How often to test & how much chlorine to add daily? Also, vacation upcoming...

[AnnaK]

Meanwhile, I don't know where you are but this season, for unexplained reasons, EVERYONE around the country seems to be using excessive amounts of chlorine--myself included. I've had to add a gallon of 12.5% the last two days.

Yep, count me in with that group.

I decided to raise my CYA from its normal 40 ppm to 60 ppm which has noticeably reduced the frequency and amount of chlorine additions. I'm running the FC at 5-7 ppm now.

It's been a weird season. Late to warm up, lots of rain in the spring, then a nasty heat wave with no rain at all which is making demands on my well for refills.

[blessedbeingmom]

Why use a scale? I think you are doing it the hard way.

That's DH for you! He specializes in doing things the hard way. LOL! He's very scientific about everything! To be fair, he says the bottle is an odd size, so it makes it hard to measure it. I think we'll find an old pitcher or something and make quart and/or pint markings on it and use it for adding bleach, so we can do it the easy way, but for now, he's still doing it the technical way.
Okay, I was at work today & DH did not test the FC levels this afternoon. They were 4.5 ppm this morning. We swam at around 11:30. At 9 p.m. this evening, the FC was only 0.5 ppm. DH figured the amount of bleach to add to get it back up to 10 ppm and added 2,280 gm (about 2.28 Liters) of bleach. He checked the FC levels again at 11:45 (to allow time for circulation, and our level did not get up to 10 ppm. It only got up to 8.5 ppm.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's edition of "As the Pool (prayerful does not) Turn (into Algae) Again." LOL!

[CarlD]

OK,

That's very revealing. Thank you.

You are clearly fighting something in the water. That's why it's dropping so much. Of course, as I said, EVERYONE around the nation is using large amounts of chlorine this season. You need to add sufficient bleach to bring your FC up to shock level: 15ppm, and keep it there for at least 24 hours or until it stops dropping drastically. It may be as little as 24 hours. After raising the FC, check the water 3x a day and raise it back to 15 as needed. When, after 24 hours, it doesn't drop, or doesn't drop much (especially overnight, when there's no UV to break chlorine down, you can gradually let the FC drop back to the maintenance level which is 3 to 6 ppm and which is where you'll keep it on your normal daily basis.

[Watermom]

That's DH for you! He specializes in doing things the hard way. LOL! He's very scientific about everything!

Um, yeah. I know somebody (who shall remain nameless) but his initials are P.o.c.o.n.o.s. who is just like that!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's edition of "As the Pool (prayerful does not) Turn (into Algae) Again." LOL

Love it! Gave me a good chuckle this morning!

[blessedbeingmom]

You are clearly fighting something in the water. That's why it's dropping so much. Of course, as I said, EVERYONE around the nation is using large amounts of chlorine this season. You need to add sufficient bleach to bring your FC up to shock level: 15ppm, and keep it there for at least 24 hours or until it stops dropping drastically. It may be as little as 24 hours. After raising the FC, check the water 3x a day and raise it back to 15 as needed. When, after 24 hours, it doesn't drop, or doesn't drop much (especially overnight, when there's no UV to break chlorine down, you can gradually let the FC drop back to the maintenance level which is 3 to 6 ppm and which is where you'll keep it on your normal daily basis.

Okay, so last night Matt added enough bleach to get up to 17 ppm. This was at 11:15 p.m. In the morning, by 7:15 a.m., our FC was only 12 ppm. He added enough bleach to get up to 20 ppm this time (as we were both going to be away from the house all day today). I came home and checked it at 6 p.m. and the FC was down to 5 ppm. Again, it was a very hot and sunny day (pool water temperature of about 93 degrees). The CC was only 0.5 ppm.

We will bring it back up to shock level again tonight before going to bed. I bought a pitcher that goes up to 2 quarts and wrote "pool" and "bleach" all over it (so we won't use it for anything else). On the side where the markings are, I wrote lines for 1.5 ppm, 3 ppm, 4.5 ppm and 6 ppm, to make adding bleach easier.

How many ppm is normal to lose at night, and how many is normal to lose on a hot, sunny day?

So, for our vacation, the plan is to raise to shock level before we leave, then cover (but vent). Set timer to run pump for 2-3 hours at a time, several times a day. Mid-week (after about 3-4 days) have relative come by and add a gallon of bleach (should raise it by 12 ppm) and keep pool covered but vented. Does this sound okay? Do we need to add any stabilizer? It was about 42 ppm six days ago.

[CarlD]

Your chlorine loss should be negligible, not massive. I think you have a fight on your hands (with something that is using up your chlorine.)

Remember: You want the chlorine there to kill dangerous contaminants. Not to be too disgusting but every person who gets in your pool brings a very,very, very small amount of fecal matter--and the chlorine rapidly neutralizes that and renders it safe, sanitary and harmless. If algae is using up your chlorine you lose that protection.

That should reassure you that doing this is the right thing.

[aylad]

Carl's right--you're fighting something in the water. Your chlorine loss overnight should be less than 1 ppm. It will be more during the day, but shouldn't be nearly as much as you're reporting. You need to shock it and hold it at shock level as consistently as you can to kill off whatever is creating your chlorine demand. As far as vacation, your plan sounds good--but if that bleach-adding relative could come by a couple of times, maybe on day 2 and day 4 or 5? it would be even better.

Janet

[blessedbeingmom]

So last night when DH got home, he added enough bleach to get it up to 19.5 ppm (the 1.42 gallon jug) at 12:30 (just after midnight). This morning the chlorine level tested at 13 ppm at 9 a.m.
We'll see what we can do about the relative. The problem is that they are Matt's parents and they are joining us midway during our vacation.
What would be the hazards of superchlorinating while we are away (like going up to a higher than normal shock level, or adding a bunch of bleach, and then having them add a bunch more on their way out of town)? Would that hurt the liner or anything?

His parents are on the older side and don't live super-close to us either.

[aylad]

Your shock level right now is 15 ppm...you could probably go up to 20 ppm just before you leave without any problem other than possibly the fumes fading your cover a little, but if you leave it vented it should be fine. (I don't use a cover, but I'm sure someone here who does will pop in and advise you better there.) How confident are you in your in-law's testing abilities? If they could test, and get it back up to shock level, that would be great. If not, then having them pour another gallon in (which would raise your Cl by 12) should be sufficient.

In looking through your thread, I don't see mention of a pH or calcium level, but another option could be to purchase a floater and put a couple of trichlor (if you can withstand a lowered pH and slightly raised CYA level) OR cal-hypo (if you can stand a slight calcium increase) pucks in it, then tie it off somewhere in the pool where it can't float over and make contact with your pool walls. This would at least allow for some continuous chlorination, but honestly I'm not sure how well it would work with your pool covered. Again, maybe somebody here that uses a cover will comment on that. You do need to take a look at your pH level, though, even if you don't use the floater--you don't want a pH lower than 7.0 because it can start causing damage to your liner. Keep in mind that pH at high chlorine levels will read falsely high, so if you test it while the pool is shocked, and only get a 7.2, then I would for sure add some Borax to adjust it upward.

Honestly, don't lose any sleep over this--I'm sure that by shocking the pool before you leave, and having your inlaws add a gallon of bleach mid-week will be fine--the absolute worst thing that could happen is a little green when you come back, but that's easy enough to take care of in a few days.

Janet

[blessedbeingmom]

In looking through your thread, I don't see mention of a pH or calcium level

Our pH is usually around 7.8 (on the higher side) even when the chlorine level isn't high. Our calcium was 140 ppm last week. Our CYA is close to 42.

I thought about either getting a chlorinator or a few pucks (but wasn't sure what to look for) and also thought about getting some polyquat 60. I just haven't had time this week to do much more than think about it.