Hi I've been battling no free chlorine for weeks now..Pool store recommendations trip 1...remove chlorine (bought product there) removed tabs and shock with 11 bags and added ph up.. trip 2... 25 pounds of shock and ph up.... trip 3 20 pounds and ph up... trip 4 20 shock and ph up... just so kids could swim the next day... I'm broke and still have no chlorine free ... I'm at a loss as to what to do other than close the pool... make a frog pond... don't want to do either... but I just don't know what to do... any suggestions??? Having been a pool owner for 20 plus years this one is making me crazy...Thanks praying for a miracle!
no free chlorien battle...help!
- Thread starter jan2227
- Start date
Welcome to the forum. 
Pool care can be incredibly frustrating. There is no reason for it to be if you are willing to learn.
We teach folks to manage their own pools and STAY OUT of the pool store.
We teach folks to manage their own pools with precision testing so we know what's going on in your water.
We'll help get your pool sparkling clear if you make the committment of getting a test kit that will help us teach you.
Keep reading here what thousands of others are doing and learning. You can get a kit out of Raleigh that will be to you on Tuesday and you can begin to take charge of your pool.
PS - No miracles necessary. Just solid science and common sense.
Pool care can be incredibly frustrating. There is no reason for it to be if you are willing to learn.
We teach folks to manage their own pools and STAY OUT of the pool store.
We teach folks to manage their own pools with precision testing so we know what's going on in your water.
We'll help get your pool sparkling clear if you make the committment of getting a test kit that will help us teach you.
Keep reading here what thousands of others are doing and learning. You can get a kit out of Raleigh that will be to you on Tuesday and you can begin to take charge of your pool.
PS - No miracles necessary. Just solid science and common sense.
Welcome. We're gonna need good test results to help. Consider ordering one of our recommended test kits.
For now--list the results the pool store gave you on water testing.
For now--list the results the pool store gave you on water testing.
I know the last thing you want to hear is that you need to spend a little more money. You really can take control of your pool for much, much less than you've spent already. You can go to Test Kits Compared and decide what's right for you....OR you can take the word of many of the members here and go to TFTestkits.net and order the TF-100. It's the best investment for you pool and your sanity.
As for suggestions....I suggest you stay out of the pool store! They have obviously NOT fixed your problems thus far yet have had no difficulty taking your money. It took time for your pool to get into this shape, it will take time to correct it. After you order your kit, you will have time to read Pool School.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/123-abc-of-pool-water-chemistry
This talks about what your pool water is made of
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/142-how-to-chlorinate-your-pool
This talks about the different routes of introducing chlorine to your pool
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl
Since your water is not clear, this will walk you through what you need to do to make it as clear and sparkling as drinking water. You will follow the SLAM procedure to the letter and it WILL work!
Welcome to TFP, Jan!
I now have a kit.. it is 300 in afternoon.. is it best to begin when I have a full day or should I start now? I bought a kit and 6 gal. of clorox bleach... I know you may not know how much is needed... but should i buy more before I begin? thanks jane
Which test kit did you get?
1st step will be to sample the water & post the results.
1st step will be to sample the water & post the results.
Welcome aboard!
You can start any time you'd like.
First, though, please post a full set of test results:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
These results will lead to the next step. You need your pH to be 7.2 before beginning the SLAM.
Once you have your CYA results, check out the Chlorine/CYA Chart to determine your Shock FC.
Go to PoolMath, enter the volume of your pool in the upper-left corner (orange bar). Based on your dimensions, I got 21100 as your volume. In the 'Now' column for FC, enter the current FC you tested. In the 'Target' FC column, enter the Shock FC from the Chlorine/CYA Chart. IME, picking a number slightly higher (1-2 ppm) than the Shock FC makes things go a bit faster.
From there, follow the directions in the SLAM article (posted previously by northrn).
I'm thinking you're going to go through more than 6 jugs of bleach in the first day...
Finally, brand names don't mean anything, so long as the concentration is the same. I found Great Value Concentrated bleach (unscented, not "Easy Pour" or "Splashless") from Walmart to be $0.90 per jug (121 oz.) cheaper than Clorox. I used some 90+ jugs of bleach for my SLAM (mine was much worse than yours sounds), so that made an $81+ difference for me.
You've already made the right decision by coming to TFP. A little studying, some questions, and patience will get you there quicker (and cheaper...) than you might think.
You can start any time you'd like.
First, though, please post a full set of test results:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
These results will lead to the next step. You need your pH to be 7.2 before beginning the SLAM.
Once you have your CYA results, check out the Chlorine/CYA Chart to determine your Shock FC.
Go to PoolMath, enter the volume of your pool in the upper-left corner (orange bar). Based on your dimensions, I got 21100 as your volume. In the 'Now' column for FC, enter the current FC you tested. In the 'Target' FC column, enter the Shock FC from the Chlorine/CYA Chart. IME, picking a number slightly higher (1-2 ppm) than the Shock FC makes things go a bit faster.
From there, follow the directions in the SLAM article (posted previously by northrn).
I'm thinking you're going to go through more than 6 jugs of bleach in the first day...
Finally, brand names don't mean anything, so long as the concentration is the same. I found Great Value Concentrated bleach (unscented, not "Easy Pour" or "Splashless") from Walmart to be $0.90 per jug (121 oz.) cheaper than Clorox. I used some 90+ jugs of bleach for my SLAM (mine was much worse than yours sounds), so that made an $81+ difference for me.
You've already made the right decision by coming to TFP. A little studying, some questions, and patience will get you there quicker (and cheaper...) than you might think.
the chlorine can work more efficiently at night because the sun isn't burning it off, so say 5pm is a great time to start. You can add the first does, let it circulate, then test to get an initial FC reading. Then you can test an hour later to see what kind of FC loss you are going to get.
BUT BUT BUT....with all the pool storing, you likely have a high stabilizer level in the pool (that's the CYA). if that is the case, you are probably better off doing a partial drain.
So at this point, the first step is to run your tests with the kit and post the results here.
CYA, pH, and FC/CC.
BUT BUT BUT....with all the pool storing, you likely have a high stabilizer level in the pool (that's the CYA). if that is the case, you are probably better off doing a partial drain.
So at this point, the first step is to run your tests with the kit and post the results here.
CYA, pH, and FC/CC.
DaninFLA
0
CYC...do you mean CYA? what test kit did you use?
BEFORE you add the bleach, you need to lower you pH down to 7.2 use pool math and add enough muriatic acid to lower it to 7.2 retest in 30 minutes to confirm, then add the bleach.
assuming you meant CYA of 40 (perfect amount by the way), you need to use pool math and add enough bleach to get to 16ppm....for the first couple days, I would target 20ppm since you are going to eat through it incredibly fast. and you need to buy a lot more bleach
read up on the SLAM procedures. for the first few days you need to be testing every few hours if you can and constantly raising your FC back up to the SLAM level.
all this is assuming you are using the K2006 test of the TF100 test. please confirm
you said your pool is 16x32...16 feet but 32" only? if you use 32" that's 4,000 gallons...but if the water level is say 5" below the top, that's 3,400 gallons. double check your dimensions/math
BEFORE you add the bleach, you need to lower you pH down to 7.2 use pool math and add enough muriatic acid to lower it to 7.2 retest in 30 minutes to confirm, then add the bleach.
assuming you meant CYA of 40 (perfect amount by the way), you need to use pool math and add enough bleach to get to 16ppm....for the first couple days, I would target 20ppm since you are going to eat through it incredibly fast. and you need to buy a lot more bleach
read up on the SLAM procedures. for the first few days you need to be testing every few hours if you can and constantly raising your FC back up to the SLAM level.all this is assuming you are using the K2006 test of the TF100 test. please confirm
you said your pool is 16x32...16 feet but 32" only? if you use 32" that's 4,000 gallons...but if the water level is say 5" below the top, that's 3,400 gallons. double check your dimensions/math
16 x 32 is a standard in ground pool size, mine is only 6' deep in the deep end and 3' in the shallow end, so I use about 16000 gallons as my base.
It's best to SLAM whenever you have time to keep monitoring the FC level.
Add enough chlorine to bring it up to your shock level then test again in an hour or two. Repeat
The first few checks will tell you a lot.
Add enough chlorine to bring it up to your shock level then test again in an hour or two. Repeat
The first few checks will tell you a lot.
Take them out and never use them again, unless you're going away for a few days. From this point on, you'll want to treat with Liquid Bleach only.
When you're SLAMming your pool you never want the FC level to go below your slam level so go a bit above. How much depends on how often you can test and raise back up. Try 3-4 above and test again in 1/2 hour to an hour. Once you figure our how fast it's dropping you can adjust amounts and test intervals. At the beginning things will happen fast, as you get closer to being done it'll slow down.