info- I don't think I could've kept adding the gallons and gallons of bleach without knowing what was wrong.
In these situations it is really important to know the FC and CC levels. Chances are, the CC is very high. The answer you, generally speaking, water borne organisms are going to have a very difficult time surviving in water containing substantial levels of free Chlorine. Micro organisms especially, cannot survive.
As of yesterday, I'm sure my CC was quite high since the pool went almost all winter with no chlorine (rookie mistake- we bought the house in November- I thought once the pool was closed, that's it until spring). I had been testing CC but stopped until I could get some FC. What causes CC to go away? Hopefully I'm going to be seeing more FC and less CC, but how long until I expect CC to be in the acceptable range?
I can't say, and it's anyone's guess. Sunlight is one thing that helps get rid of CC, but getting and maintaining high FC is the path you have to take. You have to overcome whatever is in there by high sustained FC levels for an extended period. Once you are able to reach and hold SLAM levels of FC you'll make progress but not before. If you want me to guess, I'm going to say two weeks minimum. Its a guess though, so don't hold me to it. I can assure you it wont be in a few days.
Thanks. I was just looking for guidance on the CC- knowing I'll have high CC for a little while won't be a shock when I see it measur ethat way. You mention sunlight- I have a solar cover on there now. Should I roll it back or do the rays penetrate the cover?
I would for sure. Absolutely. You'll lose some FC to Sunlight just the same, but with proper Cya levels it will be minimum. You want 3-40 for a SLAM preferably. For sure, roll back the cover all the way.
I have CYA right between 30-40, so hopefully it's good there....thanks for the help!!!
Yes, that is good. If your pH is 7.2-7.5, you can begin any time. Better to get started sooner rather than later.