Pool Questions

[PoolDoc]

Not losing chlorine overnight is excellent - indicates that your pool water is clean and algae free.

Do NOT trust, or act upon, your pH test results. Above 15 ppm chlorine, your Taylor pH test is NOT reliable. (Above 5 ppm with other kits!)

Unless you are going to try to let the dirt settle, in preparation for vacuuming, do NOT turn the pump off. Even then, don't leave it off or more than 12 hours. Otherwise, run it 24/7 till your water is crystal clear. (If you have a two speed pump you can run on LOW, or if you have a valve DOWNSTREAM of the pump, you can throttle the flow back some.)

Ben

[skizz0tt]

It's difficult to tell if it's actually clear or not, I detect maybe the slightest hint of cloudiness in the deep end. I'll keep running it to be on the safe side. When can my children swim in it? Obviously 31.5 ppm is pretty high, is it absolutely unsafe? What level should I let it drop to in order to allow swimming?

[PoolDoc]

31.5 is not unsafe, but it is very hard on swimwear (depending on your stabilizer level) and might be uncomfortable. Assuming your CYA is still ~60 ppm, I'd let my kids get in at 20 ppm, but with older swim suits.

If your pool is clear, you can start cycling it. But try to have it run 2x per day for a total of at least 6 hours (more, with a sand filter).

[skizz0tt]

This morning the chlorine reading was 17.5 ppm... is that a drastic drop in 24 hrs? From 31.5 to 17.5? The pool is clear, clean & blue.

[PoolDoc]

If you added chlorine after the sun was low enough to end most direct sun, and then retested before there was much direct sun . . . then yes, that's a drastic drop.

Otherwise, no.

But if your water is clear, I'd go ahead and let it drop to the 5 - 10 range and hold it there for a week. After that you can operated normally. But do follow the Best Guess Guide (link below) to establish what "normal" is for your pool. At 60 ppm CYA, 5 - 10 ppm chlorine IS normal.

Ben