Just converted from baquacil to chlorine and have been told I have a chlorine lock

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Okay, I did a test :

FC - 1
CC - 1, but after about 5 minutes the liquid was once pink again, I think I need to redo that one?
pH - 7.2
TA - 160
CH - 1000 (40 drops needed?)
CYA - 85

Would it be wise to do this again before I add another thing of liquid chlorine to ensure I got this right?
 
flyingv said:
Would it be wise to do this again before I add another thing of liquid chlorine to ensure I got this right
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it will not hurt. The first time is trying to figure out what you are doing, anyway. Now you are a pro so do one for real. For all the tests, once you get the color change, Stop. Some will go back if they sit and that doesn’t count. With TA you want one extra drop to prove there is no more change and then you subtract that last drop from the total.

CYA rounds up to the next line no matter what. You can perform that test over and over with the same liquid. Just fill it to each line and call it when it disappears.
 
So what is the current state of your pool.. clarity-wise? Is it clear? Looks like it is starting to hold chlorine but your CYA is way to high. That is likely way its not holding chlorine very well.. For a non SWG pool you want a CYA level around 30-40... see this chart: FC/CYA Levels. The higher the CYA the less effective it is at sanitizing until you reach a point of no return. And the only way to get it down is to dilute if via massive rain or a drain and refill. you would have to drain it down to 1/3 of your current level to get your CYA down to by a third.Here are some options on draining:

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

If your pool is getting cloudy, that would be the start of an algae bloom. but it would be near impossible to SLAM it at that level.. we would need to get your CYA down first. You don't really have to worry about your CH since you have a vinyl pool. you must have really hard fill water there for it to be that high.

Thanks for updating your siggy!
 

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mguzzy said:
So what is the current state of your pool.. clarity-wise? Is it clear? Looks like it is starting to hold chlorine but your CYA is way to high. That is likely way its not holding chlorine very well.. For a non SWG pool you want a CYA level around 30-40... see this chart: FC/CYA Levels. The higher the CYA the less effective it is at sanitizing until you reach a point of no return. And the only way to get it down is to dilute if via massive rain or a drain and refill. you would have to drain it down to 1/3 of your current level to get your CYA down to by a third.Here are some options on draining:

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

If your pool is getting cloudy, that would be the start of an algae bloom. but it would be near impossible to SLAM it at that level.. we would need to get your CYA down first. You don't really have to worry about your CH since you have a vinyl pool. you must have really hard fill water there for it to be that high.

Thanks for updating your siggy!
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Hi, my pool is very clear, not cloudy at all. I am still struggling to understand why it is now holding chlorine now that I'm using liquid chlorine the past 3 days. Is that because the pucks I have been using were just increasing the CYA?

I obviously can't continue to just pour liquid chlorine into it every day, so if I don't drain it to get the CYA down, and go back to pucks, I'd be back where I was, correct?

So that I understand, I should drain 2/3 of the water out of my pool and then refill? What do I do when I refill? Is it best to at that point then do these tests again and see where I am?

Just trying to think long term - will I be using pucks?

Thanks.

Ken
 
flyingv said:
I am still struggling to understand why it is now holding chlorine now that I'm using liquid chlorine the past 3 days. Is that because the pucks I have been using were just increasing the CYA?
Click to expand...
The pucks dissolve too slowly to rapidly raise the FC like liquid chlorine does.
flyingv said:
I obviously can't continue to just pour liquid chlorine into it every day, so if I don't drain it to get the CYA down, and go back to pucks, I'd be back where I was, correct
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Correct. Stay away from the pucks and drain to lower your CYA. You will be adding LC every day, but much much less of it so its manageable.
flyingv said:
So that I understand, I should drain 2/3 of the water out of my pool and then refill? What do I do when I refill? Is it best to at that point then do these tests again and see where I am?
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Bingo. You got this !!! The new water will need a different approach than the old water. Start over (ish) and test and go from there.
 
flyingv said:
Should I create a new thread with my test results?
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nah.. why waste more electrons.. this thread will do just fine!

flyingv said:
Hi, my pool is very clear, not cloudy at all. I am still struggling to understand why it is now holding chlorine now that I'm using liquid chlorine the past 3 days. Is that because the pucks I have been using were just increasing the CYA?

I obviously can't continue to just pour liquid chlorine into it every day, so if I don't drain it to get the CYA down, and go back to pucks, I'd be back where I was, correct?

So that I understand, I should drain 2/3 of the water out of my pool and then refill? What do I do when I refill? Is it best to at that point then do these tests again and see where I am?

Just trying to think long term - will I be using pucks?

Thanks.

Ken
Click to expand...
Clear pool... excellent. but a CC of 1 is cause for concern. You might want to do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to see if you have any algae activity. On second thought if you are going to drain and refill, do that after the refill.

So yes, you need to drain and refill 2/3 of your water (sorry for the news)... The pucks were adding CYA with the CL so it just kept going up and up and the Cl became less and less effective. Once you get your CYA down to 30 or so, then you can keep your FC at a much more reasonable 4-6 ppm that is only a few cups a day. Yes you will need to add it each day.. then switch to pucks if you go out of town. OR install an SWG that doesn't add CYA with the chlorine and can be left unattended for stretches at a time.

After the refill, yes retest. and add LC while you are filling or you will end up with a green monster since the fill water has no chlorine.

Hope that helps. ..N-dude basically said the same thing.. I figured I would just reiterate it.
 
mguzzy said:
nah.. why waste more electrons.. this thread will do just fine!


Clear pool... excellent. but a CC of 1 is cause for concern. You might want to do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to see if you have any algae activity. On second thought if you are going to drain and refill, do that after the refill.

So yes, you need to drain and refill 2/3 of your water (sorry for the news)... The pucks were adding CYA with the CL so it just kept going up and up and the Cl became less and less effective. Once you get your CYA down to 30 or so, then you can keep your FC at a much more reasonable 4-6 ppm that is only a few cups a day. Yes you will need to add it each day.. then switch to pucks if you go out of town. OR install an SWG that doesn't add CYA with the chlorine and can be left unattended for stretches at a time.

After the refill, yes retest. and add LC while you are filling or you will end up with a green monster since the fill water has no chlorine.

Hope that helps. ..N-dude basically said the same thing.. I figured I would just reiterate it.
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Thank you!
 
CYA does not exist in nature. You must add it to the water.

You can test the pH, TA, and CH of your fill water. That may provide some information, if you are fighting high TA or CH all the time.
 
flyingv said:
CC = 1 - this one was strange, and might need to do it again. after a few minutes it turned pink again
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The FC and CC tests will always turn pink if left to sit. If you were to not add the CC testing reagent immediately after testing FC, the test would start going pink there as well. When doing these tests, the endpoint is as soon as it goes clear. Do the FC test, and as soon as it's clear add the reagent for the CC test and do that test. Once clear, you're done. Discard the test liquid and rinse the tube.

(Don't, like me, forget about it, leave the test in the tube for a day, come back to a dark purple liquid and a stained tube)
 
jseyfert3 said:
The FC and CC tests will always turn pink if left to sit. If you were to not add the CC testing reagent immediately after testing FC, the test would start going pink there as well. When doing these tests, the endpoint is as soon as it goes clear. Do the FC test, and as soon as it's clear add the reagent for the CC test and do that test. Once clear, you're done. Discard the test liquid and rinse the tube.

(Don't, like me, forget about it, leave the test in the tube for a day, come back to a dark purple liquid and a stained tube)
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
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