Clear, but no chlorine???

[CarlD]

I'll bet you smelled chlorine when your husband went in the pool and when he came out. That's because any impurities on the skin get metabolized and...smell like "chlorine".

Happens to me all the time. My FC will be solidly where it needs to be, there will be NO "chlorine" smell, I'll just stick my arm in and Bam! "Chlorine Smell"!

[PoolDoc]

I think it's time to let it drop.

I haven't tested enough to be certain, but I suspect that, when FC levels are very high, spurious CC levels may appear. If your FC is stable overnight -- and 2 ppm is fairly stable.

There may be some lingering chlorine demand. However, the best way to deal with it is probably simply to run FC levels equal to 10% - 15% of your CYA for awhile.

Black ring around the skimmer can be from body oils and lotions OR it can be from plasticizers being released from the liner. If it's plasticizers, there is NOTHING you can do about that, except keep the pH reasonable (between 7 and 8).

[mary jo]

OK- I just tested this morning @ 6:30am FC=26 CC=1
Lost 1 ppm FC overnight (27 to 26)

So if my CYA is 150 then I should let the FC lower to the 15-22 range and keep it there, and not worry about the CC? What if the CC level goes up?

[BigDave]

Sounds right.
If CC goes to 1.5, wait for it to come back down. If it continues climbing - it may take additional action. Let the pool get all the sun it can.

[mary jo]

Ok- so by wait you mean do not add any bleach, just keep testing and see if CC goes down ( or stays at 1) at lower FC level, yes?

[CarlD]

Yes. That's what everyone here has been telling you. Please re-read Ben's last post, above. He's said clearly that you need to let FC drop to 10%-15% of CYA and leave it there.
So if CYA is 60, FC should be between 6-9ppm. If CYA is 90, FC should be between 9 and 13.5ppm. Etc.

THEN see what happens to CC.

[mary jo]

got it.

[PoolDoc]

What if the CC level goes up?

Also, you'll need to avoid focusing on problems you do NOT yet have. Just do the basics, and worry about the other stuff WHEN it becomes a problem; not before.

[FormerBromineUser]

If you had the same storm we did, I hope you had your auto-cover closed! Debris is everywhere. Even my outdoor, heavy furniture was overturned. Large slate slabs on my table were lifted and askew. Wow. How is the pool doing since lowering FC?

[mary jo]

Wow indeed- I heard 70 mph winds in the area. Incredibly, we only got a bit of rain, but closed the cover to be on the safe side.

The FC has been dropping approx. 2 points during the day and 0-1 overnight. The CC has also been dropping!
Yesterday morning FC=22 CC=0.5.
Yesterday early evening (5:45pm due to rain) FC=20 CC=0. I double checked using a 25ml water sample to be sure and the FC=20.2 CC=0

This morning tested @ 8:30 FC=19 CC=0.

[Watermom]

Sounds like you are done. To be safe, maybe one more day and then let chlorine drift down. Then you should be good to go and we can wrap up this incredibly long thread! ;) Good luck!

[mary jo]

Thanks again. It's been a long 3 weeks and I appreciate all the help.

[FormerBromineUser]

Hey. While you're in wait mode, would you humor me and test your fill water? Not CYA, but the rest. You might have done this before and if so, please just repost those numbers. Thanks.

[FormerBromineUser]

Hey. While you're in wait mode, would you humor me and test your fill water? Not CYA, but the rest. You might have done this before and if so, please just repost those numbers. Thanks.

Just curious.... already thinking about next year for current high CYA and especially CH

[BigDave]

... The FC has been dropping approx. 2 points during the day and 0-1 overnight. The CC has also been dropping!
Yesterday morning FC=22 CC=0.5.
Yesterday early evening (5:45pm due to rain) FC=20 CC=0. I double checked using a 25ml water sample to be sure and the FC=20.2 CC=0

This morning tested @ 8:30 FC=19 CC=0.YAY! -> Jumping up and down, screaming YAY!

No more need to test more than daily. Let the FC keep coming down to 10 or 11 and don't let it get below 8 ever.

Congratulations!

[mary jo]

@BigDave: Thanks again for your patience. Yes, the family was quite happy. It was a very splashy weekend…. and an incredible learning experience. As my daughter says: "You guys are awesome".

@FBU: pool stats (from this morning): FC=15.5 CC=0 pH=7.8 TA=150 CH=625

[FormerBromineUser]

Congratulations!!!
Thanks for the test results but I'd really like to see your fill water numbers from your hose when you have time. All but CYA.

[mary jo]

@FBU: got- it. hose water numbers: CL=0 CH=360 pH=7.4 TA=300 I'm reading about pool closing now- in the past never did anything but shock w/ 2 bags of powder, then let the pool guys blow out lines and shut everything down for the winter.

[CarlD]

Did your closing method work?

[mary jo]

Not sure: My pool opened this spring w/ very clear water and so in that respect, yes….but that was pre-BBB thinking. Now that I know a bit more about my pool's chemistry and the FC/CYA connection, I know not to shock with the bags of powder so I'll use enough bleach to reach FC=30. I also wanted to find out if my high CYA needs to be accounted for in some way. I'm not sure what the CYA was last year or this spring because the pool guy told me not to worry about it- which I now know was a huge mistake.

[CarlD]

Um, I don't see what the problem is. You threw in bags of...cal-hypo or di-chlor and it protected your pool over the winter. Did you test your water in the spring? If the #s were acceptable why change?

BBB is a way of thinking more than a set of rigid rules. There's a time and a place for Di-Chlor, Cal-Hypo and Tri-Chlor, as well as bleach.

[Watermom]

Carl, you may not have enough of her thread to know but her CYA is high and her fill water is high in CH. So, bleach is probably the better choice for her.

[BigDave]

@CarlD: mary jo's pool's CYA is 150 and the CH is near 700.

@mary jo: What CarlD seems to be getting around to is:"If shocking the pool worked in the past, might as well shock the pool now" which is your plan. Watermom's suggestion of using polyquat 60% is probably a good idea too. Are you going to have the pool guys winterize the equipment again this year or do you plan to do it yourself?

[CarlD]

Carl, you may not have enough of her thread to know but her CYA is high and her fill water is high in CH. So, bleach is probably the better choice for her.

Well, I would agree with that. But it doesn't indicate a major change in strategy, merely replacing problematic chlorine sources with our fav...bleach.

My own closing routine is, of course, get everything (in the chemistry) clean and balanced, wait till the water temp drops to 60 (65 max), raise FC to shock level. Add 1 qt 60% poly, wait 48 hours, then test and raise FC to shock level again...then close.

[mary jo]

Sounds like a plan, thanks, got it.

@BigDave: I'll definitely have the pool guys winterize the pool- it's something I don't want to tackle at this point.
I promised the kids 3 more weeks of swimming so it should be plenty cold when closing time comes around. thanks

[FormerBromineUser]

Hey. You mentioned that you were planning on retesting CYA. Did you? Just curious

[BigDave]

If you can, take video of the closing to help you remember.

[mary jo]

@FBU: cya tested a bit higher: 170
@BigDave: That's a good idea. They also suggested that I have my pool heater "thermo regulator" replaced this year.