Nothing But Trouble After Switching to BBB

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powelowe

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Feb 6, 2018
32
Conroe TX area
Hello,
I have had nothing but endless problems after switching to bleach from trichlor. About 2 days after switching, I started to have trouble maintaining chlorine. Everythung else is fine, but my stabilizer has gone from 96 down to 40 in the past 2 months. Last week, it rained and flooded the pool which promptly turned pea green. I got it back to normal yesterday (albeit chlorine loss) but today it rained again and the algae is everywhere. Please help!

FC 0
CC 0.1
PH 8
TA 101
CYA 40
 
Sorry to hear that.

If you are trying to manage your pool water chemistry with a Home Depot 5-way test kit, you will not be successful.

Your CYA cannot drop that much unless you exchanged a large amount of water (nearly half your pool volume). Have you?

Follow the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. Get a proper test kit. Add chlorine every day.
 
I suggest you review Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and Trouble Free Pool School

You need a TF-100 Test Kit or Taylor K-2006C Test kit. See Pool School - Test Kits Compared

Your FC should never get to 0. You need to add liquid chlorine more often. Follow the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] chart.

Your PH is at the high end of the range. Your CYA is at the high end of where it should be for a liquid chlorine pool. See Pool School - Recommended Levels

To deal with your algae problem you need to follow the SLAM Process process. Follow the steps exactly and not skip any. Ask here is you don't understand anything.

Where is 77381? A location is more helpful then a number.

Good luck.
 
With a CYA of 40, you have to maintain you FC level at between 5-7. I'm not sure where you live, but you may be losing a lot of FC per day with full sun on your pool. If you are, you have to add chlorine to maintain your FC level as it correlates with you CYA FC/CYA .

The algae is everywhere because you need to maintain your FC level. With that said, you'll need to follow the SLAM - Shock Level and Maintain procedure to get rid of these algae.

With a CYA of 40, you'll need to bring your FC to a 16 and maintain it there. Use PoolMath to determine how much chlorine you’ll need to reach shock level. Maintain your shock level. At the start of SLAM, chlorine may decrease rapidly as algae is being killed off, so test for FC every couple of hours (if you can or if you're at work...morning, lunch time, evening). Again, maintain the shock level by adding the correct amount of chlorine (PoolMath) when necessary. Make sure you leave you pump running 24/7 while SLAMing your pool (proper circulation/filtration of the pool water is recommended). Again, do your best to maintain the proper SLAM "FC" level based on your current CYA FC/CYA. Continue vacuuming and brushing pool each day while in SLAM mood.

Once pool is clear, its time to perform the following. Here’s the link: Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)

powelowe said:
Hello,
I have had nothing but endless problems after switching to bleach from trichlor. About 2 days after switching, I started to have trouble maintaining chlorine. Everythung else is fine, but my stabilizer has gone from 96 down to 40 in the past 2 months. Last week, it rained and flooded the pool which promptly turned pea green. I got it back to normal yesterday (albeit chlorine loss) but today it rained again and the algae is everywhere. Please help!

FC 0
CC 0.1
PH 8
TA 101
CYA 40
Click to expand...
 
please change your location, houston texas is near enough
tfp has not used the term bbb for so long i'm not sure where you found that term
you are not following the training of tfp which is why you are having trouble
your pool went green because the fc/cya relationship was not correct
 
powelowe said:
I am following it but I can't maintain it between 5-7 in the first place and that is why I made this thread.
Click to expand...

What is the highest FC level that your Home Depot 5-way test kit measures? I think it is 5.

How can you measure a FC level of 5-7 with that kit or do a SLAM Process that requires a shock FC level of 16?

That is why we say you first need to get a full test kit with FAS/DPD CL test to properly follow the TFPC methods. Halfway efforts do not work.
 
Look at the fc/cya chart from pool school, and you will see what your target fc level is for your cya. You can't stay at 0 fc for any period of time.
Lower that ph with acid and using the pool calculator in this site.
 

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You have to get your own test kit to maintain your pool. Don't relay on pool store results at all. Also, you have to test your water, yourself, more than weekly - especially your FC, CC and pH. All you need to maintain your pool is Chlorine & CYA (stabilizer). Muriatic Acid and Borax to manage PH on a periodic basis as needed.

Please get your test kit ASAP. We recommend the TF100 from TFTestKits.net or the Taylor K-2006C. I would stay away from the Taylor K-2006 as it doesn't have enough of the FC test reagent, especially if you have to SLAM right away. I know that the test kits are a bit of money, but that's nothing compared to the amount of money you'll spend on needless chemicals at the pool store.

In the meantime, add about a half a gallon of 10% liquid chlorine until you get your kit. That will add close to 5 ppm FC per day.



powelowe said:
Yes it does go up to 5 but I can't get it there in the first place. I bring water to a local pool store weekly (NOT Leslie's, it is a local chain that does not up-sell, I do not buy anything except shock there)
Click to expand...
 
powelowe said:
Yes it does go up to 5 but I can't get it there in the first place. I bring water to a local pool store weekly (NOT Leslie's, it is a local chain that does not up-sell, I do not buy anything except shock there)
Click to expand...
What form of chlorine are you using? How much are you adding to go from a FC of 0ppm to FC 5ppm?
 
Dom is right ... what type of chlorine are you using and how much are you adding?

For a 15000 gallon pool, adding 6% bleach will give you 156oz to get to 5FC. With a 8.25% bleach, you'll be adding 111oz to get to 5FC. With a 10% liquid chlorine, you'll be adding 96oz to get to 5FC. With a 12.5 liquid chlorine, you'll be adding 77oz of to get to 5FC. Please use PoolMath to determine how much bleach or liquid chlorine you need to get to 5FC.

With the bleach, make sure you get the plain stuff - no splashless, scents, or polymers. No Clorox or cloromax - no additives.
 
I fixed the problem for the most part. I use 8.25% bleach from HEB. I test the water for FC daily with the home depot kit and digital pH meter(God forbid I bring it to a store to test). Why do I need to drop $50-100 on a test kit when I can just go there for free? How can a store possibly be that inaccurate? I would like to think that no one on here profits off those kits. Change my mind.
FC 2.5
CC 2.7
PH 7.8
CH 181
TA 89
CYA 38
 
If the store is next door then it might be convenient enough to use the store. However most of us feel that we need our own test kits. There are thousands of people on here who successfully manage their pools using TFP methods. You can too. But you will need a proper test kit. You can't do a SLAM or an overnight chlorine loss without a proper test kit. Read about pool store testing on here. There are a lot of posts concerning their inaccuracy. Your CYA results do not seem to be repeatable. To drop from 96 down to 38, you would have to lost over 5000 gallons of water and replaced it (1/3 of your pool's volume). The only other way to drop that much is by letting microbes take over your pool. They break down the CYA. It is more likely that your CYA testing is inaccurate. The cornerstone of the TFP methods is the FC minimum level. It is based upon accurate and repeatable CYA testing.

If your main concern is that no one on this forum profit from your purchases, then order a Taylor K-2006C test kit from Amazon. No one here profits from that. The forum owners are associated with TFT test kits. You cannot rebuild an engine with an adjustable wrench, you must have appropriate tools. The same is true for your pool chemistry. You will not be able to adopt the TFP methods with a Home Depot kit, you must have an appropriate test kit that will measure higher chlorine levels and give you accurate and repeatable results.


From the post above, you posted these results:
FC 2.5
CC 2.7
PH 7.8
CH 181
TA 89
CYA 38

These chemistry results show that your FC is below the minimum for your CYA. I would expect your pool to get cloudy and then green with these results. For a CYA of 40, you will need a bare minimum FC of 3 and you are below that. You don't state the time of day. If this FC level is obtained during the morning, then it could drop even further prior to the addition of chlorine. If you are having problems holding your FC, then you need to SLAM. You do not need to buy shock. Just SLAM with bleach.
 
yep, why drop $100 on a test kit
just keep blindly following the pool store
how many people spent upwards of $500 at the pool store before they found TFP
to prove it to yourself take a sample to 3 different pool stores and see the difference
then have a friend bring a sample of your pool water in to your chosen shop and compare the results
 
It’s your pool, care for it as you wish.

If you spend some time researching here on the forum, you will see many many posts where pool store testing is unreliable, and leads to unnecessary money spent and quite a chemical soup in your pool.

With your last posted test results it does not appear that you are following TFP recommendations at all, which is probably why you are having issues. You are letting FC fall too low. Ask the pool store what is the highest FC level they can check.

The best advise we can give you is to pick one method of pool care, if you mix traditional pool store and TPF advise you’ll fail for sure.

None of us profit from TF Test Kits. I do this on my own free time, and donate to this forum to support it. This forum runs on volunteers and donations. One of our members is related to the owner of TF Test Kits. One Member.

My first pool was a tiny 12’ x 36” pool which cost me over $300 my first year from all the junk the pool store had me adding to try to clear my pool, and my family still couldn’t use the pool during peak season. And while I can’t prove it, all those chemicals is most likely what ruined the liner to the point of failure (leaks). Every time I went back to the pool store I would be told “your levels are perfect, I don’t know why you are having this problem, but let me recommend this $40 treatment anyway”. By the middle of August I gave up and drained the pool and threw it away in frustration.

When we setup our new pool the following year and began to truly follow FTPC, I spent $70 on a test kit, $15 on CYA, and about $65 on bleach and my pool was clear and swimmable all season. The following season I spent $15 on test kit refills, $15 on CYA (which lasted into my third season) and less than $60 on bleach.

After two full seasons of TFP care, I had a pool that was always safe and swimmable for my family, super easy to care for, and I still had not yet spent what I did in a 6 week period with my first ‘pool store’ pool. All I have added is bleach and CYA, and not one ounce of ‘super burn out’, ‘yellow treat’ Alkalinity +, pH -, etc etc.

And I still own my own test kit, which yield results that are 100% reliable.

I again implore you to research this forum and read for yourself. You will see a common theme.... most of the green pool threads are from people who are following pool store advise, or have inherited a green pool with the purchase of a home. The next common theme you will notice is that those who followed our recommendations as written were rewarded with a clear and sanitary pool. Not everyone of those stories involve the TF-100, many pool owners chose the go the (more expensive) K-2006 route. I own a K-2006, and volunteer my help here.

Again, it’s your pool, do as you wish. Just don’t be surprised if members are reluctant to give advise based on pool store tests, tests which have been proven suspect time and time again.
 
Three pool stores, two with the same name, three totally different results. The lowest cost to "fix" my water was close to $50 the highest was $125. The real kicker of this? My water was clear and balanced according to my Taylor 2006 test kit. I volunteer my time here because I truly believe in the TFP way. I do suggest the TF-100 as my own research has shown it is the best bang for the buck as far as test kits go. It has more of the regents we use on a daily bases. I should know as I started with the Taylor 2006 as stated.

Kim :kim:
 

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