Yet another question about using trichlor tabs

[Wellread]

My first question on this site, but have been lurking for 3 years. I have (finally) come to the conclusion that TFP/BBB is the only way to go. But, that being said, before my ultimate conversion, at the beginning of this year, I bought a big tub of 3" trichlor tabs. Last week I received my Taylor K-2006 kit in the mail (it was like Christmas!) and did my first honest to goodness testing this morning. My results were this:

FC 1
CC. 0
pH. 7.5
CYA. 35
TA. 80
CH. 200

Here are my concerns and questions:

Still tend to lose FC faster than I think I should, but not really sure how fast or slow I should expect the loss to be. I am going to continue using the tabs until they are gone, because not only am I not concerned about CYA levels rising, I in fact would like to raise my CYA because the pool gets full, brutal sun all day. I realize that I will need to keep an eye on the CYA, but could that be why I am losing FC? The FC seems to stay somewhat level overnight, but can really drop during the day. In addition,I'm not sure how efficiently my in-line chlorinator is working, so may not be getting full effects of the tabs.

At this point, with TA level at 80, my pH tends to stay stable. I know the trichlor may start messing with pH, so will adding the borax also help with that, as well as getting the other benefits from the borates? And, will the acid in the tabs help compensate for the borates, as I see that people need to add acid after adding borates?

I'll probably have more questions as I get more information, but I'll start with these.

Thanks so much!

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi, and welcome to TFP - Finally!

How much FC you loose depends on several things, such as direct sunlight, bather load etc.

With CYA of about 35, you need to maintain your FC at about 3 and never let it drop below 7.5% of the CYA level.

Nothing wrong with bumping up your CYA a bit if you get brutal UV. The trick is knowing that if you do, then you need to maintain your FC relative to the higher CYA level.

Your questions about the acidic tabs and borax and pH are all good ones. You are starting to understand the relationships of pool chemistry.

Honestly though, its TFP recommendation NOT to use borates until you have learned to manage your pool troublefree for a couple or 3 months and get a better handle on the effects of it all. After you feel comfortable and have had success, then borates for you will be a no brainer.

In the meantime, you can use pool math...at the bottom, is a section called "effects of adding"... you can play around with that, ad it will tell you the effects of borates, the tabs and ph etc... its a very handy tool that can give you a lot of insight as to what happens when any chemical is added.