Cloudy gone, new problems now

[duraleigh]

Accurate tests for Cl can be obtained with Ben's kit (the best) or a Taylor 2006 kit (orderable online) Ben's kit will get you speaking the same language as all of us and is well worth the wait.

You can get a reasonable idea of your Cl level by diluting your test water with distilled water. So, if you dilute by 50% and get a reading of 5ppm, your "real" reading is 10ppm. It's not very accurate and it's a "stop gap" method but you'll get close enough for this purpose.

You are slightly misinterpreting the "best guess" chart. The CYA does not affect the total Cl....the Cl is simply less effective at high CYA levels. That's why I'm suggesting 30ppm of Cl.

Since you're leaving town, get the 8 gallons of Cl in there tonight and get the process started. I have a feeling your water will clear before you leave. See if you can get a neighbor to put in small jug of Clorox each evening and run your pump for 8-12 hours each day....that'll protect your pool while you're gone.

[CarlD]

That's what I understand CC to mean also. Yesterday, when I asked the pool store girl if CC meant "the chlorine was currently working and still killing something then becoming unavailable to kill again" she told me no, that's not what it means. She couldn't explain to me why I wanted such a low or nonexistent CC level. One of us needs retraining.

But I still don't know how to increase the cl to a for-sure level of 30. Aside from the method I mentioned earlier, which is a best-guess scenario, how do I measure that high?

You kinda mis-understood. CC is Combined Chloramines. It's metabolized something and now won't sanitize. It smells like chlorine (!), irritates skin and eyes, and gives chlorine a bad name. You shock to not only kill stuff, but to break the CC down again, leaving your pool sweet-smelling and non-irritating (and, of course, clean!)

[lskeate]

Before we left town, we added the 7 gallons of bleach, and set the pool to filter 12 hours a day. Came home last night and it looks beautiful. Took water to the pool store and these are the numbers:
FC - >10
TC - >10
CC - 0.0
pH 7.8
Hardness 180
Alkalinity (w/stab correction) 122
Cyanuric acid 95
Pool girl told me the combined chlorine number is insignificant because their equipment will only measure to 10? So I came home, diluted with distilled water and wild guess has it at about 15. I'm willing to order Ben's test kit but I can't get a feel for how long it will take to receive it. I realize our stabilizer level is high, but it's been a week and the chlorine levels just creep down. What's the reason?

Also, for now I want to deal with higher chlorine counts as opposed to doing a partial drain, unless you wise people advise otherwise. Should I be doing anything now besides enjoying the water? Thanks for your help.

[Simmons99]

It took me about 2 weeks to get my testing kit - realize it must go all ground due to the chemicals in it.

[CarlD]

pH is a bit high--I'd lower it to 7.3-7.5.

So is CC TRULY 0 or is the pool store idiot saying that? If it is you are in good shape. If both FC and TC are the same that's true because TC = FC + CC. That's always and forever.

[lskeate]

Pool girl said it was not a significant number because they can't test Free or Combined Cl over 10. Please help me understand why I want to lower my Ph?

[Simmons99]

The higher the PH the less effective the chlorine - plus you are on the higher end of normal. Acid will lower the PH - download the bleach calculator to determine how much to put in.

[Madty]

Before we left town, we added the 7 gallons of bleach, and set the pool to filter 12 hours a day. Came home last night and it looks beautiful. Took water to the pool store and these are the numbers:
FC - >10
TC - >10
CC - 0.0
pH 7.8
Hardness 180
Alkalinity (w/stab correction) 122
Cyanuric acid 95
Pool girl told me the combined chlorine number is insignificant because their equipment will only measure to 10? So I came home, diluted with distilled water and wild guess has it at about 15. I'm willing to order Ben's test kit but I can't get a feel for how long it will take to receive it. I realize our stabilizer level is high, but it's been a week and the chlorine levels just creep down. What's the reason?

Also, for now I want to deal with higher chlorine counts as opposed to doing a partial drain, unless you wise people advise otherwise. Should I be doing anything now besides enjoying the water? Thanks for your help.

Hey I ordered Ben's kit on Monday and it is scheduled for delivery tomorrow!

I've had the same blue cloudy water, except I have a little mustard algea problem. Bleach, bleach, bleach, acid, borax, baking soda, etc.. It's all starting to work. Hang in there-these guys are good. Oh yeah I also added Yellow treat for the algea..... Good luck!