just checked the pool and no chlorine

[pettinej]

I live in Syracuse NY and almost every year I open the my in ground L shaped pool it is a green mess. This year I decided to check it early before the mess starts. I checked it today here are my numbers.

FC 0
CC 0
TC 0
PH 7.4
Alk 40
CYA less than 20.

When I closed the pool the CYA was 40 and chlorine was at shock levels. The pool is still clear right now and I am wondering what to do next. My thought is to bring the CYA up then bring the chlorine levels up to shock levels. I have a small submersible pump that I could drop in to circulate the water because I don't want to open it yet.

[swimdaddy]

If you are not going to open it yet and your pool is covered (ie- protected from sun, which uses up chlorine and that is why you need the CYA), don't worry about the CYA and just add chlorine using liquid bleach. Circulating would be a good idea if you are not going to remove the cover. Your other numbers look great though.

[pettinej]

Thanks for the reply. My cover is a safety cover which does let some light through so I thought I would bring the CYA back up to my normal level of 40. If it is no harm I am going to do that and add some chlorine.

[swimdaddy]

Good plan, but make sure you get your chlorine up first. You could take care of both with dichlor, 1 lb of dichlor adds 6.6 PPM of FC and 6 PPM CYA in 10,000 gallons. However, you need to be circulating pretty well since it is granular, predissolving would be a must.

[BorisMD]

How about putting a floater in filled with Chlorine pucks?

[FormerBromineUser]

You could try that if you have them on hand. Maybe just a couple of them, though. I would use some liquid chlorine/bleach NOW, though. Target about 4-5 ppm

[JimK]

Personally I'd go with bleach instead of pucks. My understanding is that pucks are very acidic which would concern me with limited circulation. Also, you pH is good; no need to drop it with acidic pucks, IMO.

[swimdaddy]

Its been a month since your original post, so don't know what your numbers are. Going by your original numbers, you need chlorine NOW, and you need CYA to keep from losing your chlorine later. The best way to get you chlorine up NOW is with plain bleach and get the CYA in when you can. Dichlor will do both, but if you don't have it on hand, use bleach. From what I have learned on this forum, I use dichlor to get my CYA up in the spring and then only bleach the rest of the summer, and that's it for sanitation. As far as pucks go, they also add calcium, and you didn't post calcium numbers so I don't know if you need it or not. If you have a vinyl lined pool, you don't. Only put in your pool what you need.