clueless beginners questions.

[doron]

Greetings TFP

Got me a very small starter pool for this summer and after many visits to the “pool school” I still have many a’questions.

1) The pump – I got 1 1000 Gallons an hour “Krystal clear” model 638R Intex pump(how many HP is that?). My pool is about 1600 gallons so one turn over will be 1.5 – 2 hours right? What I cant seem to find anyware is how many turnovers a day a pool needs? The guy in the store told me to let it work 24\7, that’s about 18 turnovers a day, is that really necessary?

2) Is it ok to put the Chlorine tablets in the skimmer? Also the guy in the store told me to put one every week, but I think the constant flow of water over it (cos the pump is on 24\7) dissolve it in 2-3 days.

3) I understand that using Bleach is better than using the tablets because they will gradually add to the CYA. My question is how long does it take? Can it happen in a few weeks or does it take months? I mean its only 1600 Gallons and its only for 3-4 summer months, and the tablets are convenient.

4) I have the 3-way Intex test (I know, sticks are not accurate) but it doesn’t seem to work at all. No matter how deep or how long or how much time I give it the FC gives a dark brown color while the colors on the bottle are all different kinds of green. Not to be accurate is one thing but not to do what the product should do at all is just plain rubbery! I try to put the stick 18’ deep and hold it for a few seconds then let it dry and compare to the bottle colors. Am I doing something wrong?

5) I would really love to get my hands on a TF100 kit but they don’t deliver outside the US and I couldn’t find it in stores any ware. In fact I couldn’t find in stores any test that is not “sticks”. Any other place I can order TF100 or another good kit that delivers worldwide?

I would also like to say what many here said before me. Thank god for TFP! For the information here is extremely helpful and very hard to find. The sellers don’t even know the products they are selling and the manufactures (primarily INTEX) don’t feel the need to explain anything to you. Once again – thank god!

 

[257WbyMag]

Welcome to TFP!

Essentially, you want all of the water to pass through the filter once daily. A couple of turnovers is great, but you don't need to run the filter 24/7.

This sticky describes the care and feeding of temporary pools such as yours....pool-school/temporary_pool_guide

Tablets are fine as long as you understand that it puts CYA in your water and that there is a limit to the amount of CYA that you need and further, that too much CYA has its own unique set of problems. We don't recommend placing tablets in the skimmer because doing so can allow for a harsh chemical environment to accumulate inside the skimmer basket during times when the pump is off. Having a floater is a better idea. Using another chlorination method is even better. I cannot predict how long it will take to accumulate CYA in your pool. It all depends on how fast they dissolve.

You won't find a TF-100 in any store. It is sold on the internet only. Some countries do allow it to be shipped but some others, such as Canada for instance, exclusively prohibit it. If you can get a hold of a HTH 6-way kit, you might give that a try. It is drop based and is pretty dependable. You are not doing anything wrong with the sticks. They just don't work very well at all.

 

[ob1quixote]

My tactic with my blue blob pool is to fill it and test the water. If you dont have a test kit, most pool stores will test your water for free. Go to the Pool Calculator and adjust the water volume to 1600, then plug your test numbers into the left box for each type of test. Go to the bottom and select vinyl for your pool surface, bleach for your chlorine source and TFP for your suggested goals, then hit calculate.

The calculator will give you the proper amounts of chemicals to get your water right. CYA {conditioner} is available at Walmart and is the first thing I put in. Put the needed amount in a old sock and tie it with a shoestring so it hangs in the pump output stream. You can squeeze it to help it disperse faster. CYA helps your chlorine avoid being burned off by sunlight, allowing it to be there to sanitize the water. It help keep the chlorine levels more stable.

Next, add your bleach as prescribed, let it mix in a few minutes before swimming. You pool is roughly 1/2 the size of mine, you can probably get by using 10oz of bleach per day until your test kit arrives {assuming you have added the CYA}

You can make the other water adjustments as needed, but for me, the bleach and CYA are most important at the start.

I run my pump 24/7. The flow amount and pattern are pretty dismal. Get the combo A/C type filter, they have a screen inside that is perfect for using the 1 inch chlorine tabs if you go that route. Also, daily swimming is the best thing for the pool; stirs the water and helps keep the vinyl clean. If you notice a bit of green on the walls, brushing it off and into the water will often kill it before it becomes a problem [if your chlorine levels are right]. I am convinced that water circulation is pretty poor with these pools, and areas get stagnant, allowing the green algae to get a start.

Test - bleach - pump - swim daily and enjoy!

 

[doron]

Thank you guys for all the great help.

Here is an interesting peace of information I recently found out about. You cant ship the “drops” kits on air because of the chemicals. It must be by ship or by land. So the only kit I did manage to talk to a seller about (K2006) charges 300$ for shipping. Now because the only way for me to test the water is taking water in my hand and smell it. Or even the less accurate way, the INTEX sticks. And there are no pool stores to test the water near me. I’m stock!
My question to you is what is the best stick test I can get (that can also test CYA)? And do you guys know an online store for a drop kit located in Europe?

Doron

 

[chrisjbaileyuk]

Palintest do a comparator set that includes CYA http://www.palintest.com/products-details.aspx?id=26 and they are based in the UK. Not as good as the drop based kits but a huge improvment on the test strips. FC test only goes up to 5ppm but you can buy a set of fairly accurate digitial scales quite cheaply and do a 1:3 dilution by weight with distilled water. I do 100g of pool water to 300g of distilled. Weight is far more accurate a measure than a measuring jug even allowing for a bit of tolerance on the scales. I now use one of their photometers (which I got checked by a friend in a lab and is good but £££) and have to do the same trick with that.

If you only plan on using the pool for a few months and then emptying it over winter then a floater with tabs is probably not a bad solution. Its certainly convenient but keep an eye on the CYA. Once it gets high then a partial drain and refill is the only answer. You will need something to maintain PH as well.

 

[loop_pea]

There are all kinds of test kits in the UK if you look around, especially online. The big names in testing here are Lovibond and Palintest. Palintest will even supply the FAS-DPD drop test for high chlorine levels, but for a small, short season pool, I doubt that this would be necessary.

You're right, in high flow rates the trichlor tablets will dissolve very quickly. In my pool, they dissolve in around a single day in a tablet feeder. Just beware that in a small pool, a single tablet goes a long way because the contents aren't as diluted as they would be in a larger pool.

You can get away with using tablets by having a short swim season, and/or doing some water replacement from time to time. In the absence of a test, you could use poolcalculator.com to find out how much one tablet will increase your CYA, and then just count how many tablets you use - that's if you know your starting level or have just filled the pool (then it starts from zero).

 

[doron]

loop_pea :

is there a standart to how much CYA there is in a 200gr tablet? (most of it is chlorine right?)
if not then i dont see how can i use the PC to figuer out my CYA.
or am i missing something?

 

[loop_pea]

No, tablets are a standard weight, but the concentration of chemical they add (in ppm or mg/l) depends on your pool size.

Before you can use poolcalculator.com, you need to enter your pool size. Choose "metric" as the unit from the top right of the table, and then enter your pool volume in the box labelled "size" in the top left of the table. You'll need to convert the volume to metric first.

Scroll down the page, there's a section called "effects of adding chemicals". Once you have entered your pool size, you can put 200g (the size of the tablet) into this part of the calculator and choose "trichlor" (the stuff in the tablets).

Is this making sense?

1600 gallons is 7273 litres (is that your pool size?), which means one tablet will add 15 ppm of CYA to your pool. Blimey! That number was much higher than I expected. If you used tablets at the rate of one per week, that's only six weeks before you get to very high levels of CYA.

[Edited because I got your pool size wrong]

 

[Bama Rambler]

This is off topic but I just got to say. Those of us in the US aren't much help (not that we don't want to but we're not local) but you UK guys have just jumped in and provided excellent advice and help. Neighbors helping Neighbors, that's what it's about.

 

[chrisjbaileyuk]

UK is a very different pool market, probably as pools are that much rarer. Most of what you guys in the US talk about just does not exist over here. Just a matter of adjusting the theory of BBB to the practicals of the market.

Doron - I started with a small above ground intex pool. I found that a warm day with the kids in it would result in a high water loss through splash out. That will help keep the CYA under control to a degree. If you are in the UK you can get Tesco Blue Label ~5% chlorine bleach for ~30p a bottle (5L I think). Using tabs for a couple of weeks to add some Chlorine/CYA and then 1/4 cup or so of bleach a day might be a very economical solution. Makro sell PH plus and minus in small containers. PH will be quite sensitive in such a small pool so you wont need very much.