Hi All,
I am highly frustrated and I am not getting anywhere with the pool store. My first year owning the pool - opened it May 1.
I have an estimated 17500 gallon Plaster pool (just moved here). I am having trouble establishing any Free chlorine in my pool. In the beginning it kept getting a slightly greenish tinge which goes away when I shock it and then comes back. It never smelled like a pool-only like a pond. Up until yesterday, I was shocking to about 20 ppm based off this TFP pool calculator using bleach and then switched liquid chlorine. But I was getting 0 free chlorine even after shocking. so I went to the pool store and they measured my CC at 8 ppm (Free at <1 ppm). They told me to add 16 gallons of pool chlorine (12.5%). I did - after the sun went down. That should bring my free chlorine up to 115 ppm. I tested it and it might have been 33 with the FAS kit (at most). In the morning, it was possibly 7ppm with the FAS kit. And by noon less than 1ppm but I can't really tell because my FAS-DPD test kit and my DPD test kit seem to be getting interference from the combined chlorine making it really hard to read. The test strips (2 different brands) showed 0 free chlorine even immediately and 1 hour after adding the 16 bottles. I dipped it into the chlorine bottle right after getting a 0 reading from the pool- and it turned pink, so it's not getting bleached out.
Today- according to both my measurement with the FAS kit and the pool store my CC is down to 6.5-7 ppm. I still have very little free chlorine (I tested 0 with strips, they tested 0.82 ppm with their digital LaMotte). They told me to just wait another 24 hours for it to circulate but this seems contradictory to everything else I read. They wouldn't even sell me more chlorine, which I think is what I need. But I want to get other opinions before I go adding another ridiculous amount of chlorine.
pH 7.2
Alkalinity: 100
Hardness: 228
CYA: 100 (I have not put any more tabs in because of this after finding this site)
The pool store also tells me my phosphate is high and I have some copper but they said I have to get my chlorine under control first.
Any ideas of what could be going on? What is eating my chlorine? The pool now by the way is crystal clear after my 16 gallons of pool chlorine addition last night. It's beautiful. But I need to get rid of the CC and establish a level of FC.
THANKS SO MUCH!!
I am highly frustrated and I am not getting anywhere with the pool store. My first year owning the pool - opened it May 1.
I have an estimated 17500 gallon Plaster pool (just moved here). I am having trouble establishing any Free chlorine in my pool. In the beginning it kept getting a slightly greenish tinge which goes away when I shock it and then comes back. It never smelled like a pool-only like a pond. Up until yesterday, I was shocking to about 20 ppm based off this TFP pool calculator using bleach and then switched liquid chlorine. But I was getting 0 free chlorine even after shocking. so I went to the pool store and they measured my CC at 8 ppm (Free at <1 ppm). They told me to add 16 gallons of pool chlorine (12.5%). I did - after the sun went down. That should bring my free chlorine up to 115 ppm. I tested it and it might have been 33 with the FAS kit (at most). In the morning, it was possibly 7ppm with the FAS kit. And by noon less than 1ppm but I can't really tell because my FAS-DPD test kit and my DPD test kit seem to be getting interference from the combined chlorine making it really hard to read. The test strips (2 different brands) showed 0 free chlorine even immediately and 1 hour after adding the 16 bottles. I dipped it into the chlorine bottle right after getting a 0 reading from the pool- and it turned pink, so it's not getting bleached out.
Today- according to both my measurement with the FAS kit and the pool store my CC is down to 6.5-7 ppm. I still have very little free chlorine (I tested 0 with strips, they tested 0.82 ppm with their digital LaMotte). They told me to just wait another 24 hours for it to circulate but this seems contradictory to everything else I read. They wouldn't even sell me more chlorine, which I think is what I need. But I want to get other opinions before I go adding another ridiculous amount of chlorine.
pH 7.2
Alkalinity: 100
Hardness: 228
CYA: 100 (I have not put any more tabs in because of this after finding this site)
The pool store also tells me my phosphate is high and I have some copper but they said I have to get my chlorine under control first.
Any ideas of what could be going on? What is eating my chlorine? The pool now by the way is crystal clear after my 16 gallons of pool chlorine addition last night. It's beautiful. But I need to get rid of the CC and establish a level of FC.
THANKS SO MUCH!!