Hi there. I have a 15-foot, round, above-ground pool. I was using pristine blue for a while until recently. I learned pristine blue doesn't really sanitize your pool. We had a lot of algae when we opened here in Florida about two months ago. I treated it with pristine blue and chlorine. It's been two months and I cannot keep chlorine in the pool. It will last about a day and then it's gone. I've been taking water samples to the local pool store. The tests showed low total chlorine, low free chlorine, high hardness, and low alkalinity. We treated as they recommended. The second test, all was normal except for total chlorine. There's always free chlorine present. So the pool place had us treat with more chlorine and also a bag of shock once a week as normal. Took another sample in and it came back that total chlorine was high even though I could not get a reading with my test kit at home. Also, I have a very tiny amount of pink slime in the skimmer intake. I would think if chlorine were high, that would be dead. Husband thinks the sample was contaminated because the guy was hauling jugs of chlorine back and forth but I thought I saw him washing his hands. Anyways, they said not to add any chlorine for two weeks and no chlorine tablets. This has worried me because the pink slime is still there. I will probably take a toothbrush to it today to get rid of it and see if it returns. Of course, I can't stand it when I test and the sample is clear and not yellow, so we add more chlorine. The last thing I did was add a clarifier to the pool a couple of days ago because I heard low chlorine can come from particulates in the pool. Still, low chlorine. I don't know what to do and am confused. Thanks for your help. By the way, the water is super clear and smells good.
Having trouble keeping chlorine in pool
- Thread starter DeAnna64
- Start date
-
- Tags
- no chlorine pristine blu tests
- Jul 17, 2019
- 4,078
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Hi, a couple of key points:
Testing - You said you have your own test kit. What kit do you have? Pool store testing is unreliable at best and is usually geared towards selling you something.
Algae - This is caused by low chlorine, period. I doubt your pool had "high" chlorine and the advice they gave you to not use chlorine for 2 weeks in a pool with algae/slime is just idiotic.
Free Chlorine - This is what fights algae and the bad stuff. It only is consumed by fighting algae, or destroyed by the sun (see below).
Stabilizer/CYA - This is what helps protect your Free Chlorine from the sun, but too much can tie up too much chlorine and it will not be able to do its job.
Lastly, I would recommend reading this as it covers lots of the above and then some. Its a great place to start for new people. I read it at least 3 times when I first got my pool. After you do that, look around in the pool school folder for other relevant articles.
www.troublefreepool.com
Testing - You said you have your own test kit. What kit do you have? Pool store testing is unreliable at best and is usually geared towards selling you something.
Algae - This is caused by low chlorine, period. I doubt your pool had "high" chlorine and the advice they gave you to not use chlorine for 2 weeks in a pool with algae/slime is just idiotic.
Free Chlorine - This is what fights algae and the bad stuff. It only is consumed by fighting algae, or destroyed by the sun (see below).
Stabilizer/CYA - This is what helps protect your Free Chlorine from the sun, but too much can tie up too much chlorine and it will not be able to do its job.
Lastly, I would recommend reading this as it covers lots of the above and then some. Its a great place to start for new people. I read it at least 3 times when I first got my pool. After you do that, look around in the pool school folder for other relevant articles.
ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry
There are several items things every pool owner should know about swimming pool water. We share details on the basics of Pool Water Chemistry.
www.troublefreepool.com
kul
Bronze Supporter
- Oct 1, 2021
- 1,434
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Welcome to the group! The advice above will help you gain control of your pool. While you’re reading through all the things, make sure you order yourself an appropriate test kit so that you can begin to manage everything.
Test Kits Compared
Test Kits Compared
- Jul 17, 2019
- 4,078
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Also, I just googled Pristine Blue. Please do not use that anymore, it is what we call a "pool store potion".
Like most algaecides it contains no chlorine, but does contain lots of copper. Copper can help keep the algae at bay, but it really just masks the problem and does not sanitize your pool. Furthermore copper can cause staining of your pool, hair, swimsuits, etc. Every heard of someone's hair turning green after swimming? That is from copper, which does not belong in a pool.
Like most algaecides it contains no chlorine, but does contain lots of copper. Copper can help keep the algae at bay, but it really just masks the problem and does not sanitize your pool. Furthermore copper can cause staining of your pool, hair, swimsuits, etc. Every heard of someone's hair turning green after swimming? That is from copper, which does not belong in a pool.
Welcome to TFT, get OUT of the stores and into real science. Information is power and control. Get a TFT-100 test kit, and read the tutorials. Sounds like you need to SLAM your POOL.