Chlorine and calcium low

[aylad]

The Taylor kit that we recommend (that Waterbear mentioned in his post) can be found online for $55.00 at http://www.spspools-spas.com, or for $46 and change at http://www.amatoind.com . Believe me, a good test kit and your own testing will not only be more accurate, but save you HUNDREDS at the pool store.

Janet

[waterbear]

Why are you adding bromine to your pool - not only does Cl and Br interact with each other, Br breaks down to worthless bromides quite quickly.

Sodium bromide is an effective way to kill algae (usually mustard algae) caused when CYA levels get too high. By converting the pool to bromine temporarily it takes the CYA out of the equation. However, once the pool converts back to chlorine the high CYA levels tend to create problems once again so unless there is also a water change to lower the CYA the use use of sodium bromide based products are only a band aid and not a cure!

[CarlD]

If memory serves, if you use a bromine to clear algae from a chlorine pool, you need to add lots of chlorine to get rid of the bromine.

So you either add lots of chlorine to get rid of the algae, or lots of chlorine to get rid of the bromine that got rid of the algae....

[mrszaff]

Thanks everyone, I added the bromine to get rid of the ugly algae last week, which wasn't reacting to the polyquot 6o or the gallons of liquid shock and bleach I was pouring in. It did clear up the pool so we could swim so I can't complain. BUT, you are right I am still dumping bleach in every day. I found it at Walgreens today for only $1.99 for the store brand large jug. I am also noticing that the supply of bleach is very low every where I go here in my long island town, not a coincidence I am sure. I haven't been able to go to Leslies yet after a long day at work for a test kit or water analysis. I will look at the online sights you recommend. We are getting a thunderstorm now so I will wait till tomorrow and keep you posted. THANKS for all the input, it is much appreciated, and I still have a good looking pool, which makes me happy!!!

[Watermom]

Just an FYI -- Polyquat 60 is a much better preventative than it is for treating an existing algae bloom.

[nthach]

Is the Walgreens brand bleach 5.25% or more of sodium hypochlorite? Some store brands are between 2-4% NaOCl, caveat emptor.

[mrszaff]

I finished it up so I don't know, but the IGA brand I used today was 5.25 sodium hypochlorite, is that ok? I put in 3 gallons.waiting till payday to get my kit, but the test strips show dark purple in the am and white in the pm for chlorine so I know it's not holding yet.

[nthach]

The IGA stuff should be fine. I'd add in your Cl at night and take measures of day/night Cl usage.

[mrszaff]

Hi,
I am awaiting the arrival of the test kit so I went to Leslies pool store and here are the test results.

Free Chlorine 0
Ph 7.2
Total Alkalinity 100
calcium hardness 60
cyranuric acid 35
total dissolved solids 1200
copper/iron 0
phosphates 500

They would not do a test for total available chlorine, they claimed that it is the same as free chlorine even though it says right on the sheet how to do it. They tried to talk me into a bucket of calcium hardness plus, I lied and said I had it at home and 2 lbs of soda ash.

So how much bleach will it take to get the chlorine to hold and what do I add to get PH up?
should I worry about alkalinity?
I have been adding two 128 oz bottles at night bit it goes down in about 36 hours to 0.
I just bought CLorox 96 oz bottles today because they are on sale. they are 6%
I will let you know when the kit arrives and I do my first test.
thanks!

[Watermom]

With a cya of 35 and that fact that you currently have no chlorine in your pool, you should probably shock it up to 15. In a pool this size each 3 qt jug of will raise your cl by about 2ppm. You should add it in the evening and then see how much it drops by morning. If you are losing more than 1 ppm overnight, then you are fighting something in your water and you should add enough bleach to get the cl back up to 15. Test and dose it with bleach two or three times a day until you get to the point where you are not losing more than 1 ppm of cl overnight. Then, you can let the cl drift down and keep it in the 3-6ppm range all the time. If you let it dip below 3ppm, you are inviting an algae bloom.

Also, your pH is ok at 7.2 but just watch that it doesn't drop any lower. You can use 20 Mule Team Borax (in the laundry aisle at Walmart) to raise it.

Hope this helps.

BTW -- Don't use soda ash. It will raise your pH and your alk and you don't want your alk any higher. It is great at 100.