Changing chemicals

platanos24 said:

Step one is added when the pool is opened and closed, step two is two pucks in the provided cup to the skimmer once a week. step three was 3.5 scoops once a week to the skimmer (or at least that was what I have been instructed to do). I usually take my water to be tested at the pool company I purchased the pool from, but after coming across this group, I have ordered a Taylor 2006 kit (I think that’s the name) and should be receiving that next week. Of course when I needed any other chemicals to balance it out I will add those but I definitely want to change from sustain. Thanks

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If there is a cup that you’re adding pucks to, make sure you don’t ever add any cal-hypo to that or there can be a reaction.

platanos24 said:

Step one is added when the pool is opened and closed, step two is two pucks in the provided cup to the skimmer once a week. step three was 3.5 scoops once a week to the skimmer (or at least that was what I have been instructed to do). I usually take my water to be tested at the pool company I purchased the pool from, but after coming across this group, I have ordered a Taylor 2006 kit (I think that’s the name) and should be receiving that next week. Of course when I needed any other chemicals to balance it out I will add those but I definitely want to change from sustain. Thanks

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Hi There,

So what you have here is:
Step 1, Chlorine Extender - this is stabilizer, a.k.a CYA. It protects your chlorine from being burned off by UV from the sun.

Step 2, Chlorine Tablets. Pretty much self explanatory. The tablets provide a source of chlorine to the pool, and they use either cyanuric acid, or calcium hypochlorite as a stabilizer. Every time you dissolve tablets in the water, you are also adding a bit if CYA or Calcium.

Step 3, is pool shock. Shock is a powder or granule that has a high concentration chlorine and most likely, again, cal hypo.
The pool industry in general uses shock as a way of keeping your pool free of algae and killing algae blooms. If you use the TFP method of pool care, you will not have to use any shock in your pool.

These chemicals are not special and nothing is going to blow up. That's crazy!!! You do not have to keep using this product. It's nothing more than a marketing ploy.

You can start maintaining you pool using TFP method today. Post up some test results and we'll tell you what you need to do

Step 1 is salt water & soda ash

Step 2 is cal hypo tablets with lots of extra ingredients - these add calcium along with chlorine.
The chlorine is consumed daily but the calcium remains unless water is exchanged.
Too much calcium can cause scaling.
Never mix cal hypo with other forms of chlorine or an explosion can occur.
That cup dispenser can never be used for anything else.

Step 3
Is also cal hypo tabs with lots of extra ingredients

If these are all you have ever used I would not be surprised if you calcium level is very high.
None of their products seem to contain any cya heres all the sds sheets

You can remove all the tabs & proceed to chlorinate with liquid chlorine as we recommend by pouring liquid chlorine slowly infront of a running return.
See
*When we say that mixing cal hypo with other forms of chlorine can cause an explosion this means allowing them to mix in their solid or somewhat solid state.
Aka - using them in the same feeder ever is a no no. (There should be separate dedicated feeders for cal hypo & trichlor)
Or allowing them to touch when dry.
Or pouring them in the pool at the exact same time.
Once diluted in the water it is ok to use other forms of chlorine like liquid chlorine.
This line of products is weak & overpriced cal hypo mixed with some soda ash & detergents.

platanos24 said:

Thank you! I figured they were trying to keep me from buying from some other products somewhere else and keep me coming back….. I was that sucker! I just didn’t want my pool to be ruined after working hard to purchase it! Thank you! I get my test kit in Thursday and will reach out for help! Thank you again

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In addition to the purchase of the test kit, it would be good to download the PoolMath app. It is a free version that only maintains the last test data that you input or you can purchase the premium version for $8 per year that provides storing of historical data such as test data, notes, and multiple pools (if you have a rent house or taking care of parents pool, etc)
Please post your test data in this format
pH
FC
CC
CH
TA
CYA
Pool Temperature
CSI (if you put data in PM app then this is a calculated value)
Or we can take your data and provide you that info for CSI.
Good Luck on your test

We’ll be patiently awaiting your first results

platanos24 said:

Thank you! I figured they were trying to keep me from buying from some other products somewhere else and keep me coming back….. I was that sucker! I just didn’t want my pool to be ruined after working hard to purchase it! Thank you! I get my test kit in Thursday and will reach out for help! Thank you again

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You're welcome !

It's pretty easy to maintain your pool with stuff you can get from about any supermarket or DIY home center. Chemistry is chemistry no matter what you call it or label you put on the package. As William Shakespeare once said, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" Pool stores put a high price tag on stuff that is way way cheaper at the supermarket. About the only thing you will have to buy that is actually labeled to be for a swimming pool and sold pretty much only by Pool Stores is CYA. I get mine from In The Swim, they sell it on Amazon and they have the best price per pound of it that I have found anywhere.

I would not suggest going any buying any chemical until you get your test kit and know what you are going to need. But in the meantime, here is a list of chemicals so in case you do need them, you can start figuring out where you can get them from in your area.

Liquid Shock a.k.a. Liquid Chlorine is 10 - 12 % sodium hypochlorite. Its almost always more cost effective than using bleach. Walmart sells it as Liquid Shock in the pool section and you can also get it at Home Depot and Lowes in their pool sections. You can also get it a commercial cleaning chemical suppliers, but those places usually do not sell it in household quantities.

Bleach is usually either 3 or 6 % sodium hypochlorite. Use just straight bleach without any splashless or scent modifiers.
Baking Soda - this is used to increase Total Alkalinity

Muriatic Acid - Used to lower pH. Available at building supply and hardware stores. It comes in strength of 19 and 31% baume. Get the 31. (Muriatic acid is actually what they call "dirty: or diluted Hydrochloric Acid. It's very caustic so take care when using it).

Calcium Chloride - In pool stores they call it calcium hardness or CH increaser. Calcium Chloride is available at building supply stores or online. Its also used up north for melting ice off of driveways and is known as Ice Melt.

Soda Ash, a.k.a washing soda a.k.a pH up - used to increase pH, but you can also increase pH by aeration of the water, such as a pool fountain or some other thing that creates bubbles or splashing in the water. Aerating the water can take quite a long time (days) to get a large increase in pH, but soda ash can increase it pretty quick. Simply because of the cost of soda ash, I would not typically recommend using it unless you need to increase your pH by a lot and really fast. For example, if your pH test shows the pH to be 6.8 or lower, your pool could "crash" and you would want to increase the pH pretty quickly using soda ash before a crash happens.
Other reason for soda ash - It neutralizes Muriatic Acid. If you spill muriatic acid it doesnt become inactive for a long time. It can eat up your concrete, kill the soil your grass grows in and other nasty stuff. Sprinkling a good bit of Soda Ash onto a muriatic acid spill will neutralize the acid and precent damage the acid can cause. So it's not a bad idea to have some on hand in case of an acid spill.

CYA a.k.a Stabilizer a.k.a Cyanauric Acid - CYA is a man made prodcut which was invented specifically for swimming pools. I'ts not used in any other industry for any purpose. So its only available in pool stores or online/ amazon. It comes in dry and liquid form. The liquid form is SUPER expensive so here at TFP, we don't recommend using liquid stabilizer at all.