New member greetings and chemical questions.

[BlazeMark]

Howdy,

New member of TFP and having decent luck in keeping a clean, clear pool. I've been a pool owner for 12 years and am a little tired of the run-around and green monster experience I've encountered while dealing with the pool store 'experts'. And yeah, they're in complete denial on the CYA vs. FC issue.

Got a few questions:

Being a recent convert to TPC I still have substantial amounts 'old school' chemicals around the house to use up.

1) I started this pool season with a fresh fill. Any problem with using last years trichlor tabs as the sole basis for getting my CYA up to desirable levels?

2) Any problem with performing occasional shocks with Cal-Hypo until my 12 bags are gone? My current CH is considerably (possibly dangerously??) low for my plaster pool so extra calcium should be welcome. I'm starting to get non-zero CC so a SLAM is in the near future.

3) It seems that my FC consumption is pretty high albeit my CYA is still low (20 ppm). What is a good target CYA for pools subjected to direct, intense sunlight (Tucson AZ)?



My FC half-life seems to be 1 day or less.

FC 1.0 ppm (3.5 yesterday)
CC 0.5
TA 140
pH 7.6
CYA 20
CH 150

Regards,

 

[Smykowski]

Welcome to the forum!! Answers in red below....

1) I started this pool season with a fresh fill. Any problem with using last years trichlor tabs as the sole basis for getting my CYA up to desirable levels? No, provided that you pay attention to the other things trichlor changes. It will monkey with FC, pH, CYA, and TA all at the same time. For this reason we recommend changing one parameter at a time until you get comfortable. If you keep the trichlor dry, it will last forever, so you can use them for vacations/extended time away in the future.

2) Any problem with performing occasional shocks with Cal-Hypo until my 12 bags are gone? My current CH is considerably (possibly dangerously??) low for my plaster pool so extra calcium should be welcome. I'm starting to get non-zero CC so a SLAM is in the near future. "Shock" is a bad word around here. You wouldn't be shocking, you'd be "appropriately dosing." And you are correct....if your CH is low, there's no reason you can't use cal-hypo - provided you are paying attention to what it's doing to your CH.

3) It seems that my FC consumption is pretty high albeit my CYA is still low (20 ppm). What is a good target CYA for pools subjected to direct, intense sunlight (Tucson AZ)? Try targeting 50 and see what happens. It seems as though the CYA protection curve isn't linear. There is a tipping point for CYA where all of a sudden, FC drop slows way, way down.



My FC half-life seems to be 1 day or less.

FC 1.0 ppm (3.5 yesterday) Keep that FC number up!! Don't let it go below the minimum for your CYA. Either dose more often, or shoot for a higher target to prevent such a drastic drop.
CC 0.5
TA 140
pH 7.6
CYA 20
CH 150

Regards,

 

[anonapersona]

I agree that it will be best to get the pool into at least minimum ranges first using individual chemicals. Those thing will be more useful later on I think.

I keep tricolor tablets in stock at all times, buying by the biggest bucket I can store, so that I can use them for vacations. I keep cal-hypo in stock at all times, big bucket, for regular chlorine needs when calcium is a bit low. Note that I pre mix that in water before adding the liquid to the pool for I think my scaled water line was actually hardened cal hypo flakes. This is a bit of a chore so for additions of more than a few days at 10 ppm/day it is easier to use other means and just get the calcium addition done.

And, welcome to the forum!

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

1) I started this pool season with a fresh fill. Any problem with using last years trichlor tabs as the sole basis for getting my CYA up to desirable levels?

It will take too long. It'll be mid July before CYA is up high enough. Save them for vacations.

2) Any problem with performing occasional shocks with Cal-Hypo until my 12 bags are gone? My current CH is considerably (possibly dangerously??) low for my plaster pool so extra calcium should be welcome. I'm starting to get non-zero CC so a SLAM is in the near future.

Yes. You won't need occasional shocks if you follow our methods. Every pound of Cal-hypo is good for about 5 CH along with the chlorine. 12 lbs will add 60 CH, which makes 210, which is great for your pool. So use it to chlorinate every day until it's gone and switch to bleach. poolmath does allow you to choose cal-hypo when calculating dosages.

3) It seems that my FC consumption is pretty high albeit my CYA is still low (20 ppm). What is a good target CYA for pools subjected to direct, intense sunlight (Tucson AZ)?



My FC half-life seems to be 1 day or less.

FC 1.0 ppm (3.5 yesterday)
CC 0.5
TA 140
pH 7.6
CYA 20
CH 150

Regards,

It sounds like you've already determined the cause of your chlorine thirst. Target 50 CYA. Just buy the stabilizer and use the sock method and be done with it.

 

[anonapersona]

PS Another reason to hold that cal hypo is it really is great for emergency shocking.

Big things, like someone vomits in the pool. Or like me, one morning you notice vultures at the hot tub. You shoo them away, good to see no dead things left behind... But you notice the bits of... Tissue, body tissue...eeewwww! Trust me, that is the day you will not have 4 jugs of bleach on hand. But 4 bags of cal hypo is just as good! Do check Pool Math for equivalence.