chlorine questions

[str8deal]

wow! at first reading I thought this is too confusing, but after reading it again, it isn't really. I found a link to a bleach calculator that I could download and I also found a link to a pool calculator for everything. I am going to go with your advise, but I am only going to go to around 11 because the water is really clear right now. I am heading out to buy a new test kit that will give me readings for a higher chlorine level than the one I have now. It only goes up to 3.
I really appreciate the help. Researching on the internet can be overwhelming with the information that is out there. This is our first major pool since moving to Arizona, it is a bit different than the pool we had back east. We are finding that a lot of things are done differently here because of the heat.

[aylad]

If you're still looking for a good test kit, here's the one that we recommend to most people..http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002IXIIG?...CT8KTDC1KDTYD&

And if you buy it from this link, Poolforum actually gets a donation from the sale.

Janet

[str8deal]

Well, it's been over a month since I started this post and after following Carl's advice I had the chlorine and ph levels looking really good. In fact, my husband was amazed at what a better job the cleaning system was doing as we always had one spot in the pool where dirt had a tendency to accumulate. We thought it was the head but once the pool numbers were adjusted it cleared up. PROBLEM: we had some pretty heavy winds for about a week and I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it or not, but since then I can't get the numbers back. The chlorine level keeps reading under 3 (we had it up around 11-15 because of our high cya number) no matter how much bleach I put in and the ph level is staying just above 8 even though I keep putting acid in. Would a shock treatment help and if so what should I use? Or should I just put 4-5 gallons of bleach in? Please help, I am becoming frustrated.

[Watermom]

How much bleach are you adding at a time? Is your pH still at 170? Have you added anything else other than bleach and acid. You don't need a special product called shock treatment. Bleach is all you need.