Excessive bleach consumption

[VOLDADDY]

At 11:10 I tested again and have 14 PPM FC. I was at 4 PPM and added 4 jugs of bleach to get me to 14, so 3 qts raise me 2.5 PPM. I will check in the morning before the sun starts bearing down on my pool and see if it holds steady overnight. Hopefully if I was fighting something, even though my CC has been 0, this will nuke it.

[VOLDADDY]

At 8 AM my FC was 8. There was absolutely no sun whatsoever on the pool that early so I can rule it out. I don't have any algae or dead things in my pool to consume that much chlorine. After I did my FC test I added the 5 drops of R-003 and it was a very pale color, more like cloudy. It didn't turn any shade of red. I added 1 drop of R-0871 and it cleared up, so I guess I do have .5 CC? I'm going to add 2 jugs of bleach now, which should bring me up to 13 on FC, and retest when I get home later tonight.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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?

[duraleigh]

day1,

He is around 50ppm CYA now.