Hi Melissa,
Your FC level to Maintain your pool is 4. You are not in maintenance mode. You are in SLAM mode.
Here is a link to the chart you missed. http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock. Its ok though, there is a lot of stuff to lean and its easy to miss some stuff.
We are here to help you out.
Think of FC like an army. The recommended level to maintain the peace is 4.
The battle force, the SLAM, is 12. You need many more soldiers to fight a war than to keep the peace.
Ok... so now that you know the difference in Recommended FC and SLAM FC,
Your FC - Free Chlorine is low because your pool is full of gunk. Think of your SLAM FC as soldiers. The soldiers are killing the algae and in the process they get killed doing it.
CC is Combined Chlorine - think of it as how to count the Chlorine that has been killed off. The higher it is, the worse. Anything above .5 is not good.
CYA protects FC from the sun. Its hot where the soldiers fight, and CYA help to keep them from overheating and dying from over exposure to the sun.
Pool math is your friend! you will need to know how to use it in order to know how much stuff to put in your pool. A link to pool math is below.
Your Ph test says 8.2 I might actually be higher, because the test is only capable of testing to 8.2 Not a problem though...we'll make it.
At this time, do not add any more bleach till the Ph is in check.
Do the following in this order. Wait 30 minutes between adding anything to the water and testing. Always!
1. The first thing you need to do is lower your Ph. According to Pool Math http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html (bookmark pool math)
you need to add about 45 ounces of Muriatic Acid. Slowly pour the acid into the pool in front a return .. make sure the pump is running. Let the pump circulate it and Test 30 minutes later.
Then use pool math to determine how much more, if any, muriatic acid you need to add in order to get the ph to 7.2. After 30 minutes, test Ph again. WHen the Ph is 7.2 then go to the next step. (if you end up at 7.1 or 7.3, its ok.. you can go to step 2).
2. Go ahead and add just enough CYA to raise it from 20 to 30. According to Pool Math, thats about 23 ozs. A pound and a half.
Put the CYA in an old sock and put it in the skimmer. Dont worry about testing CYA any more during the SLAM. It dissolves slow and takes a few days to regisiter on the test. But, during slam, just consider that CYA is 30.
3. Next, start adding chlorine. WIth the pump running, pour it in slowly in front of a return. The SLAM FC level you need to achieve is 12. According to Pool Math, you need to add 293 ounces of 8.25% liquid chlorine. Thats 2 1/4 gallons. After 1 hour, test. If you are below 12, add enough bleach to bring it back up to 12. Use pool math to figure how much bleach to add.
4. THis is not a one time shot. It is a process and you will need to keep your SLAM FC at 12, try not to let it fall below that if you can help it.
5. Read How to Slam again. Please. It will do you a world of good and save yourself a lot of time.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl
Until the slam is complete, all you need to test for are
FC and CC (note: Pool Math does not have a CC row on it...but dont worry about it... its not supposed to have one. all you have to do is test for it.
Everytime you test and need guidance always Post your FC Test Result, your FC goal (which is always 12), and your CC's.
Your FC level to Maintain your pool is 4. You are not in maintenance mode. You are in SLAM mode.
Here is a link to the chart you missed. http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock. Its ok though, there is a lot of stuff to lean and its easy to miss some stuff.
We are here to help you out.
Think of FC like an army. The recommended level to maintain the peace is 4.
The battle force, the SLAM, is 12. You need many more soldiers to fight a war than to keep the peace.
Ok... so now that you know the difference in Recommended FC and SLAM FC,
Your FC - Free Chlorine is low because your pool is full of gunk. Think of your SLAM FC as soldiers. The soldiers are killing the algae and in the process they get killed doing it.
CC is Combined Chlorine - think of it as how to count the Chlorine that has been killed off. The higher it is, the worse. Anything above .5 is not good.
CYA protects FC from the sun. Its hot where the soldiers fight, and CYA help to keep them from overheating and dying from over exposure to the sun.
Pool math is your friend! you will need to know how to use it in order to know how much stuff to put in your pool. A link to pool math is below.
Your Ph test says 8.2 I might actually be higher, because the test is only capable of testing to 8.2 Not a problem though...we'll make it.
At this time, do not add any more bleach till the Ph is in check.
Do the following in this order. Wait 30 minutes between adding anything to the water and testing. Always!
1. The first thing you need to do is lower your Ph. According to Pool Math http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html (bookmark pool math)
you need to add about 45 ounces of Muriatic Acid. Slowly pour the acid into the pool in front a return .. make sure the pump is running. Let the pump circulate it and Test 30 minutes later.
Then use pool math to determine how much more, if any, muriatic acid you need to add in order to get the ph to 7.2. After 30 minutes, test Ph again. WHen the Ph is 7.2 then go to the next step. (if you end up at 7.1 or 7.3, its ok.. you can go to step 2).
2. Go ahead and add just enough CYA to raise it from 20 to 30. According to Pool Math, thats about 23 ozs. A pound and a half.
Put the CYA in an old sock and put it in the skimmer. Dont worry about testing CYA any more during the SLAM. It dissolves slow and takes a few days to regisiter on the test. But, during slam, just consider that CYA is 30.
3. Next, start adding chlorine. WIth the pump running, pour it in slowly in front of a return. The SLAM FC level you need to achieve is 12. According to Pool Math, you need to add 293 ounces of 8.25% liquid chlorine. Thats 2 1/4 gallons. After 1 hour, test. If you are below 12, add enough bleach to bring it back up to 12. Use pool math to figure how much bleach to add.
4. THis is not a one time shot. It is a process and you will need to keep your SLAM FC at 12, try not to let it fall below that if you can help it.
5. Read How to Slam again. Please. It will do you a world of good and save yourself a lot of time.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl
Until the slam is complete, all you need to test for are
FC and CC (note: Pool Math does not have a CC row on it...but dont worry about it... its not supposed to have one. all you have to do is test for it.
Everytime you test and need guidance always Post your FC Test Result, your FC goal (which is always 12), and your CC's.
You all are so helpful, it's much appreciated!
Here are my results:
FC: .5
PH: 8.2
TA: 100ppm
CH: 775ppm
CYA: 20ppm
Bromine: less than 1
I've looked at pool chemistry and have a basic understanding, I think, and I've plugged all of the numbers into the calculator and it tells me I need 89 oz of 8.25% bleach to get target FC of 4. Either I don't understand this fully or haven't grasped the SLAM process yet. I added two jugs of bleach, shock, pucks, and algaecide with no change before I found this site. So surely one jug won't do it.
So, I know my CYA is low which tells me I'm not holding onto chlorine, right?
Please guide me to the right link! I'm confused : (