No algae but no chlorine reading. TC=0.31 ph=7.4 Alk=107 Calc=145 CA=101 Iron=0.1 Copper=0 Phos=4000

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rosey19

rosey19

0
Jul 12, 2016
29
Patchogue, new york
Pool Size
15000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
18x34x52 above ground Doughboy pool 15 years old, Hayward sand filter, 1.5hp hayward. Ok so i love my Nature 2 catridge for the fact u use hardly any chemicals and your skin feels nice but..... 0.5ppm goes away fast once the heat of july and august arrives and heavier bather loads. I was also using chlor tabs and had put a couple pounds stabilizer in beginning and now my CYA is 100. I cant get chlorine to stay. So now i took out the tablets and am using liquid chlor to raise chlorine daily. Next season im not buying a cartridge im going full out BBB. The only time i may use diclor tabs is if i go away and cannot manually add chorine.
 
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What does anyone think of those copper emitting catridge systems?

Im going to need a new liner next year or year after an instead of the constant need for chlorine and chemicals i was pondering buyig one f those Nature2 systems. Copper is great at keepng algae away. My problem is i was using copper algaecide ans stained my liner something aweful. Aside from...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

How are you testing your Pool Water chemistry? If your FC is zero, you likely have algae and the water is unsafe to swim in.
 
mknauss said:

What does anyone think of those copper emitting catridge systems?

Im going to need a new liner next year or year after an instead of the constant need for chlorine and chemicals i was pondering buyig one f those Nature2 systems. Copper is great at keepng algae away. My problem is i was using copper algaecide ans stained my liner something aweful. Aside from...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

How are you testing your Pool Water chemistry? If your FC is zero, you likely have algae and the water is unsafe to swim in.
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FC is 0.31 through leslies. But i do test through a kit not the testing strips. My pool is crystal clear. i did buy liquid chlorine and added enough to bring it to 3ppm. It was half a gallon of the 12% to yield that so less next time i meaure levels. Ideally 0.5ppm to 1ppm is whats supposed to be. My CYA is 101 and its too high so i took out the tablets and now using sod hypo to chlorinate it. I have one of those nature 2 cartridges which is y i prob dont have algae. You are suppose to keep your TC at 0.5 with that system
 
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Not that I trust pool store testing at all, but if your CYA level really is over 100 and your FC level really is below 1 then your water is incredibly unsanitary. The copper in those metal cartridges might be good at keeping harmless algae away so the pool looks pretty, but it does virtually nothing for bacteria and viruses that you can't see but should be concerned about. Your water is not safe to swim in.
 
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Donldson said:
Not that I trust pool store testing at all, but if your CYA level really is over 100 and your FC level really is below 1 then your water is incredibly unsanitary. The copper in those metal cartridges might be good at keeping harmless algae away so the pool looks pretty, but it does virtually nothing for bacteria and viruses that you can't see but should be concerned about. Your water is not safe to swim in.
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so what would you do right now? shock it?
 
rosey19 said:
so what would you do right now? shock it?
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SLAM Process

no question.

Like said above the algae is just the canary in the coal mine. If it’s alive so are all the bad things. Swimmer to swimmer transmissions are the main reason for sanitizing. Bacteria, viruses, pathogens etc. Getting rid of the unsightly but mostly harmless algae is the added bonus.
 
I'd stay out of the pool, firstly. I'd get a TF-100 or Taylor k-2006c test kit ordered so we could get accurate numbers with which to base decisions off of and make sure we aren't doing the wrong thing based off bad data.

I'd pull that metal cartridge out now. There is no reason to keep it in and several very good reasons to get it out.

I'd be ready to dump water because if your CYA level is really as high as you're being told then you're going to need to reduce it by about 2/3rd. Only after you can accurately test the water and have the CYA level to a manageable level will you be able to perform the SLAM Process and get the water to the point where you can confidently know that your water is sanitary and nothing is growing in it.

What I would NOT do is try to do any of this based on pool store testing. I would NOT just dump a bit of chlorine in the pool and call it a day. I would NOT try to shortcut things no matter how tempting it is to look for something that involves less waiting. I wouldn't do any of these things because they will only extend the issues and create new ones but following the process through to completion will put the water on the right path and keep it there.
 

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@rosey19 Many of the above posts have stated that TFP is a pool care methodology.
The link below are the main points of TFPC
www.troublefreepool.com

What is TFPC?

We believe any pool owner can achieve and maintain safe, crystal clear pool water, by using the science-based, Trouble Free Pool Care (TFPC) methodology.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
@rosey19 ,
Is a partial drain and refill an option? Your high CYA is handcuffing you. Keep in mind that a loss of about 2-3 ppm per day of free chlorine is about normal with just the sun alone and can be higher in other regions. Bather load will increase usage. As others have mentioned, its better to get on a sustainable path now then attempt to create a chemical soup trying to fix it.
 
Here is what I would do:

1. Get a proper test kit
2. Bring your FC up to the target FC for your CYA (11-13, if your CYA is 100)
3. Perform an OCLT. That will tell you if your pool has cooties (algae, bacteria, etc.) that the chlorine is fighting.
3a - If you have cooties, do a SLAM
3b - No cooties, maintain it at your target FC for the rest of the swim season
4. Hopefully your CYA will degrade some before next swim season and you can open your pool to your CYA in range and be able to manage at a lower FC.
 
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GrandizerGo said:
@rosey19 ,
Is a partial drain and refill an option? Your high CYA is handcuffing you. Keep in mind that a loss of about 2-3 ppm per day of free chlorine is about normal with just the sun alone and can be higher in other regions. Bather load will increase usage. As others have mentioned, its better to get on a sustainable path now then attempt to create a chemical soup trying to fix it.
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a few inches at a time amd replacing with fresh water but to drain a foot at a time prob not. The pool is rarely used bc the novelty has worn off already from when we opened it. My husband will jump in once in a while if hes hot from working outside on a project. We are folks that like our water to be like 85-90 degrees to go in it or we wont. Here in NY it takes a long hot summer to do that. Question though......under normal circumstances if the pool was on point with its chemistry what do u all do when its time to cover and close it for season. Anyone use algaecide to keep anything from growing over the time its closed?
 
Do you have a solar cover? I live north of you and can get about 85-86F with it. There are a lot of threads on winterizing the pool and a Youtube video below. I prep my chemistry for the temperature drop and then cover for the winter. The later you close the less chance for algae in the spring. I closed in late October and didnt use algecide but many people do use it. Just make sure to read through the threads on winterizing and they will list what to look for in algecide as they aren't all the same.


Winterizing Pools with TFP
 
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JJ_Tex said:
Here is what I would do:

1. Get a proper test kit
2. Bring your FC up to the target FC for your CYA (11-13, if your CYA is 100)
3. Perform an OCLT. That will tell you if your pool has cooties (algae, bacteria, etc.) that the chlorine is fighting.
3a - If you have cooties, do a SLAM
3b - No cooties, maintain it at your target FC for the rest of the swim season
4. Hopefully your CYA will degrade some before next swim season and you can open your pool to your CYA in range and be able to manage at a lower FC.
Click to expand...
what is an OCLT?
 
Link. Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

TLDR: The sun or organics (algae, swimmer residuals, etc) consume your FC daily. By running a FC test in the late evening, and again first thing in the morning, you remove the sun from the equation and the FC should remain in the pool during that span with nothing growing.
 

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