What chlorine level to shock -- now that half my CYA is gone

[PoolDoc]

Sounds good.

[JimK]

I just wanted to say thank you for the help dealing with the byproducts of CYA biodegradation. I won't bore you with the latest numbers other than to say I just need to tweak a few levels before I start up the SWCG.

Water warmed up to 76 today, so we officially kicked off the 2014 season by getting in!

Thanks again.

PS - I don't care that some years ago my (ex!) pool person at the pool store said y'all are just some nuts on the internet and don't know what you're talking about, y'all are A+ in my book.

[PoolDoc]

PS - I don't care that some years ago my (ex!) pool person at the pool store said y'all are just some nuts on the internet and don't know what you're talking about, y'all are A+ in my book.

When I first started PoolSolutions and the PoolSolutions forum (later, PoolForum), I used to get regular 'nasty-grams' from dealers and pool guys. But other than complaints from some of the shysters we've exposed, that no longer seems to happen. We've actually had pool guys tell people to use our site to figure out pool chemistry.

[JimK]

I must admit the first time I came across your site some years ago, I wasn't sure what to think of it. After all, my go to person at the pool store was an "expert" with many years experience (to his credit he was never pushy about selling chemicals).

However, it became apparent over time that their recommendations sometimes did not work and only resulted in dumping more money into the pool. The last straw was when I discovered that the reason my pool was staining was from all the copper algaecide they had me use (I kept getting the beginnings of an algae outbreak (slick liner) so they had me start using the algaecide; it did work though).

After spending $$$ to deal with the stains and copper (from info I found on the internet ), I started really reading your site and giving your methods a try........best thing I ever did as a pool owner! . My pool is now much easier and much cheaper to maintain with FAR fewer problems.

[PoolDoc]

Thanks.

[Watermom]

PS - I don't care that some years ago my (ex!) pool person at the pool store said y'all are just some nuts on the internet and don't know what you're talking about, y'all are A+ in my book.

But, I have to say, some of us might actually be a little "nuts!"

[JimK]

Lol!

[JimK]

Well, I thought it would be smooth sailing from here, but this morning's readings threw me off.

Last night:

FC 9
CC 0

There was a 4ppm loss of FC during the day yesterday (seems normal since I hadn't started the SWCG yet).

This morning:

FC 2
CC .5

I certainly didn't expect a FC drop of 7ppm overnight!

Last night I did take a full set of measurements (I can post those if needed), and added the following:

1 box borax (pH was reading 7.2 so I threw in the last box of borax I had)
3.25 lbs of stabilizer to bring it up to the recommended 70-80ppm
100 lbs of salt
2 quarts of Jack's Magic Purple Stuff (if I don't use this I get staining...I'll address this in another thread at another time)
1 quart of polyquat (60%); I do this every spring for insurance while getting CL levels stabilized.

Could anything I added last night explain the big FC drop?

This morning I started up the SWCG and added 2 jugs (121 oz each) of 8.25% bleach. Also, when starting up for spring I always run the pump 24/7 until everything is balanced and stable....don't know if this matters in this case.

[PoolDoc]

I've pretty much given up explaining everything I see happen in pools. Sometimes, years later, I find out what was going on, but mostly not. Weird stuff happens from time to time in pools, and unless your goal in life is to be an amateur chemical detective, it's better to let it go UNLESS it's causing a real problem. Who knows, if you have a dog, maybe this:

is the explanation.

If you are regularly adding Jacks Magic, you may want to get and use some CuLator packs. They are not effective for quick clean-up, but they do continuously remove metals from the water, unlike products like Jacks Magic which work temporarily to keep it soluble. If you do get some, do NOT throw them away monthly, like the company encourages. They are not 'used up' till badly discolored OR fouled with goop. Keep one in your skimmer, but use a skimmer sock on top to protect the pack from 'goo'. You can also just chuck them in the pool. The more you have, the more effective they'll be. Just don't put them where they will get ruined with greasy dirt. (So, don't put them in a chlorine floater, where lotion and suntan oil can foul them.)

1 ppm Culator
1.5 ppm Culator, sold by Amazon
4 ppm Culator, sold by Amazon
Poolmaster 16242 Poolmaster Skimmer Basket Liner

[Watermom]

I bet it was the polyquat that caused the drop in FC.