Excessive bleach consumption

[nater]

Do you currently have a high bather load? With just two people swimming in my pool about every other day, my CL demand goes up quite a bit, (especially after jumping in right after a lot of yard work)

[VOLDADDY]

Yes, all of a sudden my 7 year old daughter is the most popular kid around now that the pool is open. Plus, we have a lot of family and friends over on weekends for cookouts. However, yesterday, only 3 people swam for about an hour, maybe less, all day. I still lost 5 PPM overnight, no swimmers, no sun.

[mbar]

There is something working on taking hold in your pool. Bring your chlorine up to shock levels and keep it there until the chlorine holds overnight. You must be consistant. Everytime you let the chlorine drop down, the culprit is trying to take hold. The only way to get out of this pattern is to hold the pool at shock levels until they hold overnight. Try to test 3 x a day, if that isn't possible add more bleach to hold over till you test at least 2x a day - but make sure you test at night after the sun goes down, and before the sun gets on your pool, this way you will be able to tell when the chlorine is holding.

[mwsmith2]

Did you have a sudden drop in your CYA levels at all? Also, with lots of young friends, i'm guessing there's a certain amount of ammonia being released which can lead to Cl demand. Kinda sounds like a CYA decomposition problem. Well, at least we know it's something in there, and not the sun. Keep at it, you'll get it eventually.

Michael

[VOLDADDY]

Tonight's test at 11:00 PM I have 5 FC. I was at 9 FC when I tested around 8 AM, and added 2 jugs of bleach, which should have brought me to around 14 FC. I added 3 jugs of bleach tonight which should bring me up to around 12.5 FC. I haven't had any sudden drop of CYA. I am out of the R-0013 now so I can't test my CYA until my new kit arrives. It was around 35, and I added the last of the CYA in my jug, around 2 lbs., on Sunday. I will be up bright and early and test and bleach again before work. I am amassing a lot of empty bleach jugs!

[VOLDADDY]

6:30 AM test shows FC of 9, so I lost 3.5 PPM FC overnight. I added 2 jugs of bleach to bring it back up to around 14. Will retest after work again. I will throw my Aquabot in tonight and let it run, as there is a little dirt on the botom. Should I brush the pool down too? Honestly, I have gotten lazy on brushing. TIA.

[mwsmith2]

You're not the only lazy brusher here! I only brush if I see stuff on my walls. With the aquabot tho, you really don't need to brush since it does the walls for ya.

[VOLDADDY]

6 pm test, FC 5, adding 3 jugs to bring to about 12.5 PPM. Whatever I am fighting is stubborn. I will test and add again before bed tonight.

Any ideas or guesses what's going on? The pool isn't used much throughout the week, but something is eating away at the bleach. I have no CC's and no signs of any algae anywhere. My water looks great.

[duraleigh]

Voldaddy,

I would bring your Cl up to 15 +. Keep in mind I am an agressive (but accurate) bleach user so here's my thinking:

Your last CYA test you said was 30-40 and you added 2lbs since (12ppm) so now you could easily be in excess of 50CYA

Ben's "best guess" says if your CYA is that high, 15ppm is breakpoint and 20ppm is breakpoint for CYA of 60.

Lastly, your Cl will start to diminish instantly...particularly since you seem to be working on something. You will probably never reach your intended target.....but you'll get very close.

Do I think you're in danger of bleaching your liner at those levels?....No

Will I buy you a new one if I am wrong?.....no, again

My .02.

[day1]

Kinda sounds to me like your cya isn't high enough for stabilization. I'd up that to about 50 and see if that helps. Are you sure you read the CYA test right?