Hello from redneck Georgia

[PoolStored]

I'm finally ready to start SLAMing my pool. I cleaned the filter cartridges, learned how to work the pump, pH adjusted to 7.5, CYA added (still dissolving overnight but almost at 30ppm).

The thing is...I am confused about how much liquid chlorine to add in order to bring the FC up to shock level of 12ppm

This morning my FC was 1 and CC was 7
So I added 3 gal of "Pool Essentials" brand 10% liquid chlorine
I waited 30 minutes with the pump running and then sampled. The FC had only risen to 2ppm. The CC apparently dropped to 2ppm (?)

I'm not sure if the liquid chlorine has lost its potency or what. I don't see how I can get to FC of 12 by using this stuff...poolmath says it should only take 1.8gal to raise FC to 7ppm but that is clearly not the case.
Any advice?

Trust pool math. Follow the recommendation for what to add. Keep testing and adding.

You may have old bleach. Have you checked the date code?

Chlorine Date Code Decoder - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

We got you...we'll get your pool cleaned up...

 

[ericafrancesca]

Thank you, I will go shopping for more bleach and check date codes.
What is the maximum age that the bleach should be, ideally? 180? I am reading that the temperature of storage matters as well.

 

[PoolStored]

Thank you, I will go shopping for more bleach and check date codes.
What is the maximum age that the bleach should be, ideally? 180? I am reading that the temperature of storage matters as well.

Yeah, I went through 40 gallons in my slam. Don't let that scare you it is a 30K pool. Lol. I bought in batches of 20 and returned what I didn't need. Got some funny looks, and one said "I'm not asking..."

Look for a date code that was made in the last 90 days. Preferably, less that 60 days. Less than 30 is ideal.

Keep it in a cool place. 6% doesn't really degrade all that much. The 10 and 12.5% more so....

Breakdown of Bleach Over Time by Storage Temp - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[C&HSewell]

Thank you, I will go shopping for more bleach and check date codes.
What is the maximum age that the bleach should be, ideally? 180? I am reading that the temperature of storage matters as well.

Walmart Pool Essentials is the best deal around in Ga. It is about $5.47/gal. Sometimes ACE Hardware will have the same stuff for $5.99/gal.

 

[ericafrancesca]

Update:
I bought liquid chlorine manufactured on Jan 30th...worked like a charm and my FC is now at 12.5 ppm
So I guess I am now SLAMing the pool.
Off to do some scrubbing, thanks so much for everyone's help!

 

[JupiterFL]

How is the SLAM going? Inquring minds would like to know...

 

[ericafrancesca]

The SLAM is still going...the pool is looking SOOOO much better thanks to all the help I've gotten from you all (see pic below). I have been slamming for 5 days now, hoping to be able to stop soon.
I do have a couple of questions:

-At first it was easy to maintain the FC shock level of 12. Recently, though, it seems like my chlorine is disappearing really quickly. It basically disappears overnight. This issue started after I decided to add more CYA. I also decided to add a couple bags of salt. I know I am being a bad chemist by changing all my variables all at once.

-Next question is about my filter pressure. I had to buy a new pressure gauge since the one that came with the house was toast. It is reading a pressure of around 28 psi. Is this okay? I cleaned my cartridges really well and even soaked them in TSP overnight and used the filter floss gadget on my hose.

 

[PoolStored]

At first it was easy to maintain the FC shock level of 12. Recently, though, it seems like my chlorine is disappearing really quickly. It basically disappears overnight. This issue started after I decided to add more CYA. I

Sounds like ammonia... @mknauss ?

Ammonia - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[mknauss]

Do the test as described in the wiki.

 

[ericafrancesca]

I read through the wiki and I think that my problem is not consistent with ammonia as the root cause.
In theory if there had been a lot of ammonia in my water then I should have been seeing a rise in chloramines, but instead my CC has been consistently below 1. Also, I don't think any ammonia-producing bacteria (or any bacteria) could have survived the consistent SLAM-level chlorine over the past week.
I'm wondering whether the Chlorox-brand CYA I added could be the issue since it coincided with the rapid loss of FC. Could the CYA have bound up some of the free chlorine making it seem like it was disappearing? Until it reaches some sort of equilibrium? Is this a thing?...does our TF test kit detect CYA-bound chlorine?

The good news is that the problem seems to be resolving on its own. My free chlorine has stabilized and I am losing no more than a few ppm overnight.

 

[Pauls234]

Agree, you can pretty well rule out ammonia given that fact pattern.

Your other question, yes the drop test does detect the FC that is bound to CYA.

Filter pressure, you want to note your clean pressure and then clean when it gets to 20% higher, so when it gets to 33ish.

Keep up the SLAM, you are doing great!