Struggling to Keep at Shock Level

[duraleigh]

Bean,

Your issue is simple and should not be a struggle.....You need chlorine.

Chlorine applied in the daytime will be consumed by the Sun...quite rapidly if you get full Sun...hours, in fact.

Chlorine applied in the evening will be consumed by organics in your pool.....and you still have them.

Until your chlorine is virtually stable overnight.....you need more chlorine!!

Don't be side-tracked by peripheral issues because you will be lulled into thinking your issue is something else....it's not. You must calculate your Chlorine dosage carefully. If your shock value is 10 (it is) you will never get to that point (which you must) if you only add enough to get to 8 or 10....it'll be partially consumed before it ever reaches that level.

Carefully calculate enough chlorine to get your ppm to 12ppm....it will then probably make it to 10ppm (breakpoint) freeing up enough chlorine to make some effective headway on the organics in your pool. (that junk on your sidewalls is organic....brush it often and expose it to the chlorine)

Go swimming!! Get the kids some old swimsuits just in case (unlikely) that you experience a little fading.

You may add CYA now if you like. DO NOT think that will help clear your pool but it will help you retain some chlorine during the day.

Synopsis - You need chlorine

[CoffeeBean]

Thanks everyone.

This AM my CL is up to 12 and my pH is 7.2 after adding more bleach and borax last PM. Didn't test other things. Running out of reagents. Waiting on Ben's reorder to arrive.

Help me understand this please....I know that sun "uses" up the chlorine but others have said test 2-3 times a day to check that you're staying in "shock" level. If you aren't, the solution would be to add CL but doesn't that fly in the face of the conventional wisdom of adding it at night? If the CL levels fall in one of the daytime tests should you wait til nightfall (or sundown) to add what you need or do it right then?


CBean

[prh129]

While it is true that the sun will consume some chlorine during the day, some chlorine will also be fighting whatever you have in your pool also. By keeping the level up during the day, you will be reinforcing the troops fighting the undesireables so the battle should go faster than if you just wait until night.

Peter

[Watermom]

Until you have some cya in the pool, it is necessary to test and add bleach 2 or 3 times a day to stay at shock level. After you add cya and it dissolves, then you'll be able to go to testing and dosing only in the evenings.