Can't keep chlorine levels up

[nscroggs]

I finally got my TF100 kit and have been doing tests over the past couple of days trying to get my TA down. I think I've got that under control, but I can't seem to keep any chlorine in the pool at all. I added 2lbs of shock yesterday (Clorox 6 in 1 dichlor) and the chlorine levels spiked as expected (to 2.5 FC). Today, I'm back to barely 0.5. Logic would tell me that the chlorine is being eaten alive by the sun. I have an inline chlorinator but I don't have any pucks in there since my CYA is fairly high and I don't want to keep adding to the problem. That being said, I also know that also defeats the purpose of having an inline chlorinator and is also a contributor to not being able to keep chlorine in the pool.

So here are my questions:

• How do you guys feel about the pucks? Some say don't use them and just sprinkle a little bleach in once in a while, others swear by the pucks.
• Are there any pucks that don't also have CYA in them?
• Should I just forego the chlorinator and get a floater?
• If you do use a chlorinator, how many pucks do you put in at a time?

Separate from the chlorine question, I've also read in a few places to not lower your TA just to hit the target number. At what point would you lower the TA?

For context, my water is crystal clear and blue. My test readings from this afternoon are:

• FC - 0.5
• CC - 0.5
• pH - 7.6 (just added MA per PoolMath to try to reduce TA, so this will be lower on the next test)
• TA - 180 (down from 240 a week and a half ago)
• CYA - 100
• CH - 1,425 (good lord! the pool needs to be resurfaced, so I think that's why this is so high...right?....or am I totally way off?)

 

[IceShadow]

You should be adding FC daily. Pucks add FC slowly, but add CYA, as you mention - so people here only use them when they know they have CYA to spare and they can't put bleach in daily, like on vacations.

Your CYA is at least 100 (did you try a diluted test)? and your FC got too low. So now you have an algae bloom readying itself. That's eating up your FC. For CYA of 100, you should be in the 9-11ppm of FC range all the time. "Spiking" to 2.5FC means you have been really far below that number.

Find out what your CYA really is with a diluted test, and then do a water exchange to get your FC down to 50 or so. Then SLAM the pool. Get rid of the algae that's just starting to bloom. The CH will drop with the exchange as well.

 

[zea3]

You should be adding FC daily. Pucks add FC slowly, but add CYA, as you mention - so people here only use them when they know they have CYA to spare and they can't put bleach in daily, like on vacations.

Your CYA is at least 100 (did you try a diluted test)? and your FC got too low. So now you have an algae bloom readying itself. That's eating up your FC. For CYA of 100, you should be in the 9-11ppm of FC range all the time. "Spiking" to 2.5FC means you have been really far below that number.

Find out what your CYA really is with a diluted test, and then do a water exchange to get your FC down to 50 or so. Then SLAM the pool. Get rid of the algae that's just starting to bloom. The CH will drop with the exchange as well.

I pretty sure IceShadow meant to say "do a water exchange to get CYA down to 50 or so". If you have hard water then you will have high calcium levels that build over time, since calcium does not evaporate out with the water. If you use a lot of calcium hypochlorite powder, like HTH supershock, you are adding calcium to the pool.

 

[IceShadow]

Yeah. My bad. CYA not FC. >.>

 

[Mdragger88]

congrats on getting a great test kit that will help u take control of your pool!
Btw- dichlor also adds cya
You definitely need to do the diluted cya test to determine how much water to exchange.
ThenSLAM Process with liquid which shouldn’t take long if it’s clear to begin with.
Regarding Chlorine-
A pool is like a pet - u gotta feed it every day whether u play with it or not
Something/someone must add chlorine daily to prevent going below the min fc as per the FC/CYA Levels
Or else things grow
The average pool loses 2-4 ppm fc daily under ideal conditions
Here’s some good reading on the subject

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[nscroggs]

Thanks everyone! SUPER helpful info all around. I drained a bit of water and filled it back up this morning (about a foot or so), which I calculate as close to 2500-3000 gallons, but I was never good at math.

After adding that much water, is an hour long enough to wait for it to mix to do the diluted CYA test or should I wait longer?

 

[nscroggs]

I took a chance and took a reading. Looking good, but it looks like I may have to exchange a little more to get the CYA down lower before I SLAM. My water bill is going to be ****** this month!

FC - 4.0
CC - 0.5
pH - 7.0 (intentional yoga lower TA)
TA - 130
CYA - 84 (on the diluted test)
CH - 1,375

 

[IceShadow]

How did you get a result of 84? You can't extrapolate between the lines as the scale is logarithmic - you have to just round up.

 

[IceShadow]

Also, don't worry about lowering TA. Just keep pH in range. The high CH is a concern, but hopefully will improve. You added 55 drops on the test for a 10ml sample? What is your fill water's TA and CH?

 

[nscroggs]

Ahhh that makes sense. It was on the lower side between 80 and 90, so rounding would make it 90.

I fill from the hose and it has 375 CH and 220 TA.

 

[IceShadow]

OK - you probably want to do a no-drain water exchange to exchange out a good chunk of your water to get the CH manageable. See:

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

If you do it all at once instead of in small stages it will mean less water in the long run!