Trichlor tabs

[Whatrymes]

I'm in the proscess of building up my CYA which is at "0" right now. I'm wondering about the use of trichlor tabs and their stability in the short run. will the CYA in them stabilize the FC now? Or does that take time as well?

Thank you,
Ed

 

[RobbieH]

Trichlor can certainly be used when your CYA is 0, but they will add CYA very slowly. They also add FC slowly as well, so either use liquid bleach and some stabilizer, or dichlor granules for quicker results. Can you post a full set of test numbers so we know what you are starting with, and also as many pool specs as you can?

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

The simple answer is: no they will not stabilize the chlorine until the CYA level builds up a little. That's really what RobbieH said, just in different words.

 

[Whatrymes]

Yes Robbie:
FC 3.0
CC 0
CYA 0
TA 150 (oops)
Ph 7.3


Vinyl above ground pool 10,000 gallons, Haywood 40 DE filter. Everything looks great but the FC is disappearing so fast.

 

[dmanb2b]

2lbs of stabilizer should get your CYA to 20 and then the tabs may be able to keep up for a while. Just keep and eye on CYA and if it climbs to 50 or above, switch to liquid chlorine.

 

[Whatrymes]

I have one pound in the water now that I added Saturday. I figure it's not registering to be tested yet.

 

[Butterfly]

I have one pound in the water now that I added Saturday. I figure it's not registering to be tested yet.

It can take up to a week for the CYA to show up in testing. Don't waste your reagents testing too soon.

ETA: btw, I would not do anything about the TA unless you have future problems with the pH rising. Looks good now

Welcome to the forum

 

[Whatrymes]

Welcome to TFP!

The simple answer is: no they will not stabilize the chlorine until the CYA level builds up a little. That's really what RobbieH said, just in different words.

So using bleach is no less stable that tabs for maintaining FC levels? I have been enjoying using bleach and its more predictable results.

 

[JasonLion]

So using bleach is no less stable that tabs for maintaining FC levels?

Correct. The only real difference is that trichlor does several things at once, add chlorine, add CYA, and lower PH, while bleach just adds chlorine. Adding only one thing at a time gives you more flexibility and more control.