Dichlor and Chlorine

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andyjames

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Aug 13, 2016
45
Ellicott City, MD
Hello all! First, let me preface this with 'we have misplaced our testing kit', we know we need it and will replace as quickly as we can, ... though, we did open it and would like to at least move in the right direction before we can get a new one. So, we had the guy who opened our pool put 'shock' in. He said he put in 10 lbs of dichlor. When I tested the chlorine level after that (with a smaller pool test kit) it was at 2. Our pH was around 6.8. Any thought as to why the chlorine didn't go up more? when I looked at pool math it said it should go up to about 20 with that much dichlor.

Our previous numbers (just before we opened the pool) were:
Alkalinity: 74
CYA: 0
Hardness: 77
Chlorine: 0

Also, we actually changed to a DE filter...so I'll update my signature...

Thank you for your thoughts!

Andy
 
The chlorine from the dichlor was consumed, by either organics in the pool or the sun. The dichlor added CYA too, remember that.

You will need to raise your CYA to 30 or 40 and maintain your chlorine by adding it DAILY based on the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA].

Get a test kit soon. TF100 from TFTestkits.net is what we recommend.

Take care.
 
we have a TF100 from last year that for the life of us we cannot find! disaster, we know, but we need to get things rolling here until we get it Wednesday (will overnight it)

We just added 4 gallons bleach and have 12 lbs bioguard stabilizer 100 - we added about half of it in socks near the skimmers to dissolve but it's going slowly. Retested the FC an hour after adding the 4 gallons and still at complete zero.

Water is oddly brown vs green in past years, too, if that helps any.

Until we get (or find) our test kit, how can we save our chlorine?!
 
We have a chlorine/ph test kit and strips...so used that to get an idea of where things stood until the full kit comes. We used the pool store to fill in some holes. The question is, is ther anything we can do to be proactive (I.e. put the stabilizer granules in socks by the skimmers...) or anything else?
 
Okay - we received our test kit (finally!) and are ready to go. Here are the details...I'll certainly look at the pool math page though any advice on how best to go through the steps to be most efficient (i.e. how to quickly get the CYA up) is much appreciated.
Chlorine = .5
CYA = <20 (filled up the entire tube and it was just starting to get cloudy...so it might just be 0)
TA = 110
Calcium Hardness = 150ppm
pH = 6.8

Thank you!!!
 

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Add 30ppm of CYA by using what we call the sock method. Get an old sock (no holes) and put the measured amount of CYA you need. Tie the sock closed and either suspend it in front of a return (hang it from your brush pole works with something weighted on the deck) OR if it still allows flow thru the skimmer, place the sock in the skimmer. Every 15/20 minutes give the sock a squeeze to speed up the process. Please DO NOT follow the directions on the container of CYA to just pour it into the skimmer and don't just toss the sock in the pool as the CYA is acidic and can bleach/stain pool finishes.

Add chlorine. Add enough to get to 3 ppm FC. Maintain that every day. You will need to raise your FC to 7 ppm each day to expect to see at least 3 ppm the next day.

Can you aerate your pool? Fountain, jet pointed up, 20 kids in the pool? That will raise your pH. Or add some borax to get to 7.2

Use PoolMath. Link at top of page or get the App - Pool Math
 
We are puzzled - here are our numbers:

CYA 50
calcium hardness 105
TA 110
pH 7.2
Chlorine - ZERO
still little debris/silt/leaves at bottom, but not bad

so we added 6 gallons bleach

3 hours later, chlorine was at 1. It's now 7 hours later and chlorine is at .5

what is eating our chlorine?
 
Try this -
To check and defeat ammonia, if necessary, is to raise your FC in the water using liquid chlorine to 10 ppm using PoolMath. Circulate the pool for 30 minutes. Test FC. If 5 or below, raise your FC to 10 using LC, circulate for 30 minutes, repeat until your FC is above 5 ppm after the 30 minute circulation.

It is not likely it is ammonia as your pool has CYA. Did you just add the CYA? Or did it survive winter? What are your CC's?
 
andyjames said:
We are puzzled - here are our numbers:

CYA 50
calcium hardness 105
TA 110
pH 7.2
Chlorine - ZERO
still little debris/silt/leaves at bottom, but not bad

so we added 6 gallons bleach

3 hours later, chlorine was at 1. It's now 7 hours later and chlorine is at .5

what is eating our chlorine?
Click to expand...
Probably algae and or bacteria.

Can the pool pass an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test?

Did you add more chlorine when you tested at 1ppm?

This pool most likely needs a proper SLAM Process.
 
mknauss said:
Try this -
To check and defeat ammonia, if necessary, is to raise your FC in the water using liquid chlorine to 10 ppm using PoolMath. Circulate the pool for 30 minutes. Test FC. If 5 or below, raise your FC to 10 using LC, circulate for 30 minutes, repeat until your FC is above 5 ppm after the 30 minute circulation.

It is not likely it is ammonia as your pool has CYA. Did you just add the CYA? Or did it survive winter? What are your CC's?
Click to expand...

We added CYA with the sock method - it was a zero after we opened the pool.

Our CCs are 3.5 and FC .5
 
The high CC is worrisome. Just do a SLAM. The ammonia thing will resolve itself as you have already added the CYA.

Take care.
 
We are thinking, unless you all have a scientific reason we aren't aware of, that it's the leaves/debris still at the bottom. We are working really hard on it - leaf eater thing, scooping with net, and we have a new DE filter. We even have a new polaris that isn't ready yet since it gets clogged too fast.

Next year we are investing in new cover because this is a nightmare. In the meantime, any tips on getting the junk out FAST?
 
Hello all - we have run into a snag with our process. We have been removing all of the debris with the new rake, have our CYA and other numbers at the proper levels, and are ready to SLAM. We are having someone stay at our house for three days starting Friday morning and can't ask that person to do all of the pool math and maintain the chlorine levels, continue to backwash, etc. so our question is should we just turn off our filter and start the process when we get back in three days or is there something we should do instead?

Thanks!
 

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