OK- I will do that.
I want to turn the heater back up- I usually keep the water temp at 84-86 for swimmers. Will I have to compensate for that by adding more CL?
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OK- I will do that.
I want to turn the heater back up- I usually keep the water temp at 84-86 for swimmers. Will I have to compensate for that by adding more CL?
No. Shouldn't make any difference.
Yeah, colder water doesn't start to inhibit algae growth till it gets down to about 60 degrees F. Heat CAN break down chlorine, but that's got to be hot tub temps first.
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Hope your party went perfectly except for the cool weather. Bummer!
Just a thought here. If you decide to take your pool to shock level and follow the overnight test procedure, you may want to do one more thing. :tired:Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDave
If you have underwater lights (which I think you may), and haven't yet cleaned them, consider doing this:
While FC is high, unscrew and release the lights. The screws SHOULD be only lightly hand-tightened for ease of removal. Scrub the cords, screws, in the niche itself, everything. Leave the lights off for a while and let the high-chlorine water really get into the light niche(s). While you're doing this, you can soak the light housing(s) above the pool in a bucket of chlorine-saturated pool water.
Water sits behind those lights with very little circulation and can harbor all sorts of nasty stuff that can contribute to chlorine demand. Cleaning behind lights is one of those occasional maintenance items that often doesn't get done or done often enough. Shock levels are the perfect time to do this.
Timing is everything…I ended up in the ER with my mom all day Tuesday, so the pool party was moved to Wednesday- which ended up being a much warmer day. In the end, all went well. FC level went from 13 to 8 over the evening, so no worries about un-sanitized water.
Today, however I ran out of the FAS-DPD chlorine testing liquid. I called all pool stores in the area and they, too are out of stock. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime- a big bottle will be delivered on Monday. I do have the another Taylor chlorine testing kit (K-1004), and I can dilute the pool water with distilled to get a reading up to 5 and multiply from that point, but not sure I should do this when shocking all the way to 30 due to accuracy. Should I wait and continue maintaining a FC level of 15 until my supply comes in and shock to 30 on Monday night?
Cleaning the lights sounds daunting to me! Once again the pool installers told me I wouldn't have to worry about cleaning/changing lights for years. But I will check into it. Thanks
Let's see if an expert chimes in here about accuracy and stuff.
If they think it's necessary for you to start right away with the more accurate testing, I have an extra 2oz of R-0871 that you could use and refill for me when you get your big bottle :) Just a thought. I tried to send you an email (I don't have yahoo im) with my contact info.
During the party?Quote:
Originally Posted by mary jo
I hope your mom's OK.
Are using the 25ml sample for FAS-DPD testing? You can save alot of reagent by using a 10ml sample and multiplying drop count by 0.5ppm. If one scoop turns the sample pink, you don't need two.
Not that I'm an expert, but... You can use the patented CarlD shot glass dilution metod of chlorine testing to get a start this weekend. Mix 5 shot glasses of distilled water with one shot glass of pool water then test the mix for chlorine and multiply by 6. Not accurate enough to know when your done but good enough to start the shock process.
Thanks, BigDave. My Mom lives with us so I'm keeping an eye on her and the pool now.
At 3:00 yesterday the FC=15. At 10:00 the FC=8 (using the FAS test). It lost about 3/4-1" of water - lots of splashing...
Considering this is the last weekend before school starts, I wanted to hold off on shocking the pool to 30 so the kids can swim more. Do you think my pool will be OK if I maintain 15FC level over the weekend?
Sure, it's your pool and family. Realize that if there is something growing you may be spending all this bleach without making any headway. Since there's no smell or visible algae and we really don't know the cause of the chlorine demand, keep FC above 8ppm, preferably 15ppm. It is probably beter to clear ir up before you close.
Yup- I hear you. I want this solved even if it means investigating the lights. I will define keep FC level up to 15 and shock to 30 on Sunday evening, keep it at 30 for at least 24 hours and go from there.
We don't close our pool until late September so I have about 6 weeks to clear things up.
It may take more than 24 hours to meet the endpoint criteria - just to be clear.
What BigDave said!!!! And do some research on the light issue. With no visible algae and high chlorine demand, it is worth considering. The demand is coming from somewhere... I was scared to death my first time. Afterwards I just laughed at myself because it was so easy. You can shut off the breaker if you're concerned about the electricity. Glad your Mom is better.
Just an aside here and sorry for hijacking you, MaryJo. BUT you are the man, BigDave for working so hard during Ben's hiatus. He is so incredible and we all owe him SO much. Thanks from me. Again, my apologies, MaryJo!
Just checking in. Last night (Sunday) at 9pm I added the jugs of chlorine to get FC to 30. This morning at 7:30 I tested (using diluted sample as you described- 5:1, results x6 and DPD reagent) and got FC=18. My FAS reagent comes in today so I can get more accurate results.
I just added 3 jugs to get the FC back up to 30. My question is: how often do I check during the day?
Check as soon as the FAS-DPD reagent comes in.
Then, as often as you can to keep it at shock level. (Ignore purple highlighting).
My reagent came in yesterday, and I tested throughout the day- tried to estimate testing times so that FC level never got below 25. Last night @ 11:00 the FC=33. this morning at 7:30 it was 22. Should I add more in the evening so that there is at least a 30FC level in the morning?
You don't need to test and adjust your FC more than 3x day--Morning, mid-day, and after the sun passes in the evening. Morning and evening are the two most important tests.
Do we know your CYA/stabilizer level? If it's 100ppm or more, you need to maintain an FC level of 25 or more until the algae is completely dead.
Remember to run your filter 24/7, vacuum to waste, and brush the pool daily until you've won the battle.
@CarlD:mary jo's pool has CYA of about 150ppm, CH of 750, a history of trichlor use, periods of zero measurable chlorine, and low pH. There's no visible algae, and high chlorine demand. The Nature 2 cartridge is in place but hasn't been replaced in the last two years. There is a possibility that some amount of fertilizer made it into the pool. My guesses are that some CYA may have been converted to ammonia causing chlorine demand (no bad smell so probably not); the fertilizer may be causing chlorine demand directly; or that a nascent algae bloom (possibly aided by fertilizer) is causing chlorine demand.
@mary jo:CarlD is right, three times during the day should be OK but I don't think you need to vac to waste since you can't see any algae.
Do you have CC readings for the FC tests last night and today?
I'd like to see the FC stay above 30 but we run the risk of bleaching the liner.
Please continue to measure FC and CC after the last dose in the eveing has had a chance to mix in and after the sun is down and again before the sun is on the pool and before adding more bleach.
yes, last night (11:00pm) FC=33
this morning (7:30am) FC=22
I added 2 1/2 jugs of bleach.
will test again @ 12:30pm
Any CC?
Great minds.....
How about Combined Chlorine?
Thanks FormerBromineUser!
The test sample was barely pink (after adding the 5 reagent drops), then one drop of R-0781 turned it water clear, so <= 0.5
Just had another thought : it looks like rain here. Should I cover the pool if we do get rain? I've never had rain water in my pool before ( another big rule from the pool installers which I've always adhered to- always cover the pool when it rains.... Rainwater is bad).
Are you giving it an hour or so to circulate and then checking to make sure you hit 30FC?Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDave
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Huh???? I OPENED mine at 5-ish this morning so I could get the rain in my pool.
Oh- I see. At night, dose the pool with bleach to get a FC of 30, wait an hour and THEN take another reading for the night. Sorry, my brain is slow.
Yes! You need to make sure you've reached the target FC. Under shock conditions you don't want to make assumptions. (Once your demand is gone, you won't have to do this).
Have you checked your CYA lately? BigDave mentioned the possibility of some conversion of CYA and I don't have time to back track to see when you last checked it.
Last week (august 11) my CYA tested at 150. I typically do the test 3 times and average. (since it's a more subjective test than most- i think). I have not added any hose water since last week, but I will test it again today.
If you tested CYA on August 11, no need to do it again. Just wastes reagents.
already tested everything at 12:30. CYA=150. FC=32, CC=0
however- pH is up to 7.8 today. it's been hovering around 7.6 for the past week.
I think this may have happened before mary jo started this thread when the FC was 0 for alot of the time. I don't think it's an ongoing issue.Quote:
Originally Posted by FormerBromineUser
@mary jo: pH test is probably inaccurate with FC at this level, I wouldn't bother with it for now.
I don't know there's anything inherently bad about rainwater. I've never noticed any negative effect. The only time it's an issue is if we get too much and I have to pump water out of the pool (may have to rebalance after that). Of course if we get a lot of wind as well then there the mess to clean up from all the crap from the trees (we have a lot of trees around).Quote:
Originally Posted by mary jo
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Was the 32 FC result at 12:30 BEFORE adding anything?
In other words, is this scenario correct:
7:30 you were at FC 22; you added 2-1/2 jugs
12:30 retested FC and got 32. No additions from 7:30 to 12:30
I just want to make sure about this because if this scenario IS correct..... your results are promising.
You only have to do the “wait an hour and retest” at night when you’re trying to determine overnight chlorine loss. I wanted to make sure you understood the AT NIGHT part.Quote:
Originally Posted by mary jo
Please don't bypass my above post but I am going to bring up a side issue which has been bugging me all day. I had questions about your pool installer before but now.... Rainwater is bad? He said that? The overwhelming majority of outdoor pools are not covered in the rain. If rain was that "bad" for a pool, many pool owners would be in big trouble. I LOVE rainwater as it keeps me from having to fill from my iron-laded well water. Was the "rainwater is bad" part of a sales pitch to get you to purchase an expensive auto-cover? You have the best reason in the world to have an auto-cover: your son. Don't get me wrong. I have an auto-cover and love it! However, in my book, rainwater is a blessing!
p.s. Did this same installer say anything that made you hesitant about cleaning behind your lights?
Hi- I did look online yesterday and found some specific info on the possible negative effects of rainwater ( namely acid rain messing with the pH) . A chem geek guy gave a very detailed analysis about plausible scenarios - ie. what 1" of rain does to pH level.... required logarithm calls but results were negligible. I think the pool guy wanted to offer me the most maintenance free options and no rain water means less chance of algae and less vacuuming? ( and yes he did mention acid rain messing with the pool chemistry). Good to know I don't have to run out and close it all the time.
Rain does usually drop my pH a bit, not usually enough to adjust. Big storms drop alot of leaves and sticks in my pool.
Did you get an overnight chlorine loss reading? What are the FC and CC measurments?
Ok- this mornings stats:
Last evening tested at 7:45. FC =30 CC=0.5 added 1 jug
re-tested at 9:00. FC=36
Tested again at 12:45. FC= 36. CC=0.5
This morning tested at 8:00 CL=28. CC=1. Added 1 jug
re-tested at 9:00 CL=33. CC=1
Sounds like it's going well. Lost 11ppm FC night before last and 8 last night. Good.
Is the pool still clear with no smell?
The pool is still very clear, with no smell.
I didn't realize it was such a slow process….