No FC but pool is crystal clear

[soupy01833]

Trying to work out a FC issue and hope to search for it .

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I need to update my signature when I get the permission but I have a 15k pool round vinyl above ground. Sand filter with 1.5 Hp Hayward pump. the pool is crystal clear but no FC.

CYA=40
TA=100
PH=7.2
TDS=700
Phosphates=100

TAC=2
FC=0

do I just keep adding bleach until I get FC to stay?

[Watermom]

Yes! In your pool, each quart of 8.25% bleach will add about 1.5ppm of chlorine and each 121-oz jug will add around 5ppm. Since you have no chlorine in the pool, it is probably best to go ahead and shock the pool. If you take a look at the following chart, you'll see that with a CYA of 40, shock level is 15ppm. http://pool9.net/cl-cya/

Go ahead and add 3 of the jugs in the morning. Tomorrow evening, test your water when the sun is off the pool and then add however much bleach you need to get it back up to 15. The next morning within one hour of sunrise, test again and report your reading. We are looking to see if how much chlorine you are losing overnight from sundown to sunup. If you lose more than 1ppm, you'll want to continue to keep your pool at shock level. If you do NOT lose more than 1ppm, that will be great but you should still keep your chlorine at shock level for one additional day and then let the chlorine drift down. With a CYA of 40, your maintenance range will always be chlorine between 3-6ppm.

For maintenance, you will want to test your pool each evening and add enough bleach to get your chlorine back up to about 6ppm. If you find that you have dipped below 3ppm by the time you test the next evening, take it up to 7 instead of 6. You want to always be able to make it through the day without ever dipping below 3ppm. (It is always best to add your bleach in the evening. The only reason I suggested adding it in the morning this time is because I don't want your pool to be sitting there all day tomorrow with no chlorine in it. That is an open invitation to algae!)

Keep an eye on your pH. You are ok at 7.2 but if it goes any lower, you'll need to use some 20 Mule Team Borax (laundry aisle at Walmart) to bump it up some.

What kind of test kit do you have?

Hope this helps. Come back with further questions and we'll try and help you out.

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[soupy01833]

Thanks, I am only using strips but plan to get a better test kit after reading many threads here. Thanks the advice and I will take it to shock level today.

On another note I thought I completed registration but have no permissions to do anything. Is there something I am missing?

[Watermom]

We have had SO many new registrations in the past few days! That is good --- we are always glad to welcome new members ---- and bad --- as we are swamped right now trying to get them all processed. Dancing as fast as we can, though! Hang tight, hopefully it won't be too long and it is definitely worth the wait. This forum is so awesome!

[PoolDoc]

. . . membership updated.

Whatever you do, don't let algae get started.

While you wait on a K2006, go get a cheap local OTO / phenol red drops kit. Even better, some Walmarts have a Taylor-made HTH-6-way drops kit.

Keep your chlorine in the dark yellow range, till you get the K2006 and can see what's going on.

[soupy01833]

added 3 gallons last night. This morning 1 TAC 0 FC. I do not have a way to test CYA yet but it was 40 2 days ago. Ph is still 7.2. TA 100

[Watermom]

This is not a new pool, right? Do you have any idea what the CYA level was when you closed the pool last year?

Sometimes, CYA biodegrades over the winter and causes a huge chlorine demand upon opening in the spring. I'm kinda wondering if this could be what is going on with your pool. The only way to fix this is to keep hammering it with bleach until it eliminates the byproducts that are formed. So, keep adding bleach. It may take a lot of bleach but it will eventually hold. If you are home today, go ahead and hit it again. You really don't want to leave your pool all day today with no chlorine in it.

[soupy01833]

I do not know as i was a bad tester. I am only learning about the difference between FC and CC. I guess I have to keep adding bleach at night to shock level until it holds. When my k2006 kit arrives I should have some more accurate readings. The funny thing is the water is crystal clear.

Thank You

[Watermom]

You are right that evening is the best time to add bleach but since you basically have none in there, if you can, it would be best to also go ahead and add some now. (Probably need more in the evening, too, to get back to shock level.)

And yes, I know it seems funny that there could be an issue when your water is clear but sometimes you can't see stuff that is going on in there. Clear can be deceiving.

[JimK]

You are right that evening is the best time to add bleach but since you basically have none in there, if you can, it would be best to also go ahead and add some now. (Probably need more in the evening, too, to get back to shock level.)

And yes, I know it seems funny that there could be an issue when your water is clear but sometimes you can't see stuff that is going on in there. Clear can be deceiving.

+1

This spring I was dealing with the byproducts off CYA biodegrading over the winter. Just like the OP, my water was clear; there was no visual indication anything was amiss. After about 25 gal. of bleach CL levels finally held. Now I'm enjoying! (Yes, that's me in my pic)