I have typically used liquid chlorine as my source to chlorinate my pool. I was thinking in an attempt to keep my fc lower overall while also keeping chlorine in the pool, I would consider using a couple of trichlor pucks to keep chlorine in the pool and offset the frequency of adding bleach. Would the stabilizer add up too quickly if using a smaller amount of trichlor or should I abandon this thought and stick with liquid chlorine.
chlorinating methods
- Thread starter ftplenn
- Start date
Well, you know exactly what you're getting with plain old bleach. Are you talking about maybe rotating from week to week from bleach to pucks. What is your cya level now?
Post some test results and we can offer an informed opinion. If you have room for more CYA, then, sure, use pucks. If CYA is already 50 or above, you're just asking for trouble with pucks.
Remember, we're not bleach fanatics here. Use whatever form of chlorine makes sense. If you have a plaster pool and low CH, then Cal-hypo is a convenient way to raise it. If your CYA is low and your pH climbs a lot, go ahead and use trichlor pucks. Just be sure the side effects won't cancel out any savings or convenience factors. Adding only what your pool needs is the key, here. If you plug numbers into Poolmath and scroll down to Effects of Adding Chemicals, you'll see what happens when you add various forms of chlorine.
Remember, we're not bleach fanatics here. Use whatever form of chlorine makes sense. If you have a plaster pool and low CH, then Cal-hypo is a convenient way to raise it. If your CYA is low and your pH climbs a lot, go ahead and use trichlor pucks. Just be sure the side effects won't cancel out any savings or convenience factors. Adding only what your pool needs is the key, here. If you plug numbers into Poolmath and scroll down to Effects of Adding Chemicals, you'll see what happens when you add various forms of chlorine.
Thanks for the responses. As of this morning my FC - 2 (dropping to use stain remover), CH -240, TA-100, CYA-30, Ph-7.4. My intent is to use pucks to keep some chlorine in at all times in case I can't add liquid everyday but keeping the FC on the lower end of the range. I will check the pool math later.
You do realize that as CYA climbs, your FC level/chlorine additions will too right?
FC/CYA chart for "TARGET" FC is as followed:
30CYA = 4FC
40CYA = 5FC
50CYA = 6FC
60CYA = 7FC
70CYA = 8FC
FC/CYA chart for "TARGET" FC is as followed:
30CYA = 4FC
40CYA = 5FC
50CYA = 6FC
60CYA = 7FC
70CYA = 8FC
Allrighty, then! Test results! 
If CYA is 30 now, you will be at 50 by the time you add 15 pucks. That's 7.5 lbs. A standard pail of pucks is 35 lbs! So keep count of how many you add.
A pool is like a living thing. If you feed it a balanced diet on a regular basis, it will be healthy, and missing a meal here or there is not going to cause it to get immediately ill. If you keep it on a starvation diet, it gets weak, and missing a meal could cause issues.
Do you travel a lot or something? Is there some reason you can't feed the pool every day? Once Summer rolls around and you get into the routine, you'll learn your pool's appetite. You'll know before you test what you should see, and usually will. Many of us get casual about it and test only every 3 or 4 days, and just dump in the usual amount of bleach every day, once we've reached that point of knowing the pool intimately. Thirty seconds, maybe a minute - that's not a huge demand on your time. But let algae develop and you'll have one of these multii-week ordeals doing a SLAM. No thanks.
If CYA is 30 now, you will be at 50 by the time you add 15 pucks. That's 7.5 lbs. A standard pail of pucks is 35 lbs! So keep count of how many you add.
A pool is like a living thing. If you feed it a balanced diet on a regular basis, it will be healthy, and missing a meal here or there is not going to cause it to get immediately ill. If you keep it on a starvation diet, it gets weak, and missing a meal could cause issues.
Do you travel a lot or something? Is there some reason you can't feed the pool every day? Once Summer rolls around and you get into the routine, you'll learn your pool's appetite. You'll know before you test what you should see, and usually will. Many of us get casual about it and test only every 3 or 4 days, and just dump in the usual amount of bleach every day, once we've reached that point of knowing the pool intimately. Thirty seconds, maybe a minute - that's not a huge demand on your time. But let algae develop and you'll have one of these multii-week ordeals doing a SLAM. No thanks.
I think I am going to stick with liquid. I will get a routine this year and see how everything goes.
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