Ammonia is whipping me....

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J

jasont47

0
Jul 19, 2014
34
Enid, OK
FC....20
CYA....40
PH...7.2
TA....300
CH....400

I feel like I'm pouring bleach down the drain. Pool is crystal clear and has been for a month. CYA was 0 at opening, it's been at 40 for a week. I've been battling ammonia (I think) the entire month of May. I thought once I got my CYA level at 40, I would be able to beat the ammonia. I've been slamming for a week. My overnight loss is very little. For instance, went to bed at 10pm with FC 18, tested at 6:30am, FC 17. Tested at 7:30am, FC 17. Went to work, tested at lunch 1pm and had FC of 0. Added 4 more jugs of 8.25%. Will test again shortly. My question, does ammonia eat more chlorine in the day time? Any other suggestions for me? I've read the past discussions on the topic, so I think continuing Slam levels will get me thru this, but I'm about to buy my town out of bleach!

Thanks in advance!
 
Jason, how long have you had your filter system? Reason I ask is because I saw a thread just like this last night/this morning, and after exhausting the SLAM method, there was a theory about the sand filter effecting the absorption of chlorine. If I can find that post form the past 24 hours I'll paste you the link. Of course if your pool is not that old, then I guess it wouldn't matter. Just a thought.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and of your test results above ... what was your CC?
 
This is not likely ammonia if you are able to maintain FC levels ... What are the CC levels? you did not report any.

If you are seeing more losses during the day than at night, then much of the loss must be to the sun.

When did you last verify the CYA level?

If you suspected ammonia, it would have been better to deal with it prior to adding more CYA.
 
I spent 2 weeks slamming prior to adding the stabilizer. I thought the sun was my culprit, so I increased my CYA from 0 to 40 in a week and it's been steady at 40 for the last week. Verified again this morning. We had cloudy, rainy weather for much of May. We've been dry for about 5-6 days now.
 

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While it isn't rare, Ammonia laden pools are not terribly common either. The FC consumption will be very extreme to start, shortly after accompanied by extremely high CC.

Plus one on Blizzle's statement about slamming with the cover off. You need to get rid of CC, so some sunlight exposure is very important.
 
Whether or not you test for ammonia, the answer is always the same......more chlorine. There simply is NO alternative.
My overnight loss is very little. For instance, went to bed at 10pm with FC 18, tested at 6:30am, FC 17. Tested at 7:30am, FC 17. Went to work, tested at lunch 1pm and had FC of 0.
Click to expand...
It just doesn't work like that. There is a huge testing error there or something has gone amiss but your FC will not take a nose dive like that after a 1 ppm loss overnight.

It seems you are doing the right thing but your testing is not giving results that are feasible.

Please post current test results and don't add anything until we see them. Give us a current snapshot of EXACTLY what is in your pool and we can go from there. No need for pH, CH, TA or CYA.....they won't change. But we do need FC and CC
 
What happened to your stats in your signature? If your pool is still 20,000 gallons, you need to bring your FC up to 16 ppm with 3.77 gallons of 8.25% bleach. If your FC turn to zero in the next few hours you need to do the same thing again. If your FC drops to 10 ppm, you need to add 6 ppm to bring it back to 16 ppm.

I suspect you are pinching down the amount of chlorine to add and not testing and adding long enough. That won't help. The only thing that will make this all work is adequate chlorine.
 
Thanks for the replies.

duraleigh said:
What happened to your stats in your signature?
Click to expand...
When I post from my phone, my sig doesn't show.


duraleigh said:
I suspect you are pinching down the amount of chlorine to add and not testing and adding long enough. That won't help. The only thing that will make this all work is adequate chlorine.
Click to expand...
I'm adding 4 jugs of 121 oz 8.25% to raise FC to 16. It's dropping faster than I can keep up with it in the morning and running home from work at lunch. I'll get enough bleach to get me thru the night and stick with it as soon as I get home this evening.

Thanks again for the help.
 
You're welcome. That chlorine consumption will suddenly start to slow down once it has cleared the organics. I know it seems never-ending right now but stick with it......there will be a sudden light at the end of the tunnel. :)
 
Below are my test results from this evening. Trying to decide if I can go to bed or not.

10:15pm
Fc 20

9:30pm
Fc 20

8:45pm
Fc 18

8:15pm
Fc 12
Added 1 gal

7:30pm
Fc 16

7:00pm
Fc 12
Cc 0
Added 1 gal

6:30pm
Fc 16.5
Cc 0

5:45pm
Fc 0
Cc 0
Added 4 gal
 

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