For real, what's going on with my chlorine level?

[Orion7319]

Great idea I have a bunch of these! I use them to make ejuice. When i get out of this hot tub I am throwing one in the kit!

I also used them back when I used to make my own ejuice. Used to buy my VG at CVS…

Also knock on wood, I have never dropped one of my e-cigs into the pool yet….

 

[Mdragger88]

I also used them back when I used to make my own ejuice. Used to buy my VG at CVS…

Also knock on wood, I have never dropped one of my e-cigs into the pool yet….

Lol - i just bought a waterproof one! I have killed a few over the past 9 years…

 

[Orion7319]

Lol - i just bought a waterproof one! I have killed a few over the past 9 years…

They have waterproof ones now? I’ve been using the same type for the last 3 years now. Too many of these things to keep track of.

 

[Kellyp]

+1 on the sample sizer, like the speed stir, once you have it you wonder why you ever did without. Wish they had one for the PH block!

 

[Mdragger88]

They have waterproof ones now? I’ve been using the same type for the last 3 years now. Too many of these things to keep track of.

Geek vape makes several- dustproof, shock proof, water proof ip67.

 

[Orion7319]

Geek vape makes several- dustproof, shock proof, water proof ip67.

Huh. I’ll need to look into that.

 

[texasAUtiger]

This applies to me as well. If I'm below 70, I definitely notice the changes in my FC. Once I confirm I am algae-free via an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test (if I feel it is warranted) I would be sure to have a rock-solid 70 CYA. You can always add another 10 ppm later if needed.

I just sat down to surf the forum for this kind of information. This is my first full summer with the pool and (as you know) the brutal TX summer showed up this week. Last year (an admittedly MUCH milder summer), I was running a CYA of 50 or 60 and would use 2-3 ppm FC per day. Now I am running CYA of 40 in a spotless pool but went from burning 3 ppm/day FC to 5-6 lately.

Now, I admittedly run my pool a little high on the FC side (PoolMath says use FC 4-7, but I went from topping it off at 8 each night to 10), but it is eating up my FC at 5-6 ppm/day of late. I was wondering if increasing the CYA to 50 or 60 would help me hold my FC better. It sounds like that's what you are doing. Correct? Might increasing CYA to 50 or 60 help me?

 

[Texas Splash]

Yes, IMO a CYA of 40 or so is too low in TX heat if you get a lot of sun on the water. Losing 5- ppm per day is to much unless you're having a big pool party. You'll probably need to increase the CYA to a rock-solid 50 minimum, maybe even 60. One year I even went to 70 it was so bad. Before doing that, if you have any doubts about algae or have cloudy water, you might do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test first. But increasing your CYA is probably a good idea.

 

[hawkmoon7]

This morning I had a .5 ppm INCREASE in Fc overnight. My SWG has been running at 100% constantly for months now, but this is the 1st time Fc has increased in that time. CYA measured 50-ish, slightly less probably. Water still looks great. I'm going to reduce SWG to 90% to see if it keeps the SLAM level at that %. So no chlorine additions this morning. Might be ready for an OCLT tonight.

 

[hawkmoon7]

No OCLT because I forgot to turn the SWG off. This morning was exactly 25ppm, so no loss, but SWG was on at 90% for half the night. CYA near 50.

 

[hawkmoon7]

Hmmm... Fc @ 23ppm and Cc at 2ppm. The Cc is the highest I've seen throughout this SLAM. SWG is off tonight. I'll retake the test in the morning. It's been very sunny these last few days and it's getting really hard to maintain 25ppm during the day. Water looks great.

 

[Mdragger88]

Fingers crossed

 

[hawkmoon7]

Tested this morning... I lost 1ppm Fc, but Cc was at 1.5. CYA this morning is clearly at 45. It is really difficult to maintain 25ppm Fc during the day with the sun as strong as it has been these last few days and my CYA so low (and getting lower). I need to get more shock. Now that the CYA is clearly under 50, can I maintain 20ppm of Fc? That would help save me a gallon or so a day.

I will do this right of course... it is just taxing with all of the enclosed spaces (grotto and roof over pool) because it's trapping the chlorine gas. Not to mention the trips to the pool store every other day!

 

[Mdragger88]

Yes - slam level for a cya of 50 is 20ppm.
& do u mean roof or screened enclosure?
If there is open air & sun exposure Those shouldn’t hinder cc’s escaping too much.
Like A cover on the water does.
Got any pics of the situation?

 

[Steve-D]

I have been corrected here before when I referred to one of my CYA measurements as "45." Apparently the CYA scale is logarithmic and not linear so if you are reading between 40 and 50 you record as 50. If between 50 and 60 you record it as 60 etc.

 

[Skiddy]

Just something I have learned as a newer pool owner. Im 2 years in now with a new pool build. I'm in Florida where the WT hits mid 80's by May and rises all summer long up into the 90's. My first year I ran my SWG at 50-80% add ran my pump about 8-12 hrs a day. My FC would be 4-5 but it seemed like every time I would go out of town for a week the FC would drop down to 0 and a few times I had an Algae infection.
I learned that by increasing my pumps run time at lower RPMs I was able to decrease my SWG to 20-30% and run my pump 20 hrs a day. I never had another problem since. The most important aspect is testing, at least during summer. As far as electric bills go I dont even notice an increase from longer run times.

 

[hawkmoon7]

I have been corrected here before when I referred to one of my CYA measurements as "45." Apparently the CYA scale is logarithmic and not linear so if you are reading between 40 and 50 you record as 50. If between 50 and 60 you record it as 60 etc.

Thank you. The graduations do look log based, so that makes a lot of sense.

 

[hawkmoon7]

Just something I have learned as a newer pool owner. Im 2 years in now with a new pool build. I'm in Florida where the WT hits mid 80's by May and rises all summer long up into the 90's. My first year I ran my SWG at 50-80% add ran my pump about 8-12 hrs a day. My FC would be 4-5 but it seemed like every time I would go out of town for a week the FC would drop down to 0 and a few times I had an Algae infection.
I learned that by increasing my pumps run time at lower RPMs I was able to decrease my SWG to 20-30% and run my pump 20 hrs a day. I never had another problem since. The most important aspect is testing, at least during summer. As far as electric bills go I dont even notice an increase from longer run times.

I have been running at 14 hours a day (with SWG at 100%), but I think you're right. More run time is in order.

 

[hawkmoon7]

Yes - slam level for a cya of 50 is 20ppm.
& do u mean roof or screened enclosure?
If there is open air & sun exposure Those shouldn’t hinder cc’s escaping too much.
Like A cover on the water does.
Got any pics of the situation?

I started the SLAM with CYA slightly above 60. I'm now definitively under 50. It wasn't an issue with the overcast days, but now that it's full on FL sun, 25ppm is out of my reach. I can hold at 20 though.

I'm glad you mentioned the CC. I didn't know that. I normally keep the pool covered with a solar cover, but I haven't for this slam. But I'll keep that in mind when I put the cover back on in Sept.

The pool has a screen and a solid roof over the pool, with a grotto that is also covered and some high walls that provide more shade. About 40% of my pool get's sun. See photos in my signature.

 

[hawkmoon7]

Measurement just now: Fc 20, Cc 1.5 I had increase by 3ppm this afternoon, but that's not too bad considering the sun intensity today.

Will check OCLT tomorrow morning, but I don't feel good about it, Considering Cc is still at 1.5