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Thread: Cant hold chlorine

  1. #1
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    Angry Cant hold chlorine

    New to sight and need some help cause I ain't getting from the pool store. I can't get my free chlorine up. My pool is in ground vinyl 21000g. Opened beginning of May and still won't hold chlorine. Water is clear. Had a couple bouts with green tint but hit with shock and looks good now. Have not been using tabs for weeks until yesterday. I shocked and added 1 tab. Don't have test kit. Usually use strips or take to pool store and get tested. Had it tested today but left sheet at store. Sundays #'s below.
    FC - 0.2
    TC - 0.6
    CC - 0.4
    TA - 130
    PH - 7.3 Think it ws 7 today
    Hardness 400
    CYA - 61 today was 94. don't get it
    Sat index - 0.20
    Last 3 shocks treated with 2 lbs Dychlor each time.

    Somebody please help me get this fixed!

  2. #2
    Watermom's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cant hold chlorine

    Hi and welcome! I sense some frustration here! We'll help you get this figured out!

    You really need your own testkit so you don't have to depend on the pool store. You can get a good kit which will save you a lot of money in the long run. We recommend either the Taylor K-2006 or the 2006C which has larger quantities of reagents. With a pool that has a high chlorine demand like yours seems to, you should probably think about the 2006C.

    Dichlor has CYA in it and that may be why you have the increase, although a 33 ppm change since Sunday doesn't seem likely. Most likely tester error.

    How often are you adding chlorine? To get this pool clear, you are going to need to test and add chlorine a minimum of 2 times a day - early morning and evening after the sun is off the pool. But, actually it will clear faster if you will test and add chlorine as many times a day as you possibly can.

    I would suggest just using bleach as your source of chlorine. You don't want any more dichlor shock or even trichlor tabs because both of those will raise your cya level even further, which you do NOT want. I wouldn't use cal-hypo because your hardness level is already at 400. Bleach will not raise anything except the chlorine level which is what you need. In a 21K gallon pool, each gallon (4-qts.) of 6% bleach will raise your chlorine level by about 3ppm.

    What you need to do is test as often each day as you can and each time, add enough bleach to raise the cl level back up to 20ppm. You want to try and sustain this high level and not let it yo-yo up and down. If you will do this consistently, it will clear your pool. It may take a few days. When you get to the point where you are not losing more than 1ppm of chlorine from sundown to sunup then you can let the cl level drift down and then keep it between 5-10 ALL the time. If you let it dip lower than 5, you risk another algae bloom.

    Also, run your pump 24/7 right now.

    Watch your pH. You never want it lower than 7.0 or it becomes acidic and will damage your pool. If it drops, add some 20 Mule Team Borax (in the laundry aisle at Walmart).

    Hope this helps. Repost if you have further questions.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Cant hold chlorine

    Let me try to help you out.
    1)Get yourself a good drop based test kit .Taylor k2006 or Leslie Pool store equivalent are favorites here.
    2)CYA-did you drain and refill some water or have a VERY heavy rain because the only way to lower CYA is a partial drain and refill of pool or like if your pool was half filled and rain water filled the rest
    3)CYA of 61(if that's an accurate reading )means you needs to keep chlorine at a minimal level at all time(check Best Guess CYA chart on this forum)
    4)Sounds like a chlorine demand...means you must keep chlorine at your shock level and keep it there by testing several times a day and adding chlorine to keep it at shock level until you keep yor minimum free chlorine for your CYA level overnight.

    I'm just a newb here but I read and reread most of the threads..you can learn alot.

    Do you have vinyl liner pool?,concrete?,how many gallons?Can you get water tested again and post results as soon as you get them?I'm sure one of the great mods like Watermom,Carl D,chemgeek or any other will be by to help out any time now.

    BTW Welcome!

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Cant hold chlorine

    Thanks. Where can I get that kit. Will stop and have tested this evening. Added 5lbs calhypo last night thanks to pool store. Hardness will be off the chart probably. Only draine 2 inches and filled back. How much bleach do I add at a time. Can u swim with this problem? Been using and no irritation. 21000 g, inground vinyl.
    Thanks for help,
    Chris

  5. #5
    aylad's Avatar
    aylad is offline SuperMod Emeritus Burfle Ringer aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars
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    Default Re: Cant hold chlorine

    In your size pool, each gallon of 6% bleach will raise the FC by about 3 ppm, so if you're trying to achieve shock level, I'd put 7 gallons of bleach in it. Pour it slowly into the return stream, being careful not to splash it on your liner. I would do this at dusk, since the bleach will have all night without sun interference to start working on your water. In the morning, test again, and add whatever amount it takes to get it back up to 20. Do this 2-3 times a day, filter running and backwashing as needed, and it will clear up. It may take up to several days of this--fixing pool problems is almost never an overnight process--but it will clear. I would NOT use any more cal-hypo, though--your calcium is already way too high, and that in itself can create problems with milky water that are much, much harder to solve than just shocking with bleach.

    Two of the cheapest online sources we've found for the Taylor kit are http://www.amatoind.com and http://www.spspools-spas.com. Leslie's online also sells a relabeled version of the same kit.

    Welcome to the forum!

    Janet

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Cant hold chlorine

    Thanks! I will start on it this evening. Hope it works. This is frustrating!

  7. #7
    aylad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cant hold chlorine

    It will work, but it will take a large dose of POPP--Pool Owner Patience and Persistance!! I understand how frustrating it is, but unfortunately it's a process, and by definition is going to take a little time. I promise, though, we can help you get it clear!!

    Janet

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Cant hold chlorine

    What's the rule of thumb when adding Borax? 21000g inground vinyl. Thanks!!!

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Cant hold chlorine

    Depends on how low your pH is. Yesterday you said that it was at 7.0. If that is still true, in this 21K gallon pool I'd probably add a half a box. Let it circulate for a few hours and then retest. See how much that moves it and then add smaller amounts to tweak it where you want it.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Cant hold chlorine

    darn ,beat by Watermom by 5 minutes

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