So I have a tf100 but got away from checking it myself and hubby told pool boy son to keep putting three tri chlor tabs in chlorinate every time running low. Now pool chlorine is well over 20. Maybe higher. I Haven’t done anything but a basic oh test which now shows 6.8. Yikes. Not sure if other testing would even be useful. Btw my r-0870 powder is purple. Thought it used to be white. The chlorine only vial is dark purple when I put the scoop in and I can get to sixty drops with little change of color. The Taylor test shows orange. I stopped adding chlorine four days ago and no change. I thought the sun would help this. Hubby lowered pool a couple inches to add fresh water but obviously that wasn’t enough. Lol. Help would be appreciated.
Chlorine orange
- Thread starter Dmmcmurry
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,885
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Okay, so you've gotten a bit off course with testing. Let's get you back on track. Please post a full set of TF-100 results as follows:
FC
CC
CYA
PH
TA
CH
If you haven't done so already, remove the chlorine tabs. Even though the powder is purple, go ahead an use it as well. With a full set of numbers we can better guide you. Thanks.
FC
CC
CYA
PH
TA
CH
If you haven't done so already, remove the chlorine tabs. Even though the powder is purple, go ahead an use it as well. With a full set of numbers we can better guide you. Thanks.
Ok I tried but when I got up to 80 drops and the purple was just beginning to fade i gave up thinking I may need to dilute with distilled water. What do you think?
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,885
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Since your FC seems to be so high, use a 5 ml water sample with the powder & drops. Each drop will equal 1 FC. It's not as accurate, but for a very high FC it should help. Make sure to confirm your CYA please.
If you cannot read link it is
FC 26
CC 2
PH 6.8 or maybe a little less
TA 50
CH 150
CYA 110
Pool is surrounded by trees but gets hours of sun daily and is brushed fairly often at least every other day and dolphin used a few times a week. Sand filter and vinyl walls
FC 26
CC 2
PH 6.8 or maybe a little less
TA 50
CH 150
CYA 110
Pool is surrounded by trees but gets hours of sun daily and is brushed fairly often at least every other day and dolphin used a few times a week. Sand filter and vinyl walls
I was planning to wait for chlorine to go down to re test for ph etc but since it doesn’t seem to be declining quickly wondered if I should go ahead with borax and baking soda and if so if there is an order for adding those. Also wondering if we can swim now.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,885
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Thanks for the updated numbers. So here's the situation(s):
1. Your FC isn't crazy high because your stabilizer (CYA) helps to provide all the conditioning/buffering you need. In fact, your FC could be higher without a problem.
2. Here's the real problem - the CYA is too high and the pH is too low. That's all because of the chlorine tabs. Tabs are acidic which lowers the pH and TA, then the stabilizer in each puck increases the CYA too high.
My recommendation - exchange some water now if you can. If you change half the water, it will lower the CYA bby 50%. Your CYA may be higher than 110, so if you change 50% of the water, don't be surprised if the CYA is still around 60-70. But you need to do that first as to not waste chemicals.
Once you get the CYA to around 50-70, then balance the FC to the CYA as noted on the FC/CYA Levels using liquid chlorine. No more tabs. Then test the pH and TA. The TA should be no lower than 50, and the pH needs to be back into the mid-7 range. If the pH is low, you can increase it with borax, soda ash, and/or aeration. Borax is usually the best choice.
If you have any questions, just let us know.
1. Your FC isn't crazy high because your stabilizer (CYA) helps to provide all the conditioning/buffering you need. In fact, your FC could be higher without a problem.
2. Here's the real problem - the CYA is too high and the pH is too low. That's all because of the chlorine tabs. Tabs are acidic which lowers the pH and TA, then the stabilizer in each puck increases the CYA too high.
My recommendation - exchange some water now if you can. If you change half the water, it will lower the CYA bby 50%. Your CYA may be higher than 110, so if you change 50% of the water, don't be surprised if the CYA is still around 60-70. But you need to do that first as to not waste chemicals.
Once you get the CYA to around 50-70, then balance the FC to the CYA as noted on the FC/CYA Levels using liquid chlorine. No more tabs. Then test the pH and TA. The TA should be no lower than 50, and the pH needs to be back into the mid-7 range. If the pH is low, you can increase it with borax, soda ash, and/or aeration. Borax is usually the best choice.
If you have any questions, just let us know.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,885
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
FYI - an elevated FC tends to make the pH read "higher", so your pH may be even lower than what you think.
Thanks so much. I had learned about the PH so not a surprise. I will start lowering pool. Thanks so much.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,570
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Leave at least 12-18" of water in the shallow end before refilling. You may have to do it twice depending on how your CYA Test results look after the first drain/refill.
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