Impatiently waiting on test kit with 0 CYA, 0 Chlorine and 1.0 Ammonia

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strojnc

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May 29, 2018
15
Elizabeth, PA
I'm currently waiting for my TF-100 test kit. In the meantime, I am, of course, anxious to start fixing my pool. I found this site after some frustrations at my local pool store. I have only been a pool owner for 2 years and depended on them for answers. Starting last year, I was getting a very low reading for CYA and my chlorine levels would not hold. I dumped a lot of "powerful shock" into my pool. My pool store insisted that my CYA was "hiding". I still don't know what that is really all about. Finally, they recommended I treat for a chlorine mismatch ... I can't remember what they called it. I did their recommended addition and did start to get chlorine readings that lasted a bit longer, but my CYA was still low, so I started to secretly add stabilizer. I managed through the end of last season and closed the pool. This spring when I opened it, it was slightly green and cloudy. The pool store had me do an algae treatment. The water cleared up pretty fast, but my CYA was still low on my "AquaCheck" test strips that I was using, so I dumped some more stabilizer in along with 6 more pounds of Tidal Wave 73 shock before going back to the pool store to get my water tested. When they did my test they said my chlorine was at 0 and recommended I add a few bags. I asked about the CYA. They said it was on the low end, but I needed to add more shock. I told them I had added the 6 pounds of shock on top of the 6 pounds they initially had told me to use and that I had also added 5 pounds of stabilizer two days prior to bringing in my water for a sample. They almost bugged out and told me I shouldn't add stabilizer. I explained that I was tired of spending hundreds of dollars on shock and it just disappearing. Finally they said that I probably should treat for a chlorine demand if I had added that much shock and it was still reading 0. When they told me their cost to add the shock, I almost croaked. They then recommended an alternative of using Pristine Blue. As they explained it, it sounded like a good plan. Luckily I had plenty of the Caribbean Blue chemicals at home that I had just bought which they said they would exchange for the new system, so I left without committing to anything. When I got home I started reading about Pristine Blue and mostly found reviews saying - don't do it! Then I ended up on your website. I was at first confused, because most of the information I started finding talked about Slamming to cure a green or algae pool. My pool is clear. Finally I found some stuff about Ammonia. So, I bought an Ammonia test kit from my pet store. I know that was a lengthy start to my question, but I thought a bit of background might help.

My Ammonia kit said I had an ammonia level of 1.0.
My AquaChek strips (I'm still waiting for my test kit) still say 0 for both Total and Free Chlorine. PH looks okay. Alkalinity is a bit low. And CYA still appears to be 0.

Is there anything I can do to get started while I wait for my test kit or should I just try to find some patience? :)

Thank you for any help or suggestions!
 
strojnc said:
In the meantime, I am, of course, anxious to start fixing my pool. ... My pool is clear.
Click to expand...

What problems are you trying to fix?

Get your test kit. You need to have an accurate CYA number to move forward.

Your CL is likely disappearing because of your low CYA.

Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT) will tell you if you need to do a SLAM. You need your test kit to do the test. https://www.troublefreepool.com/content/136-perform-the-overnight-fc-chlorine-loss-test-oclt

While waiting for your test kit I would put some Cl in your pool daily either with liquid chlorine or tablets to maintain some CL level. Being at 0 CL can only lead to more problems.
 
Hi,
I used pool math to make a rough guess for you to add chlorine to prevent the pool from getting any worse while your waiting for the test kit.
BTW, kudos on not hee hawing around arguing the merits of it's worthiness. Its worth way more than you paid for it.

I suggest raising the FC level in teh pool to 3 ppm (or slightly about that give or take a tiny bit).
Assuming 22K gallons of water with CYA - guess there might be 10, ... add a gallon bottle of 6% bleach, every day until you can test properly.
A bottle of bleach isnt actually a gallon, but its 121 ozs. No need to split hairs at this point.

If you will add a bottle each day, it will slow down the progression of the algae considerably.

Good luck!
 
Howdy neighbor! I'm roughly a half hour away depending on traffic. Welcome to TFP!

strojnc said:
My pool store insisted that my CYA was "hiding".
Click to expand...

PEEK'A'BOOOOO! :mrgreen:

So glad you found us. You are going to love your new test kit! You should get it soon. I too had a bit of ammonia but adding a gall9n of liquid chlorine everyday will help break that down until you can run a full setg of test results.

And one more thing before I go... every year around May, go to Ollies and stock up on 10% liquid chlorine for $2.99 a jug. I bought 50 and put them in my cool dark basement. I also put my test kit there too.
 
Strojnc:

Welcome to the Forum. Congratulations on being a member and ordering the TF-100. Hopefully you purchased the speed stir and extra vials, if not next time. Here is what I would do.

1) As Casey mentioned, please purchase a lot of bleach at Ollie's.

2 ) When you get your kit, the first thing to do is to rule out ammonia. Until you hold chlorine, there is nothing else to do. Test every 15-30 minutes until you hold chlorine.

3) Then add enough CYA to your pool to bring up to the recommended level. You may want to go to around 40 ppm as you will loose some through backwashing during the process.

4) Follow the SLAM process to a T. Do not deviate and be extremely patient. When water is clear, allow levels to fall between 7ppm-10 ppm while performing the overnight test if you fail the test with levels over 10 ppm.

5) Stay away from Pool Stores as the employees usually hide after hours! :shark:

Here at TFP, we do not hide and are usually open 24/7 and 365 days a year.
 
Thanks, everyone! I emailed the test kit lady and my speed stir will ship out Monday. I still haven't gotten my kit, but I'm at Ollie's right now for chlorine. I already bought 12 gallons at Wal-Mart to be ready.

Can anyone tell me how many gallons I should stock up on??
 

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I buy enough for the summer or... what I think is enough. A good rule of thumb is once you think you have enough, double it. :mrgreen:
 
You were right! Shipping was fast! I got my test kit today. I just finished my testing.

I probably should note that last night at 11:00pm I added 1 bottle of 10% liquid chlorine. Today at 1:00pm I added two bags of Tidal Wave 73 (bag says it is 73% Calcium Hypochlorite) and 1 bottle of 10% liquid chlorine.

My test results from my TF-100 at 6:00pm:
FC = 3.5
CC = .5
TC = 4.0
CH = 1050
TA = 50
CYA = ( I don't think I'm good at reading that one yet!) I'd say it was getting blurry at 50, hard to see at 40, making me wonder if I could see the dot at 30 and definitely gone at 20.

My question is, where do I go from here? I figure after I've done it once, it will all be pretty obvious, but I'm still overwhelmed with the balance this first, add that, rule out this....

Catanzaro said first to rule out ammonia until I was holding chlorine. Since I put chlorine in at 1pm and there's still a reading at 6pm, does that mean I'm holding chlorine well enough to continue? When I put one bottle in last night, my old test strips said no chlorine this morning... that's why I added more.

So? What do I do now? I have a million ideas, but I'm doubting any are great! :)

Christine

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks for your Ollie's tip, Casey!! I had looked online for chlorine but only found it at walmart and home depot. It was still $2.99 at Ollie's plus I got 15% off!
 
So I just retested my CH at 630am twice. The results weren't consistent.
On the first round i did not swirl while adding drops because the instructions didn't say to. Yesterday i did swirl. Today the solution started to turn blue around 20 drops and then seemed blue around 40, but there are lots of little specks in it. I then found a forum that seemed to say definitely swirl so i cleaned the applicator tip with distilled water (it seems to get gummed up fast - see the pic - is that normal? ) and retested.

These photos are from my last test. At 20 drops it looked blue but the specs still looked purplish when I was doing it. At 30 drops it definitely was blue but the specs are still there.
 

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I just refinished refining at 330pm. I'm guessing the CH was originally so high because i had just added the Tidal Wave shock as it has been dropping off.

My test results:
FC = 0.5
CC = 0.5
TC = 1
CH = 500
TA = 40
CYA = 30

What do I do next? Lower CH? Increase TA? Slam?
 
A CH of that level should not be an issue. Only way to lower it is to drain and fill with lower CH water.

What is your pH? Adjust it to 7.2 prior to SLAM. Then follow the SLAM Process process.

Take care.
 

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