New Pebble - first tests

[Bleach=Chlorine?]

Try to keep testing and adding Cl to the pool morning, noon and night to keep shock level of 15ppm. Also, continue running the filter 24/7.

[duraleigh]

Hi, Sandy,

get that pH down. Use the bleach calc....shoot for 7.2 - 7.4

Ben's kit will measure as much Cl as you'll ever put in the pool....accurately.

If you've used up your bleach, I would buy a tub of Cal Hypo...you need to get your calcium up, too.

Yes, keep your Cl at shock value 'til it virtually stays constant overnight. 18-20 would not be too high in your pool.

One more thing, Sandy.......GET THAT pH DOWN!

[dawndenise]

OK,OK,OK...now you really think I should bring my pH down???
Actually, I've just added another 1/2 gallon of muriatic and will go back and recheck the actual amount I should add to reduce my pH in a reasonable step, not baby steps. At my current rate, I won't hit target pH until Labor Day. I've added another 546 oz of 6% bleach this AM, even though I know a lot will be used up by the sunlight and rendered less effective by my higher pH.

I'll head out to get some CalHypo today, as it'll only take one more shock treatment to use all the bleach I bought yesterday.

Thanks again for bearing with me.

Sandy

[duraleigh]

Thanks again for bearing with me.

It's always very easy to assist folks who post good test results and don't get too side-tracked with all the "magic bullets" the pool store offers.

[dawndenise]

A mere 5 hours after adding all that bleach and muriatic acid, my chlorine readings (double-checked both total and free) were at 0 again!! Gosh, how much stuff do I have in my pool??? However, my pH had dropped to 7.2.

So even though I added a shock's-worth (546 oz) of 6% bleach in the early morning, I added another 546 oz late in the afternoon. Four hours later, just about dark, I tested and got:
Cl 5+
Free Cl 5+
pH 7.8?? (really hard to get a good read)
Added nothing last night

This morning's readings:
Cl 5+
Free Cl 5+ (it held!)
pH 7.5
TA 80
Calcium hardness 70 (vial started at a light pink rather than the red it has been previously, color turned to a light blue/green after 7 drops, color didn't intensify with more drops)

Pool water decidedly more blue but has had increasing gray cloudiness in last 2 days. Pool is Ocean Blue Pebblesheen which should be a dark but very true blue with no green when fully cured. Clear areas get this gray cloudiness when agitated. Definitely gets stirred up and hazy when I brush.

My plan for the day is to buy some distilled water to see how high my chlorine level really is. My understanding is that I can only use the shot glass method for the total cl (OTO) test, correct? It won't work for the free chlorine test (2 reagents)? Then if I need chlorine, I'll use the CalHypo I got yesterday. Because I wasn't able to accurately test to see if I ever got to 15ppm in chlorine, should I still keep shocking? Shock til the cloudiness disappears? Or does the fact that I was able to keep some chlorine in the pool overnight mean I've killed everything that needed killing and the haziness is just the "dead bodies"?

Thanks for the help.
Sandy

[duraleigh]

Hi, Sandy,

You're making progress but you need to keep your pool at shock level 'til your water looks like you want it.

That cloudiness is dead algae but it's probably not all dead......because your still consuming Cl.

I would recommend you use the color of your water as the bellweather. When it's crystal clear....you're done. More precisely, you're Cl should not drop from shock level more than 1-2ppm overnight.

Test right at dusk and add Cl. Then test first thing next AM to see where you are.

Meantime, let your filter do it's job. Stir up the cloudiness or vacuum it up and let that sand filter clear your pool.

Nice work to this point. May take a while longer but keep the Cl in there and run that pump 24/7, backwashing when necessary.

[dawndenise]

Understood - thanks for keeping me on the right path. I'll see where my true cl level is with the distilled and try to keep it there throughout the day and hope it holds overnight. Just an FYI, if it makes any difference, I have a cartridge filter.

Sandy

[dawndenise]

Yikes - something's still using up my chlorine. Tested about 1pm, just 4 hours after this AM's tests and now I have no chlorine, pH still holding. No need to try the distilled water method if I have no chlorine by the regular method. So, I'm adding calhypo (HTH Super Shock It) for the first time, a package made for 16,500 gallons. Says it's 62.4% Calcium hypochlorite with 60% available chlorine. I'll test again in a few hours and see what level we have.

My water temps are still holding in the 82 AM -86 PM range, as our air temps have topped out in the upper 90s and low 100s all week.

Sandy

[duraleigh]

Sandy,

Remember the two things that consume Cl...the Sun and "bugs".

With your low CYA reading, I'll bet the Sun got some of that Cl.

Put that Cal Hypo in at dusk and you'll get much more effective use out of it....hide it from the Sun.

As an aside, ask the pool store for a 25 or 50 lb tub of Cal Hypo. You'll save a lot of bucks and I believe you'll use it all this Summer. (you still need to get your calcium up and it will take quite a bit) If you cap it tightly it'll be good next year if you don't use it all.

[dawndenise]

I think a previous post of mine got lost in cyberspace, so I'll recap. My 6PM reading yesterday showed less than .5 total Cl. Added another package of CalHypo (2nd one of the day).

Tested again at about 9PM, Cl 5+, possibly 6
Free Cl 2
Added my 3rd package of CalHypo for overnight. BTW, added water in the pool and cartridge filter was cleaned. City water is considered safe, but its source has an algae issue. That will probably always be the case, according to the newspaper, although some times of the year are worse than others.

This AM, water is clearer, did a full battery of tests:
Cl 5+ looks like 6 on the distilled method
Free 4-5
pH 7.8 (little bugger crept up on me)
TA 80
Hardness 90

Plan for the day is to add muriatic to drop my pH to about 7.5, add baking soda to increase TA again, add CalHypo now and keep retesting.

My entire pool is in full sun from just before 9AM until about 5 when parts start to go in the shade. Although I've used up my stabilizer tests, I know my level is below 30. I question my first test after doing the second. I could have slightly less than 30, I may have none?? Couldn't I at least add enough CYA to raise my level a mere 10ppm safely? Maybe I'd stand a better chance of having my pool hold some chlorine?

I hesitate to buy another kit with stabilizer tests in them because I'll end up with even more tests that I've already duplicated, plus Ben's should arrive sometime in the future, but I guess I'll do what I have to, to know my water.

Sandy