Free Chlorine is 0 and CYA at 0 htc test strip results help

[LadyLane]

How it was 2 weeks ago VS how it's going.
So i uploaded some pictures so you can see what im talking about. 2 weeks ago my water was CRYSTAL CLEAR and blue as ever. I went like 1 week with out shocking it bc I ran out of everything all at once but now it seems no matter what I've done i can't get back to beautiful. It went a little green and the edges got some alge build up, took care of that and vacumed and scrubbed the sides and got it back to blue but its just been cloudy ever since then about 1 week now. I added chlorinated granules then about 4 hours later i shocked it at night. Then early in the morning I added some clarifier. The pictures are about 2 weeks ago and then today and the test I did about 1 hour ago.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
You need a proper test kit. I suggest the TF-100/Pro or Taylor K2006C. A proper test kit is needed to get the accurate water chemistry results needed to follow the TFP protocols.
I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

 

[Mdragger88]

Welcome
Sorry we’re meeting this way but if you have visible algae & cloudy water
to clear your pool up you need to do the
SLAM Process
To be able to do this you must have a proper kit with the right tests in it. Strips won’t do as they are too broad with their ranges & generally not very accurate.
The Taylor k2006c (various online retailers)
& the tf100/pro (tftestkits.net) that Mknauss mentioned are the only ones that contain all the right tests.

Until you get one of those kits in you can add 5ppm worth of liquid chlorine to the pool each day (pour slowly infront of a running return,away from the pool wall & brush)
This is to keep things from getting worse until you can properly & safely do battle.
Add nothing else.

Once you get your kit in, do all the tests & list the results here like this

Fc
Cc
Ph
Ta
Ch
Cya
Salt (if applicable)

& we will help you get going on the right path.

 

[bwillick2015]

I can attest to wait mknauss and mdragger88 have said , my buddy just went through same problem ... he had the right test equipment but was mixing up his multiplication for his chlroine test 25ml vs 10ml, anyways long story short his chlorine got to low went from crystal clear pool to what yours looked like , he followed the slam process testing 3 times a day and keeping his chlorine level up and in 2.5 to 3 days his pool was back to crystal clear again and no other products ....( to be fair though the rest of his numbers ta, ch, ph etc were already bang on following the tfp csi calculator so not sure if that helps it or not) ..

 

[LadyLane]

I shocked again last night and vacumed yesterday and tomorrow will be getting a new filter, but she looks much better and clearer today then yesterday. I've read the pool school and alot of what is on this sight and the slam process. I geuss ive been kinda doing the slam process just not as step by step last few days. I saw a lot of people did on here did not like the 3" floating Chlorine tabs I was wondering why because I have those being delivered on the 6th should be here. Why do people not suggest using those? I also was reading some things of people using just straight bleach, do you recommend that?I was also wondering if it is ok to add liquid Chlorine during the day today since for me it's extremely cloudy today?

 

[reggiehammond]

Chlorine tabs are 50/50 Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid (stabilizer.) The chlorine is used up quickly, but the CYA last for a very long time.
Very quickly, as you use the tabs, your CYA gets so high that the chlorine can no longer sanitize.

The TFP method is based around acknowledging this basic science of FC/CYA Levels.
If you maintain proper free chlorine levels, per your CYA, there's no need to "shock" or add magic pool store potions.

You can use chlorine tabs if you're willing to dump and replace your pool water frequently, but it's a more expensive method that results in more algae and improper sanitation than TFP methods.

 

[Mdragger88]

The slam process is raising fc to the appropriate slam level for your cya as based on this chart. And Maintaining that fc level until ALL 3 end of slam criteria are passed.

As you can see, the higher the cya level the higher the slam fc level must be.
The same goes for maintenance fc levels - the higher the cya the higher your fc needs to be for the pool to remain sanitary.
Trichlor pucks add cya
Dichlor adds cya
This makes it really difficult to maintain the proper fc level for very long if they are used regularly as the target is constantly changing. This is why they aren’t recommended .

Here’s what each 3” trichlor tablet does in your pool once dissolved


Here’s what each pound of dichlor does

You should discontinue their use and instead use liquid chlorine (5ppm each day) until you have a proper kit and know where you really stand with your cya level & can perform the slam process safely and efficiently.
It is impractical to slam with cya levels over 80ppm.
The only way to lower cya is to replace water.
You can use liquid chlorine anytime of day/night.

We recommend liquid chlorine (plain bleach) or using a salt water chlorine generator for daily chlorination.