Initial test results...green ring, combined chlorine...HELP!!!

[Sheri]

Janet, thank you so much for the advice. I will shock tonight

[Sheri]

Okay, I shocked with 3 1/2 gallons of walmart bleach. A test an hour later showed TC of 16, but still CC 0.5. I guess I thought that much bleach would kill anything that was lingering. I really expected a CC of 0. I will check in the am to figure out if I had an overnight chlorine loss and if the CC has finally been taken care of!

Tonight I realized that dirt is constantly entering the pool as my husband works on grading the surrounding area in preparation for concrete. Though I vacuum once or twice everyday, I wonder if that is impacting the CC or if it is that darn green ring around the pool.

I also realized that my tiny bottle of reagent isn't going to last long using 32 drops to test every time I shock!

[aylad]

Keep in mind that "shocking" isn't a one-time thing. You need to hold the water at shock level by testing and add more chlorine several times a day. If you shock it and let it just yo-yo up and down repetitively, you're not solving the problem. Chances are good that the dirt blowing in is contributing to your CC--try to keep it vacuumed as well as you can.

You can order more (and larger) reagents at several online sites--I usually get mine from spspools-spas.com but others have ordered from Amanto industries and like them. When you measure your chlorine, are you using the 25 ml sample, or the 10 ml? If you'll use the 10 ml sample, it doesn't take as many drops--you just multiply by 0.5 instead of 0.2.

Janet

[Sheri]

Thanks for all your help Janet. I wish I was home more to baby the pool.

Last night:
FC 16
CC 0.5

This am (no direct sunlight on pool, but the sun had been up for about an hour):
FC 14
CC 0.5

Tonight:
FC 6.5
CC 0 (finally!!!!)

I just added 9 quarts of bleach tonight. I will retest in an hour or so and again in the morning. Hopefully we won't have a chlorine loss overnight. If the chlorine remains stable then should I just allow it to drop down to the appropriate maintenance level for my CYA? The water is sparkly and perfect. The green ring remains and it is feeling a tad bit slimy. I am going to hit it with a scrubby pad and baking soda over the weekend.

Thanks again, The Pool forum is the best

[Sheri]

Ok last pm about 10 pm
FC 17
CC 0

This am
FC 15
CC less than .5 (it wasn't even pink, just not exactly clear either, cleared completely with 1 drop)

Water looks perfect. I will vacuum, backwash, and keep chlorine at 15 again tonight. What else should I be doing? Is CC a byproduct of using the pool? Should I be concerned that it keeps reappearing? Should I be concerned about the 2ppm overnight chlorine loss?

Thanks for all your help.

[aylad]

You don't necessarily need to backwash unless your filter pressure is 6-8 psi over your "clean" pressure. In fact, the dirtier sand often filters better than clean sand. However, if you're seeing a lot of pressure increase, then by all means backwash it. You might consider using skimmer socks, which can be found at most pool stores. It's just a fine mesh "sock" that fits inside the skimmer basket, like a coffee pot liner. You'd be amazed at how much stuff they catch that you don't even realize is in the water.

I wouldn't be concerned that the CC keeps reappearing....the CC indicates that the chlorine is working on something, and that's why we have it in there. People swimming in the pool introduce sweat, sunscreen, and other stuff we don't have to mention here and your trees are introducing pollen and other stuff. So it's not unexpected to see CC appear and disappear--but you don't want them over 1.0. If it goes over 1.0, then it's time to shock the pool.

I am more concerned about the 2 ppm chlorine loss overnight--usually the rule of thumb is that if you lose less than 1 ppm overnight, then you can let the chlorine drift back down--but since yours is 2 ppm, AND you have residual CC, I'd let it stay at shock level another night and see what it looks like tomorrow.

Does brushing that green ring make any difference?

Janet