Low Chlorine? How to Raise FREE CHLORINE in Your Pool

[@MrSpanky2001]

I bought my strips at Wallyworld. I think they may be defective. Chlorine shows 0 even after shocking. We keep 2 pucks in the floater at all times. No algae problems. Water is pretty clear, but not crystal clear. At one time was told it is possible to have too many pucks in the floater due to the buffering in the pucks. Could the strips be in error? Other chemical indicators are pretty close.

[@theempowerer5718]

Do the strips have a total chlorine reading?

[@rebeccalopez2300]

Can you help me? I have an above the ground pool , 1882 gallons, hardness is high. Ph is good now. Alkaline decent, but total and free chlorine say very low. I have a chlorine floater in but have never shocked it. What do you suggest?

[@dpro7445]

One more question. My brother purchased a pool ionizer for his in ground pool after his salt water generator stopped working. He encouraged me to get one for my above ground pool. Although he says he has to shock, he does not need to use the chlorine tabs. I am thinking about purchasing this for next season. Any thoughts about an ionizer for above ground pools?

[@SwimUniversity]

Lots of people use them! You do need to keep some chlorine in the pool, but less than normal (0.5 PPM vs. 3 PPM)

[@dpro7445]

@@SwimUniversity thanks!

[@pleappleappleap]

I have a 60,000 gallon pool. I recently opened it for the first time. I'm having trouble getting the free chlorine up. Should I try getting my cyanuric acid level up?

[@jonhart-dj7fn]

So I used that hth four in one shock 3lbs to start up the season for my 30k Hayward 75 de.. have cover on for spring seeds still falling.. so preferable I filter shock with cover on until June here in North New Jersey

[@scooby1362002]

So some years I have had high CYA levels using 3” stabilized tabs and a Hayward inline chlorinator. How do I avoid this problem using this set up? One pool store only said don’t fill the chlorinator all the way. Add 2 tabs per week. Pool is 15,000 gallon AG. Any help is appreciated.

[@zsharp1772]

Hello I have a safety concern due to some findings online. Could use your confirmation on this. I check my pool readings regularly with similar strips in this video. I’m using slow dissolving 3” (7 day) trichlor pucks about 2 at a time in my feeder located at my pump skid. Then I add about once a week cal hypo granulated shock (dissolving small batches in a 5 gal bucket and pouring directly into my pool). Should I be waiting for the trichlor to be dissolved before shocking? Essentially I came across literature that cal hypo and trichlor should never be used together and that they will create a deadly combination. I understand trichlor becomes cya and this is what I monitor and maintain but it’s also impossible for trichlor to be the means for obtaining free and total chlorine. So how else would you safely add chlorine while using trichlor tablets?

[@SwimUniversity]

Could you share where you read that? I wonder if you were reading about adding shock to the skimmer (which you should never do, especially if you use tablets in a feeder -- that will cause an explosion). They should have no direct contact ever.

[@zsharp1772]

@@SwimUniversity hello and thank you for the response. Sorry I don’t recall where I read it. I do remember reading about not adding any type of chlorine to a skimmer with a warning about explosions. To be honest I couldn’t find consistent information on proper shocking methods nor recommended shock compounds while using trichlor tablets in a feeder. Do you agree with the methods I mentioned in my first post? I value your advise or confirmation that what I’m doing is correct and safe.

[@jeangreygal]

Thank you for these wonderful videos!! We have a 12 ft, above ground pool and are constantly trying to figure out the “math” to the perfect pool. The one thing we can’t seem to figure out is the amount/frequency of chlorine tabs.

[@OmisVideos]

you should not add any type of chlorine if its not tripping-chlor tabs in your chlorine feeder or chlorinator it will explode causing major injuries. you are not supposed to add any chemicals through the skimmer unless you are adding cya. also if you add enough tablets in your feeder and have it dial down to the right number there shouldn't be any reason to shock the pool every week. I still can't understand the logic behind it if you are testing your water regularly and maintaining the right level of chlorine their shouldn't be any reason to shock your pool I mean over chlorinate your water I don't understand why??? unless you don't know how to test or don't test at all or you might be lazy that just to be safe you decided to add x amount of chlorine weekly on top of adding tabs. just try keeping 5 tabs a week in your feeder and test your chlorine levels over a week period was see if that's enough for your pool now if you test your water and there is zero chlorine I totally understand shocking the pool because by the time the tabs dissolve it might turn on you so giving it a littler buster will help but I am totally against people that promote shocking the pool weekly there is no real reason if you are doing everything else right.@@zsharp1772

[@merakibeautybykb]

The question I have is how long do I leave the chlorine tablets floating for? And how long do I have to make the kids wait t9 swim after taking the tablets out?

[@markb8954]

Just leave the chlorine tablets in the flotation device all in the water all the time. The float releases chlorine very slowly & won’t cause harm. If you are super paranoid, remove the float while kids are in & toss it back in once they are out. The idea is to provide a slow continuous amount of chlorine to your pool 24/7.

[@andreslopez2793]

es el mejor video

[@bobbyhunt3009]

I have a 22 ft. X 40 ft. Oval pool. Can you please tell me how many gallons of water I have in my pool? Thank You so much

[@SwimUniversity]

We have a calculator here! www.swimuniversity.com/pool-calculator/

[@bobbyhunt3009]

QUESTION: Please tell me how many gallons of water my pool has in it? It is a 22ft. X 40 ft. Oval Thnkx for helping me!!!!!!

[@SwimUniversity]

Check out our calculator! www.swimuniversity.com/pool-calculator/

[@StemanLaJoy]

Followed the link to download the cheat sheet mentioned at the beginning of the video but it only takes me to a link to buy a course for $100 after taking my email. Can I please just download the cheat sheet??

[@SwimUniversity]

You should've gotten the cheat sheet right away! Check your spam folder or email us at [e-mail] and we'll help you out

[@ManrantsonMRA]

I have a salt pool normal chlorine levels but no free chlorine.. what is my options

[@SwimUniversity]

What do you mean normal chlorine levels? I would test your water manually (not look at the salt water generator). Make sure your CYA is good. Then I would clean your salt cell.

[@jonhart-dj7fn]

I also use filter bags and a robot vacuum leave filter running 24/7

[@jimstorm1622]

Can u do a video on filter sand vs filter balls for Sand pump filters?

[@SwimUniversity]

Sand is easier to use and backwash, but we know people who love the filter balls

[@LC-go1uh]

He doesn't know how.

[@myndereiman3967]

How to remove algae

[@SwimUniversity]

search our KZbin page we have videos on that or check out our site too

[@dpro7445]

I have an above ground pool, 25,000 gallons. Water looked clear when opening. Why, I don’t know, but I did not test before vacuuming, cleaning, adding chlorine tabs to chlorinater, & using four bottles of liquid shock. Short story long, I then took sample to my pool store. I was asked if my water was clear & I proudly said “yes”. She stated “I was afraid of that”. The Ph was very low as well as the alkaline, & chlorine was zero. She said my Phosphorus level was very high. After treating for more than 3 weeks & spending close to $500 my pool became very cloudy & I gave up on the expensive phosphorous lowering chemical they sold me & Ph & alkalinity treatment, I ended up using flocculant; which took me three days to vacuum to waste. No problem since. Have you heard about high levels of phosphorus doing this?

[@SwimUniversity]

Sounds like the flocculant did whatever it needed to do. Sorry to hear that you were sold lots of chemicals that didn't work 😕 Did you ever get your pH and alkalinity in range?

[@dpro7445]

@@SwimUniversity yes, thank you

[@SwimUniversity]

The Pool Care Cheat Sheet (Free): swimu.com/cheatsheet The Pool Care Handbook: swimu.com/book The Pool Care Video Course: swimu.com/poolcourse

[@jairlop-fp8nr]

Hello i have a above pool. 6000 gallon, I been going to one of the only pool stores there really is don’t want to state the name. But they saying my pool is good but it still has algae. I’ve shocked it I’ve done everything they tell me and still no difference. I’m starting to think they just selling me any products now. Test says my free chlorine is 14.88. Calcium hardness is 165. Phosphate is 430. Alkalinity 120. Ph 7.8. Totals chlorine 14.88. I know there not good but according to them pools good

[@SwimUniversity]

What are your CYA levels? That chlorine is REALLY high. Does it end up dropping back down to around 3 PPM?

[@dominiqueranieri4898]

Sooo I can or can NOT use bleach as chlorine?

[@mikehubble8976]

You can use bleach. Bleach is just a diluted form of chlorine. Shocking with bleach would be adding enough of it to raise the free chlorine to 10ppm. If your pool gets direct sunlight, add cya as a stabilizer or all of your chlorine will burn off in a matter of hours.

[@jfiedler2386]

Yes same chemical but bleach is weak compared to chlorine. Would need 2x as much

[@Buzz_329]

Yes you can. It's a much lower concentration of chlorine though as opposed to actual liquid chlorine. The price difference is almost unnoticeable as well so you might as well get the real stuff.

[@SwimUniversity]

@@Buzz_329 👆 This!

[@denispojega9161]

Why does water start to smell like rotten eggs?

[@SwimUniversity]

There's bacteria or organic matter decomposing. Time to clean and shock!

[@chandlerenglish8628]

HELP PLEASE! Tested my pool yesterday after finally getting it from green to a nice, somewhat foggy blue. I added clarifier yesterday, but noticed my ph is 6.8. My total chlorine is 5 but free is 0. I added 2 3” tablets to my feeder right after as well. Would you add some ph up today? Also I’m hoping the tablets will help with free chlorine, otherwise I guess I could add some shock? I just want it to be ready for Friday and Saturday to swim. Please help, any advice would be gret

[@SwimUniversity]

You're spot on with what to do. Raise pH, then retest your free chlorine to see if it's gone up. If not, shock.

[@andreslopez2793]

bonito