Which chlorine test is correct?? Powder from kit not working?

[blondestar1616]

Hello working on opening the pool here in Ohio. My problem is, when i do the dropper test in the cylinder with the pH on the other side, it shows my chlorine more yellow than the "10" on the tester, but when I do the chlorine dropper test in the cylinder marked "chlorine only" and use the powder as instructed, i keep coming up with the chlorine only at 4 or so and I am trying to SLAM. The powder is a couple of years old and is somewhat hardened, is it possible it is no longer good? Which one do I believe? Not sure if I should add more chlorine or not.

Also, I added CYA last week, levels look good. My pH was high (as usual) so i added acid and it came to a good range, so I started with the chlorine. Then two days later, the acid was super high again, is this because of adding all of the chemicals, did one of them make the pH high? We also got rain in that period, so not sure if that did it?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You can't perform a SLAM procedure based on results from an OTO test block. That's one step over using Guess Strips, but not much.

I've used DPD powder that's gotten kinda clumpy and it works. Can you dump it all into a bowl and work it down to get rid of clumps with a spoon or bottom of a glass? I'd use my mortar and pestle.

Just reorder some DPD powder from tftestkits.net and continue on with fresh powder if you're concerned. Otherwise I'd trust the DPD-FAS test foremost.

Maddie

 

[JamesW]

Try testing your tap water to see what results you get.

 

[blondestar1616]

For those wondering it wasn't the powder lol I was using the wrong tube foe the chlorine only cylinder. So now my chlorine is at 18 instead of my target 12 is this why it's cloudy ? It's now aqua and not green but so cloudy you can't see the bottom

 

[triptyx]

No, too much chlorine won't make the water cloudy (assuming you're using bleach or liquid chlorine). Dead algae or other debris will cloud the water, however.

Right now, green/aqua and cloudy means the SLAM is working. Keep it up!

 

[blondestar1616]

Thanks. Can't believe I was using the wrong thing the whole time lol. I prolly used moreally chlorine than necessary but at least it's working lol. So at this point when do I add more chlorine ? Just keep it st slam level ?

 

[blondestar1616]

Thanks. It says to vacuum every day when slamming but I literally can't see anything past the top surface. Do I still need to vacuum or can I wait til I can see? I know there are leaves because we left it uncovered this winter

 

[Richard320]

Thanks. It says to vacuum every day when slamming but I literally can't see anything past the top surface. Do I still need to vacuum or can I wait til I can see? I know there are leaves because we left it uncovered this winter

Vacuum blind if you have to. Any debris in the pool is robbing chlorine you want to kill algae. If you have piles of compost on the floor, a leaf rake is the tool to use, so you don't clog up the hose or plumbing pr pump or filter.

Leaf rake:

 

[Teald024]

Thanks. Can't believe I was using the wrong thing the whole time lol. I prolly used moreally chlorine than necessary but at least it's working lol. So at this point when do I add more chlorine ? Just keep it st slam level ?

The intent during a SLAM is to Shock Level And Maintain. You want to keep your chlorine level at or slightly above the shock level for the respective CYA value. Look up your CYA value in the Chlorine / CYA table (link in my sig) and use the column for the SLAM. For the first few days when chlorine use the fastest / greatest, you want to test & dose as often as practical, at least 4 times a day. Every moment the FC level is below shock level, the algae is winning the war. As the days go by and you see FC use drop, you can lax off on the testing frequency, but still need to keep FC above shock level. Keep an eye on your filter pressure and clean / backwash as necessary.

Can you fill out your signature so that we know your pool details and the equipment you have to work with.

 

[domct203]

Hello working on opening the pool here in Ohio. My problem is, when i do the dropper test in the cylinder with the pH on the other side, it shows my chlorine more yellow than the "10" on the tester, but when I do the chlorine dropper test in the cylinder marked "chlorine only" and use the powder as instructed, i keep coming up with the chlorine only at 4 or so and I am trying to SLAM.

The yellow OTO only goes to 5ppm for chlorine, the 10ppm is for Bromine. If you were getting 5ppm on the OTO and 4ppm on the FAS/DPD, that is as close as the OTO will match.

For those wondering it wasn't the powder lol I was using the wrong tube foe the chlorine only cylinder. So now my chlorine is at 18 instead of my target 12 is this why it's cloudy ? It's now aqua and not green but so cloudy you can't see the bottom

What tubes are you referring to? 10ml is 10ml if you fill to the 10ml line.....

 

[blondestar1616]

Ok. I vacuumed to waste some today buy there was too much debris so haD to keep cleaning the filter basket. Will get a leaf rake. I briefly vacuumed with the filter on and had the same issue I had last summer. When I vacuum it basically sends very nasty water right back into the pool via the return. It is a sand filter and we backwash and rinse often but it sends dirty water right back in. The sand is a couple years old. Do you think we need new sand ? We have often had algae problems. LaSt year I tried just cleaking the sand with a hose and I got a lot of nasty out but not nearly all of it and it didn't seem to make a difference

 

[Richard320]

Ok. I vacuumed to waste some today buy there was too much debris so haD to keep cleaning the filter basket. Will get a leaf rake. I briefly vacuumed with the filter on and had the same issue I had last summer. When I vacuum it basically sends very nasty water right back into the pool via the return. It is a sand filter and we backwash and rinse often but it sends dirty water right back in. The sand is a couple years old. Do you think we need new sand ? We have often had algae problems. LaSt year I tried just cleaking the sand with a hose and I got a lot of nasty out but not nearly all of it and it didn't seem to make a difference

More likely the sand level is too low. You lose a little bit every time you backwash.

 

[domct203]

Ok. I vacuumed to waste some today buy there was too much debris so haD to keep cleaning the filter basket. Will get a leaf rake. I briefly vacuumed with the filter on and had the same issue I had last summer. When I vacuum it basically sends very nasty water right back into the pool via the return. It is a sand filter and we backwash and rinse often but it sends dirty water right back in. The sand is a couple years old. Do you think we need new sand ? We have often had algae problems. LaSt year I tried just cleaking the sand with a hose and I got a lot of nasty out but not nearly all of it and it didn't seem to make a difference

If dirty water is returning to the pool, there is something not correct with the filter. It could be low sand as Richard mentions. When you opened up the sandfilter to do a deep clean, how high was the sand level? It should appear to be about 2/3 full.

There could also be a damaged or unseated seal (spider gasket) in the multi port valve. Always be sure to turn off the pump when turning the valve handle, and always rotate in one direction (I go clockwise). Have you noticed Filter sand getting in the pool?

Are you 100% certain you vacuumed on the 'Filter' setting, and not on the 'recirculate' setting?

 

[blondestar1616]

I dint have a recirculate setting I don't believe. I definitely vacuumed it with the setting on "filter" last year when I tried to clean the sand with the hose it was at least 2/3 full of sand but I have not checked this year. Is there a better way to clean the sand ? I just used a hose and got the gross out with my hand but there was lots and lots of nasty stuff and I felt like I hardly put a dent in how dirty it was