How often do you add bleach?

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bcroft21

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Jun 25, 2013
23
After 2 unsuccessful SLAMs this year, my third was finally enough to get our swamp back in gorgeous crystal clear working order (it has never looked so good!), and we are loving our pool this year :) However, I feel like I just cannot keep my FC up and am wondering if my expectations on how often I should be adding bleach were too low? 2 years ago (the last time our pool was in good shape), I was adding a jug of bleach a week and that was keeping my chlorine between 2 and 3...but I can't remember what I had my CYA at then. This year, I've tried adding half a jug a day (8.5%) and I am struggling around 1-2 which I know is not enough.

My current levels are...

FC - 1.5
CC - .5
TA - 120
pH - 7.8
CYA - 40

I'm not sure if it matters, but I am running the pump 8 hours a day, solely because the house is under renovation and we are not there enough for me to run it any less (I go out mornings and evenings, and the timer is broken). So obviously I need to be adding more chlorine, or am I missing something? Should my CYA be higher to try to hold the FC longer? It has been HOT (I'm in the south, super humid and between 92-104 each day for the last 3-4 weeks) so is that contributing to the quick loss? I'd love some insight as I continue to get a system in place. I'd love to hear how often everyone else is adding bleach (although I know each individual pool is different).
 
CYA might be better at 50 and if so, I'd keep the FC at 5 - 6 ppm. FC at 1.5 is begging for algae and with CC of .5, you might be there. Get some chlorine into that pool!

As to the question, being retired, with nothing better to do, in this upper 90's, dry, very sunny weather.... I'm adding chlorine about 4 times a day. That is probably a bit of overkill, but the peaks and valleys of FC are quite shallow....
 
Yes, heat and sun cause FC to drop faster. High bather load and organics getting into pool drop FC as well.

This evening, test the FC and add enough to target 5ppm. Tomorrow evening, test it again. If it is less than 3ppm, target 6ppm instead of 5. Repeat until the evening test is not less than 3ppm.

Test every day for the rest of the season so you can learn your pool. When you know your pool well enough that you can predict what your FC will be all of the time and in varying weather conditions, then you can consider every other day testing, but you must still use daily additions. You can increase FC to shock level so you can be away on the weekend but that wastes chlorine to do it on a normal basis.

Some people in areas with all day sun run their CYA at 50-60ppm. You would need to add more to chlorine to get it up to the new (higher) FC target level but use less daily. The downfall is if you fail to keep the pool above the min FC for your new CYA level and get an algae outbreak, it will take more chlorine to clear up. I would wait until you have a season of TFPC under your belt and know your pool better before raising the CYA above 50.

Make sure your bleach is not old, it may not be adding as much FC as you think it is. 30 minutes after doing an evening addition to reach your target FC, test the water and see if you reached the target. Do not store bleach in heat, it will lose its concentration rapidly.

A better way of talking about how much chlorine a pool uses per day is to say how many ppm of FC you lose in 24 hours. 2-4ppm is normal. Hot, sunny areas usually consume in the 3-4ppm range. My pool normally consumes around 2.5ppm (64oz of 8.25% a day in 17.1k gal) @ 30ppm CYA, but lately it's been cool and cloudy so it's using less.
 
Just for comparison's sake ... my pool is just under 18K. After all the earlier TX rains, I finally got my CYA back to 50. There, I am able to keep my FC at about 8 or so after adding about 1/2 - 1 gal of bleach - depending on the strength. Last year I was on a strict 1/2-gal routine, so I'm still "tweaking" my levels (FC & CYA) a bit. But every pool is different based on its current chemical levels, swimmer's load, environmental condition, amount of heat/sun, etc. We use basic tests and comparisons in which to base a decision, but there's always a little wiggle room. If I'm ever in doubt, I'll do an OCLT and/or compare CC real close to see if I need to pump-up my chlorine for a bit.

Fact is as Kim said, unless you have a SWG or automatic chlorinator (i.e. Stenner) you will need to "feed" your pool everyday. Not a big deal for most really. Just comes with the territory. The trick is finding that comfortable spot between CYA and FC that makes sense for your pool. SC is definitely hot, so if the sun is bearing down on your pool ... sure ... bump up the CYA a bit and see if that helps. Have a great weekend.
 
Thank you all for the good input...I'm definitely still learning and you guys threw lots of good info out there. The water is staying clear but I have wondered if I did need another SLAM...I'll do an OCLT and go from there. Thanks so much!
 
I'm adding bleach 3 times a day via Stenner pump on a timer. It's running about 15 min at 8 AM, 20 min at 1 PM and about 20 min at 6 PM, adding a little less than an ounce per minute when it's running. Pool is 33k gallons and FC is staying around 5-6 ppm in full sun for half the day. Pump runs 7:45 am to 8:30 pm.
 

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I test everyday and I know pretty much how much I am losing but I like exact numbers. Dosing is super easy I have a pitcher and I marked it with my most common amounts so I can fill and dump in under three minutes. I usually test while dinner is cooking and dose when the last swimmer gets out usually 8 or 9 pm and then it sits all night with the peak amount of chlorine.
 
I am in Alabama, and my pool has full sun from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., so I lose about 3-4 ppm per day. So yes, I definitely have to add every single evening. I do it just after dark. My CYA is somewhere between 40-50 (still getting the hang of the test), so I target an FC of 8, knowing it could be down to 4 in the evening.
 
I add about 4 cups every other day....Every day if i uncover it and actually swim in it. If the cover stays on, sometimes it goes 3 days without needing any bleach.

I will say, that I missed 3 days last week while out of town and when i got back I had a few very small green patches on the bottom. I brushed them up and circulated the water and added more bleach. When i brushed the bottom of the pool, i could see a green cloud everywhere i brushed. Ran the filter on high over night, got my fc up to where it should be and its been crystal clear ever since.

Just goes to show how quickly the pool can get away from you.

EDIT:

Oh yeah, when i got back, my FC was only at 1.5. CYA of 35. So I still had some bleach in there and stuff still grew.
 
I test chlorine once, sometimes twice a day.

My pool requires 1 gallon every 1 to 3 days depending on full sunny days or over cast.

I never allow my chlorine levels to dip below the minimum level for my cya.

I usually add chlorine when it gets to 2-3 ppm above the minimum just for a safe zone.
 
I must be lucky - I test every day but usually I only add bleach every other day and never go out of range, 2-4ppm at CYA 30

I have even left the pool completely unattended for 3 full days, topped up CL to about 5ppm before I left and it was still over 2ppm when I got back

The pool gets sun all day too but as it's England it's often cloudy, plus the cover is always on when not in use. I also use Jolly Gel in the filter which seems to help deal with chloramines and organics.
 
I can easily burn off 3 ppm/day at 95°+ air temp and full sun.... pool has cooled back from 91° to 84° so, I could dump in a gallon of 8.25% bleach at the end of the day or put a portion of that in 3-4 times a day. I try to maintain a reasonably constant chlorine level, throughout the day, yet allowing the chlorine concentration to build a bit, over night.
 

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