"locked" chlorine - desperation has set in

[sandtigersteve]

Hello, I would be very grateful for any help. Backstory:

- Have intex soft-sided 8500ish gallon pool. Last year I had a bad algae problem that no matter what I did, and how much I shocked, I could not keep in check. By season end I gave up, drained half the water, and covered it up for the winter.
- this year I opened the pool, drained nearly all of the water out, cleaned heavily, killed all the algae (have been able to vacuum most of it up but having tried 3 vacuums none work that well - still pushes it around some into clouds), and filled the pool back up with fresh water
- also installed brand new filter and sand
- used standard pool opening procedure, with stain remover, clarifier, chlorine shock (1 lb) and a bottle of algaecide (all from a kit)
- now, my pool is blue but cloudy and foamy (the latter probably from the algaecide?). I am getting no chlorine reading so I brought water to a store to test:
-- Free Chlorine: 0.7
-- Total Chlorine: 8.47
-- pH: 7.2
-- Cyranuric Acid: 5 (I have never added any and when I used to try to add stabilizer it never seems to work)

Having a lot of Total Cl but no Free CI, I tried to "unlock" the chlorine with non-chlorine shock, and add 4lbs of Potassium Peroxymonosulfate. Filter is running continuously. 24 hours later still no chlorine reading.

Dozens of hours and $100s of dollars later, I still can't use the pool, so I'd greatly appreciate any advice. I could drain the pool, but I literally just filled it up.

Thank you
SS

 

[IceShadow]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!

We do things a lot differently here from the way people manage pools most other places. See this thread here:

TFPC for Beginners

TFPC for Beginners TFPC stands for Trouble Free Pool Care. The TFPC method of taking care of your pool focuses on using simple techniques that don't cost too much and work reliably in nearly all situations. Using TFPC, you avoid putting anything in your water that you don't need and which may...

www.troublefreepool.com

The bottom line is that we believe in taking control of your pool by getting a good, reliable, repeatable test kit so that you can accurately know your own chemical levels, and only adding what your pool really needs, knowing exactly why you are adding what you add.

Most likely what is happening is that your chemicals you're adding are interfering with the CC test and reading as CC. If you do have CC, and your CYA level is very low and FC won't hold, there's other issues we worry about, like an ammonia-causing bacteria getting into the water.

For us to help, you're going to need a good test kit. We just can't trust the numbers provided by pool stores, and test strips are even worse for accuracy and precision both. We would recommend getting either a Taylor K-2006c (the c is important, and it means the reagents are of a larger size that you'd need), or a TF-100. The former is available at Amazon, the latter is available at Test Kits .

Once you have the kit, you can post a full set of test numbers from that and we can assist. In the meanwhile, I would recommend adding 5ppm of liquid chlorine per day to your pool to prevent things from getting worse.

 

[Homebrewale]

To add to the great reply by IceShadow, the cost of a test kit is cheap compared to the unnecessary cost of chemicals suggested by a pool store.

 

[V___25]

I’m sorry to hear you’ve been “pool -stored!” But you’re in the right place if you’re willing to accept the help and trust the TFP process.
First step is to get that test kit and ditch the strips and pool store. You have no need for them anymore. The kit may seem like an expensive investment at first but compared to what you’ve spent at the pool store with no results, it’s well worth it.

Also, find a reliable source of liquid chlorine, either from WalMart, Lowes, Home Depot, or whatever you have. You’re going to need it. No more powdered shock or tabs if you can avoid it.

Once you get that test kit, come on back and we’ll get you squared away!