Ammonia....what now?

[cindyrose33]

So I’ve got ammonia. FC returns to basically 0 about five minutes after adding LC. Water test also confirms it. What’s the best plan of action? I know copious amounts of LC are in order but is there a schedule, or adapted SLAM? Does all the ammonia need to be taken care of in one fell swoop or does it come back? HELP!

FC 0.4
TC 1.0
PH 7.2
TA 180
CYA 0

 

[cindyrose33]

 

[Richard320]

It takes about 10 times the ammonia to FC to neutralize it. So if you had your ammonia level tested, you can get a rough idea of how much bleach it'll take to get you to even. Then the actual SLAM begins.

Judging those test results, I'd say you're almost there.

I'd add 10 FC and brush things around and retest it in 15 minutes. Tip: you'll be burning through reagents at an alarming rate, Order refills of R-0870 and R-0871 now. Also, for this part try only 5 ml water (and one scoop) so each drop counts as 1 FC. Another tip: if you see even one undissolved grain of the powder, you have enough for testing. Once you transition to normal SLAM, use 10 ml sample. Or at least when it's time for the CC test and the OCLT.

When you're holding at least 5 FC after 15 minutes, then you can proceed with a normal SLAM. That is, add 30 CYA and use 12 FC as your target. Then you just keep it up and brush and vacuum. Have you watched the video?

That water doesn't look all that bad. You could be done by Monday.

 

[cindyrose33]

The ammonia tested at a 4.0. Does that mean I’ll need 40 ppm FC in total to neutralize?

 

[Richard320]

The ammonia tested at a 4.0. Does that mean I’ll need 40 ppm FC in total to neutralize?

More than likely. And that's just to beutralize the ammonia. Killing any algae is going to take more. Plus the Sun will take its share.

Your test results showed some residual chlorine, so I have to wonder how much bleach you added after that test.
The answer to that might help you weigh the cost-benefits of treating the water or replacing it.

Edit: it's not as bad as I thought. Only about 8 gallons of 10% to neutralize things.

 

[PoolGate]

I did a pool similar size to yours with ammonia and it took around 45 gallons of 8.25% bleach. Once the pool would hold chlorine again, the pH was very low. I tried aerating but ended up putting in some borax to increase pH. Good luck you'll get there!

Out of curiosity do you allow dogs into your pool?

 

[IceShadow]

The tips I've seen were to put in enough FC to get to 10 ppm, test after 15 mins, add more to get to 10 ppm, test after 15 mins, repeat until it doesn't drop immediately when you add more.

 

[jblizzle]

Do you have the required FAS-DPD chlorine test? The results you posted drop not indicate it. Need to test FC and CC following the procedure IceShadow described.

 

[cindyrose33]

I did a pool similar size to yours with ammonia and it took around 45 gallons of 8.25% bleach. Once the pool would hold chlorine again, the pH was very low. I tried aerating but ended up putting in some borax to increase pH. Good luck you'll get there!

Out of curiosity do you allow dogs into your pool?

My husband does. I don’t. Do you think that is where this all started?

 

[PoolGate]

My husband does. I don’t. Do you think that is where this all started?

It is my feeling that the pool I worked on bacteria came in from 3 dogs that are allowed in the pool that dig in the yard/garden. The bacteria ate the CYA with ammonia being the byproduct.