Strips say FC very low and almost no CYA

Jump to latest Follow Reply
C

cfroehl1

0
Jun 25, 2010
30
Upstate New York
Ok, my kit is ordered, and I thought it was going to arrive today, but it's not coming til tomorrow now. I have an algae issue; not gross disgusting yet, but I'm afraid that's where I headed. My stips are saying
FC .5
pH 7.2
TA 80
CYA 0

Do I hold off another day to do anything so I can use the pool calc or do I just use those numbers and ge to work? I don't want to make my situation worse...
 
I would add a big jug of clorox and brush and circulate. The strips are not accurate, but they are somewhat good. CYA = 0 on a strip may mean that CYA = 20 on a better test.

In any case, FC = 0.5 is very low. You may need FC = 10 to shock at CYA = 0 or FC = 12 to shock at CYA = 20. But adding a jug and a half of bleach to get to 3 may slow the algae growth down somewhat.

Probably best to wait for someone to confirm that, we don't want to damage the liner by too high chlorine. In the meanwhile, you can shopa around for chlorine and stock up. Check prices at Walmart, Sams Club and similar, and the local grocery, as well as liquid chlorine from the pool store and the prices for dichlor and stabelizer/conditioner in those same places.
 
I'd dang sure take the FC to 10 or 12 and run that pump continuously, It ain't gonna do anything but get worse if you wait. You don't need a test kit to tell you that. Watch your pressure and backwash if needed. Good luck.
 
woodyp said:
I'd dang sure take the FC to 10 or 12 and run that pump continuously, It ain't gonna do anything but get worse if you wait. You don't need a test kit to tell you that. Watch your pressure and backwash if needed. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Honestly...to avoid wasting bleach...who knows what's going on with the pool :shock: ...without a good test kit, it would be difficult to maintain an FC of 10-12 with no CYA...between the algae and lack of CYA, the OP will just burn through chlorine and may not make any progress. The reason you need the kit is that once you are at shock level...you have to hold it there until you are done shocking.
 
dmanb2b said:
woodyp said:
I'd dang sure take the FC to 10 or 12 and run that pump continuously, It ain't gonna do anything but get worse if you wait. You don't need a test kit to tell you that. Watch your pressure and backwash if needed. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Honestly...to avoid wasting bleach...who knows what's going on with the pool :shock: ...without a good test kit, it would be difficult to maintain an FC of 10-12 with no CYA...between the algae and lack of CYA, the OP will just burn through chlorine and may not make any progress. The reason you need the kit is that once you are at shock level...you have to hold it there until you are done shocking.
Click to expand...

Well, I always defer to those who are moderators and/or have thousands of posts.... so I retract my advice.
 
Just because we're mods...doesn't mean we're always right :goodjob: Had the OP not stated anything about getting a kit tomorrow, not a bad idea to just keep adding bleach, by just my opinion...the OP will have greater control over the issue with the kit rather than maybe not adding enough to help the issue or potentially adding to much :shock:

My suggestion...read pool shool, especially Defeating Algae

and How to Shock Your Pool
 
Thanks, everyone. I'm going to hold off on bleach til tomorrow--hoping the kit gets here early so I can get to store and add what I need, but I am going to keep the filter on all night. I figure that can't hurt... Have read both articles, but am going back for another read right now. I'll probably reread AGAIN tomorrow once I have my numbers so I can be super sure I know what I'm doing. Ugh, can't WAIT to have this straightened out!!! :hammer:
 
Shoot--Now I have another question: if when I get my kit, I find my CYA really is 0, can I add stabilizer and shock it at the same time? Or do I need to up the CYA first? Or do I shock for 0 CYA??? I am sorry to ask questions that are probably answered somewhere (and for feeling so ignorant).
 
If you are adding a shock product it will most likely contain CYA read the label for chlorinated isocyanurates. Remember Pool School, Shocking is a process not a product. How do you normally chlorinate your pool. If its with tablets then you may already have enough CYA, wait for the test kit or use Bleach.

Recently I tested 3 pools for CYA which tested at 140-190ppm and the test strips from 3 different well known makes showed 20-30 and 0 ppm. Test strips for CYA are a total waste of time IMO.

Running the pump is a good idea, stationary water goes green quicker.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Ok, so here are the real numbers as per the kit.
FC 0
CC .5
TC .5
pH 7.5
T/A 130
CH 290
CYA 0 (tested 2x just to be sure I did it right)
Temp 74

When I use the pool calc it says 100 oz stabilizer and 4 gal bleach. So I'll add the stabilizer tonight and wait til tomorrow night for bleach? Is there any particular way to add the stabilizer? Going to pool school right now to look, but if someone sees this, I'd love the help... Thanks!
 
i poured mine straight in. some say u can put it in some pantyhoes and set iy in the skimmer. if you do it that way u cant backwash for like a week b/c some might be in the filter. i would go ahead and put the bleach in now as well there no reason not to..... its ok to put both in at the same time!!
 
I was under the impression that if you put the CYA directly into the skimmer then you had to wait a week to backwash or risk losing some of the CYA. If, however, you use the pantyhose trick it doesn't matter because the CYA will be dissolved in the skimmer and passed through the filter. Not sure on this as I am a newbie as well so wait for a senior person to clarify this. I can tell you this though, the CYA I put in a skimmer sock earlier today dissolved surprisingly fast. I will be using this method from now on even though it might mean I have to wait in between backwash cycles.
 
Don't retest for the CYA level for 5-7 days. It can take that long to fully dissolve and register on the tests. You'll just waste reagent if you test sooner. Assume that your targeted amount is your new level, and use the corresponding FC levels from the chart, and start shocking.
 
frustratedpoolmom said:
Don't retest for the CYA level for 5-7 days. It can take that long to fully dissolve and register on the tests. You'll just waste reagent if you test sooner. Assume that your targeted amount is your new level, and use the corresponding FC levels from the chart, and start shocking.
Click to expand...

Good- this is what I did. (First smart thing I've done with this pool. Wait no, second. Finding this site was first.) Level dropped from 15 first night to 11ppm in the AM, returned back to 15. We are at the start of a heat wave now and I was down to 3.5 this evening when I checked. Do I go back up to 10 and see if I can get it to hold for the night? That's what I'm thinking, so I hope I am right....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply