Too much chlorine?

[mcbri02]

I am a new pool owner (or renter to be specific), I went on vacation for a week and came back to a very green pool.

I watched a video online that said to "triple shock" your pool if it is a dark green; I did so and it improved but it was still green, so I triple shocked again and now the pool is blue but very cloudy and reads having no chlorine (the test water is clear!). So then I read about chlorine demand and it suggested to do 2lbs of shock per 10,000 gallons so I did and 24hrs later there is STILL no chlorine reading and the water is blue but very cloudy.

Is it possible to have too much chlorine? or do I truly have that high of "chlorine demand" even though I've super shocked my pool 5 days in a row?

(for further context for each of these 5 days I have done each of the following: run my filter for 24hrs after each shock as well as brushed the walls, cleaned the filter, and added some clarifier in the morning while the chlorine shock was done at night. The first 2 days my pH was high so I added acid, but for the past 3 days it has read in range)

I have tried so many google searches and nothing seems to solve my issue and I just have a hard time believing that the answer is to continue adding chlorine at such high levels when most articles or videos suggest 24hrs is the time of resolution.

Thanks in advance

 

[generessler]

Welcome Texan! The experts (of which I'm not one) are going to tell you that all the chlorine has been consumed by algae and that you've only begun to fight. But you will win! Stay tuned.

 

[bertschb]

The experts will jump in here soon with better advice than I can give you. But I can tell you they will recommend doing a SLAM. I would recommend reading up on that to give you a head start on what you'll need to do to get rid of your algae.

You'll need a proper test kit to treat your pool so read this article as well.

Good luck!

 

[Mdragger88]

Welcome to tfp
“Super shock” & all those open ended terms & arbitrary amounts like 2lbs per 10000 gallons may or may not be enough to actually reach shock/slam level in your pool depending upon your current cya level.
Here we follow this chart

FC/CYA Levels
In ascending order, For every cya/stabilizer level there is a corresponding slam/shock fc level required.
If you are using a stabilized “shock” product or stabilized chlorine tablets you are continuously increasing the level of cya in your water thus increasing the required amount of free chlorine needed to shock the pool.
To eradicate algae you need to do the SLAM Process with liquid chlorine.
Shock Level And Maintain—>
reach shock level for your cya & maintain that level until u pass ALL 3 end of slam criteria. It is impractical to slam at cya levels above 80.
To find out your actual cya level & perform the Slam you need a reliable, accurate test kit-
Taylor k2006c
(available on Amazon etc.)
or
Tf100/pro (available on www.tftestkits.net)
These are the only kits that have all the tests u need to complete the Slam process.
Until your kit arrives, you can add 5ppm worth of liquid chlorine to the pool each day slowly in front of a running return to keep it from getting worse.
Use PoolMath to calculate amounts.

Here’s all the info u need in 1 place
Pool Care Basics

 

[PoolStored]

I am a new pool owner (or renter to be specific), I went on vacation for a week and came back to a very green pool.

I watched a video online that said to "triple shock" your pool if it is a dark green; I did so and it improved but it was still green, so I triple shocked again and now the pool is blue but very cloudy and reads having no chlorine (the test water is clear!). So then I read about chlorine demand and it suggested to do 2lbs of shock per 10,000 gallons so I did and 24hrs later there is STILL no chlorine reading and the water is blue but very cloudy.

Is it possible to have too much chlorine? or do I truly have that high of "chlorine demand" even though I've super shocked my pool 5 days in a row?

(for further context for each of these 5 days I have done each of the following: run my filter for 24hrs after each shock as well as brushed the walls, cleaned the filter, and added some clarifier in the morning while the chlorine shock was done at night. The first 2 days my pH was high so I added acid, but for the past 3 days it has read in range)

I have tried so many google searches and nothing seems to solve my issue and I just have a hard time believing that the answer is to continue adding chlorine at such high levels when most articles or videos suggest 24hrs is the time of resolution.

Thanks in advance

PHEW! You have a lot going on. Welcome to TFP!!!

First, we do nothing to pools without a good test kit. This read will help you decide what is right for you -->Test Kits Compared

Why? We only give advice based on these kits.
Really? Why? We have found pool store and other test kits do not give accurate and consistent results.
So what? Maybe it will be close enough...Well, maybe, and maybe not. We could actually give you advice, based on inaccurate testing, that will make your situation worse, or tell you to do something you don't actually need to do.

Second, YES, extended period of high Free Chlorine (FC) will kill all the algae you have. However, you need to know how much CYA (Cyanuric Acid) you have in your pool to know how much FC you need to maintain to kill the ALGAE! Here is that level ---> FC/CYA Levels (click on SLAM). To know how much FC you need, you need to know your CYA level, hence the recommendation for a proper test kit.

For now, I would 1) order your test kit NOW!, 2) add 3/4 of a gallon of liquid chlorine DAILY until you get your test kit, 3) add nothing else.

We got you! For inspiration --> How Clear is TFP Clear?

 

[mcbri02]

thank you all for your responses--it truly has been a rude awakening to start my first pool owning experience so poorly, but now i feel like i have a structured approach to resolve this algae mess!

(I also feel like the the liquid chlorine is a much easier approach then those pound shock packs and i think its a little cheaper too)