Free chlorine numbers

[MLR54]

Good morning all We are new 6 months (new Pool) owners for 6 all has bell well with our pool chemicals according to our test kit (poolmaster 5-way kit from builder).
But now having a hard time with cholrine.
I have the pump running 8am-6pm 1900 rpm's and the SWG on from 8:30 am- 5:30pm it is set at 100% kept having to increase percentage as summer and rains continue ( central Fl.)
Tested the pool today FC is at 1 light yellow PH was at 7.6 -7.7 added 1 cup acid but the chlorine we have cleaned filter and SWG there was not any visible build up in SWG.
How else do you bring FC numbers up with a SWG. We have also weekly to biweekly getting test results from local pool supply readings are somewhat close to what I have. However our test kit does not do stabilizer (CYA) Have added 3 xs per their results and alkalinity increaser 2xs per their test results
Help would be appreciated

 

[tim5055]

Welcome to TFP!!

By the way you phrased your post I assume you understand that not much credence is given to pool store testing around here. While you would think that a "professional" would be the best, unfortunately in most cases it is quite the opposite. Between employees who blindly trust the word of chemical sales representatives and high school kids working in the pool store for the summer you end up with poor results from their testing. But, what can you do?? We base our pool care system on accurate testing and only adding what the pool needs, when it needs it. To do that you need your own accurate test kit. Order a TF100 test kit. Without accurate numbers we can trust it's hard to point you in a direction.

If you order the kit today, you will have it before the end of the week (probably Wednesday).

Go down to Publix and buy 5 bottles of their generic 8.25% (the label say Regular" & "concentrated") bleach. Pour one bottle in the pool each morning when the pump is running until your test kit arrives. For good measure, pour one in today when you get home.

I also suggest you stop going to the pool store as their only response it to sell you something you probably don't need.

 

[StogieC]

Central FL has seen both a lot of bright sun and a lot of rain in recent weeks. This means that you have to be a bit more diligent in chlorine management right now. My own pool, also finished in March, started dropping FC (Free Chlorine) rapidly after days of rain followed by days of high UV index sun. The low FC lead to a small to moderate rise in CC (Combined Chlorine) that I was able to arrest by putting my SWG in Super Chlorinate mode for 48 hours to bring it up to an FC of around 13 for the past week. I was not quite to where I needed to SLAM but testing showed that things were starting to get out of whack and had to be addressed immediately. After bringing the FC levels up the CC went back to 0.0 after about 4 days, SLAM averted.

As already said, get some chlorine in that pool NOW and order a good test kit. Either the TF-100 or Taylor K-2006 (I have both). Your "5-way" kit shows only TC (Total Chlorine) and likely only up to 5 ppm. TC is the total combination of FC (Free Chlorine) plus CC (Used up chlorine - Chloramines). This kind of test tells you quickly if there's chlorine in the pool but less about how hard it is working to stave off a swampy disaster.

 

[MLR54]

Ok had no choice but to go to pool store today Readings they got FC-0ppm pH-7.5 TA--85ppm Calcium Hardness 350ppm stabilizer--40ppm Salt 3200ppm
Nitrate--0ppm Phosphate--0ppm I added 2.6 lbs of stabilizer today and will turn the SWG to boost mode, and retest in 2 days if no change should I then start adding chlorine and call the builder to have them come out and check the SWG Worrying about doing chlorine and builder comes out tests water and says all looks ok to them.

 

[jeffchap]

Do NOT add any more stabilizer. Depending upon what you've been using to chlorinate your pool, chances are your stabilizer level (aka CYA) is already too high, which will make it difficult to impossible to keep enough free chlorine in your pool to fend off algae.





The first thing you need to do is to get a proper test kit that measures CYA and then post the levels here and we can advise you from there. Do not rely upon pool store testing, especially for CYA. They are wildly inaccurate at it.





Adding a jug of bleach each day as Tim recommended will keep things from getting totally out of hand until you receive your test kit.

 

[StogieC]

You need to get FC in that pool immediately. Run, don't walk, to the store and get 2 gal of regular unscented 6% bleach and put it in the pool. IF that test was correct (BIG IF), a CYA of 40 in our FL sun is why your TC is gone.

 

[StogieC]

Like Jeff said, a good test kit is critical.

 

[Jimrahbe]

mlr,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all pool owners with Salty Questions...

Running your IC40 at 100% for 10 hours a day will add about 6.25 ppm of FC to your pool each day.

This chlorine has to go somewhere... More than likely your pool has an algae outbreak that you can't see which is consuming your FC... You can test for this by performing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test (OCLT). Here is how... Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[MLR54]

I will order a tf-100 kit do you all like it better than Taylor K-2006 ? I will run out and get some bleach and add it I can not I believe do a OCLT test as I only have the kit the builder gave us which is Poolmaster 5 way kit which tests FC and CC. Thanks to all Once I have this cured I will ask about the white powder type ( Plaster) collecting on bottom of pool this is also relatively new problem it feels gritty. There was a lot in the filter when I cleaned it. Thanks again.

 

[Jimrahbe]

mlr,

Yes, most of us like the TF-100 because it has more reagents...

The gritty white stuff is just another reason you need to run your own tests..

Jim R.

 

[MLR54]

Thanks But a yes what is the gritty white stuff?

 

[MLR54]

Thanks But a yes what is the gritty white stuff? Also when I get my test kit and if by chance it says no or low chlorine what is my next step and why is the SWG not producing enough?

 

[mknauss]

Thanks But a yes what is the gritty white stuff? Also when I get my test kit and if by chance it says no or low chlorine what is my next step and why is the SWG not producing enough?

Your SWCG is not meant to defeat algae. It is most likely that you have a nasceant algae bloom (invisible) that is consuming the FC your SWCG is creating. But you need a proper test kit to be able to determine that.

The white gritty stuff - could be dead algae, could be plaster dust, could be sand, ????

Take care.

 

[StogieC]

Once we have a reliable test on the pool chemistry, the mystery of the "gritty white stuff" can be solved and we can determine if your SWG is doing its job. For now, we're trying to help keep you from having your pool turn in to a new portion of the everglades.

 

[MLR54]

Laughing and tears at the same time

 

[MLR54]

While I am adding bleach should I leave the SWG off or turn it back on after adding bleach

 

[Jezza]

You may as well leave it off. If you have algae it'll be consuming any chorine faster than the SWG can produce it.

 

[MLR54]

OK I have added 1-2 gal. of 8.25 % bleach for a week until I received test kit TF-100 Finally got a chance to do OCLT
FC-5ppm
CC.5ppm
this am
FC-4.5ppm
CC-.5ppm
added liquid stabilizer also CYA reads 70
Still have some white gritty substance at bottom of pool but it does not seem to be as much
DO you think the pool water is ok? I will test the rest TA, PH, CH todayThanks

 

[mknauss]

The next decision is up to you. You did pass the two chemistry items (FC and CC) for not needing to SLAM. But you still have something (dead algae?) in the pool.
The conservative approach is to take your FC to shock level and SLAM the pool for a couple days. See if the 'substance' disappears. You would need a shock level of 28 ppm FC at your CYA of 70.

It is also always best to run a OCLT at a FC level of at least 10-15% of CYA level. You ran yours at your target level for FC.

So your decision ===

Take care.

 

[MLR54]

If it is dead algae would the extra chlorine destroy it or would it still need to be manually removed? I am going to take a sample of it to the pool builder and see if they can tell me what it is. also do you need to run the pump o/n during the OCLT if so does this skew the results if that is not how you normally run your pump Thanks