Strange test results -- very high combined chlorine (CC)

[Themadczar]

Not sure I'm following you... Do you mean I should read the oto test after 10 minutes and that should give a tc reading that will match immediate dpd results?

If I got that correct, then after waiting 10 min, the oto test was definitely darker yellow than the 3ppm mark (the highest on my test) but not by much... I would think 20ppm or so would be much darker yellow or brown, but maybe I'm wrong.

[PoolDoc]

If you can, take pictures and post them or send them to me. I haven't seen a yellow CC result with DPD-FAS testing.

And yes, I meant, let the pool water + OTO sample stand for 10 minutes before trying to read it.

You can probably resolve some of the DPD-FAS testing confusion by buying a gallon of distilled water from Walmart and mixing 1/2 cup of pool water with 1/2 cup of distilled water, and then testing THAT, for FC, CC, and pH. Multiply the FC & CC results x2; take the pH result as is.

[Themadczar]

I sent the photo in a reply email to the forum notification... Not sure if you will get that. If not,let me know how to send it.

I am seriously considering the in-pool drain/refill. After 3 tsp of bleach into the bucket test, I am still at about 3ppm (immediate... It's dark yellow or borderline orange after 10 min) with the oto test. (Do I move on to the next step now, or add another tsp bleach so that immediate results are orange?) So 60ppm just for step 1 so far.
I tested the water supply today. 0 chlorine (filtered out and no bypass available), no ch, 320 ta, 7.0 ph. So if I refill the pool, a tarp is $65, the water will cost about $50, and I already have dichlor, bleach, & borax. Refilling should eliminate all of the problems I'm having except ta (ammonia, hardness, who knows what else is in the water). If I go this route, would you recommend 100% refill, or would something like 75% be enough?

[Themadczar]

Ok, i didn't have distilled water, but I did it with RO filtered water (0 chlorine and ph of 7.0) and I got 15 fc (7.5 x 2) and 10 cc (5.0 x 2). Ph was below 7 though... How is that possible? Argh!

[Themadczar]

When testing for cc in my bucket test, I got a yellow result last night AND this morning immediately after adding the r-0003 reagent. I suspect this indicates that my cc is off-the-charts high. So I experimented a little this morning... I went ahead and started adding r-0871. Each drop swirled pink before the sample turned yellow again... This happened until about drop 40 when the sample finally stayed pink. I kept adding reagent until i hit drop 80, but the sample was still pink. So, either my bucket test has cc over 40 ppm, or something else is going on here. FC was 6.0 btw.

[Themadczar]

Well, I decided to start the in-pool drain or as I like to call it, the membrane divided refill (mdr for short). I will attach a picture if I can get it to work. I'm using a 30x50 tarp from menards... On sale today for $50! I'm filling with 2 hoses at 8.6 gpm (it's all running through my softener/carbon filter since I have no easy way to bypass it... The softener tells me the flow rate.) I pumped to waste as far down as I could (no bottom drain) and I'm running a small submersible pump in the deepest part of the pool. I believe that with 2hoses, my input rate will exceed my output rate, so I will be adding a syphon later today when I get another hose (we live on the edge of a ravine). Also, I lowered the vacuum head/pole to the bottom of the pool (tied a string around the pole so I can retrieve it easily)... This way, in a pinch, I can start the pump back up with the vacuum hose in the skimmer and pull water from the bottom of the pool. I will keep my progress posted here. Let me know if I'm missing anything. One question... At what point should I add dichlor, bleach, or both to the fresh water? And how much to get things rolling nicely?

And this is a pic of my cc test turning yellow after adding the r-0003 reagent...

[Themadczar]

8 hours in and things are progressing nicely. I have a hose syphoning to the ravine and another pumpin water. With 2fill hoses, I figure that water is still going in faster than it's coming out, but the difference in rates should be pretty small and easy to correct. At about the 1/3 mark, i added 1# of pre-dissolved dichlor. i plan on another at about 2/3, and another at the end. Then I'll test the water completely tomorrow night and adjust everything as needed. With high alkilinity fill water, I'm aerating as I go by letting the hoses splash into the pool... Hopefully this will bring the PH up within acceptable range for restarting the pump/filter. Again, let me know if there is anything else I can be doing.

[PoolDoc]

Get some polyquat as quickly as you can, and add it. You have no circulation in the water on the cover; it will turn green quickly if you don't treat it. www.poolsolutions.com/polyquat.html

Meanwhile add 1/4 - 1/2 gallon doses of bleach each evening. Or, if you have some dichlor, you can use that. Do NOT use trichlor or cal hypo -- either could burn through the tarp, which usually not very chemical resistant.

By the way, I'd be grateful if you can get a series of pictures of the whole process -- many people have a hard time getting a clear idea of what we mean, when we describe this.