Chlorine and calcium low

[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.

[mrszaff]

Thank you! Maybe I'm still fighting the bromine from the mustard algae.
How much Borax should I add?
Also, My chlorinator is now empty, what is the best kind of tablet to keep in it?
I appreciate your help!