pool is up but test kit isnt here yet...what to do?
- Thread starter chinolofus
- Start date
CYA is the stabilizer you're concerned with right now. Also called conditioner. It is in the pucks you have been using.
ok so if i switch to the BBB method then i will also need pool stabilizer. i thought it was just the 3 chemicals that were needed.
Have you read Pool School?
The BBB method is really just about understanding your pool’s chemistry and through accurate testing, adding only what the pool NEEDS and not what someone wants to sell you. It is NOT about only use 3 chemicals that happen to start with the letter B.
And here is a thread that you should probably read:
bbb-for-beginners-t5208.html
The BBB method is really just about understanding your pool’s chemistry and through accurate testing, adding only what the pool NEEDS and not what someone wants to sell you. It is NOT about only use 3 chemicals that happen to start with the letter B.
And here is a thread that you should probably read:
bbb-for-beginners-t5208.html
yea i read it 2 weeks ago but i have a lot on my plate and forgot most of it except the 3 b's. thanks for the link.
on a side note out of curiosity. could the water temp have anything to do with why my chlorine is so low even though i have the tabs floating? maybe they arent dissolving as fast as they should? my water temp is only 65 degrees and its 66 degrees outside.
on a side note out of curiosity. could the water temp have anything to do with why my chlorine is so low even though i have the tabs floating? maybe they arent dissolving as fast as they should? my water temp is only 65 degrees and its 66 degrees outside.
Tablets dissolve slowly even if the water is warm ... that is just what they do. That is why they are not good at getting the initial bank of CYA up.
yea i knew they dissolved slowly just not sure how slow. i was just wondering is all.
now im sitting with this small bucket of tabs...can i use bleach and then use the tabs...maybe switch it up every week until they are gone? then just switch to the bbb method exclusively? im thinking that way my cya wont get ridiculously high, but what do i know. just making sure that some crazy reaction wont happen and screw the water all up.
now im sitting with this small bucket of tabs...can i use bleach and then use the tabs...maybe switch it up every week until they are gone? then just switch to the bbb method exclusively? im thinking that way my cya wont get ridiculously high, but what do i know. just making sure that some crazy reaction wont happen and screw the water all up.
You can leave the tablets floating and supplement with bleach. Just do not pour the bleach directly onto the tabs.
i know thats why i was saying maybe i could space it out. just use them every other week or something like that and use bleach in between using the tablets. if i dont add stabilizer while using the bleach then wouldnt the cya level go down while i was only using bleach?
Wow sorry. 51 posts in and apparently we did not explain well enough that the CYA does not go down, although Pool School I am sure states as much. The chlorine is consumed but the stabilizer builds up. That is why you can not continuously use tablets. Once the CYA is in range, you can not use anything that adds more.
oh..i just thought you couldnt bring it down quickly with a chemical. i figured like everything else the level would drop if no stabilizer was added.
so i could use 7 tabs and then stop and just use bleach the rest of the summer and not worry about adding stabilizer or the cya level?
so i could use 7 tabs and then stop and just use bleach the rest of the summer and not worry about adding stabilizer or the cya level?
That is correct. It may come down a little, but only due to physically removing the water, like from splash out and backwashing the filter.
ok well thats cool. right now i have 2 3" tabs floating in there (thats all that fits). i'll check the chlorine levels tomorrow. if its still low i'll add bleach to get up to 1 and continue using the tablets but only 7 total. i'll check the fc daily add bleach if needed and when those 7 tablets are done i will switch to only bleach. all the while gradually increasing my level with the tabs and bleach until i hit 3 (and then maintaining a 3 with just bleach)? does that sound like a good plan?
sorry for all the questions and misunderstandings and what not. but im one of those people that learn better by asking and talking than i am reading pages of stuff that i dont have a clue about. i really appreciate your help and patience.
sorry for all the questions and misunderstandings and what not. but im one of those people that learn better by asking and talking than i am reading pages of stuff that i dont have a clue about. i really appreciate your help and patience.
And the tabs will keep so if you drain down over the winter you will lose CYA and then can use the tabs again next year. If you totally take the pool down for the winter then you can put the floater back in as you fill up next spring to keep chlorine in as the pool fills and before you have CYA up to levels. And if you plan it right and understand what you're doing you can use them when you go away for a few days.
I use bleach in my pool but if I go away for the weekend I put the floater in with tabs.