| Causes: the level of chlorine in the pool is directly related to two factors:
- How much chlorine is being added to the pool? This is a function of
the type of chlorinating system you have, what setting it is on,
and how often your pump is running.
- What is the chlorine demand on the pool? "Demand" is the
combination of all the things that use up or burn off chlorine including
swimmers,
sunlight, rain, water temperature, organics (like bugs and leaves),
and other air borne chemicals like fertilizers.
If your chlorine demand is high (many of these things occurring) but
you are putting in chlorine just a few hours per day, chances are
you will have too little chlorine in the pool. Especially check fertilizers
as these are nitrate based which consumes chlorine very quickly.
Solution: If the chlorine level in your pool continuously
stays lower than 0.5 ppm, follow the steps below to increase the
chlorine in the pool.
- Make sure your feeder or floater has chlorine tablets and increase
the dial setting on your feeder or generating device.
- Consider your pump run time. If running just a few hours per day,
it may not be enough circulation for your pool which means that
your feeding device does not have enough hours to pump chlorine
into the pool each day. Add a simple timer to monitor the hours
run. Smaller pools (under 15,000 gallons) should
start at 8 hours and increase if needed, while pools from 15,000
to 25,000 gallons should start at 12 hours per day.
- Make sure whatever chlorinating device you have is not under sized
for your pool and how often you use it. Larger pools or pools with
frequent use need systems that put out more chlorine than systems
for smaller pools.
- Consider a low chlorine solution like our FROG Mineral System.
Checklist for too little chlorine when using POOL FROG When using the POOL FROG the amount of chlorine in your pool at any given time is dependent on a number
of variables. Please review the following list and click on any issue that
may be
a cause for under chlorination.
Could the chlorine pac be empty or the tablets hung up inside the pac?
- Make sure your chlorine pac is not empty. Replace if it is. A Bac Pac lasts on average 7-10 days in an In Ground pool and 2-3 weeks in an Above Ground pool.
The XL PRO and TWIN Systems have larger chlorine pacs that should last 3-5 weeks depending on pool size and use.
- Sometimes with low water flow tablets can stick together and not erode properly. Shake the Bac Pac to make sure the tablets have fallen into the bottom area where the water will pass through.
Could your hours of filtration (pump run time) be
too little for your pool size?
Your filtration time has an impact on your chlorine levels. ANSI standards
call for at least 1 turn over per day, meaning every gallon
of water should
travel through the pump once per day. To calculate the
proper pump run time for your pool based on general ANSI
guidelines you will first need to know
how many gallons of water your pool holds and the flow rate of your pump in gallons per minute. With this information, you can then
determine the proper pump run time for your pool.
Most pools run between 8 and 12 hours per day. Installing a timer
can make life much easier and filtration time more consistent.
Remember when your pump is running, you are continuously
putting chlorine into the pool.
Could your dial setting be too low?
The proper dial setting is important for maintaining the
correct chlorine level. See your manual or
click here for directions on how to achieve the correct setting. For a quick lesson,
begin with 1 ppm chlorine residual in the pool after shocking.
Then add chlorine to your unit and use the chart in your manual
for an initial dial setting by lining up your pool size, pump size in horsepower,
and filtration time per day. Set the dial and monitor daily until the level
remains within your desired chlorine level. Increase or
decrease the dial setting by ½ increments only per day until the
proper setting is reached.
Could their be a higher than normal chlorine demand on your pool?
Chlorine demand is anything in the water or environment that depletes chlorine including:
- Weather (rain or high heat which raise the temperature of the water).
- The number of swimmers using the pool per day
- Algae forming in the pool
- Landscaping Chemicals containing nitrates
- During times of peak demand the control dial may need to be turned up or the pool should be shocked more often to get the chlorine level back in line.
Could your pump or filter be clogged with debris?
A clogged filter or pump will slow down the water flow through
the chlorine. Remove all debris from pump basket, skimmer basket
and backwash or clean filter regularly.
Could your unit be improperly installed?
- For proper performance, run the pump for at least 6 hours per day at high speed (at least 40 gpm). The
control dial setting chart contains NR (Not Recommended) if the pump size is considered too large or too small for your size pool.
- Eyeball fitting in return jet: for best performance the back
pressure on the sanitation unit should be at least 4psi.
Low back pressure means a low water level inside the unit so
fewer tablets are wetted. Changing to a smaller eyeball fitting will correct this.
- In-line unit plumbed Off-line: inside the off-line unit is a built
in diverter that pushes water up into the unit. An in-line unit does not
contain this diverter and thus will not work properly if installed off-line.
Could your test method be faulty?
If your chlorine level is very high, it could bleach the test regent
making it look like there is no chlorine in the pool. Take a
reading from water directly from the return jet to test this.
Test kits lose their effectiveness over time. If using an old
test kit, replace and retest the water.
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