Pool problems.

[JohnT]

CL - off the chart. I put 6 large bottles of bleach in yesterday (4-25-06)
PH - 7.2

That should have raised your chlorine by 15ppm or so. ETA: you said large bottles-do you mean gallons, or the big jugs?

Total Alkalinity - I stopped putting drops in the tester at 70 drops
Total Hardness - I added 5 drops of hardness indicator and the water started to turn blue until I mixed the water then it went clear.
CYA - About 120


I think the first thing I need to do is get the CYA down no?

I'd be more concerned about why the water isn't clearing up. Have you cleaned the cartridge, and how does the clean pressure now compare to what it was when new? Cartridges can get dirty or get a hole in them, both of which will make the filter ineffective for different reasons.

You do need to lower your CYA, and the only way to do that is water replacement. However, if you replace water, you also have to replace chlorine in order to keep algae under control.

I turned on the water fall to help aerate the pool
Should I put acid in the pool even know my Ph is low? I will hold off on putting anything in the pool until I am instructed to.

I don't really think your TA is over 700. Did you use the 0007 neutralizer? My fill water is insanely high at 400ppm TA. I don't think 700 ppm water would be drinkable. I wouldn't mess with it until you get the other stuff cleared up. If you replace water for CYA, it may undo whatever alkalinity changes you make. Leaving the waterfall on should raise your pH without raising your alkalinity, which is good, but you'll need to keep an eye on your pH.

You also need to know and watch your calcium levels. The life of your plaster depends on it.