Fixed the leak, where to sart.

[Thinking Cap Sideways]

I've had a leak in my pool since I opened it on May 17. I was losing about 600gal/day so I wasn't looking for perfection in my numbers. I've been using 99%trichlor tabs since I have about 10 lbs of them left and my CYA was being diluted with the make-up water.

I've found and patched the leak so it's time to get this thing perfect. Here are my numbers:

FC: 6.5
CC: <0.5
TA: 40
CH: <25
CYA: 20-25
Ph: <6.5
Temp: 78

I intend to continue using the trichlor tabs until my CYA comes up into range. How long should this take?

I don't fully understand the difference between washing soda and baking soda for TA and the affect that they have on Ph. Should I use one over the other since both my Ph and TA are low?

My local ACE Hardware has:
20MT Borax, 4lb for $5.99
A&H Super Washing Soda, 55oz for $4.49
A&H Baking Soda, 4lb for $3.99
HTH 10% Liquid Chlorinator, 1g for $3.99

Are these prices fair?

 

[woodyp]

"Borax doesn't raise the TA as much, which is sometimes valuable. However, if you are dealing with trichlor tablets, washing soda is better as it comes closer to balancing out the PH/TA effects of trichlor tablet."

That was posted by Jason yesterday to answer your question. Prices look good.

 

[Thinking Cap Sideways]

The other question, since I didn't ask it correctly, is how much CYA is actually in a trichlor tab? How many tabs would it take to raise the CYA by 15 points in a 20k pool?

 

[JasonLion]

Washing soda raises PH a lot and TA a little. Baking soda raises TA a lot and PH a little. Borax raises PH a lot and TA just a tiny amount.

In your case I recommend raising the PH with either washing soda or borax, and then retesting and adjusting the TA once the PH is at least 7.2.

As a general rule, washing soda comes closest to compensating for trichlor usage, but the difference isn't all that large.

In 20,000 gallons each trichlor tablet raises CYA by roughly 1.5. You can use the Effects of adding chemicals section in Pool Math to answer this kind of question.

The prices you quoted are alright. I've seen better, but those are not unreasonable.

 

[Thinking Cap Sideways]

So the plan to minimize the cost/chemical usage is:

I'll toss in a box and a half of washing soda and go from there on TA.

I will use ~10 more trichlor tabs (~5-weeks) and switch to chlorinating liquid.

Leave my TA and Ph little on the low side to accommodate the use of the washing soda that I'll use when compensating for the trichlor.

This sounds good?