Using Bleach in the Pool

[Schooled by Pool]

OK. While waiting for my new test kit to arrive (Taylor 2006C) I tested the pool Sunday night, Monday morning and Monday night, Tuesday Morning and Tuesday night. All tests were similar, Chlorine near 2 (+/- .5) , ph at or near 7.4, CYA at 100 - 120 (guess because the tube only goes to 100). The pool is still slowly clearing, but cloudy (for past 2 weeks). I went ahead and put 8.5 gallons of 6% bleach last night, after the last test, tested again this morning, all levels are the same, except the chlorine, which is not measurable beyond 3 on my current drop kit. Clearly, the Cholrine has spiked, as intended. I calculated that I should have added over 20 ppm to the chlorine count, which would leave me short of the suggested 25 (I had no more bleach). If there was any more living algae in there, hopefully it will still be enough. Thats all I have for now.

[Schooled by Pool]

OK, my Taylor kit arrived. I tested pool last night. It was 6.2 FC, 7.4 ph, 120 ppm TA, 450 hardness, CYA off the charts...well above 100, probably around 150, but that is a guess based on how far below the 100 marker that the warer level was. I added 182 ounces of 6% bleach. This morning the FC was 9, CC was 4, the rest of the readings were the same as last night. Forgot to write down the CC last night, so I have no comparison.

Water remains cloudy and slightly green. Still unable to close the pool and cover it. This has been going on for a month now. Thinking about draining a couple of feet out of the pool and adding water to drop the CYA level. I do not want to have to go through this next season when people are actually swimming in the pool.

25,000 Gallon gunite, Hayward 220ST filter, 1 HP pump.

[Schooled by Pool]

Update: I have been keeping the Chlorine level high, 10+ FC with an occassional shock. It is still cloudy. But, I can see the bottom of the shallow end and it looks like I can see about 5 ft. down into the deep end. I have been brushing the walls, and I vacuumed over the weekend. Hoepfully, we are close to the end of this mess.

Last night I shocked the pool again. Before I shocked, the pool was 16.5 FC, .5 CC, 7.6 ph, 110 TA, 370 CH, 150 CYA. I added 4 gallons of liquid shock from a pool store (Unstabilized chlorine, 10% or 11% depending on which part of the label you read. Up until now, I have been using store bought chlorine (6% Dollar General)). I have gone through a lot of chlorine and want to try a higher concentrate with less bottles.

After I shocked pool, I tested the FC 2 hrs later. It was 27.5.

This morning I tested. It was 27.5 FC, 0 CC, 7.8 ph. 120 TA, CH 370. So the ph went up, which was odd. But, the other odd thing was when I tested the TA, it turned from green to a pale yellow color, rather than a pinkish red color. I tested it twice, same results. Why did the color change? Also, why did the ph go up?

I am assuming all the algae in my pool is dead and I am waiting for everything to settle, due to the FC and CC. Is there anything else I need to do before I get someone to shut down the pool for the winter?

Thanks for your help.

[PoolDoc]

membership updated . . .

[Schooled by Pool]

Update: The previous evening I brushed and shocked. The next morning I had no change in FC & CC readings. Last night, for the sake of being throrough and aggressive, I brushed and shocked again, bringing the FC level up to 32. The FC dropped to 28 this morning, and CC was at 1. I suppose this means I still have algae to contend with? I will shock again tonight.

On another note, I spoke to the builders of my pool and they sent me a copy of the original blueprints. It is 16 X 40, 24,811 gallons (I was close in my estimate). Pool is older than I thought....35 years.

Hayward 220ST filter, 1 HP pump.

[aylad]

The pH went up because your chlorine level is so high--chlorine levels above about 15 ppm on the Taylor kit will give falsely high pH levels, so don't adjust your pH any until the chlorine comes back down and you get a reliable reading. I suspect that's the same reason that your TA changed colors the way it did.

If you are still losing 4 ppm of chlorine overnight, then you are indeed still fighting something in the water. Maintain your shock level until you don't get an overnight drop, and then you should be ready to close the pool.

[Schooled by Pool]

Thanks Aylad. That is very helpful. I cranked up the chlorine even higher last night. I had a small drop overnight from 36 to 35.5 this morning. CC is .5. Ph went up again, so your info is very helpful. Thanks.

[aylad]

Happy to help. If you're no longer losing more than 1 ppm of chlorine overnight, then you should be about ready to close

[Schooled by Pool]

Update: After the algae was conquered, the pool took a long time to clear (even with vacuuming to waste). Putting some DE in the skimmer last weekend really helped (a tip I found on this site). I am happy to report that almost 2 months to the day after I bought the house and inherited this pool, I can finally see the drain. The pool store is closing my pool on Monday. I am looking forward to eventually doing that myself, along with doing the opening. But, I want to see it done first (I learn better that way). Thanks for your help.