What is "normal"?

[tcat]

If you are not having algae problems, what is "normal" for pool maintenance? (mostly interested in chemical amounts)

My "normal":
Add 30 oz. Clorox each morning
Add 8 oz. MA about every 3 or 4 days (not sure why pH seems to creep up)
Empty skimmer basket once per week (unless it's been real windy)
Empty pump basket about once per month (never has much in it)
Empty Legend Platinum about every other week
Backwash about every other month
Shocked once this summer when I forgot to add Clorox one day (FC got too low)
(did some brushing for a couple days then)
Jump in daily.

 

[George N]

Empty the skimmer every few days.
Brush once a week.
Vacuum once/twice a week.
Clean the filter every month or two. (when flow slows)
Check FC and PH almost daily, other chems every few months. (PH very stable almost no MA used.
Hear daddy can we go swimming daily, go swimming almost daily.

What is normal? NEVER worry about the pool. As daughter says; looks all sparkly.

 

[Bjarni]

Normal is relative, meaning that you are going to get many different answers based on many a different variables.

I can tell you that for me, I add a little over a quart per day of bleach (34 to 36 oz) This varies with bather load, sun, wind, etc. It also has a lot to do with your CYA level.
I empty my skimmer basket every couple of days, but I check it daily.
Empty pump basket every couple of months.
I brush only monthly. My pool is fiberglass and doesn't develop any residue except at the waterline which I clean once per week using a Magic Eraser.
Vacuum once per week or more depending on the wind, load, etc.
Clean filter every couple of months depending on pressure reading.
Check FC daily and add bleach daily. This is the most important thing you can do. Consistency is #1 when using BBB. Letting your FC level drop below your minimum even for a couple of days can cause algae to get a foot hold and take you down the shocking path. Not fun.
For me PH has never been an issue, so I only check it monthly.

 

[linen]

Add 8 oz. MA about every 3 or 4 days (not sure why pH seems to creep up)

What is your current TA level? Do you have an autofill, or are you having to add a lot of makup water? If you makup (or autofill) water is high in TA, then that might cause TA to remain higher, causing your ph to continue to drift up. With that said, your not having to add an excessive amount of MA. 8 ounces (assuming your TA is at 90 ppm and you have 50 ppm borates...am I right on these?) is only reducing your ph by 0.1. I would wait until your TA gets close to 7.8 (unless you have a scaling problem), then lower it back down to 7.2.

 

[tcat]

I have auto-fill. Mostly shaded, so don't lose a lot. Seldom hear water rushing from the float gizmo (unless kids are here).
TA= 100 My borates are closer to 40. No scaling. Maybe I should keep adding MA until pH is under 7.5. I've never seen it orange, it's always "almost" there, but never real red either.