Losing Chlorine, High pH, Grass Growing in Pool

[KBoy420]

Hi All,

I'm losing a ton of chlorine. In the last 5 days, I've added 5 gallons of liquid chlorine and just tested today, less than 2 ppm chlorine and my pH is above 8. My CYA is around 30, and the pool does get direct sunlight all day long.

I have some chlorine tabs for the floater that have stabilizer added, so I can throw some of that in.

Then while vacuuming I noticed grass growing thru the liner. Just one big piece. Would this contribute to eating up all my chlorine? It's about 2 inches from the side of the pool. I figure once the water is a bit warmer, I'll go in, clip that, and patch it. Not sure what else to do. But if this organic matter is eating up my chlorine guess I need to go in earlier and get it out.


Edit - a Google search seems to say this is "quackgrass", not nutgrass, which is what most of the posts on this forum related to grass discuss.

 

[mknauss]

Chlorine is a consumable item. More so with low CYA.

I doubt that small piece of grass is an issue from the chlorine standpoint. It may be a leak point however.

 

[KBoy420]

Chlorine is a consumable item. More so with low CYA.

I doubt that small piece of grass is an issue from the chlorine standpoint. It may be a leak point however.

Doesn't appear to be leaking any, and if it is, it's such a slow leak it's not noticable. But obviously I don't want grass growing thru the liner. Guess i missed a root while rebuilding, or the grass outside the walls in growing underneath. As for the CYA, going to try to bump that to closer to 40 or even 50.

 

[mknauss]

Good. I would suggest an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test in the near future to rule out any issues.

 

[KBoy420]

Good. I would suggest an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test in the near future to rule out any issues.

I'll do that. Any suggestion on the pH? I know that having enough FCl in the pool will slightly lower pH, but would you suggest using any "pH down" to balance this a bit before adding more chlorine or doing the OCLT?

 

[mknauss]

You should lower the pH to get it in the 7's.
Do you have a FAS-DPD test for FC? You need that for the OCLT.

Be careful using dry acid. Muriatic Acid is better if you need to add acid very often.

 

[Bperry]

Doesn't appear to be leaking any, and if it is, it's such a slow leak it's not noticable. But obviously I don't want grass growing thru the liner. Guess i missed a root while rebuilding, or the grass outside the walls in growing underneath. As for the CYA, going to try to bump that to closer to 40 or even 50.

Plants grow toward moisture. If there’s grass growing through the liner, it’s because water and sunlight is getting through.

 

[KBoy420]

You should lower the pH to get it in the 7's.
Do you have a FAS-DPD test for FC? You need that for the OCLT.

Be careful using dry acid. Muriatic Acid is better if you need to add acid very often.

No I will need to get the FAS-DPD test. My Taylor k2005 doesn't have that test.

So to recap:
1) lower pH slightly, by about 0.5 using "pH down"
2) get a FAS-DPD test for OCLT
3) do OCLT
4) likely slam again
5) pull grass from liner bottom and patch

 

[mknauss]

Sounds good. Again, be careful on the pH Down. It is sodium bisulfate. The sulfate builds up in your water and can corrode metals pretty quickly.

 

[charliej]

Hi All,

I'm losing a ton of chlorine. In the last 5 days, I've added 5 gallons of liquid chlorine and just tested today, less than 2 ppm chlorine and my pH is above 8. My CYA is around 30, and the pool does get direct sunlight all day long.

I have some chlorine tabs for the floater that have stabilizer added, so I can throw some of that in.

Then while vacuuming I noticed grass growing thru the liner. Just one big piece. Would this contribute to eating up all my chlorine? It's about 2 inches from the side of the pool. I figure once the water is a bit warmer, I'll go in, clip that, and patch it. Not sure what else to do. But if this organic matter is eating up my chlorine guess I need to go in earlier and get it out.

View attachment 333481
Edit - a Google search seems to say this is "quackgrass", not nutgrass, which is what most of the posts on this forum related to grass discuss.

i had to do that one year. i thought the tarp and indoor/outdoor carpet would do the trick. i clipped it, underwater patch and it never leaked. after that, i always used heavy bisquine, heavy tarp and then my carpet. when ii went to largest pool i could, i put an old liner bottom on top of the tarp.