Complaint on TFPC Method

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Synergy2

Synergy2

0
Jun 7, 2013
85
Buffalo, NY
Pool Size
32000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi everyone.

I wanted to post and state that all is going very well after switching to the TFPC method full time this year. Once you get going it really is as easy as adding some chlorine every night which takes all of 35 seconds. I test my chlorine about once a week and could probably stop all together as I now know exactly what I need on a daily basis. I've spent a whopping $35 on chemicals this year compared to close to $200 at this time last year.

My kids have consistently come home from other pools and tell me that our water is so much more clear than where they were.....that is validation enough.

I do however have a complaint. When going underwater with goggles on, you now see absolutely every speck of dirt that is floating around in there!!!!!!!

Thanks for all of the help.
 
Great to hear ... although I would highly recommend you do not test less, and really should be testing more often. That is how you catch small problems before they become bigger problems.
 
You can add a little bit of pool grade DE to your sand filter to clear up the specs.

I test at LEAST twice weekly, but will often need 3 to 4 tests per week if I have a lot of swimmers.

Some days I use the taylor chlorine test that only goes to 5ppm (4 ppm is the lowest I can be without a potential problem) so
if it reads 5 on one of those tests I know I'm good.
 
When I turn on the light at night, I can see EVERY divot and feet marks when the installer got in and out when doing the liner.

I also see all the wrinkles from trying to break chlorine lock by dumping in bags of shock and MPS. POOL STORED.
 
Turning the light on at night is the worst every divot in the liner and occasional leaf stands out like they were painted in neon. The spot where my ladder used to be is the worst. Oh the problems TFP has caused me.
 

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+1 to the DE in the sand filter, I've been running that way for a few weeks now. I can pass the after dark pool light test no problem. Bring on the snobs! Also maybe you need to run your filter a bit longer.
 
Yes I am now a poolsnob all the way!!

The dirt I was referencing is actually what gets caught on the 2 tiny wrinkles that I was unable to get out of the bottom completely, as my wife is quick to point out. Never really paid much attention to them last year but boy can you see them now.

On a non windy day my pool looks empty. Love it.
 
Boy, you guys hit the nail on the head with TFP problems. When the light is on at night, every dent, divot and texture is visible. The whole bottom of my pool looks like a textured series of small sand dunes. I tell people I requested that for aesthetic reasons... And don't get me started on every little spider and cricket that I can see on the bottom of the deep end. Those suckers must sink like an anchor because they never hit the skimmers!
 
I'm not trying to degrade the methods used here because obviously it works for a lot of people but what about the people who are having problems? Also, having to add bleach everyday seems like a bit of a chore, no? Most non TFP methods require just throwing pucks in the dispenser and letting it do its magic (or in your case, damage.....) but I've know a lot of people who go this route and don't have any problems. I guess my question is the TFP method primarily used to saved money?

With that said, I'm full on board trying this method as everyone seems pretty knowledgeable on this site. Hopefully I have success stories and not "HELP, why is my pool green/cloudy,etc." threads coming up soon.
 
PoolingAround said:
I'm not trying to degrade the methods used here because obviously it works for a lot of people but what about the people who are having problems? Also, having to add bleach everyday seems like a bit of a chore, no? Most non TFP methods require just throwing pucks in the dispenser and letting it do its magic (or in your case, damage.....) but I've know a lot of people who go this route and don't have any problems. I guess my question is the TFP method primarily used to saved money?

With that said, I'm full on board trying this method as everyone seems pretty knowledgeable on this site. Hopefully I have success stories and not "HELP, why is my pool green/cloudy,etc." threads coming up soon.
Click to expand...
It usually saves money and also avoids problems like climbing CYA. In areas where there is no shut down for winter and there is not a lot of rain, exclusive use of tablets will not work long term due to climbing CYA.
 
There's obviously an abundance of anecdotal evidence that pucks may work for their given situation. But the science is fool proof, and without water exchange, pucks will eventually raise the CYA level to an unmanageable level that the pool will need draining. That science is a given. So, I would say that if you investigate most of the anecdotal evidence, those pools that are successful using pucks fall in the categories of:

A) Haven't had the pool long enough to where CYA has become too high
B) Has regular water exchange due to high rainfall
C) Is in a northern climate where their winterizing routine is lowering the water level and refilling the following spring

So, in some cases, given the right parameters, pucks may be utilized short or long term successfully. However, when throwing a bunch of pucks into a dispenser, you are relying on complete guess work as to the decay rate and release rate of chlorine from the puck. Nothing is testing your water and insuring that you are keeping FCs at a safe level for swimming or biological sanitation. Do you want to swim in a pool like that, or one that is monitored daily and adjusted based on real science, not guesswork? There are so many variables that can affect chlorine depreciation (sun, heat, rain, organics being blown into the pool, bather load, etc.), I'd rather not chance a puck dissolving at some unknown rate to be the determination of my pool sanitation.

Lastly, I would love a survey of these anecdotal cases, where pucks are the only thing they are buying from the pool store. I would bet money, that most puck users are buying algaecides, ph UP, ph Down, bioclears, sparkle wonders, and whatever else the pool store concocts to keep that pool semi-clear. So, you ask if cost is the primary factor. No, it's a welcomed secondary result that all we incur is the cost of ordinary bleach, baking soda and muratic acid, and only the latter two occasionally. The primary benefit is we know EXACTLY what and how much is in our pool to keep it optimally safe and sparkling clear.
 
robertmee said:
There's obviously an abundance of anecdotal evidence that pucks may work for their given situation. But the science is fool proof, and without water exchange, pucks will eventually raise the CYA level to an unmanageable level that the pool will need draining. That science is a given. So, I would say that if you investigate most of the anecdotal evidence, those pools that are successful using pucks fall in the categories of:

A) Haven't had the pool long enough to where CYA has become too high
B) Has regular water exchange due to high rainfall
C) Is in a northern climate where their winterizing routine is lowering the water level and refilling the following spring

So, in some cases, given the right parameters, pucks may be utilized short or long term successfully. However, when throwing a bunch of pucks into a dispenser, you are relying on complete guess work as to the decay rate and release rate of chlorine from the puck. Nothing is testing your water and insuring that you are keeping FCs at a safe level for swimming or biological sanitation. Do you want to swim in a pool like that, or one that is monitored daily and adjusted based on real science, not guesswork? There are so many variables that can affect chlorine depreciation (sun, heat, rain, organics being blown into the pool, bather load, etc.), I'd rather not chance a puck dissolving at some unknown rate to be the determination of my pool sanitation.

Lastly, I would love a survey of these anecdotal cases, where pucks are the only thing they are buying from the pool store. I would bet money, that most puck users are buying algaecides, ph UP, ph Down, bioclears, sparkle wonders, and whatever else the pool store concocts to keep that pool semi-clear. So, you ask if cost is the primary factor. No, it's a welcomed secondary result that all we incur is the cost of ordinary bleach, baking soda and muratic acid, and only the latter two occasionally. The primary benefit is we know EXACTLY what and how much is in our pool to keep it optimally safe and sparkling clear.
Click to expand...

Excellent post! I guess my worry is seeing all the threads here with people still having issues while using the TFP methods. I don't kit my kit till next week so I've been doing pucks and acid in the meantime (pool is only 2 and half weeks old though). So far so good but I'm hoping I don't screw anything up when I switch over.:drown:
 

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