chlorine

[Watermom]

Bleach is sodium hypochlorite but just at a different concentration that what your liquid chlorine. Borax is used to raise pH but for now, just put it on the shelf. A pH at 7.4 is just fine. We use distilled water at times when we have to do dilutions for some of the chemistry tests so we advise buying it to keep on hand.

Can you use your K2005 kit and run the tests and report your numbers, please? We typically don't trust pool store testing as we find that in many cases it is not accurate.

One reason that you are losing so much chlorine may be the fact that your chlorine level has dipped so low and you may be on the verge of an impending algae bloom that you can't yet see. Needed chlorine levels are based on CYA levels. More about this connection can be read in the chart at this link:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/

Once we verify what your CYA reading is with your kit, you can use the info in the chart to see how high your chlorine levels should be. I advise you to go ahead and shock the pool up to the appropriate shock level based on the chart. Do you still have more of the pool store chlorine? If so, what percentage sodium hypochlorite is it, how long have you had it and where has it been stored?

With high CYA and the high chlorine levels that are needed as a result, you need a kit that can measure them. Since you have the Taylor K2005 kit, you don't need to buy a whole K2006 kit. You can just buy an add-on kit -- K1515 or 1515C -- which will give you the missing chlorine test that can measure past 5ppm that your K2005 kit does not have. It is available through the same test kit link I posted above in the previous post.

Until you are able to get the K1515, you can use your OTO kit to estimate high chlorine levels by using the colors on this chart to decipher off the scale readings:> http://pool9.net/oto-chart/

Repost with K2005 readings and info about your liquid chlorine.

(I have no idea what Natural chemistry pool perfect+ is nor what its affects on your water's chemistry will be. What are the ingredients?)

[oneguy]

Hello,

I bought the chlorine yesterday afternoon and yesterday evening at 6.00pm I scattered it throughout the pool and spa and ran both pool filters for another 6 hours, this morning I checked the chlorine level with OTO and it was almost an orange yellow I checked it again at 3:00pm this afternoon and it’s pretty much the same, it is at least up to the 13 ppm color you sent to me on the oto testing chart, and probably a bit higher, the sodium hypochlorite in the chlorine is 10.0%. pool perfect is a product that leslies pools sells, it is to keep phosphates at near zero levels, I’m sorry but the bottle does not show any ingredients.
I tested water with Taylor 2005 kit, like you asked the Cyanuric acid is 80, P-H is 7.6 total alkalinity is 80, the calcium hardness, I’m getting 675 check it twice both times 675.
thanks again, Chuck

[Watermom]

Don't use any more of those packs of trichlor. They have CYA in them and your CYA is high enough. Also no dichlor powder (also has CYA) and no cal-hypo because your CH is WAY too high. Best to stick with either liquid chlorine from the pool store or bleach.

You are three hours behind me so still early evening where you are. Go ahead and test your chlorine this evening and then test it again in the morning within an hour of sunrise so you can compare the numbers. That will tell us if you are losing chlorine overnight which would be a sign that you are fighting something in the water.

Did you read the CYA/Chlorine chart I linked above? If not, please do so and also order that K1515 add-on kit. With a CYA of 80, your normal chlorine levels will have to be between 5-10 ALL the time. If you drop lower than 5, you risk an algae bloom. Your K2005 can't test high enough but the add-on kit will give you that ability.

[oneguy]

Hello again,
According to the pool builder and pebbletec Corp. the stableizer should be maintained between 35–90 with 75 being ideal, and I will be sure not to use anymore of those packs of shock quickor any other product that might add to the calcium hardness, anything you may know of that might reduce calcium hardness besides draining pool? I checked the chlorine level again this morning and it seems to know holding but with nothing to gage from I am only guessing, I think for right now I will wait until the chlorine level gets down to around 3 ppm then restart the chlorine generator and see if it will hold it there.
Yea I did skim through CYA/Chlorine chart, maybe there are different standards here in Southern California, I have been keeping chlorine levels at around 3.0 ppm for years and with no problems what so ever, and according to directions on the box of chlorine that I bought the other day are to maintain 1.0 ppm to 3.0 ppm chlorine in unstabilized pools and 1.0 ppm to 1.5 ppm in stabilized pools, also says after shocking (DO NOT enter pool until residual is less than 4 ppm) do yawl disagree with these Southern California standards? If I was to go into Leslie’s swimming pool supplies here in Thousand Oaks with a chlorine level of even as high as 4 ppm they will try to sell me a product that will lower chlorine in the pool quickly. Thanks again for all of your help.
Oneguy Chuck

[Watermom]

We totally disagree with that. If your CYA is higher and you don't keep your chlorine in the range per the chart, you will ultimately end up with algae. We see this all the time. People come on the forum and tell us that they have always used the tabs and have always kept their chlorine between 1-3 (or whatever) and now all of a sudden, they can't hold a chlorine reading or are getting algae and they can't figure out why has always worked is no longer working.

The reason is simple. They have let their CYA build up to levels that get to a point where it takes higher chlorine levels to keep the pool sanitized and algae-free. But, they don't (and most of the pool stores don't either) understand that chart. Plus, think about it. What incentive does a pool store, who is in business to make money, have to give good advice that makes pools basically maintenance-free? What would that do to their sales?

[PoolDoc]

Oneguy,

Honestly, I don't think you're ready for the PoolForum yet. I believe you'd be much more comfortable following the labels, and doing what the pool stores tell you to do.

Once you get tired of doing things their way -- and some people never do; you may be one of those -- come back. I'll delete your account, so you can see the entire forum, rather than being restricted to just the Getting Started section with other new registrants.

You can search the forum simply by using Google, and adding " site:poolforum.com " to your Google search.

Good luck!