opened a week ago and need help with chlorine

[jarradodle]

I had the pool company open my pool last wednesday. When they open the automatically dump 4 gallons of chlorine and a half of a small tube of stabilizer. I tested the pool last week and everday since. I cannot get my chlorine to come down so I think it is throwing my other tests as well. In indiana, we have had a really cool wet spring with no sunshine so keeping the cover open isn't helping much. I have been following testing procedures with k2006 taylor kit since about a year ago and only use liquid chlorine, ph down/muratic acid to control things.

Question is, do I just have to wait for chlorine to come down on its own and then continue testing other tests. I haven't even swept the pool the first time so I know there should be stuff eating the chlorine. I am frustrated and haven't even dipped a toe in the water yet.

FC 17.5 (I have went through a lot of testing agent even using the 10ml test)
CC 0 (tested 2x tonight and it showed .5 on the second test)
PH 7.8 (it was really high couple days ago but have used some ph down but scared to use more with chlorine so high)
CYA 70 ( i have always fought this due to using pucks for 3 years, I know i need to replace water at some point.)
TA 170 (i plan on lowering ph and aerating to lower this.)
CH ( didn't test but it is always high as is my tap water)

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Texas Splash]

I have been following testing procedures with k2006 Taylor kit since about a year ago and only use liquid chlorine, ph down/muriatic acid to control things.

That is music to my ears.

If you only want to FC to drop, then yes... just give it time and leave the cover off to let sunlight hit the water. Now if you were trying to do an opening SLAM, your FC could actually be higher, but that's certainly your call. If you're not losing a lot of FC and the water is clear, you may be okay. Definitely give the pool a good spring scrubbing and see how things go from there.

 

[jarradodle]

Am i correct in that liquid chlorine will not cause cya to raise like the pucks do? I was thinking of putting my pool cover pump on my first step and putting my hose in at the bottom of deep end and letting them run simultaneously to replace some water. Might be a dumb idea. My city water is stupid expensive so i hate to do any hose work but looks like i have to.

 

[Texas Splash]

Am i correct in that liquid chlorine will not cause cya to raise like the pucks do?

Correct! That's what is so good about regular bleach. No side effects.

 

[tucsontico]

Am i correct in that liquid chlorine will not cause cya to raise like the pucks do? I was thinking of putting my pool cover pump on my first step and putting my hose in at the bottom of deep end and letting them run simultaneously to replace some water. Might be a dumb idea. My city water is stupid expensive so i hate to do any hose work but looks like i have to.

You are correct. Liquid chlorine (bleach) will not add any CYA to your pool which is why it is the TFP recommended method of sanitizing your pool. Any product that is "dry" and has chlorine in it (granular shock, chlorine pucks, etc.) has CYA added to "stabilize" the chlorine and allow it to be stored in a granular form. The insidious nature of the CYA in pucks and dry shock cause most of the algae blooms we here about on the TFP website. The CYA builds up in your pool and eventually binds up the chlorine and will not allow it to properly sanitize your pool water.

As far as your water "swap" idea goes, that's a good plan. Running city water in while pumping "old water" out will prevent any issues with your liner. Be certain you're not pumping out too much more than you're putting in!

 

[duraleigh]

You should be brushing and cleaning your pool. The high FC has no affect on that aspect of getting ready.

 

[Self Evident]

... I cannot get my chlorine to come down so I think it is throwing my other tests as well....

Am i correct in that liquid chlorine will not cause cya to raise like the pucks do? I was thinking of putting my pool cover pump on my first step and putting my hose in at the bottom of deep end and letting them run simultaneously to replace some water. Might be a dumb idea. My city water is stupid expensive so i hate to do any hose work but looks like i have to.

Greetings fellow Hoosier! (Well, I'm a former Hoosier, but I grew up about 10 miles west of ya'.)

The other responses got ya' covered as far as the benefits of liquid chlorine/bleach. But you are right in that your current FC (> 10) will render pH tests unreliable at best. So don't do anything pH wise until your FC is below 10. Other tests should work ok, I believe.

As far as your CYA level is concerned, if it were me, I wouldn't worry about it much. 70 is a little high for a non-SWG pool, but it will diminish slowly over time, maybe 1ppm or more per month.

So, if your source for fill water is expensive, and you have a pool cover to minimize daily FC loss from UV exposure, you're not likely to realize any overall benefit from lowering your CYA thru water replacement. Just measure your CYA every month or two, maintain the appropriate FC for the measured CYA, and you should be fine.

For a CYA of 70, maintain your FC at around 8-10. At most, don't let it (FC) get below 5.