ok i just started using TFP calculator and site. Thanks i finally understand most of the going on's of my pool now.. kinda. I am having trouble with CC. Lets start at the begining. I have a 5300gal vinyl pool 15' by 4' depth. yes an intex. I had multiple times of algae this year. Last year NONE. I ended up using yellow algae packet killler it worked then it came right back. This was my fault since reading getting rid of alge by TFP's, i know i was not attacking it right or nor did i have the right test equipment. Well i tryed going at it again after reading here, but i ended up having to bring up FC to near 25 to shock, and my TC was above that, since the highest i can dilute and test at is 25ppm. After running pump for four days consecutivly the algae was dead ( gray/white cloudy water) my CC had a reading of nearly 15. Yes my CC. I am not giving my cya and other test readings on this bout since all readings from what i've read will be way off due to high chlorine. I did try to do a cya test with the coffee filter, which didn't change it. it was around 90cya. I was using tri/dichlor shock (and the floating tables dispenser) to elevate previously which is probobly why my cya was so high. So i used some DA in filter cause filter was not cleaning up dead stuff. Next day it was clear. Getting frustrated i cleaned out filter, added a bottom drain ( kinda) to pool, so i can pick up stuff on bottom since skimmer will not pick up anything but whats at the top. My bottom drain is attatched to the side drain of pool, the only restriction it has is where it is reduced to fit garden hose attatchment then it goes to 1.5" plumbing. Ok now we are at present day. I have given up and drained the pool to nearly 1' and refilled ( good thing about small pools). My pool is 5300gal, has bottom drain and skimmer, a hayward 25sq' micro star filter ( it turns pool over very quickly ). Since three days ago i refilled pool from 1' depth. My currnet test readings are Cya of 60, PH of 7.5, CH 180, TA of 90, FC of 6 TC of 10. When i first filled i shocked to 11-12ppm ( readings were different then). I just added bleach to bring to 7FC. Why is my CC still so high am i reading wrong, i'm diluting 50% to the 4.5ml mark the multiplying by 2. I have taylor 2005 test kit. I'm feeling like my shocks are not doing anything should my CC not be comming down. From reading on killing algae i should hold till CC comes down but on last bout and this bout all i do when i shock is just bring it UP. And on the last week long hold at 25-30ppmFC the CC held near 10-15ppm how is that possible. I did read about the conversion of cya to ammonia i did use a ammonia test kit test on pool but it was for my fresh water pond, which probobly wouldn't work for pool but did anyways and it did show a little, but i'm not 100% sure since i was using test kit not designed for pools. Yesterday i brought test sample to Pinchapenny to have them give me their two cents. He said everything was good, reading is wrong cause of high chlor level, let it come down for proper reading. Now here i sit with butting my head with two different ways to go hold at high level of FC till cc comes down or let it fall and recheck? Technically i am low again, TFP's calculator with a cya of 60 i should be between 5-9FC. I was at 6 and just boosted to 7. I hope i explained this right any help would be GREATLY appreciated.
previous algae probs and cc trouble?
- Thread starter docbrown26
- Start date
oh and on last bout before i drained the pool the FC did HOLD at 25ppm for two days without me adding anything to it, untill it rained, but CC did not change or come down. If Fc shock levels did hold why would CC not come down. I could not read that high since 1.8ml times five is the most dilute you can go, i had to guestimate, and i also diluted to .9ml ( i counted how many drops to fill to 1.8ml then divided the drops in half. I believe it was 28 drops to fill to 1.8 ml. So i filled to 14drops and multiplied by 10 to get FC readings) just to see what would happen.
With you trying to dilute the sample that much, your results are not going to be at all accurate. You really should invest in the FAS-DPD kit as an addon to the K-2005.
When shocking the pool have you been testing and adjusting FC as often as once an hour?
One thing I noticed was that after you drained 3/4th's of the water and refilled you still had a CYA of 60 ppm. If that's correct, that means that your starting CYA was in the neighborhood of 240 and your shock level would be close to 50 ppm. You weren't even close to shock level at 25 ppm.
When shocking the pool have you been testing and adjusting FC as often as once an hour?
One thing I noticed was that after you drained 3/4th's of the water and refilled you still had a CYA of 60 ppm. If that's correct, that means that your starting CYA was in the neighborhood of 240 and your shock level would be close to 50 ppm. You weren't even close to shock level at 25 ppm.
no cya was reading 0 which technically could be anything below 30 since test stops at 30 i added i believe 20oz by volume of cya stabalizer in a nylon hanging in skimmer. turns out it was too much so i took it out next A.M. half was gone and reading now is 60ppm.
Add the FAS-DPD test to your arsenal and you will be much more knowledgeable about your true FC and CC levels.
agh one more thing to buy. got the k-2005 thinking it was the one, saw the dpd on it but no. just ordered fas/dpd single test kit to add to my existing one 
theys say two day shipping! could i be getting false cc readings from DPD test kit? or just non-reliable readings?
theys say two day shipping! could i be getting false cc readings from DPD test kit? or just non-reliable readings?
The K-2006 is the kit with the FAS test ... very rarely is it found locally and must be ordered.
You were adding a lot of error by trying to dilute, so I am guessing your results were just not correct ... although it is possible to have high CC valves, but usually under extreme circumstances.
You were adding a lot of error by trying to dilute, so I am guessing your results were just not correct ... although it is possible to have high CC valves, but usually under extreme circumstances.
i honestly think i was with the pool before i drained. since i had just the dip strips that measured TC, and i used alot of di/trichlor shock and floating tablet dispenser that added alot of cya. I wasn't able to get correct reading, and i used that yellow packet ( algae killer) and not measuring chlorine properly since it requires chlorine to activate and maintain. Basically i was adding and forgetting. Well now that i have good test kit and better chlorine tester comming i'll be in better shape. But on a note when i shock ( to proper levels) i should see a reduction in cc though right? or does it take a few days to see results?
It all depends. Sometimes it happens quickly and sometimes it takes a few days. You should see steady improvement though.
Had to wait through sunday to get test kit, I always order a day too late. It was worth the wait i got the fas-dpd test kit ( add on) from tftestkits. Woked like a charm. I will NEVER use my dpd chlorine test again. I checked with new test kit FC 13.5 ( which was supposed to be 9 using my old test kit) CC .25-.5. I tryed comparing to my dpd which i have to dilute to the fullest and it read a max of 6 FC and of course it showed something like 10 CC, which is what i was worried about the first time. So all is good i hope i'm presuming i need to shock cause of the near .5ppm CC. Thanks for the help/info any other suggestions would be appreciated. PS water has never been so clear.