Phosphates consuming my FC?

[Jcolapin]

Hello all,

I added 6 gallons of bleach over the past week, FC is reading 0 TC also reading 0, CYA 50, TA 100, PH 7.6. Phosphates are 2000. There is some green algae that I vacuumed up and brushed. Pool is a little cloudy. Pool store is saying the high phosphates are contributing to the algae that is consuming all my FC. Yet I read on hear that I should ignore the high phosphate number and keep dumping bleach in to get my FC up to 5. I feel like a dog chasing its tail. Any advice would be bigly appreciated!!

 

[jblizzle]

Phosphates do not consume chlorine. Algae and other organics do. Phosphates are a nutrient for algae, but if you were maintaining proper chlorine levels, the algae could not grow regardless of the nutrients.

5ppm of FC is not nearly high enough to kill the algae that has already taken root in the pool.

You need to follow the SLAM Process process to eradicate the algae.
To do that properly, you need one of the recommended test kits containing the FAS-DPD chlorine test: Test Kits Compared
I would suggest the TF-100 with the XL option since you will need to SLAM the pool.

 

[Donldson]

Feeling like a dog chasing its tail is how most people feel when attempting to mix pool care advice from multiple sources. You can follow the pool store if you wish, or you can follow our advice, but there's no way you can follow both.

If you wish to follow TFP then it's simple: There's algae in your pool and you need to eradicate it via SLAM Process.

 

[Jcolapin]

Thanks for the advice, I will SLAM my pool this weekend.

 

[jblizzle]

What test kit do you have?