Chlorine level

[Barry J]

My chlorine level is coming back at less than 0.5 ppm. The sample is pretty much clear after adding the OTO. And when using the Taylor kit with the DPD powder.. Does not turn pink.
When I test the cyanuric acid it comes out to about 90-100. I just ran out of the cyanuric acid for testing, ordering more.
The pool is clear, so far, but seeing some pink build up along the sides. Very little
I want to catch this before it is out of control.
Ph = 7.2. Alk = 60
Is a AG 33 x 15 pool
Should I shock?? Just worried about cysniric going higher.
Using HTH pucks
Any suggestions
Thanks
Barry

[FormerBromineUser]

Use straight liquid chlorine or bleach to bring you up to "shock" level according to the best-guess chart and keep it there until you can pass an overnight test. Make sense?

[Barry J]

Ok, so shock it tonight to bring Cl level up, that is what I thought...should I worry about Cyanuride level going up ??
Would 90 appear to be a good level for stabilization

[FormerBromineUser]

The pucks have given you a lot of CYA. 90 is very high. Your shock level is 20-22ppm FC. http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/best-guess-swimming-pool-chlorine-chart.html#a

Use bleach or liquid chlorine rather than bagged shock as that will not raise your CYA level.

Have you considered doing a partial drain and refill of the pool to lower your CYA?

[Barry J]

To be honest with you, I have not used the pucks that often this year, maybe twice a week, if that...I will use the liquid shock tonight, think I should switch to the granular HTH, I have some of that left ??
With a week of 90 degree weather and sun all week, think that will lower my CYA ?

[FormerBromineUser]

Your CYA will only lower significantly through dilution and occasionally over the winter.

What is in the HTH granular? Is there cyanuric acid? Does it say Tri-Chlor or Di-Chlor? Both of those will raise your CYA higher.

[Barry J]

I am going to shock it tonight..The liuquid shock I have is Sodium hypochlorite 12.5%...will this raise my CYA level, or can I use it

[FormerBromineUser]

That is perfect! That is liquid chlorine with NO CYA. Remember, you need to get the FC up to about 22ppm and keep it there by testing and adding until you pass the overnight test.

[JimK]

That is perfect! That is liquid chlorine with NO CYA. Remember, you need to get the FC up to about 22ppm and keep it there by testing and adding until you pass the overnight test.


Agreed.

Keep in mind I'm no expert, just a forum member who's been here awhile. Unfortunately the "experts" that use to post here haven't posted in a long time.

It's important to keep FC at shock level until 3 criteria are met;

1. Water is clear; no visible algae
2. < .5 CC (combined chloramines)
3. Overnight FC loss is 1ppm or less.

As was stated, do not use anything that contains CYA, i.e. pucks, sticks, DiChlor, trichlor, etc. stick with plain bleach (no scents, no splashless varieties) or "liquid chlorine". Bleach and liquid chlorine (they are the same thing actually, just perhaps different concentrations) do not add CYA.

Do consider a partial drain/refill to lower CYA. 90 is pretty high, requiring more FC to perform a proper shock. Unless you are using a SWCG, your CYA should probably be 30-50ppm.

I hope this helps.

[Barry J]

Ok tested my cyanuric acid again, and comes out to around 80.
Tried to test for free chlorine with the Taylor kit and the water did not turn pink , just very light pink, but it turned pink the other day.
When it turned pink the other day, I tested further with the sample for combined chlorine but did not turn pink again, so got no result for that, but like I said, did not really turn pink today, so I figured need chlorine.
I did the cheap HTH test for chlorine (OTO), and got <0.5
I am going to shock again tonight and add granular HTH, which is Calcium hypochlorite.
The Ph was 7.4 and alk 80.
I am still kind of in the dark with the whole CC, FC , TC
I'll try to read a little about that tomorrow.
Any suggestions/comments
Thanks
Barry

[FormerBromineUser]

First off, I hope you have stopped using the pucks completely. The upside is that your CYA will not increase which means you won't need steadily increasing levels of chlorine to keep the pool safe and algae-free. The downside is that you need to test your water for FC more often because the only chlorine that will get in your pool is what you add with sodium hypo-chlorite or cal-hypo. Don't use too much cal-hypo as it can eventually cloud your pool.

In terms of FC, CC, and TC, it's just FC+CC=TC. You don't need to worry about TC. That is really just a test strip or pool store measurement. You want your CC to be no more than 0.5 because that's "used-up" FC.

As JimK and I said, you need to raise your FC to 20-22 and KEEP it there by testing and adding sodium hypochlorite as OFTEN as you can. You keep the FC that high until you pass the overnight test. Then you can return to normal FC levels which for your CYA level would be between 8-10.

[swimdaddy]

Agreed. My advice is to go the PoolSolutions website and read everything you can while it is still up. Plan on dedicating some time to reading and exploring what is on there, and print some things off because we might not have access to it for very long.

The cheapest and best way to maintain your pool is with chlorine form sodium hypochlorite, which is plain old bleach. Look at the label of sodium hypochlorite from a pool store and the label of bleach from the cleaning isle, they are the same. You can get 8.25% from walmart for just under $3, and in some walmarts you can get it in the pool supplies isle at 10% for $2.5. For my vinyl pool, I use almost nothing else but occasional muriatic acid 1-2 times a summer and polyquat algaecide 2-3 times a summer, and I use dichlor granules to keep CYA in the pool, don't need to use that very much either unless I do a lot of backwashing or I have a pool party with lots of kids splashing water out! I don't use cal-hypo because vinyl pools don't need calcium and dichlor is cheaper.