Issues Maintaining Cholorine

[laurap1]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and I am really glad I found it. I have had issues all summer maintaining chlorine levels. I took samples to two different pool places. The first one told me to add 8 lbs of dry super chlorine. I did, the levels came to about 10 and over 3 days lowered until nothing again. I went to the second place, they told me to add muratic acid until my alkalinity and ph levels came down, then super shock adding 8 gallons of liquid chlorine shock treatment, then to wait until levels come down to about 3 and add a black algaecide, then in a couple days add a stabalizer using a sock. I did the acid, then I did the 8 gallons of shock which of course put the levels through the roof, then two days ago I added the algaecide, I am waiting to now add the stabalizer because my alkalinity and ph are back up and the chlorine has went back down to 0 again. I have dumped hundreds of dollars in chemicals so far this summer just trying to get everything level, I have had two pretty substantial algae blooms and have vacummed to waste so much that my water bill is through the roof, am I even close to being on the right track? Any advice would greatly help.

[rbdeli]

My guess is that you simply need to super shock the pool with higher levels of chlorine then you currently have tried.

We would need to see your specific chemical readings, PH, TA, FC, TC, CYA, etc., before knowing for sure.

I had a somewhat similar problem and solved it with the help of Richard (Chem Geek). Lots of things I didn't know before talking to Richard, such as the value in using regular, non-scented liquid bleach rather than the other stuff which puts unwanted stabilizer or calcium in your pool. Also, the importance of a good test kit which Richard links in my thread with him.

See here: Free Chlorine Problem

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and I am really glad I found it. I have had issues all summer maintaining chlorine levels. I took samples to two different pool places. The first one told me to add 8 lbs of dry super chlorine. I did, the levels came to about 10 and over 3 days lowered until nothing again. I went to the second place, they told me to add muratic acid until my alkalinity and ph levels came down, then super shock adding 8 gallons of liquid chlorine shock treatment, then to wait until levels come down to about 3 and add a black algaecide, then in a couple days add a stabalizer using a sock. I did the acid, then I did the 8 gallons of shock which of course put the levels through the roof, then two days ago I added the algaecide, I am waiting to now add the stabalizer because my alkalinity and ph are back up and the chlorine has went back down to 0 again. I have dumped hundreds of dollars in chemicals so far this summer just trying to get everything level, I have had two pretty substantial algae blooms and have vacummed to waste so much that my water bill is through the roof, am I even close to being on the right track? Any advice would greatly help.

[chem geek]

[EDIT] I wrote this while rbdeli posted. Sorry for some duplicate info. [END-EDIT]

You don't get rid of an algae bloom by just dumping some chlorine in and then stopping. It takes a sustained high chlorine level over a period of days to a week. See this post for more info on getting rid of algae in a pool and see this thread for a visual example of how a pool gets cleared of algae using chlorine alone.

If the pool store was selling you pool shock that was Dichlor (or powdered Trichlor) or if you were using Trichlor pucks/tabs as your main source of chlorine, then your Cyanuric Acid (CYA, aka stabilizer or conditioner) level may be too high and this makes the chlorine proportionately less effective.

You should seriously consider getting yourself a good test kit so you can take charge of your pool and not be at the mercy of pool store advice which sometimes is not good and only results in a transfer of wealth from you to them. Get yourself either the Taylor K-2006 test kit at a good online price here or the TF100 test kit from tftestkits.com here with the latter kit having 36% more volume of reagents so is comparably priced "per test".

Even after you get rid of your algae bloom, to keep algae away you have to maintain a sufficient Free Chlorine (FC) level relative to the CYA level. Either that, or you'll need to use a weekly PolyQuat 60 algaecide or a phosphate remove, both of which are not cheap and are not necessary if you maintain chlorine levels. However, maintaining chlorine levels means adding chlorine every day or two unless you get a pool cover to keep sunlight off the pool. Another alternative is to get a saltwater chlorine generator (SWG).

Richard

[laurap1]

Thank you for the advice, I will get accurate readings asap, I have a little electronic digital test kit that gives you chlorine, alkalinity, and ph balances. And I have a regular hayward chlorinator hooked up, I put silk chlorine tabs in it and it is set on the highest setting, and still never get a chlorine reading unless I shock the pool or add liquid chlorine. What is an SWG? Is it different from a chlorinator? And our the test kits you recommended better then the acutest digital test kit? Thanks again

[laurap1]

ok , so I looked up SWG, any you would reccomend? And in the end is it cheaper then constantly shocking and chlorinating the pool? I have an inground pool 16X32 and 4 1/2 foot deep all over. With a SWG do you never add chlorine or shock?

[jkusmier]

ok , so I looked up SWG, any you would reccomend? And in the end is it cheaper then constantly shocking and chlorinating the pool? I have an inground pool 16X32 and 4 1/2 foot deep all over. With a SWG do you never add chlorine or shock?

Front-end costs vary by manufacturer, and also depend on whether you add an electronic control panel (not necessary, but they're nice - you can run the pool, lights, etc. automatically). Anywhere from $600-900 for SWG alone, plus plumbing and electrical work (which should be fairly low, perhaps a few hundred dollars).

You should rarely have to shock, although it's something to consider after heavy, sustained bather load, a dead mouse in the skimmer, kid vomiting in the pool, etc. Maybe 1-3 times/season, maybe not at all. If you do need to shock, add chems instead of boosting output on your SWG. The more your SWG runs, the shorter its lifespan.

I opened my new pool (finished late last August) in early April (too cold to swim regularly until early June!) but I've only added CYA (stabilizer, which doesn't leave the pool unless you lose appreciable amounts of water due to vacuuming to waste, backwashing your filter or draining excess after heavy rains), pH Minus (1.5-2lbs/week for my 16,500G pool) and just tonight some baking soda (to raise my TA). Also shocked a couple times, using a couple gallons of generic unscented 6% bleach each time. Oh, and use clarifier once/week to help filter out the really small stuff my sand filter wouldn't otherwise catch.

Total chem costs (not including algaecide upon opening) under $100 (including $30 for two bottles of clarifier - just bought the second bottle). If you buy a good quality SWG (I have a Pentair IntelliChlor, others recommend Goldline from Hayward, there are alot of other choices), test your water regularly and adjust your SWG's output appropriately to maintain FC from 3-5ppm, it should last 5-7 years, perhaps more (w/ occasional but simple maintenance, like cleaning the cells per your owner's manual).

My water chemistry has been very stable, w/ occasional interventions (as mentioned above). Definitely recommend a good test kit - quite inexpensive, much more accurate than pool store tests and a short learning curve so you'll find yourself testing and adjusting your pool chemistry in less than 15-20 minutes/week). Try the Taylor K-2006, easy to find links in this forum.

This forum has tons of information to help you along should you decide on a SWG - which I would definitely recommend. Use the search option and explore this forum for more information.