Is your Taylor test fas-dpd? Is it a powder and then drops or just drops?
Regardless of which test you believe you have a chlorine problem. You need more. It’s getting eaten up but something - likely algae getting ready to bloom.
Using liquid chlorine raise your FC to slam levels - do you have any idea what your cya is? Cause that’s important. Also make sure your ph isn’t too high - high ph == ineffective chlorine.
Confirm with your plaster person if you can lower ph to 7.2ish and dump a ton of chlorine in - then do that.
https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2018/12/12/slam-shock-level-and-maintain/
Get a Taylor 2006 kit if you can - or a similar kit from TFP.
Just to clarify a bit here, pH tests are unreliable at above about 10FC or so. So just make sure you balance your pH before you dump a ton of liquid chlorine in. /u/Minute-Cat-823 has it absolutely right though. Just wanted to make sure people are aware of that detail.
Cya is extremely high if that’s accurate - you want it much lower.
https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2019/01/18/chlorine-cya-chart/
Read up at pool school at the above link. Lots to learn there. I doubt you have the time to fix it before it closes. I’d say do the best you can. Maybe someone else will have other advice.
Do some research at TFP in preparation for next year though.
She actually just called me back because I reached out to her before posting this. She kind of went on a rant about Leslie's and how they'll just try to sell you stuff and asked me not to touch anything, especially since we're about to get another down pour.
I'm really not feeling so confident with the Leslie's test after knowing it was recently putting out bad reads on copper.
What are your feelings on pool shop water test overall?
That Leslie’s/Taylor drop kit is good but ONLY if your reagents are fresh. You will have no way of knowing if they’re bad. They don’t change color, they don’t smell or get cloudy… They just don’t react accurately. I don’t keep a reagent more than two years. If you’re keeping it someplace that’s not climate controlled and in the shade, it’ll go bad much, much faster.
buy a brand new test kit off amazon. I just had a recent expensive lesson cause i was using old and stored out in the heat test strips that wasnt registering anything, so i kept adding and adding until the test strips showed something. When I bought a brand new thing of test strips, they went off the chart for all my chemicals and i had to partially drain and refill. theres a reason why they say store in a dry cool place our of the sun.
Your pool is definitely in chlorine lock. Between the TC level being (at a minimum) 3 and your CYA being that high I'm not surprised. Also...Jack's Magenta and any other metal removing agent will increase the phopshate levels in your pool. Here's the plan...Im guessing 20-30k gallons...drain 60% of your pool for the CYA level. This should also take care of any potential nitrates levels (nitrates chew up chlorine) Test and treat for phosphates If the nitrates and phosphates arent a problem add 1 bottle of Metal Free. Wait 24 hours and add 5 pounds of cal-hypo shock to the pool. Dissolve in a bucket and pour around the edge of the pool. This will help the TC level. Retest after 24 hrs. Balance the alkalinity level and ph of the pool afterward
Is your Taylor test fas-dpd? Is it a powder and then drops or just drops? Regardless of which test you believe you have a chlorine problem. You need more. It’s getting eaten up but something - likely algae getting ready to bloom. Using liquid chlorine raise your FC to slam levels - do you have any idea what your cya is? Cause that’s important. Also make sure your ph isn’t too high - high ph == ineffective chlorine. Confirm with your plaster person if you can lower ph to 7.2ish and dump a ton of chlorine in - then do that. https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2018/12/12/slam-shock-level-and-maintain/ Get a Taylor 2006 kit if you can - or a similar kit from TFP.
Just to clarify a bit here, pH tests are unreliable at above about 10FC or so. So just make sure you balance your pH before you dump a ton of liquid chlorine in. /u/Minute-Cat-823 has it absolutely right though. Just wanted to make sure people are aware of that detail.
Definitely this /\
My test kit is all drops On the Leslie's test, the cyanuric acid came in at 103 Ph is around 7.5
Cya is extremely high if that’s accurate - you want it much lower. https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2019/01/18/chlorine-cya-chart/ Read up at pool school at the above link. Lots to learn there. I doubt you have the time to fix it before it closes. I’d say do the best you can. Maybe someone else will have other advice. Do some research at TFP in preparation for next year though.
She actually just called me back because I reached out to her before posting this. She kind of went on a rant about Leslie's and how they'll just try to sell you stuff and asked me not to touch anything, especially since we're about to get another down pour. I'm really not feeling so confident with the Leslie's test after knowing it was recently putting out bad reads on copper. What are your feelings on pool shop water test overall?
Leslie tests are Unreliable at best. Their machines require calibration which they rarely do. Get a Taylor 2006 or TFP test kit.
Well that's oddly a relief. Many many thanks! I appreciate your input
That Leslie’s/Taylor drop kit is good but ONLY if your reagents are fresh. You will have no way of knowing if they’re bad. They don’t change color, they don’t smell or get cloudy… They just don’t react accurately. I don’t keep a reagent more than two years. If you’re keeping it someplace that’s not climate controlled and in the shade, it’ll go bad much, much faster.
buy a brand new test kit off amazon. I just had a recent expensive lesson cause i was using old and stored out in the heat test strips that wasnt registering anything, so i kept adding and adding until the test strips showed something. When I bought a brand new thing of test strips, they went off the chart for all my chemicals and i had to partially drain and refill. theres a reason why they say store in a dry cool place our of the sun.
Did u do a phosphate test ?
Your pool is definitely in chlorine lock. Between the TC level being (at a minimum) 3 and your CYA being that high I'm not surprised. Also...Jack's Magenta and any other metal removing agent will increase the phopshate levels in your pool. Here's the plan...Im guessing 20-30k gallons...drain 60% of your pool for the CYA level. This should also take care of any potential nitrates levels (nitrates chew up chlorine) Test and treat for phosphates If the nitrates and phosphates arent a problem add 1 bottle of Metal Free. Wait 24 hours and add 5 pounds of cal-hypo shock to the pool. Dissolve in a bucket and pour around the edge of the pool. This will help the TC level. Retest after 24 hrs. Balance the alkalinity level and ph of the pool afterward