How often to test & how much chlorine to add daily? Also, vacation upcoming...

[CarlD]

OK,

That's very revealing. Thank you.

You are clearly fighting something in the water. That's why it's dropping so much. Of course, as I said, EVERYONE around the nation is using large amounts of chlorine this season. You need to add sufficient bleach to bring your FC up to shock level: 15ppm, and keep it there for at least 24 hours or until it stops dropping drastically. It may be as little as 24 hours. After raising the FC, check the water 3x a day and raise it back to 15 as needed. When, after 24 hours, it doesn't drop, or doesn't drop much (especially overnight, when there's no UV to break chlorine down, you can gradually let the FC drop back to the maintenance level which is 3 to 6 ppm and which is where you'll keep it on your normal daily basis.

[blessedbeingmom]

You are clearly fighting something in the water. That's why it's dropping so much. Of course, as I said, EVERYONE around the nation is using large amounts of chlorine this season. You need to add sufficient bleach to bring your FC up to shock level: 15ppm, and keep it there for at least 24 hours or until it stops dropping drastically. It may be as little as 24 hours. After raising the FC, check the water 3x a day and raise it back to 15 as needed. When, after 24 hours, it doesn't drop, or doesn't drop much (especially overnight, when there's no UV to break chlorine down, you can gradually let the FC drop back to the maintenance level which is 3 to 6 ppm and which is where you'll keep it on your normal daily basis.

Okay, so last night Matt added enough bleach to get up to 17 ppm. This was at 11:15 p.m. In the morning, by 7:15 a.m., our FC was only 12 ppm. He added enough bleach to get up to 20 ppm this time (as we were both going to be away from the house all day today). I came home and checked it at 6 p.m. and the FC was down to 5 ppm. Again, it was a very hot and sunny day (pool water temperature of about 93 degrees). The CC was only 0.5 ppm.

We will bring it back up to shock level again tonight before going to bed. I bought a pitcher that goes up to 2 quarts and wrote "pool" and "bleach" all over it (so we won't use it for anything else). On the side where the markings are, I wrote lines for 1.5 ppm, 3 ppm, 4.5 ppm and 6 ppm, to make adding bleach easier.

How many ppm is normal to lose at night, and how many is normal to lose on a hot, sunny day?

So, for our vacation, the plan is to raise to shock level before we leave, then cover (but vent). Set timer to run pump for 2-3 hours at a time, several times a day. Mid-week (after about 3-4 days) have relative come by and add a gallon of bleach (should raise it by 12 ppm) and keep pool covered but vented. Does this sound okay? Do we need to add any stabilizer? It was about 42 ppm six days ago.

[CarlD]

Your chlorine loss should be negligible, not massive. I think you have a fight on your hands (with something that is using up your chlorine.)

Remember: You want the chlorine there to kill dangerous contaminants. Not to be too disgusting but every person who gets in your pool brings a very,very, very small amount of fecal matter--and the chlorine rapidly neutralizes that and renders it safe, sanitary and harmless. If algae is using up your chlorine you lose that protection.

That should reassure you that doing this is the right thing.

[aylad]

Carl's right--you're fighting something in the water. Your chlorine loss overnight should be less than 1 ppm. It will be more during the day, but shouldn't be nearly as much as you're reporting. You need to shock it and hold it at shock level as consistently as you can to kill off whatever is creating your chlorine demand. As far as vacation, your plan sounds good--but if that bleach-adding relative could come by a couple of times, maybe on day 2 and day 4 or 5? it would be even better.

Janet

[blessedbeingmom]

So last night when DH got home, he added enough bleach to get it up to 19.5 ppm (the 1.42 gallon jug) at 12:30 (just after midnight). This morning the chlorine level tested at 13 ppm at 9 a.m.
We'll see what we can do about the relative. The problem is that they are Matt's parents and they are joining us midway during our vacation.
What would be the hazards of superchlorinating while we are away (like going up to a higher than normal shock level, or adding a bunch of bleach, and then having them add a bunch more on their way out of town)? Would that hurt the liner or anything?

His parents are on the older side and don't live super-close to us either.

[aylad]

Your shock level right now is 15 ppm...you could probably go up to 20 ppm just before you leave without any problem other than possibly the fumes fading your cover a little, but if you leave it vented it should be fine. (I don't use a cover, but I'm sure someone here who does will pop in and advise you better there.) How confident are you in your in-law's testing abilities? If they could test, and get it back up to shock level, that would be great. If not, then having them pour another gallon in (which would raise your Cl by 12) should be sufficient.

In looking through your thread, I don't see mention of a pH or calcium level, but another option could be to purchase a floater and put a couple of trichlor (if you can withstand a lowered pH and slightly raised CYA level) OR cal-hypo (if you can stand a slight calcium increase) pucks in it, then tie it off somewhere in the pool where it can't float over and make contact with your pool walls. This would at least allow for some continuous chlorination, but honestly I'm not sure how well it would work with your pool covered. Again, maybe somebody here that uses a cover will comment on that. You do need to take a look at your pH level, though, even if you don't use the floater--you don't want a pH lower than 7.0 because it can start causing damage to your liner. Keep in mind that pH at high chlorine levels will read falsely high, so if you test it while the pool is shocked, and only get a 7.2, then I would for sure add some Borax to adjust it upward.

Honestly, don't lose any sleep over this--I'm sure that by shocking the pool before you leave, and having your inlaws add a gallon of bleach mid-week will be fine--the absolute worst thing that could happen is a little green when you come back, but that's easy enough to take care of in a few days.

Janet

[blessedbeingmom]

In looking through your thread, I don't see mention of a pH or calcium level

Our pH is usually around 7.8 (on the higher side) even when the chlorine level isn't high. Our calcium was 140 ppm last week. Our CYA is close to 42.

I thought about either getting a chlorinator or a few pucks (but wasn't sure what to look for) and also thought about getting some polyquat 60. I just haven't had time this week to do much more than think about it.

[aylad]

I just haven't had time this week to do much more than think about it.

I TOTALLY understand this statement....

One thing that is going to make a huge difference in your outcome over vacation is what kind of shape your water is in before you leave. I don't know when you're planning to leave (and it's probably better that you don't post it here), but I'm hoping that you can clear up your current chlorine demand by maintaining a shock level until your chlorine loss is normal BEFORE you go. Having a stable chlorine usage will give you a much better chance at clear water on your return.

Polyquat is a good idea, also, just as an insurance, it certainly won't hurt. Polyquat does create a pretty good chlorine demand, or so I understand from around here, so once you add it and let it circulate, you need to then raise your chlorine back up.

Your pH is high enough that a couple of trichlor pucks in a floating feeder wouldn't hurt (unless it will create issues with the cover, again, you need some input from someone who uses a cover on that issue) because your pH can stand to come down a little bit anyway. If you decide to go that route, though, just make sure to tie it somewhere that it can get circulation but can't float over and sit next to your liner to fade it by dispensing pockets of chlorine and low pH while the pump isn't running.

Janet

[blessedbeingmom]

So last night when DH got home, he added enough bleach to get it up to 19.5 ppm (the 1.42 gallon jug) at 12:30 (just after midnight). This morning the chlorine level tested at 13 ppm at 9 a.m.

Okay, this morning at 9 a.m. after getting the reading of 13 ppm, DH added 2 quarts of bleach, which should have brought it to 19 ppm. He checked it just now (a little over 2 hours later) and it's only 11! Yikes! What is going on???

[blessedbeingmom]

Okay, this morning at 9 a.m. after getting the reading of 13 ppm, DH added 2 quarts of bleach, which should have brought it to 19 ppm. He checked it just now (a little over 2 hours later) and it's only 11! Yikes! What is going on???

Okay, we just did CarlD's chlorine test on our bleach, and it only came to 3.5% bleach. Maybe our bleach is old and that is part of the problem???

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=10167 (CarlD's chlorine test)

How do we make sure we're buying fresh bleach?