No Chlorine at all in pool...

[markcobra]

Alright so I guess I can start going in the pool now as long as I'm maintaining proper chemistry? My wife and I have 3 kids ages 4, 3, and 1. I didn't let anybody swim in it yet while I was battling the no FC issue.

I don't worry about Phosphates and Nitrates?

Also when I add bleach at dusk do I run the filter all night or just for an hour or 2 or not at all? I set my filter to run 8am-8pm.

Thanks

[PoolDoc]

[ PoolDoc Caution: This is not a Watermom-safe post! ]

I don't worry about Phosphates and Nitrates?

Oh, I suppose you may, if you like.

I can probably think of some more things to worry about, if that's not enough. There's always Naegleri fowleri, which occasionally lives in pools, is chlorine resistant, goes in through your nose, and turns your brain to mush. And, of course, black widow spiders just adore the underside of skimmer lids -- I've found them there a least a dozen times.

Is that enough?

[markcobra]

Funny Doc. My wife was telling me that we have to always check the inside of the kids play house because friends of our keep finding black widow spiders.

Quick test strip this morning reads around 3 FC.

[Watermom]

[ PoolDoc Caution: This is not a Watermom-safe post! ]

There's always Naegleri fowleri, which occasionally lives in pools, is chlorine resistant, goes in through your nose, and turns your brain to mush.

AAAHHHKKK! Just another reason I should keep my head out of the water other than I don't want to get my hair wet!

Is that enough?

YES!!! I should've heeded the warning but couldn't resist cuz I was so busy laughing at your big red letters!

(You should have seen me this weekend cleaning out the shed with my youngest son. I'm sure you can picture it --- me very carefully and gingerly lifting things --- taking care to not get too close --- in case there would be a bug, brown recluse spider, or worse yet --- a SNAKE! Fortunately, we found nothing. If we had, I'm sure you woulda heard me screaming all the water to your house!)

[markcobra]

Don't get me started with snakes!

Anyway I just did another quick test strip and 0 FC! What is going on. I didn't have time to do a Taylor reading. All other levels ideal and pool looks great.

[markcobra]

I did a taylor reading and that confirmed no Free chlorine.

A few questions:

Should I add 2 gallon of Chlorine 10% tonight?

Should I be maintaining a certain level everyday?

Should I be adding an Insane amount (10 gallon) like last time or just keep adding daily and maintaining a certain level?

When I add the bleach should i be running filter all night or for an hour or so?

Moving forward I plan on buying bleach at super market since I only have 2 gallons left of pool store chl and no powder left.

Thanks again!

[Watermom]

For reference, in your pool, each gallon of 6% bleach will add 2.6ppm of chlorine and each gallon of 10% will add about 4.3ppm.

Let's do an overnight test on your pool. Go ahead and add both of the gallons of 10% this evening. Wait an hour or so and then test your chlorine. Then, in the morning within 2 hours of sunrise, check the chlorine again. See how much you lose overnight. If you lose more than 1ppm, then you should continue to try and keep the chlorine at shock level which for your pool with CYA of 40 would be 15ppm of chlorine.

When you get to the point where you are not losing more than 1ppm of chlorine overnight and you have no more than 0.5ppm of CC and your water is clear, then I would suggest keeping the chlorine high for one additional day for added insurance and then you can let it drift down. Then, keep it between 3-6 all the time. If you dip lower, you risk problems.

[markcobra]

So far so good. We finally all went swimming yesterday! Except the 1 year old she napped for 3 hours! My 4 year old daughter won the award for first one in for this year. My 3 year old son played on the 1st and 2nd steps. It takes him a few pool outing to get goin.

I've been maintaining FC levels at around 3-6. I've been pouring 96oz in every other day or 2. I raided the supermarket and have store brand ultra bleach reg scent on hand. Pool water looks fantastic.

Thanks again for all your help and teachings. I will not be listening to pool stores anymore. I look forward to helping and sharing my knowledge and experiences.

Thanks

Mark