First, I'm a TFP believer/user and have only added bleach and acid to my pool over the last year or so that I've owned it. Things go as expected and I don't have any problems that I can't blame on myself.
However, we've got a couple trips planned this summer that will take me away longer than I can maintain FC in the pool - 7 to 10 day timeline. Stenner system is in the plans but won't be done by trip time. I might be able to get someone to swing by and dump a couple bottles of bleach in, but I need a backup plan just in case I can't line that up. My backup plan is pucks in floater(s). The CYA is somewhere around 50 (possibly lower) and has crept down from 80 since we started maintaining the pool. So I'm OK adding a bit of CYA via the pucks. My pH is fairly stable. Creeps up from 7.5 to 7.6 or 7.7 over several days. That will probably be creeping faster as we get hotter and I need more high TA fill water.
My 8.25% bleach demand has been about 60 oz per day lately. Experience tells me that's going up with the heat that's coming soon. I believe I was about 90 oz in the worst part of the summer last year. But that was with the higher CYA so I'm still playing this by ear.
All that being said, I've never bought any pucks before. What do I buy? Trichlor? Dichlor? Cal-Hypo? (I know no CYA here - I don't know my CH number off the top of my head - might be 275 if memory serves) I'm not interested in the best bulk value as this is a stop gap solution and I don't want to store them long.
And are all the floaters the same? Should I just get one that's well reviewed on Amazon?
One other question - I get some leaves in the pool from a nearby tree. Should I leave the cleaner (Hayward Phoenix 2x) connected and running while away and risk it clogging with a big storm? Or take it out and deal with the leaves when I get back? I'm tempted to get the bottom clean and take the cleaner out as the skimmer works way better without the cleaner hose on the surface.
Thoughts, experience or other ideas welcome. I'm about 5 weeks out to the first trip.
However, we've got a couple trips planned this summer that will take me away longer than I can maintain FC in the pool - 7 to 10 day timeline. Stenner system is in the plans but won't be done by trip time. I might be able to get someone to swing by and dump a couple bottles of bleach in, but I need a backup plan just in case I can't line that up. My backup plan is pucks in floater(s). The CYA is somewhere around 50 (possibly lower) and has crept down from 80 since we started maintaining the pool. So I'm OK adding a bit of CYA via the pucks. My pH is fairly stable. Creeps up from 7.5 to 7.6 or 7.7 over several days. That will probably be creeping faster as we get hotter and I need more high TA fill water.
My 8.25% bleach demand has been about 60 oz per day lately. Experience tells me that's going up with the heat that's coming soon. I believe I was about 90 oz in the worst part of the summer last year. But that was with the higher CYA so I'm still playing this by ear.
All that being said, I've never bought any pucks before. What do I buy? Trichlor? Dichlor? Cal-Hypo? (I know no CYA here - I don't know my CH number off the top of my head - might be 275 if memory serves) I'm not interested in the best bulk value as this is a stop gap solution and I don't want to store them long.
And are all the floaters the same? Should I just get one that's well reviewed on Amazon?
One other question - I get some leaves in the pool from a nearby tree. Should I leave the cleaner (Hayward Phoenix 2x) connected and running while away and risk it clogging with a big storm? Or take it out and deal with the leaves when I get back? I'm tempted to get the bottom clean and take the cleaner out as the skimmer works way better without the cleaner hose on the surface.
Thoughts, experience or other ideas welcome. I'm about 5 weeks out to the first trip.
