pete in atlanta said:
So now I have a milky blue pool. PROGRESS!!!!
So now what? How long do I keep it up at shock levels?
According to the pool calulator, my FC goal should be 3-7ppm.
Do I just let the shock level thottle down until its about 5ppm and then keep holding it there?
You are done shocking when:
Your FC holds overnight or you lose 1ppm or less;
Your CC is .5 or less
Your water is clear (although, if an FAS-DPD test confirms the first two - clarity isn't as important)
So I suggest continuing the shocking process this evening, and then tonight before bed, do an overnight test.
Overnight FC Loss Test
pete in atlanta said:
How many times a day do I add bleach?
I travel some and there will be days that I'm not home. What do I do then?
When you are done shocking, you allow the FC to drift down to your normal 3-7 range. This could take 1 day or a few days, still test each evening.
The 3 is your "min" - the 7 is the high end of your "target" range. Most pools lose an average of approx 2ppm per day.
So you'll have to get to know your pool's demand - every pool is unique in some respects that could make that number vary.
So each evening you'll test the FC, and add enough to reach your target. Try 7 as the target, enter that in the "target" column of the calculator. You enter your test result in the "now". It tells you how much bleach. This amount should keep you above the "min" for the next 24 hours till you test again. Now say the next night, you test and you are at 5, then you only lost 2, so try not adding any, and see if the next night when you test if you are still above 3. If you are, then you know you lose about 2ppm per day, and you can target 5 instead of 7. Does this make sense?
You should only have to add bleach each evening, once the sun is off the pool.
For gatherings where you have a larger swimmer load, simply bump up the target by 2-3 ppm. Do this about an hour or so before the party. This should keep you above your "min".
For vacations - there are a couple of ways to handle it. If you have a solar cover, this cuts down greatly on chlorine loss and evaporation. So you can raise up your target by 2ppm for every day you'll be gone - up to shock level, and cover.
I've gone 9 days without any problems, by shocking and covering, but YMMV. Others have reported problems leaving their cover on that long.
If you don't cover, you can use a floater or inline chlorinator with chlorine tablets. Ideally, you might have someone that can add a little bleach for you and check on things to make sure your pump is operating properly, etc.
Hope that helps.
