Lilbit13mp

I also have another test kit that involves me adding drops until the water changes color but it only reads chlorine ... it doesn't seperate the two... it turns bright yellow and 5 is as high as it goes...

Aquachem test strips. And the Total Chlorine level is 3 with the Free Chlorine level is 10. How is that even possible? I read that the Total Chlorine level is the combination of the free chlorine and the chlorine you add... I would understand a bleach out if my total was higher than my free but wouldn't it bleach out the total chlorine reading too if it was that high? Sorry about the typo's, not used to my smarty pants phone yet.

New pool owner... small 5,000 gallon above ground pool. Today's test redings... Hardness- 0 Total Chloride- 3 Free Chlorine- 10 (as high as my test reads) Bromime- 20 ( also as high as my test reads) Ph- 7.2 Total Alkalinity- 40 CYA/Stabilizer- 50 Help! I didn't think it was possible for my free chlorine to be higher than my total chlorine. . It's been reading like this for over a week now! Yesterday, I replaced my filter and backwashed some of the water out and refilled it with fresh water to hopefully bring down the levels some but obviously it didn't work. The pool stays uncovered and I've read that the sunlight will eventually break it down but no luck there. I use a chlorinator floater set for the gallons of water in the pool and I haven't shocked in over two weeks. What am I doing wrong here? How can I fix it? And is my pool safe to swim in?