Chlorine question for Intex 22'x 52" pool

[Jewlz]

Hi all,

My pool is finally full now after about 28 hours of filling with the hose.

Yesterday I did follow the Super Simple Pool Chemistry Recipe by putting in 1 dose of bleach when the water level was above 6 inches, then in the evening I put in 4 doses. This morning I tested the chlorine and Ph levels. The chlorine was at a 5 (way high as I think it should be between 1-3 but please correct me if I'm wrong) but my Ph was perfect, about a 7.2.

I tested it a couple more times throughout the day as it completed filling and the chlorine is not even registering now. I did put a dose of chlorine in it today each time I checked it per the easy start up instructions (1 1/4 cup for my pool size), but it is still registering zero. The water is totally clear in the tester and not yellow at all.

I was able to start the pump about an hour ago since the water level was finally over where it needed to be.

I don't have any dichlor yet . . . I do have bleach and borax though. How much bleach should I put in it if it's not registering at all on my tester? Do I shock it? Then what is the best way to maintain that?

If I use the BBB method, do I even need dichlor at all?

Thanks for any and all help!
Jewlz

[Watermom]

The dosing guide, based on volume, is listed at the top of the SS Recipe.

The reason you have no chlorine showing is because you have not yet added CYA (cyanuric acid, also called stabilizer). CYA is kind of like sunscreen for your chlorine. Without it, you cannot keep a chlorine reading in your pool as you are finding out. Dichlor adds CYA as well as chlorine. As you use dichlor for the first few weeks, your CYA level climbs. When it gets to around 50ppm, then you should just switch to bleach so your CYA level does not get too high.

If you don't want to use dichlor (and it is the easiest way to start up a new pool), then you have to just add CYA separately. Let us know if you aren't going to use the SS Recipe so someone can walk you through needed steps.

In the meantime, add bleach a few times per day. A pool with no chlorine doesn't take long to give algae a chance to start! It would be a shame for a fresh pool to turn green!

(By the way, BBB doesn't mean that you use bleach, Borax and baking soda exclusively and never anything else. It really is more of a philosophy of getting to know your pool, testing accurately and only adding what you need without a lot of extra unneeded stuff.)

Hope this helps.

[Jewlz]

Thanks Watermom . . . I guess I'll be getting some dichlor ASAP I didn't remember reading anything about that in the SS recipe. In the mean time I've added 4 doses to bleach to the pool for the evening.

My water looks so wonderful and clear right now. I certainly don't want it to turn green.

I'll be glad when I get all this stuff figured out.

Thanks for the advice once again!
Jewlz

[Watermom]

The SS recipe page explains how to use the Dichlor and very importantly, what kind of Dichlor to buy. (At Sam's Club or Amazon).

In the meantime, keep adding bleach a couple of times per day.

And....... you are welcome!

[Jewlz]

Hello again,

I just got my Dichlor at Sam's today and was wondering once I put a 1lb. bag in, how soon is it until you can usually get in the pool again? And while I'm asking what is a safe chlorine level? I think it says on the bag that 3ppm or under?

Got some kids that want to possibly swim (although it looks like it could pour down rain any minute) and I don't want to throw it in there if I have to wait several hours for the chlorine level to go down or something in case they do decide to swim.

I just checked with my tester and there is NO chlorine level at all right now even though I threw in 3 cups of bleach earlier today, and we've had no sun at all.

Thanks,
Julie

[Watermom]

Give it a half hour to dissolve and mix in and then let them swim. Even though the bag says 3ppm and under is safe, that is not the whole story. Needed chlorine levels are based on CYA levels. The higher your CYA is, the higher your chlorine needs to be. So, if you had a high CYA level and kept your chlorine at 3ppm, it would not be safe nor sanitized because your chlorine level would be too low.

Take a look at the Best Guess Chlorine chart in either my signature below or at this link: http://pool9.net/cl-cya/
It explains the relationship between CYA and how high you must keep your chlorine. The fact that many people do not understand this connection causes lots of green pools!

You are losing chlorine fast now because you don't have any CYA in the water. Dichlor adds CYA as well as chlorine so after you use it for awhile, your CYA level will build up and you'll be able to maintain a chlorine reading throughout the day. When your CYA gets to around 50ppm, you'll want to quit using dichlor and switch to just bleach so your CYA level doesn't get too high.

[Jewlz]

Thank you Watermom. I haven't even tested the CYA level yet since I don't have one yet lol! I guess once I get this in the pool I'll test it after about a 1/2 hour?

Then according to the Ben's Best Guess chart, say if my CYA is at 20ppm, my chlorine shoudl be no less than 2 put no more than 5? Just want to make sure I'm reading it right.

Then what does the "Shock" and +Shock+ column numbers mean?

Thanks!
Julie

[Watermom]

You got it!

Shocking a pool simply means taking your chlorine up extra high. How high you need to go depends on --- you guessed it ---- your CYA level. In most cases, if you need to shock, the number in the 'shock' column is high enough. With some types of very stubborn algae, you occasionally have to go even higher to the 'shock +' column but not typically.

[Jewlz]

Ok another question . . . in reading the SS recipe it says that once the pool is full (and I have my dichlor now as stated above) I should "add one dose of dichlor each evening. Do NOT skip! And then add 1/2 dose before each group swims. Add borax in equal quantities as dichlor (ie, if you add 1 cup of diclor, then also add 1 cup of borax)"

I did put in one dose yesterday and I'm getting ready to go test the water today in a minute. I've got the HTH 6 way test kit for now and I'm not sure how to test the CYA level as I don't see any instruction on the sheet that came with the kit on how to do that. Just trying to determine how much dichlor I should put in (or if I need to) and when I can get to the once a week recommendation that is on the bag?

And is it an absolute need to get the Taylor test kit? I see it's about 3 times more expensive than the HTH kit I have and just wondering. If I really need it I will get it, but just curious as to why the HTH kit won't do for me.

Thanks!
Jewlz

[Watermom]

Don't bother running the CYA test until you have been using dichlor for about a week to 10 days. Before then, you won't have enough in there yet that can even register on the test so you'll just be wasting your testing reagent.

Just keep following the SS recipe. You want the daily doses of dichlor until your CYA is between 40-50. Then you'll want to stop using it and switch to just using bleach. You will never get to the "just one bag of dichlor per week." Long term use of dichlor will cause your CYA to get too high.

The Taylor kit can test chlorine levels past 5ppm, the 6-way kit can't. If you only have the 6-way, it is imperative that you do not let your CYA get too high nor get any algae. Both of those things call for high chlorine levels and you won't be able to test.

Another option you have since you have the 6-Way kit is to just buy the FAS-DPD add-on kit. That will give you the test you will be missing in your kit. Click on the test kit link in my signature and you'll find it. It is the Taylor K1515.