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Our community pool is heated, with annual propane costs ~$5K even though we only run from Memorial Day to Labor Day. One cost control option that has been proposed is covering the pool at night. My first reaction as CPO was that I have to fool with the cover every morning and evening --...

I run CYA 20-40 ppm, which is the bottom of my K2006 testing range. The K2006 appears focused on those running their CYA higher. Is there a kit that covers a lower range? And for that matter, if the focus were on a lower, narrower range, is there a kit that reads more accurately (e.g., 5 ppm...

Drafted to be CPO for NC community pool. Code in our state: "Pools that use chlorine as the disinfectant must be stabilized with cyanuric acid except at indoor pools or where it can be shown that cyanuric acid is not necessary to maintain a stable free chlorine residual. The cyanuric acid...

I performed two bucket tests for leaks, during times with no swimming, rain, or water replacement. Both times I got exactly 1/4" difference between bucket and pool water level after 24 hours. Is 1/4" a significant difference? I'm being careful, and results are consistent. I think I may have...

Pool Calculator is awesome and I use it every year. Question about the section at the bottom, "Effects of adding chemicals". Does "oz" mean weight or volume? I'm trying to estimate effect of soda ash on TA. That's a powder and I guess it could be weighed but I always dish it out in measuring...

Aging trichlor feeder has two pressure release valves on the cover. One of them has threads so stripped that the only fix is to plug the hole completely. What kind of goop should I use to fill in that hole? This is the most oxidation-intense locale in the whole system so I have concerns about...

We have a community pool in the mountains of western NC. We've learned a lot from TFP this season and have run the pool ourselves, but we may need to contract most of the work out to a CPO and use our TFP knowledge for monitoring and decision making more than daily upkeep. But we're not sure...

Make-up water has low CH here (western NC) and I've been struggling to get CH up to levels appropriate for a plaster pool. Fighting against a pool leak requiring a lot of water addition every day. But I've finally reached CH~130ppm. FC ~4ppm CC ~0ppm pH ~7.4 TA ~80ppm CH...

First of all, I can't say enough good things about this forum. I've gone from completely ignorant to successfully running a community pool 24/7 completely on the advice available here. You guys have the patience of saints when it comes to dealing with newbies. Following your guidance, I have...

I'm trying to make economic sense out of TFP's preference for bleach and I can't see it so far. Was BBB born in a past era when bleach was more cost effective? I looked at the great thread on Bleach Prices 2013, and it looks like everyone is struggling to make the bleach idea work. An older...

The Pool Calculator's "Effects of Adding Chemicals" helps me estimate the pH impact of Trichlor, but not Cal-Hypo or Bleach. My 50,000-gal community pool uses a Trichlor feeder, and I'm investigating the possibility of reducing Trichlor usage and combining with Bleach or Cal-Hypo for a net pH...

Recently purchased a Taylor K-2006 Test Kit, and can't say enough good things about it. As a newbie, I feel like I have a million questions, but the one thing I don't have to wonder about is the quality and consistency of test results. Tried testing my make-up water today. TH (30 ppm) and CH...

Just had to take over operation of a community pool. There's no one to tell me the history of any of the chemicals in the storage room, so I don't know their age. There's a huge bucket of granular Cal-Hypo that's about 2/3 full, and I'd like to use it due to low CH. But can it be relied upon...

Newbie. Have been handed a community pool in mechanical and chemical disarray, and I'm trying to recover the situation while keeping the pool open. When I stepped into the crisis, FC was ~ 0.5ppm. Turns out the trichlor feeder lid was jammed so nobody put any in. Fixed the lid and threw in...