Combined Chlorine Problem-help!

[IceShadow]

Ah that makes sense, thanks. If I have no CYA (because of that), wouldn't the sun destroy the chlorine added before it can do its job?

if you have ammonia then that will destroy the chlorine before the sun can get it. You just keep going at it and test every 15 mins, adding chlorine to get up to 10ppm after each test, until it holds FC. Repeat every 15 mins. Sun won’t eat that much in 15 mins.

But you can’t add CYA until that bacteria is gone or it will just exasperate the problem.

 

[jblizzle]

No because this ammonia will consume the FC faster than the sun. Once the FC holds, then you add CYA.

What is going to complicate matters is all the non chlorine shock you added. This also shows up as CC. So the question is the CC from that or ammonia?

Might be worth taking a sample to a pet store and having them test for ammonia in the fish department. No need to tell them it is from a pool

 

[JamesW]

The reaction of chlorine and ammonia is much faster than the reaction of chlorine and the sun. The sun will actually help the chlorine oxidize the ammonia.

 

[TazJMT]

You can use poolmath to calculate the amount of liquid chlorine. I would start with about a gallon of liquid chlorine.

PoolMath

Discover the calculator behind the perfect pool, PoolMath. Dealing with pools has allowed TFP to become the original authors of the best calculator on the net.

www.troublefreepool.com

Most likely, you have bacteria in the water that ate the CYA and converted it into ammonia. You need to kill the bacteria first before adding CYA.

Oxidizing ammonia is acidic, so the pH and TA will drop as you add liquid chlorine. That's one indication of ammonia.

The missing CYA and high CCs are a good indication of ammonia.

The bacteria are killed by chlorine pretty easily. Once you're holding an fc level, you can add some CYA.

thanks

are there any brands of liquid chlorine to steer away from or is it all pretty much the same? I have never used liquid before (never needed it). I was going to get it on amazon so it will be here fast, but saw some get crumby reviews

 

[TazJMT]

No because this ammonia will consume the FC faster than the sun. Once the FC holds, then you add CYA.

What is going to complicate matters is all the non chlorine shock you added. This also shows up as CC. So the question is the CC from that or ammonia?

Might be worth taking a sample to a pet store and having them test for ammonia in the fish department. No need to tell them it is from a pool

I assume it is not from the non chlorine shock because i added that AFTER i was alerted that I had combined chlorine in the first place.
But for the sake of argument, lets say the CC was from the non chlorine shock-would that just dissipate over time or would i need to do something to get rid of it?

Also, i didnt realize that household bleach and liquid chlorine appear to be the same chemical? (Sodium Hypo). Can I just get it from the supermarket instead or is it different somehow?

 

[IceShadow]

thanks

are there any brands of liquid chlorine to steer away from or is it all pretty much the same? I have never used liquid before (never needed it). I was going to get it on amazon so it will be here fast, but saw some get crumby reviews

Buy it from a local store. Liquid is expensive to ship.

Avoid:

- Clorox anything
- Anything with additives (scent, non-splash)
- Anything that doesn’t give concentration (should be 6-12.5%, if it doesn’t say it’s probably less)
- Anything more than a few months old (will have a date code on it like 19100 - that is the 100th day of 2019. Ideally you want something like 19118 or newer).

Do you have a Walmart, Menards, or Home Depot nearby?

 

[TazJMT]

Buy it from a local store. Liquid is expensive to ship.

Avoid:

- Clorox anything
- Anything with additives (scent, non-splash)
- Anything that doesn’t give concentration (should be 6-12.5%, if it doesn’t say it’s probably less)
- Anything more than a few months old (will have a date code on it like 19100 - that is the 100th day of 2019. Ideally you want something like 19118 or newer).

Do you have a Walmart, Menards, or Home Depot nearby?

thanks-yes we do have those stores

why avoid clorox?

 

[IceShadow]

It has additives that cause issues like foaming in the pool.

Home Depot and Walmart sell 10% chlorine liquid in their pool areas typically. Menards has a great sale going on right now (2 gallons of 12.5% for $3.99) but I think the closest one to you is likely Ohio, so that may not be an option.

 

[TazJMT]

It has additives that cause issues like foaming in the pool.

Home Depot and Walmart sell 10% chlorine liquid in their pool areas typically. Menards has a great sale going on right now (2 gallons of 12.5% for $3.99) but I think the closest one to you is likely Ohio, so that may not be an option.

thanks, you are super helpful

last thing before i turn in:
Will the pool math app tell me the chlorine i need to slam in gallons (and not pounds)
and
do i run the pump 24/7 when SLAMing (even overnight)? I didnt see that referenced on the SLAM page

 

[IceShadow]

Yes and yes. You put in your pool size and your current FC. On overview you click on FC and tell it you want to get to 10. Tell it the concentration of chlorine you’re adding and it will give you the amount to put in. Add slowly (pencil-sized stream) at one of the returns. Run pump 24/7 as it will help mix the water. Keep testing every 15 mins and adding more to get back to 10 until it holds FC (I think I heard 5ppm or greater).

 

[IceShadow]

Gotta beat the ammonia and hold FC. Then you can add CYA and SLAM.

 

[TazJMT]

Gotta beat the ammonia and hold FC. Then you can add CYA and SLAM.

There is a chance this sounds really dumb-aren't I beating the ammonia and holding FC by SLAMing? your comment made it look like i beat it first, then add CYA and SLAM. (not being picky, i really am unsure)

 

[mknauss]

You do not want to add CYA until you are sure your FC will hold above 5 ppm after 15 minutes. CYA is food for the bacteria that creates the ammonia. You are killing the bacteria and clearing the pool water of the ammonia.

 

[jblizzle]

The process of dealing with ammonia is a precursor to the SLAM process, although it is all very similar.

 

[TazJMT]

The process of dealing with ammonia is a precursor to the SLAM process, although it is all very similar.

Ah geez so I am getting rid of the ammonia (assuming it is, I will confirm at the good old pet store) and then SLAMing? gah I thought it was all one

Ok so i am going to pick up the liquid chlorine/bleach today. No idea how much I need, so I was going to buy 12 gallons. Am I in the ballpark? I know we can't know for sure, but i have no experience with this to know if there is a chance on that being enough

here is my plan, please let me know if this makes good sense:

I wanted to start putting some liquid chlorine in today even though the test kit won't be here until Tuesday or Wednesday because I am weary of 0 FC meaning that algae will be here any minute now. My plan was to start using liquid chlorine today and just using the test strips I have here (until my kit arrives) so that i know when I am at least holding SOME FC. I know the strips arent exact, but they can at least show me the difference between 0 and something greater than 0. But...

assuming it is ammonia, if i add some liquid chlorine today, can assume it will knock out at least some of the ammonia? In other words, if I put a dent in the ammonia problem but don't get rid of it totally until my kit arrives, do I then have to start over from scratch and all the ammonia will return, or will i have reduced the problem a bit and make it a bit easier for myself?

 

[JamesW]

You can get started now. It's not as efficient but worthwhile.

 

[ajw22]

It takes 10 ppm of CL to kill 1 ppm of ammonia. If you get an ammonia test kit or go to a pet fish store that can test for ammonia you can get an idea how much ammonia is in your water and how much CL you will need.

You can read this thread for a big ammonia cleanup - Help!!! Yikes!

 

[TazJMT]

It takes 10 ppm of CL to kill 1 ppm of ammonia. If you get an ammonia test kit or go to a pet fish store that can test for ammonia you can get an idea how much ammonia is in your water and how much CL you will need.

You can read this thread for a big ammonia cleanup - Help!!! Yikes!

ok thanks, I'll do that. Since the PoolMath app says for my 10,000 gal pool to go from 0 to 10 CL i need 1 gallon of liquid chlorine, should I assume 1 gallon for each ppm of ammonia?

 

[IceShadow]

ok thanks, I'll do that. Since the PoolMath app says for my 10,000 gal pool to go from 0 to 10 CL i need 1 gallon of liquid chlorine, should I assume 1 gallon for each ppm of ammonia?

Sounds right if it’s 10% or 12.5% chlorine

 

[ajw22]

ok thanks, I'll do that. Since the PoolMath app says for my 10,000 gal pool to go from 0 to 10 CL i need 1 gallon of liquid chlorine, should I assume 1 gallon for each ppm of ammonia?

Yup, 1 gallon (128 oz) of 10% will give you 10ppm. 12% will give you 12 ppm. 6% will give you 6 ppm. The calculation is easy with 10,000 gallons.