Chlorine and pH problems following missing stabilizer

"Store#2 had us put in 10# of granular dichlor chlorine (and check every 4 hours...if FC dropped below 5 ppm add another dose)...keep going until at 5 ppm for 24 hours without treatment. 25lbs sold for $99 and we used almost 3 before we lost hope...did nothing...money gone and CYA now sky high. We were desperate to get this cleared up...graduation party in three weeks, so we got sucked right in."


To answer the dichlor question:

Yes...as instructed by the pool store. They wanted us to keep going too...called it "chlorine demand."
The level would go to shock level...but the longest we could maintain 5ppm or higher was about 7 1/2 hours. It was Carribean Blue Chlorine Guard Granular Shock. They told us they are seeing an increasing number of pools with this problem.

I will send all numbers after lunchtime today.

So how many pounds of dichlor -- in total -- have you added to the pool this season? (please answer with a number!)

What was the condition of the water on opening? (Clear/cloudy; green/blue; slime on sides/no slime, etc)?

Has the water been green, or the sides slimy, at any time SINCE opening?

Pool was very cloudy upon opening. Couldn't see the bottom...but no green or blue cast. We used a product (will have to look at the name when I get home) that is to bind to the organic matter and then it is filtered out. We thought for sure the chlorine depletion was being caused by organic matter. We kept cleaning and shocking and backwashed (twice because the pressure was up and wouldn't bump back down). We could then see the bottom and removed all debris (a few leaves and a pile of earth worms). We have backwashed twice more over the course of the last two weeks to be sure the filter was clean and free of anything that could be depleting the chlorine. Hosed well...looked great. No discoloration of earth or fingers in the filter. Everything appeared normal, but still will NOT hold chlorine levels. Pool has remained crystal clear ever since.

In total, we put 70 lbs of dichlor chlorine into our pool over a 36-48 hour period of time. The second dose of 10# is wiped out my Ph. They gave me the Aqua Prep for that...we were spiraling out of control at this point.

That is when my husband said we are done with this process.

Then is we found this forum. Started treating the Ph with Borax since our TA is now really high from the Aqua Prep. The Ph has been 7.8 for about a week and a half (OTO test and Aquacheck strips).

The pool looks fabulous...you would never guess we were having such problems!

Store # 1 Water tested at 12:00 p.m.

FC .5
TC .5
pH is 8.2
TA is 235
Calcium Hardness is 200
Stabilizer is 135
No Phosphates present

OK.

With 70 lbs of dichlor into an 18,000 gallon pool, your stabilizer level is now well over 200 ppm.

Please do things on the list below, exactly:

1. Test chlorine levels with an OTO /phenol red drops kit. Tell me the color you see. It may not be anything on the test kit block, but may be a different color.

2. Buy a gallon of distilled (DISTILLED, not anything else) water from Walmart. Test your pH using a mix of 2/3 cup of DISTILLED water and 1/3 cup of pool water. Tell me what result you get, and whether it matches the pH test with straight pool water.

3. If you don't have a K2006, or have one on the way, order one today. With a CYA of possibly 300 ppm, you MUST have a K2006 to manage your pool.

4. Your other option, if you won't want to get a K2006 and follow some rather exotic methods this summer (not particularly hard and not expensive, but weird), you need to hire a vinyl liner builder or service guy to drain 4/5 of your pool and then refill. Trying to drain it your self will either (a) destroy your liner or (b) be slow and difficult

You can NOT do it a little at a time! I just did the math, in an iterative spreadsheet: if you drain 25% of the pool each time, you'll have to repeat the process EIGHT times to get down to 40 ppm of stabilizer!

We cross-posted, but the results you posted don't change my recommendations.

Also, if you added 70 lbs of dichlor to an 18K pool, there is NO way your CYA is less than 200 ppm! It is almost certainly more than 300 ppm.

Did the pH test with distilled water and the result was between 7.5 and 7.8

OTO drop test matched this result.

The K 2006 will arrive any day now.

Daughter added more bleach before I got home from work. How long should I wait before testing? Also just had a really hard rain and it is still raining moderately now.

You can wait.

With CYA > 200 ppm, an appropriate chlorine level is going to be in the orange tinted range (chlorine > 20 ppm).

Right now, you just want to avoid algae, while waiting for the kit, and good data. As long as the pool is algae free, you can swim. I wouldn't recommend wearing a new $100 swimsuit when you do, however.

However, watch out for eye and skin irritation: swim 10 minutes for the first time, and then wait and see. Sometimes, by products of CYA loss can combine with chlorine to form some irritating chemicals, and you don't want to spend 2 hours in the pool, and then pop-up with 'hives' 2 hours after you get out. (It's not a real allergy, but it feels like one!)

I just received the K2006 pool test kit. We are ready to follow the next instructions.

Watch the videos, here:

http://pool9.net/tk-guide/
http://pool9.net/tk-interfere/

Notice particularly the TA interference video. Then:

1. Test the chlorine levels, using the 10 ml sample and the 0.5 ppm/drop test.
2. Mix 1/4 cup of pool water with 1/2 cup of tap water. Test for CYA. Multiply the result x3
3. Report those results, including FC (free chlorine) and CC (combined chlorine) Tell us what you water looks and smells like (if there's an odor).

4. Make sure you have a gallon of distilled water from Walmart on hand. Mix 1/4 cup of pool water with 1/2 cup of DISTILLED water. Test the pH of this sample. The result is as tested; no multiplier.
5. Test TA, adapting for high chlorine.
6. Test CH
7. Report those results. Tell us what you water looks and smells like (if there's an odor).