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Thread: Losing chlorine

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    joecus is offline Lifetime Member Thread Analyst joecus 0
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    Default Losing chlorine

    Hello all, I wanted to give you guys an update on my pool. I finally got my ph up to normal range 7.2 and it's been holding steady. However, I'm still losing huge amounts of chlorine every day. For the past few days, I check in the morning and my levels are the following
    cl - 10+
    fr cl 10+
    ph ~7.2
    tot alk 120
    Cyanuric acid 100

    At 6 pm The Cl and Fr CL go to zero and other levels stay the same. So I add shock and the levels go up. This process has been the same for about 5 days. Any thoughts?

    I use 3" tabs in my chlorinator (5 tablets) and I run filter for 8 hours. The setting on the Chlorinator is maxed out. Last year, I think I used 3 tablets and ran filter for 4 hours and that was fine. Bottom line, something is eating my chlorine. Any help would be great. Thanks.

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    waterbear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Losing chlorine

    Quote Originally Posted by joecus View Post
    Hello all, I wanted to give you guys an update on my pool. I finally got my ph up to normal range 7.2 and it's been holding steady. However, I'm still losing huge amounts of chlorine every day. For the past few days, I check in the morning and my levels are the following
    cl - 10+
    fr cl 10+
    ph ~7.2
    tot alk 120
    Cyanuric acid 100

    At 6 pm The Cl and Fr CL go to zero and other levels stay the same. So I add shock and the levels go up. This process has been the same for about 5 days. Any thoughts?

    I use 3" tabs in my chlorinator (5 tablets) and I run filter for 8 hours. The setting on the Chlorinator is maxed out. Last year, I think I used 3 tablets and ran filter for 4 hours and that was fine. Bottom line, something is eating my chlorine. Any help would be great. Thanks.
    I am going to make a guess that you are constantly fighting a nascent algae bloom because of your high CYA and that is what is consuming your chlorine. also, how are testing because there is NO reliable way to test for high C>Ya levels and there is a very good chance your CYA is actually higher than 100 ppm. The fact that you continue to use trichlor means that your CYA is continuing to climb since trichlor adds 6 ppm CYA for every 10 ppm FC it adds.
    Retired pool store and commercial pool maintenance guy.

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    Watermom's Avatar
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    Default Re: Losing chlorine

    If it were my pool with a cya reading of 100 and who knows how high it actually is (like Waterbear said, can't differentiate between 100 and >100), I would do a partial drain and refill and try and get the cya down to a more manageable level. Depending on high how your cya actually is, it could take a couple of partial drains and refills. I think I would drain about 1/2 or maybe 2/3 of the water and refill and then retest and see what the levels are then. Just my opinion. At any rate, regardless of whether or not you decide to do a partial drain and refill or not, you should NOT use any more trichlor. No dichlor powder either.

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    Default Re: Losing chlorine

    If you decide not to drain/refill to lower the CYA, you are going to need to shock the pool to overcome the bloom that's trying to happen--but with your CYA that high, you're going to have to raise your Cl to 25 ppm to get to an effective "shock" level. Once the pool has been shocked, you can let the chlorine drift back down again, but it's going to have to stay at 8 ppm or above for the rest of the season in order to not risk more problems. That's why Watermom is suggesting the partial drain and refill--to lower that CYA so that your Chlorine levels are more manageable.

    Janet

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    joecus is offline Lifetime Member Thread Analyst joecus 0
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    Default Re: Losing chlorine

    I'm sorry I don't understand. I am getting the cyanuric acid reading from the strips that turn color when you dip it into the pool. The cya reading I get is in the "ok" range at 100 ppm. Also, you mention trichlor, what is that? I've been using shock, chlorine tabs and sometimes bleach. Is that what you are referring to?

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    aylad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Losing chlorine

    The chlorine tabs, if they're the kind that you use in a feeder, are trichlor--a form of chlorine that also contains CYA. Depending on what you're using for "shock", it's probably dichlor, which also contains CYA. Continued useage of those is why your CYA level is so high. In addition, strips are notorious for not being very accurage, so you never really know for sure how much CYA you actually have.

    What the strips don't tell you is that a CYA level of 100 is "ok" IF you run your pool with a FC level of 8-15 ppm and shock up to at least 25 ppm. If you let your chlorine get below 8 ppm, you're asking for algae blooms and unsanitary water. Take a look at the "best guess table" stickied at the top of this forum--you'll see that as your CYA (stabilizer) level increases, so must your base chlorine level in order to keep your water clean. So with your CYA as high as it is, I certainly wouldn't use anymore trichlor tabs or dichlor shock--I'd switch to bleach, which won't raise your stabilizer anymore.

    I also would encourage you to get a test kit of your own that is drop-based, not test strips. A good kit is key to managing a clear, clean pool with very little effort. AT the very least, I would advise you to either take a sample to the pool store to be tested by the reagent method or even to go to WalMart and get the 5-way test kit (which includes a CYA test) and test it yourself.

    Eitherway, you're either going to have to up your chlorine to compensate for the high CYA levels, or drain/refill part of your water to lower them, if you don't want to fight your pool all summer.

    Janet

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    joecus is offline Lifetime Member Thread Analyst joecus 0
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    Default Re: Losing chlorine

    OK - I just ordered a 5 part test kit. My plan is to switch to bleach until I can determine an accurate cya. At that point, I will drain if necessary. Can someone explain how my pool can be unsanitary right now? Both fr cl and cl are so high, can I use pool?

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    Default Re: Losing chlorine

    I don't trust strips CYA reading. My Hache strips are indicating I have no CYA but the Taylor black dot test indicates it's just under 50ppm. Either I'm reading the strips wrong or the CYA test is wrong. The chlorine tests aren't too bad and I can usually use the pH test safely.

    But the CYA, CH and TA tests are worthless. I check 'em anyway so I always know what owners see when they use them.
    Carl

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    joecus is offline Lifetime Member Thread Analyst joecus 0
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    Default Re: Losing chlorine

    Is my pool safe to use? Someone mentioned it is unsanitary.

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    aylad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Losing chlorine

    You can use the pool if you're keeping your chlorine between 8-15 ppm, with your CYA at 100. Test for combined chlorine, and if it's less than 0.5 and the pH is between 7.2-7.8, then it's fine to use the pool.

    If your chlorine is still higher than that, I would feel ok with using the pool with chlorine levels even up to 15 (this is because the CYA is so high), but I would wear an old suit in case of fading.

    If you test the water and have CC greater than 1, or if you've been running the pool for more than a few days with a chlorine level less than 8, then I wouldn't swim in it.

    Janet

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