No Free Chlorine

[primo]

I am new to this forum. I opened my 6 year old hydrazzo finish, DE filter, 24,000 gallon pool on may 26, 2010 Removed solid cover & water was little cloudy and slight green with some leaves on bottom (alot of trees around property. I cleaned pool and put in the usual pool magnet 2 bottles...waited two days then had water tested by my pool builder..readings were CYA 93, Total chlorine 1.3, free chlorine 0, ph 8, tot alk 192, adj tot alk 164, tot hardness 215. They had me add 5.75 lbs of Lo n slo, wait 30 minutes then add 3 bags of Burn-out extreme at night and initial dose of 32oz of algaecide all-60. Had water tested on June 7, 2010 by pool builder...readings were CYA 98, tot chlorine 1.5, free chlorine 0, ph 7.8 tot alk 127, adj tot alk 98 tot hardness 230. They had me add 10.5 lbs of balance pak 100...wait 30 minutes then add 4 bags of burn-out extreme at night and the weekly dose of 10-12 oz of the all-60 algaecide. Had the water tested today, June 10, 2010 and the readings were: CYA 86, tot chlorine 3.6, FREE CHLORINE 0, ph 7.4, tot alk 94,adj tot alk 68, tot hardness 247. Pool company told me to add 8 lbs of Balance Pak 100 and have the water tested again on Sunday, June 13th and to NOT SHOCK until tested. Pool Company said that everybody is having problems with free chlorine this season probably due to the extreme weather changes we have been getting the past month (cold than very hot, then cold then very hot). Any suggestions? Is it safe for kids to swim in the meantime?? Thanks for your help! P.S. I have been running the filter 24 hours a day 7 days a week since pool was opened on May 26th.

[polyvue]

I am new to this forum. I opened my 6 year old hydrazzo finish, DE filter, 24,000 gallon pool on may 26, 2010 Removed solid cover & water was little cloudy and slight green with some leaves on bottom (alot of trees around property. I cleaned pool and put in the usual pool magnet 2 bottles...waited two days then had water tested by my pool builder..readings were CYA 93, Total chlorine 1.3, free chlorine 0, ph 8, tot alk 192, adj tot alk 164, tot hardness 215. They had me add 5.75 lbs of Lo n slo, wait 30 minutes then add 3 bags of Burn-out extreme at night and initial dose of 32oz of algaecide all-60. Had water tested on June 7, 2010 by pool builder...readings were CYA 98, tot chlorine 1.5, free chlorine 0, ph 7.8 tot alk 127, adj tot alk 98 tot hardness 230. They had me add 10.5 lbs of balance pak 100...wait 30 minutes then add 4 bags of burn-out extreme at night and the weekly dose of 10-12 oz of the all-60 algaecide. Had the water tested today, June 10, 2010 and the readings were: CYA 86, tot chlorine 3.6, FREE CHLORINE 0, ph 7.4, tot alk 94,adj tot alk 68, tot hardness 247. Pool company told me to add 8 lbs of Balance Pak 100 and have the water tested again on Sunday, June 13th and to NOT SHOCK until tested. Pool Company said that everybody is having problems with free chlorine this season probably due to the extreme weather changes we have been getting the past month (cold than very hot, then cold then very hot). Any suggestions? Is it safe for kids to swim in the meantime?? Thanks for your help! P.S. I have been running the filter 24 hours a day 7 days a week since pool was opened on May 26th.

That's some history. You've added lots of product into the pool and still ended up with zero chlorine? If your CYA is significantly over 80 PPM it's usually advisable to drain some of the pool water. One reason for this is that it takes a LOT of chlorine just to maintain sanitation/oxidation when the CYA (aka cyanuric acid, stabilizer, conditioner) is that high. See Best Guess CYA chart

I don't know what "pool magnet" is but I suspect it might contain copper. This can be very problematic if/when your pH level varies and you've added chlorine to shock (it can fall out of solution and stain your pool surfaces). May I recommend that you buy and use a good test kit (e.g. Taylor K-2006 or equivalent) and then retire your pool company? Maybe their customers are having problems with maintaining Free Chlorine levels but I assure you that many thousands of other pool owners have no such issues -- in any sort of weather.

[PaulR]

Bioguard Pool Magnet is a sequestrant (google to the rescue!); worthwhile if you have metals in the water, a waste of money otherwise.

Why are they saying to add more Balance Pak 100? That's an alkalinity increaser, has nothing to do with FC. (Incidentally, BP100 is chemically equal to baking soda.)

Clearly you DO need to shock, because you have no FC but you do have elevated CC. Burnout is cal-hypo; if we can trust the pool-store test results, you have some headroom on your hardness so it's okay to keep using that for a while, but ultimately you'd need to switch to liquid chlorine (aka bleach).

--paulr

[primo]

Bioguard Pool Magnet is a sequestrant (google to the rescue!); worthwhile if you have metals in the water, a waste of money otherwise.

Why are they saying to add more Balance Pak 100? That's an alkalinity increaser, has nothing to do with FC. (Incidentally, BP100 is chemically equal to baking soda.)

Clearly you DO need to shock, because you have no FC but you do have elevated CC. Burnout is cal-hypo; if we can trust the pool-store test results, you have some headroom on your hardness so it's okay to keep using that for a while, but ultimately you'd need to switch to liquid chlorine (aka bleach).

--paulr

Thanks Paul...I am adding Balance Pak 100 because total akalinity is low. In fact I just had water tested again this morning and need to add 10 lbs more of Balance Pak 100 ( added 8 lbs Balance Pak 100 yesterday) as the tot akalinity today is 123, Adj. Tot Alk is 78, CYA is 151, Tot Cholorine is 1.4, FREE Chlorine is still 0, PH is 7.3

I was told to add 4 lbs of BioGuard's Super Soluble (FAST Dissolving Di-Chloro Granules ( 97% active ingredients!)Was told that this is better and will take care of the free chlorine.

I have been using the Bioguard Pool Magnet (upon pool opening)for the past six years. Was reccommended because I have large boulder waterfall as part of the pool (this helps take out the metals in the water and has been very effective).

[polyvue]

Bioguard Pool Magnet is a sequestrant (google to the rescue!); worthwhile if you have metals in the water, a waste of money otherwise.

Why are they saying to add more Balance Pak 100? That's an alkalinity increaser, has nothing to do with FC. (Incidentally, BP100 is chemically equal to baking soda.)

Clearly you DO need to shock, because you have no FC but you do have elevated CC. Burnout is cal-hypo; if we can trust the pool-store test results, you have some headroom on your hardness so it's okay to keep using that for a while, but ultimately you'd need to switch to liquid chlorine (aka bleach).

--paulr

Thanks Paul...I am adding Balance Pak 100 because total akalinity is low. In fact I just had water tested again this morning and need to add 10 lbs more of Balance Pak 100 ( added 8 lbs Balance Pak 100 yesterday) as the tot akalinity today is 123, Adj. Tot Alk is 78, CYA is 151, Tot Cholorine is 1.4, FREE Chlorine is still 0, PH is 7.3

I was told to add 4 lbs of BioGuard's Super Soluble (FAST Dissolving Di-Chloro Granules ( 97% active ingredients!)Was told that this is better and will take care of the free chlorine.

I have been using the Bioguard Pool Magnet (upon pool opening)for the past six years. Was reccommended because I have large boulder waterfall as part of the pool (this helps take out the metals in the water and has been very effective).

If your CYA is significantly over 80 PPM it's usually advisable to drain some of the pool water.

Dichlor will add to your already over-abundant CYA and make it nearly impossible to effectively shock the water. The Total Alkalinity (TA) is high enough and would not recommend additional dosing with Balance Pak (sodium bicarbonate).

Clearly you DO need to shock, because you have no FC but you do have elevated CC.

I'm in total agreement with Paul.

[primo]

Bioguard Pool Magnet is a sequestrant (google to the rescue!); worthwhile if you have metals in the water, a waste of money otherwise.

Why are they saying to add more Balance Pak 100? That's an alkalinity increaser, has nothing to do with FC. (Incidentally, BP100 is chemically equal to baking soda.)

Clearly you DO need to shock, because you have no FC but you do have elevated CC. Burnout is cal-hypo; if we can trust the pool-store test results, you have some headroom on your hardness so it's okay to keep using that for a while, but ultimately you'd need to switch to liquid chlorine (aka bleach).

--paulr

Thanks Paul...I am adding Balance Pak 100 because total akalinity is low. In fact I just had water tested again this morning and need to add 10 lbs more of Balance Pak 100 ( added 8 lbs Balance Pak 100 yesterday) as the tot akalinity today is 123, Adj. Tot Alk is 78, CYA is 151, Tot Cholorine is 1.4, FREE Chlorine is still 0, PH is 7.3

I was told to add 4 lbs of BioGuard's Super Soluble (FAST Dissolving Di-Chloro Granules ( 97% active ingredients!)Was told that this is better and will take care of the free chlorine.

I have been using the Bioguard Pool Magnet (upon pool opening)for the past six years. Was reccommended because I have large boulder waterfall as part of the pool (this helps take out the metals in the water and has been very effective).

If your CYA is significantly over 80 PPM it's usually advisable to drain some of the pool water.

Dichlor will add to your already over-abundant CYA and make it nearly impossible to effectively shock the water. The Total Alkalinity (TA) is high enough and would not recommend additional dosing with Balance Pak (sodium bicarbonate).

Clearly you DO need to shock, because you have no FC but you do have elevated CC.

I'm in total agreement with Paul.

[primo]

Bioguard Pool Magnet is a sequestrant (google to the rescue!); worthwhile if you have metals in the water, a waste of money otherwise.

Why are they saying to add more Balance Pak 100? That's an alkalinity increaser, has nothing to do with FC. (Incidentally, BP100 is chemically equal to baking soda.)

Clearly you DO need to shock, because you have no FC but you do have elevated CC. Burnout is cal-hypo; if we can trust the pool-store test results, you have some headroom on your hardness so it's okay to keep using that for a while, but ultimately you'd need to switch to liquid chlorine (aka bleach).

--paulr

Thanks Paul...I am adding Balance Pak 100 because total akalinity is low. In fact I just had water tested again this morning and need to add 10 lbs more of Balance Pak 100 ( added 8 lbs Balance Pak 100 yesterday) as the tot akalinity today is 123, Adj. Tot Alk is 78, CYA is 151, Tot Cholorine is 1.4, FREE Chlorine is still 0, PH is 7.3

I was told to add 4 lbs of BioGuard's Super Soluble (FAST Dissolving Di-Chloro Granules ( 97% active ingredients!)Was told that this is better and will take care of the free chlorine.

I have been using the Bioguard Pool Magnet (upon pool opening)for the past six years. Was reccommended because I have large boulder waterfall as part of the pool (this helps take out the metals in the water and has been very effective).

If your CYA is significantly over 80 PPM it's usually advisable to drain some of the pool water.

Dichlor will add to your already over-abundant CYA and make it nearly impossible to effectively shock the water. The Total Alkalinity (TA) is high enough and would not recommend additional dosing with Balance Pak (sodium bicarbonate).

Clearly you DO need to shock, because you have no FC but you do have elevated CC.

I'm in total agreement with Paul.

[primo]

Thanks polyvue but I already added 10 lbs of Balance Pak 100. I also added 4 lbs of the super soluble. What do you suggest now? Thanks again.

[PaulR]

Thanks for the info about why you use the Pool Magnet, it makes sense.

Now you have to decide whether to follow our advice, or the pool store's. We and they are telling you opposite things, you can't do what they say and then ask us how to fix it and then go do what they say again. It only causes grief and frustration all around. I'll proceed assuming you still want our advice.

Assuming you do not have a SWG, you want your CYA level in the 30-50 range. You are reporting CYA anywhere from 86 to 191. So, the optimal first step is to drain half the water out of the pool and replace it with fresh, before doing anything else. The CYA might still be too high afterward, and require another round of drain/refill, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

In some areas, water restrictions make it infeasible to do a big drain/refill. If that's the case in your area, let us know.

If you are going to do a big drain and refill, it is pointless to add any chems before that process is complete, it is literally throwing money down the drain.

In any case, STOP USING DICHLOR (the "Super Soluble"). It is making your CYA go up even further into the stratosphere. Use ONLY liquid chlorine, or regular unscented bleach (same stuff, sodium hypochlorite, just a different % in the ingredients).

--paulr

[primo]

Thanks for the info about why you use the Pool Magnet, it makes sense.

Now you have to decide whether to follow our advice, or the pool store's. We and they are telling you opposite things, you can't do what they say and then ask us how to fix it and then go do what they say again. It only causes grief and frustration all around. I'll proceed assuming you still want our advice.

Assuming you do not have a SWG, you want your CYA level in the 30-50 range. You are reporting CYA anywhere from 86 to 191. So, the optimal first step is to drain half the water out of the pool and replace it with fresh, before doing anything else. The CYA might still be too high afterward, and require another round of drain/refill, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

In some areas, water restrictions make it infeasible to do a big drain/refill. If that's the case in your area, let us know.

If you are going to do a big drain and refill, it is pointless to add any chems before that process is complete, it is literally throwing money down the drain.

In any case, STOP USING DICHLOR (the "Super Soluble"). It is making your CYA go up even further into the stratosphere. Use ONLY liquid chlorine, or regular unscented bleach (same stuff, sodium hypochlorite, just a different % in the ingredients).

--paulr

Thanks again Paul,

I will not use the Dichlor.

I do not have a SWG and I am unable to drain and refill my pool. How much of the unscented bleach should I use in the pool? The pool is approximately 24,000 gallons. Thanks again!

[PaulR]

According to the Pool Calculator, in 24K gallons, you would need one small (96-oz) or half a big (182-oz) jug of 6% bleach to raise FC by 2ppm. You can work out how much you need from there (e.g. to raise FC by 4ppm, use one big jug).

Now, previously we said you needed to shock the pool. The Pool Calculator says your shock level is around FC 20 (assuming CYA 80); it might be higher if your CYA is higher than that, but we can start there. What does the water look like at this point?

--paulr

[primo]

According to the Pool Calculator, in 24K gallons, you would need one small (96-oz) or half a big (182-oz) jug of 6% bleach to raise FC by 2ppm. You can work out how much you need from there (e.g. to raise FC by 4ppm, use one big jug).

Now, previously we said you needed to shock the pool. The Pool Calculator says your shock level is around FC 20 (assuming CYA 80); it might be higher if your CYA is higher than that, but we can start there. What does the water look like at this point?

--paulr

The water looks great! Sparkling blue! We are getting rain today So I will add the bottle of bleach tonight or tomorrow.

[PaulR]

Excellent! Because of the high CYA, you should keep your FC at 5 or higher at all times. That is, if you test right before you add bleach, you should see at least 5ppm. Then you raise it higher (say to 7) so you'll still be above 5 next time you add bleach.

It looks like your water test reports Total Chlorine (TC) and Free Chlorine (FC). There's also Combined Chlorine (CC) and they are related like so: TC = FC + CC. You want your CC to be 0.5ppm or less. If it's higher than that, most likely you have something in the water that the chlorine is killing off, and you need to shock again. But if it's 0.5 or below, you should be fine with keeping FC at 5 or higher.

--paulr

[primo]

Excellent! Because of the high CYA, you should keep your FC at 5 or higher at all times. That is, if you test right before you add bleach, you should see at least 5ppm. Then you raise it higher (say to 7) so you'll still be above 5 next time you add bleach.

It looks like your water test reports Total Chlorine (TC) and Free Chlorine (FC). There's also Combined Chlorine (CC) and they are related like so: TC = FC + CC. You want your CC to be 0.5ppm or less. If it's higher than that, most likely you have something in the water that the chlorine is killing off, and you need to shock again. But if it's 0.5 or below, you should be fine with keeping FC at 5 or higher.

--paulr

Good Morning everyone! Just wanted to follow up on my pool water. I only added the liquid bleach last night (I put in 3 of the 60 ounze bottles of regular clorox bleach). I just tested the water now and the readings are as follows: Temperature is 78, Saturation index -0.1, TDS 1200, CYA 76, Tot Chlorine 2.9, Free Chlorine still 0, PH 7.3, Tot Alkalinity 136, Adj. Total Alk 113, Tot Hardness 236

Free chlorine is still zero The water looks excellent is clear and sparkling blue I have a case of liquid chlorine(4- 1 gallon bottles)that I can put in the pool if you say so. Also, I want to be able to eventually use my Nature 2 cartridge when the chlorine level is ok. I have been using Nature 2 the last several seasons and it is really great! The chlorine levels can be kept lower by using the Nature 2. What do you suggest? Thanks for all your help!

[PaulR]

TC - FC = 2.9 which is more than 0.5, so yes put the liquid chlorine in. When you are trying to get rid of algae or whatever else is causing the high CC, it's best raise the FC a lot, and quickly. Then as it gets used up, keep repleneshing it as long as necessary.

--paulr

[primo]

TC - FC = 2.9 which is more than 0.5, so yes put the liquid chlorine in. When you are trying to get rid of algae or whatever else is causing the high CC, it's best raise the FC a lot, and quickly. Then as it gets used up, keep repleneshing it as long as necessary.

--paulr

Thanks again Paul... Do you reccommend putting in all 4 gallons of the liquid chlorine at once?

[PaulR]

Yes, all at once.

[primo]

Yes, all at once.

Well...I added 4 of the one gallon bottles of the liquid chlorine last night and left filter running all night and had the water tested this morning. Here are the results:

TDS: 1400

CYA: 120

Toal Chlorine: 4.7

FREE CHLORINE: STILL 0

PH: 7

Tot. Alk: 144

Adj. Alk: 108

Tot Hardness: 285

I justed added 2.5 lbs of PH increaser and filter is still running. I have 8 more one gallon bottles of liquid chlorine...SHOULD I ADD ALL 8 GALLONS TONIGHT?

Eventually, I want to be able to put in my Nature 2 cartridge but free chlorine is still zero. Please advise. Thanks!

[Gavin]

Yes, all at once.

Well...I added 4 of the one gallon bottles of the liquid chlorine last night and left filter running all night and had the water tested this morning. Here are the results:

TDS: 1400

CYA: 120

Toal Chlorine: 4.7

FREE CHLORINE: STILL 0

PH: 7

Tot. Alk: 144

Adj. Alk: 108

Tot Hardness: 285

I justed added 2.5 lbs of PH increaser and filter is still running. I have 8 more one gallon bottles of liquid chlorine...SHOULD I ADD ALL 8 GALLONS TONIGHT?

Eventually, I want to be able to put in my Nature 2 cartridge but free chlorine is still zero. Please advise. Thanks!

are you sure FC is 0? what test kit are you using. what is your CC? if you have CC then shock with what I suggest below. otherwise just add the 8 gallons of 6% bleach tonight and check FC in the morning. pour the gallons around the edge of the pool slowly.

your CYA is pretty high but if FC is 0 I would add 15 gallons of 6% bleach. that would raise FC to around 39ppm ..give it a good shock and then you could let the FC come down to around 10 or more. you need to keep at least 10ppm of FC in your pool with a CYA of 120.

[primo]

Yes, all at once.

Well...I added 4 of the one gallon bottles of the liquid chlorine last night and left filter running all night and had the water tested this morning. Here are the results:

TDS: 1400

CYA: 120

Toal Chlorine: 4.7

FREE CHLORINE: STILL 0

PH: 7

Tot. Alk: 144

Adj. Alk: 108

Tot Hardness: 285

I justed added 2.5 lbs of PH increaser and filter is still running. I have 8 more one gallon bottles of liquid chlorine...SHOULD I ADD ALL 8 GALLONS TONIGHT?

Eventually, I want to be able to put in my Nature 2 cartridge but free chlorine is still zero. Please advise. Thanks!

Thanks for your reply Gavin

The water was tested at pool store. I just put in 8 gallons of liquid chlorine in...and will check the water tomorrow morning.

are you sure FC is 0? what test kit are you using. what is your CC? if you have CC then shock with what I suggest below. otherwise just add the 8 gallons of 6% bleach tonight and check FC in the morning. pour the gallons around the edge of the pool slowly.

your CYA is pretty high but if FC is 0 I would add 15 gallons of 6% bleach. that would raise FC to around 39ppm ..give it a good shock and then you could let the FC come down to around 10 or more. you need to keep at least 10ppm of FC in your pool with a CYA of 120.

[primo]

Yes, all at once.

Well...I added 4 of the one gallon bottles of the liquid chlorine last night and left filter running all night and had the water tested this morning. Here are the results:

TDS: 1400

CYA: 120

Toal Chlorine: 4.7

FREE CHLORINE: STILL 0

PH: 7

Tot. Alk: 144

Adj. Alk: 108

Tot Hardness: 285

I justed added 2.5 lbs of PH increaser and filter is still running. I have 8 more one gallon bottles of liquid chlorine...SHOULD I ADD ALL 8 GALLONS TONIGHT?

Eventually, I want to be able to put in my Nature 2 cartridge but free chlorine is still zero. Please advise. Thanks!

Thanks for your reply Gavin

The water was tested at pool store. I just put in 8 gallons of liquid chlorine in...and will check the water tomorrow morning.

are you sure FC is 0? what test kit are you using. what is your CC? if you have CC then shock with what I suggest below. otherwise just add the 8 gallons of 6% bleach tonight and check FC in the morning. pour the gallons around the edge of the pool slowly.

your CYA is pretty high but if FC is 0 I would add 15 gallons of 6% bleach. that would raise FC to around 39ppm ..give it a good shock and then you could let the FC come down to around 10 or more. you need to keep at least 10ppm of FC in your pool with a CYA of 120.

I am getting very aggravated!! Last night I added the 8 gallons of liquid chlorine and I just had water tested this morning and the results are:

Saturation Index -0.6

TDS: 1400

CYA: 128

Total Cholorine: 0.5 What the phuck!

Free Chlorine: STILL PHUCKING 0 ZERO! WHAT THE PHUCK!!

ph: 7

TOT ALK: 107

ADJ TOT. ALK: 69

TOT HARDNESS 335

SALT: N/A (I AM THINKING OF CONVERTING TO SALT AS I AM GETTING PHUCKING SICK OF THIS!)

POOL PLACE IS TELLING ME TO ADD 16 LBS OF BALANCE PAK 100 AS ALKALINITY IS LOW (AGAIN?? WTF!!!???) I AM NOT DOING ANYTHING UNTIL I HERE FROM SOMEONE WHO CAN FINALLY HELP ME.

I AM TIRED OF THE POOL PLACE TELLING ME EVERYONE IS HAVING SAME PROBLEMS! WTF! I CANT AFFORD TO DUMP MY WEEKLY PAYCHECK ON POOL CHEMICALS AND THEY ARE NOT DOING A DAMN THING! I AM READY TO CLOSE THE DAMN POOL AND FILL IT AND GROW MY LAWN BACK! PLEASE HELP!

[Gavin]

Yes, all at once.

Well...I added 4 of the one gallon bottles of the liquid chlorine last night and left filter running all night and had the water tested this morning. Here are the results:

TDS: 1400

CYA: 120

Toal Chlorine: 4.7

FREE CHLORINE: STILL 0

PH: 7

Tot. Alk: 144

Adj. Alk: 108

Tot Hardness: 285

I justed added 2.5 lbs of PH increaser and filter is still running. I have 8 more one gallon bottles of liquid chlorine...SHOULD I ADD ALL 8 GALLONS TONIGHT?

Eventually, I want to be able to put in my Nature 2 cartridge but free chlorine is still zero. Please advise. Thanks!

Thanks for your reply Gavin

The water was tested at pool store. I just put in 8 gallons of liquid chlorine in...and will check the water tomorrow morning.

are you sure FC is 0? what test kit are you using. what is your CC? if you have CC then shock with what I suggest below. otherwise just add the 8 gallons of 6% bleach tonight and check FC in the morning. pour the gallons around the edge of the pool slowly.

your CYA is pretty high but if FC is 0 I would add 15 gallons of 6% bleach. that would raise FC to around 39ppm ..give it a good shock and then you could let the FC come down to around 10 or more. you need to keep at least 10ppm of FC in your pool with a CYA of 120.

I am getting very aggravated!! Last night I added the 8 gallons of liquid chlorine and I just had water tested this morning and the results are:

Saturation Index -0.6

TDS: 1400

CYA: 128

Total Cholorine: 0.5 What the phuck!

Free Chlorine: STILL PHUCKING 0 ZERO! WHAT THE PHUCK!!

ph: 7

TOT ALK: 107

ADJ TOT. ALK: 69

TOT HARDNESS 335

SALT: N/A (I AM THINKING OF CONVERTING TO SALT AS I AM GETTING PHUCKING SICK OF THIS!)

POOL PLACE IS TELLING ME TO ADD 16 LBS OF BALANCE PAK 100 AS ALKALINITY IS LOW (AGAIN?? WTF!!!???) I AM NOT DOING ANYTHING UNTIL I HERE FROM SOMEONE WHO CAN FINALLY HELP ME.

I AM TIRED OF THE POOL PLACE TELLING ME EVERYONE IS HAVING SAME PROBLEMS! WTF! I CANT AFFORD TO DUMP MY WEEKLY PAYCHECK ON POOL CHEMICALS AND THEY ARE NOT DOING A DAMN THING! I AM READY TO CLOSE THE DAMN POOL AND FILL IT AND GROW MY LAWN BACK! PLEASE HELP!

you need your own test kit. that is impossible to have 0 free chlorine after adding 8 gallons of bleach. my guess since you say your pool is clear is the pool place is not testing right. get a Taylor K2006 or even better a TFT test kit...

http://tftestkits.net/splash-page.html

one other thought...are you sure your pool is 24,000 gallons?

[primo]

Yes, all at once.

Well...I added 4 of the one gallon bottles of the liquid chlorine last night and left filter running all night and had the water tested this morning. Here are the results:

TDS: 1400

CYA: 120

Toal Chlorine: 4.7

FREE CHLORINE: STILL 0

PH: 7

Tot. Alk: 144

Adj. Alk: 108

Tot Hardness: 285

I justed added 2.5 lbs of PH increaser and filter is still running. I have 8 more one gallon bottles of liquid chlorine...SHOULD I ADD ALL 8 GALLONS TONIGHT?

Eventually, I want to be able to put in my Nature 2 cartridge but free chlorine is still zero. Please advise. Thanks!

Thanks for your reply Gavin

The water was tested at pool store. I just put in 8 gallons of liquid chlorine in...and will check the water tomorrow morning.

are you sure FC is 0? what test kit are you using. what is your CC? if you have CC then shock with what I suggest below. otherwise just add the 8 gallons of 6% bleach tonight and check FC in the morning. pour the gallons around the edge of the pool slowly.

your CYA is pretty high but if FC is 0 I would add 15 gallons of 6% bleach. that would raise FC to around 39ppm ..give it a good shock and then you could let the FC come down to around 10 or more. you need to keep at least 10ppm of FC in your pool with a CYA of 120.

I am getting very aggravated!! Last night I added the 8 gallons of liquid chlorine and I just had water tested this morning and the results are:

Saturation Index -0.6

TDS: 1400

CYA: 128

Total Cholorine: 0.5 What the phuck!

Free Chlorine: STILL PHUCKING 0 ZERO! WHAT THE PHUCK!!

ph: 7

TOT ALK: 107

ADJ TOT. ALK: 69

TOT HARDNESS 335

SALT: N/A (I AM THINKING OF CONVERTING TO SALT AS I AM GETTING PHUCKING SICK OF THIS!)

POOL PLACE IS TELLING ME TO ADD 16 LBS OF BALANCE PAK 100 AS ALKALINITY IS LOW (AGAIN?? WTF!!!???) I AM NOT DOING ANYTHING UNTIL I HERE FROM SOMEONE WHO CAN FINALLY HELP ME.

I AM TIRED OF THE POOL PLACE TELLING ME EVERYONE IS HAVING SAME PROBLEMS! WTF! I CANT AFFORD TO DUMP MY WEEKLY PAYCHECK ON POOL CHEMICALS AND THEY ARE NOT DOING A DAMN THING! I AM READY TO CLOSE THE DAMN POOL AND FILL IT AND GROW MY LAWN BACK! PLEASE HELP!

you need your own test kit. that is impossible to have 0 free chlorine after adding 8 gallons of bleach. my guess since you say your pool is clear is the pool place is not testing right. get a Taylor K2006 or even better a TFT test kit...

http://tftestkits.net/splash-page.html

one other thought...are you sure your pool is 24,000 gallons?

Thanks for your quick reply Gavin, Yes pool is 24,000 gallons. I agree it is impossible to have 0 free chlorine when i added 8 gallons of liquid chlorine (more potent than the bleach). I am terrible with test kits...confusing and i consider myself colorblind..HA! I never had a free chlorine problem last this long and i have had the pool for six years. Could there be a problem with the chlorine feeder??? I think it is working as the 3" tablets are going down and i am filling with more tablets...I even turned it all the way up. WTF!??

[chem geek]

If one lets the Free Chlorine (FC) get to zero, then bacteria can grow in the pool and convert some or all of the Cyanuric Acid (CYA) into ammonia creating a HUGE chlorine demand. This might have happened in your case, assuming your readings are correct.

Are you saying that after adding 8 gallons of chlorine that testing very soon, say within 10 minutes, resulted in both zero FC AND Total Chlorine (TC) so that the Combined Chlorine (CC) was also zero? That would not be possible (unless there were a chlorine reducing agent in the pool which wouldn't happen unless you added that). It IS possible for there to almost immediately be zero FC if there is ammonia in the water, but it would within seconds to a minute then form CC. You can get an inexpensive ammonia test kit from a fish/pet/aquarium store.

Note also that a high FC will bleach out a DPD chlorine test (the one where you compare against a standard showing intensity of pink/red). It will not bleach out an inexpensive OTO chlorine test (the one where you compare against a standard showing intensity of yellow). The best chlorine test is the FAS-DPD chlorine test since it does not bleach out (even if there is a flash of pink, you just add more DPD powder) and where you count the drops. Even if you are color blind, you can do this test -- see a demo of it here. I STRONGLY encourage you to get either the Taylor K-2006 or the TF-100 test kit with the latter having more volume of reagents so is roughly comparable in price per test.

You can read about my experience with having the bacterial conversion of CYA into ammonia and how much chlorine it took me to clear the pool in this thread. You can do a bucket test to see how much chlorine it will take to begin getting FC readings in your pool where 1/4 teaspoon of 6% bleach in a 2 gallon bucket of pool water is 10 ppm. If the amount is huge, then a partial drain/refill of the pool might be cheaper/easier.

[primo]

Thanks for your help Chem geek,

I added the 8 gallons of liquid chlorine last night around 10 pm. I tested water this morning around 9 am. (ran filter all night). So, the test was NOT done right after adding the liquid chlorine. Hope this helps! I will test water for amonia and post results tomorrow.

Should I be concerned with TOT ALK: 107 ADJ TOT. ALK: 69 ?? Pool company reccommends adding 16 lbs of Balance Pak 100. Won't do it unless PoolSpaForum.com says so! Please advise. Thanks for your reply