Chlorine and pH problems following missing stabilizer

[PoolDoc]

1. Please post all 3 results you got (2 stores + aquachek)

2. 10# of what kind of granular chlorine?

3. Exactly what chemical was used for your "first shock treatments" . . . and how much?

4. Do you realize that each pound of dichlor granular chlorine (sodium dichloro-isocyanurate, 55% or 61% available chlorine) will add a little more than 3 ppm of stabilizer to your pool. (10 lbs => 30 ppm CYA)?

[Cstaines]

Aquacheck Between 150-200 but closer in color to 150
RP (Pool Store 1) 40 (prior to VP treatment)
VP (Pool Store 2) 150
RP (Pool Store 1) 150 (returned after VP treatment)

Initial shock was TKO which is sodium hypochlorite
Burned through many bags varying in amount per time...wouldn't hold chlorine. Most bags at once...probably six. Total used over days...probably 14. $5 a bag.

VP had us put in 10# of granular dichlor chlorine (and check every 4 hours...if FC dropped below 5 ppm add another dose)...keep going until at 5 ppm for 24 hours without treatment. 25lbs sold for $99 and we used almost 3 before we lost hope...did nothing...money gone and CYA now sky high. We were desperate to get this cleared up...graduation party in three weeks, so we got sucked right in.

Then we found your website and hope to finally get back on track...even if it means draining and refilling.

Yes, we have come to realize the fatal CYA advice from the second pool store. I have enlisted my daughter's help now...she has been reading many of the posts on your website and applying the chemistry she knows and then explaining it easier terms for me and my husband to understand.

[PoolDoc]

Aquacheck Between 150-200 but closer in color to 150
RP (Pool Store 1) 40 (prior to VP treatment)
VP (Pool Store 2) 150
RP (Pool Store 1) 150 (returned after VP treatment)

No idea what your abbreviations are, nor what the numbers are for.

Please report results in some form like this:

FC (free chlorine): store #1 => x.x; store #2 => y.y; Aquachek => z.z
and so on for
pH
TA (total alkalinity)
CH (calcium hardness)
CYA (cyanuric acid).

And . . . do NOT drain your pool. Draining an in-ground vinyl pool typically destroys the liner!

VP had us put in 10# of granular dichlor chlorine (and check every 4 hours...if FC dropped below 5 ppm add another dose)...keep going until at 5 ppm for 24 hours without treatment. 25lbs sold for $99 and we used almost 3 before we lost hope...did nothing...money gone and CYA now sky high.

Are you saying you've used 3 x 25lb of dichlor?

[Cstaines]

Sorry. Trying.

Those are CYA readings:

CYA : Aquacheck => between 150 and 200, color closer to 150; store #1 => 150; store #2 = 140

I will get another sample tested tomorrow as the last printout I have from store #2 was prior to the 10 # of Aqua Prep they had me put in the pool to raise the Ph...which put my TA through the roof. I will post those results after I swing by Store #1 at lunch. I really wish I had known about this site sooner.

TC and FC have not been sustained for more than 8 hours on their own above .5 using OTO kit we purchased.

[PoolDoc]

Got it on the CYA; need the other numbers.

And again:

Are you saying you've used 3 x 25lb of dichlor?

[Cstaines]

"Store#2 had us put in 10# of granular dichlor chlorine (and check every 4 hours...if FC dropped below 5 ppm add another dose)...keep going until at 5 ppm for 24 hours without treatment. 25lbs sold for $99 and we used almost 3 before we lost hope...did nothing...money gone and CYA now sky high. We were desperate to get this cleared up...graduation party in three weeks, so we got sucked right in."


To answer the dichlor question:

Yes...as instructed by the pool store. They wanted us to keep going too...called it "chlorine demand."
The level would go to shock level...but the longest we could maintain 5ppm or higher was about 7 1/2 hours. It was Carribean Blue Chlorine Guard Granular Shock. They told us they are seeing an increasing number of pools with this problem.

I will send all numbers after lunchtime today.

[PoolDoc]

So how many pounds of dichlor -- in total -- have you added to the pool this season? (please answer with a number!)

What was the condition of the water on opening? (Clear/cloudy; green/blue; slime on sides/no slime, etc)?

Has the water been green, or the sides slimy, at any time SINCE opening?

[Cstaines]

Pool was very cloudy upon opening. Couldn't see the bottom...but no green or blue cast. We used a product (will have to look at the name when I get home) that is to bind to the organic matter and then it is filtered out. We thought for sure the chlorine depletion was being caused by organic matter. We kept cleaning and shocking and backwashed (twice because the pressure was up and wouldn't bump back down). We could then see the bottom and removed all debris (a few leaves and a pile of earth worms). We have backwashed twice more over the course of the last two weeks to be sure the filter was clean and free of anything that could be depleting the chlorine. Hosed well...looked great. No discoloration of earth or fingers in the filter. Everything appeared normal, but still will NOT hold chlorine levels. Pool has remained crystal clear ever since.

In total, we put 70 lbs of dichlor chlorine into our pool over a 36-48 hour period of time. The second dose of 10# is wiped out my Ph. They gave me the Aqua Prep for that...we were spiraling out of control at this point.

That is when my husband said we are done with this process.

Then is we found this forum. Started treating the Ph with Borax since our TA is now really high from the Aqua Prep. The Ph has been 7.8 for about a week and a half (OTO test and Aquacheck strips).

The pool looks fabulous...you would never guess we were having such problems!

[Cstaines]

Store # 1 Water tested at 12:00 p.m.

FC .5
TC .5
pH is 8.2
TA is 235
Calcium Hardness is 200
Stabilizer is 135
No Phosphates present

[PoolDoc]

OK.

With 70 lbs of dichlor into an 18,000 gallon pool, your stabilizer level is now well over 200 ppm.

Please do things on the list below, exactly:

1. Test chlorine levels with an OTO /phenol red drops kit. Tell me the color you see. It may not be anything on the test kit block, but may be a different color.

2. Buy a gallon of distilled (DISTILLED, not anything else) water from Walmart. Test your pH using a mix of 2/3 cup of DISTILLED water and 1/3 cup of pool water. Tell me what result you get, and whether it matches the pH test with straight pool water.

3. If you don't have a K2006, or have one on the way, order one today. With a CYA of possibly 300 ppm, you MUST have a K2006 to manage your pool.

4. Your other option, if you won't want to get a K2006 and follow some rather exotic methods this summer (not particularly hard and not expensive, but weird), you need to hire a vinyl liner builder or service guy to drain 4/5 of your pool and then refill. Trying to drain it your self will either (a) destroy your liner or (b) be slow and difficult

You can NOT do it a little at a time! I just did the math, in an iterative spreadsheet: if you drain 25% of the pool each time, you'll have to repeat the process EIGHT times to get down to 40 ppm of stabilizer!