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You can raise your ph while lowering your alk by facing your eyeballs up to aerate your water ( your pool return eyeballs, he he). Your alk should come down a little - it should be between 80 - 120, so this is a good time to use this method to raise your ph to 7.5
No one in my area had the type of kits you recommended. I ended up getting some evil test strips just to get an idea of my cya. They're showing 30-50 which is in range. The strip shows TC of 5 and FC of 10. The drop kit shows bright yellow so I guess 5. How can I figure out my FC and TC since neither the strips or the drop test go up high enough? I thought I saw a thread earlier that showed how to figure it but I've read so many now I can't remember where I saw it. If my levels drop should I wait until evening or go ahead and put bleach in anyway. I don't want to throw money hand over fist I'm spending enough as it is... When should I start brushing and vacuuming? My pool is still green....
Here is the "shot glass method": You can double the reading to 10 by mixing equal amounts of pool water and steam-distilled water. I like to use the "Shot Glass Method" --One shot of pool water, one shot of distilled water. Mix and now measure. If the reading is "5ppm", you have 10ppm. You can keep going - 3 shots will take you to 15ppm and so forth. You will not be able to test for combined chlorine with this method.
The test strips aren't too accurate, but the regular drop based kit with just chlorine and ph will be ok for testing with the method above for now. If you do have a cya of 30 to 50, then you need to have your chlorine at 15 to get to shock level. You will have to keep it there for a couple of days until you clear up all the algae. It is best to keep the chlorine level constant, so you should check at least 2 x a day - 3 times is better. Once you are holding chlorine overnight, then you probably have the algae killed. But since you can't test for combined chlorine right now, you should keep the chlorine levels high for a couple of more days. Remember to backwash and keep your filter running 24/7. Keeping your ph low is ok for now, because chlorine is more effective with a low ph, so I wouldn't worry about raising it for now. You can brush and vacuum right now - the more the better. Your water will clear with high chlorine levels, constant filtering, and regular backwashing. Oh yeah, did I mention patience? I always hate that patience thing!
Stabilizer . . . . . . Min. FC . . . . Max FC . . . 'Shock' FC
=> 0 ppm . . . . . . . 1 ppm . . . . . 3 ppm . . . . 10 ppm
=> 10 - 20 ppm . . . . 2 ppm . . . . . 5 ppm . . . . 12 ppm
=> 30 - 50 ppm . . . . 3 ppm . . . . . 6 ppm . . . . 15 ppm
=> 60 - 90 ppm . . . . 5 ppm . . . . . 10 ppm . . .. 20 ppm
=> 100 - 200 ppm . . . 8 ppm . . . . . 15 ppm . . .. 25 ppm
You need to start brushing and vaccuming NOW--as well as raising your chlorine to about 12-15 and keeping it there until the green goes away, which means testing and adding enough to get back up to the shock level at least 2 x daily. Right now your pH isn't as much of a concern as your algae problem, so I'd leave the acid alone--the amount of bleach you're going to use up to kill your algae bloom will probably raise your pH a tiny bit to get you back up to the middle of the " normal" range.
Your FC + CC will ALWAYS = TC, so your strip numbers aren't quite right. You'll do better to use Carl's shotglass dilution method that Marie described above along with your drop-based test kit. Keep your filter running, backwash as necessary, and it shouldn't take more than a few days to get your pool back to blue. :)
Janet
Well, I've been keeping my chlorine levels high and my pool has finally started turning a pretty aqua blue. I've been vaccuming(sp) and brushing. I think I finally see light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for all the help everyone! I'm sorry I don't quite understand the shot glass method though, Can someone give me more detailed instructions?
Here's the Jen-You-Whine CarlD Shot Glass Method!;)
1) Get a shot glass (like you use to mix drinks).
2) Get a gallon of steam distilled water--most mass-market drug chains stock it, and many supermarkets.
3) Mix one shot glass full of pool water with one shot glass full of the distilled in a clean container (like a Pyrex measuring cup).
4) Fill your test cell to the line with the mixture. Add your drops and take the reading.
5) Whatever you read, double it. If it says "3ppm", you have 6ppm. If it reads "5ppm", you have 10ppm.
6) If it's STILL seems like the chorine's too high to read, go to step seven....
7) Mix 1 shot of pool water with TWO shots of distilled water, and re-run the test using that.
8) Now TRIPLE your reading--if it reads "3", it's 9. If it reads "5", it's 15ppm.
9) Going beyond two shots of distilled to 1 shot of pool water is possible (3 shots, quadruple your reading) but you lose accuracy fast. Still if it's the best way of reading chlorine, then you have to do it.
CAVEAT: ONLY use this method to measure chlorine levels. Do not use it for the other tests you run, and do not use it with the FAS-DPD powder test--that goes to 50 to 100ppm of Free Chlorine anyway.
There you have it!
CarlD:
I think I am confused in general on testing kits for clorine. I keep reading that Ben's test kit is only accurate up to 15ppm and it is a FAS-DPD test isn't it? (I don't have it so I don't know). Above 15ppm - doesn't it start to bleach the reagent so you can't read it? The OTO clorine test doesn't bleach - but it only reads up to 5ppm?
But then I read that the FAS-DPD is for high clorine readings.
So my confusion is that if you have to shock your pool to a theoretical 25ppm, what do you use to measure it?:confused:
(this may be a totally stupid question, and if my pool was ready and I had the tests- it might make more sense)
Ben's kit will test to 25 and even beyond. You use the DPD-FAS powder and a water sample. No dilution needed. The dilution method that Carl is explaining above is when you have a test kit that will only measure to 5.
Thanks for the dilution explanation! It worked great. My pool is really coming along. The only other problem I have now is the scaling problem on the sides and a few places on the bottom. Anybody have any advice on that?
You'll have to lower your T/A to do that. Check out the Alkalinity forum for a sticky thread on how to do it. It's a repeated process. High T/A can cause scaling, so start by fixing that first.