Using Chlor. Tabs; Why not?

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T

texaspoolnewbie

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Apr 8, 2008
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Okay so here is what I am dealing with when-a-good-pool-goes-bad-long-t9069.html

Take in mind that nearly 1/3 of the pool was emptied; at least to under the returns.

I am wondering if using a floater with Chlor. tabs would be a good idea to keep things up between bleach dumps. I know that normally we wouldnt want to use them because of CYA, but being that I was forced to drain so much water I am sure we need some CYA...I of course wont know for sure til my new test kit gets here...but feel it is pretty safe to say that I will pretty low. Wouldnt having a floater help keep the FC up during this process?
 
You may be surprised how high your CYA was if you've been using pucks. If it was close to 200ppm, which isn't uncommon, even draining 75% of the water will leave you with 50ppm CYA. Better to know what you have before adding. The floaters don't do a very good job of chlorinating anyway.
 
JohnT said:
You may be surprised how high your CYA was if you've been using pucks. If it was close to 200ppm, which isn't uncommon, even draining 75% of the water will leave you with 50ppm CYA. Better to know what you have before adding. The floaters don't do a very good job of chlorinating anyway.
Click to expand...

NO we have never used these, dont even own one yet. I in fact have not used anything in this pool from the pool store, no shock, no tabs, nothing but BBB so far. I am asking if it is something that is worth using considering our low CYA and what we are trying to accomplish. If you read my post again I think you will get what I am asking...is this a decent way to bridge the gap between dumpings of Bleach?
 
Trichlor floaters release FC, CYA, and lower PH all slowly and steadily. If you want all three things, then it can be very handy. What you actually want depends on your current levels.

Do you have any idea what your current levels are? Have you ever had the water tested at a pool store? Did you just fill the pool? What have you been using for chlorine?

There is almost never any point in "bridging" between adding bleach. About the only time that makes sense is if you will be away from the pool for several days and can't get anyone to add bleach for you.

If your current CYA level is very low then trichlor tablets won't add CYA fast enough to be useful. If your CYA level is very high then you should stay away from trichlor. Only if your CYA level is reasonable but not quite high enough is trichlor the best source of CYA.
 
I am currently using trichlor, because I was wanting to "bump" the CYA (my TA was a little high, anyway, and my Ph runs a little high, so tri-chlor actually helps with my balance in that area.) I agree with Jason. Tri-chlor can be useful, but it is a slow way to add CYA. And if your CYA is already at a good level, it can get too high. But if you already have some CYA in the pool, but you want to raise it some, tri-chlor is a reasonable choice.
 
I have been using a mix of BBB and the lazy man's pool maintenance (ie. tri-chlori)

Please take this into consideration, I live in N. Dallas, I add water to my pool on a very regular basis or have a lot added at once by down pours where I have to drain (up to a few inches at a time, yes, at the coping level...)

The last time I tested with my TF-100 kit was:

FC 2.5
CC .5
TC 3
PH 7.5 (thanks to borax from this site it's stayed that way all summer)
TA 80
CH 250
CYA 50

I have had a bout or two with algae where I've had to bump my FC pretty high, but again, remember I'm in Texas, the sun can burn that down pretty quick, just take out the floater...These numbers have stayed about the same except one week in the summer when I let the tabs empty (not paying attention) and I was at 0 FC/TC so I added a few gallons of bleach to get it up quick, waited till it held overnight and went back to the lazy way....

I know I'm not the norm here but I work to much, 5 minutes a day is when I visit with my wife (way more important than my pool) and yes, by working too much, since Saturday I've worked about 70 hours and have at least 20 more this week...I want to control my pool, not worry about it daily but also not be a slave to the pool store.

This site has given me that freedom...and I encourage everyone to support this site (it takes money to keep this forum online and it's non-profit!) *cough* pages/supporters/ *cough* :D
 
In my limited experience, Trichlor pucks in a floater have their place, as long as you know the dangers. If you realize that pucks add CYA and are prepared for it, than pucks can be very useful for stretches when you're away from your pool, etc.

Due to a strange sudden CYA drop in my pool recently, I'm currently using pucks for my chlorination and as a way to slowly bring my CYA back up a bit. I've found they work quite well, but still end up testing the pool at least every other day.

Just my opinion.
 

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JasonLion said:
Trichlor floaters release FC, CYA, and lower PH all slowly and steadily. If you want all three things, then it can be very handy. What you actually want depends on your current levels.

Do you have any idea what your current levels are? Have you ever had the water tested at a pool store? Did you just fill the pool? What have you been using for chlorine?

There is almost never any point in "bridging" between adding bleach. About the only time that makes sense is if you will be away from the pool for several days and can't get anyone to add bleach for you.

If your current CYA level is very low then trichlor tablets won't add CYA fast enough to be useful. If your CYA level is very high then you should stay away from trichlor. Only if your CYA level is reasonable but not quite high enough is trichlor the best source of CYA.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this info...but all of your questions to me were answered in my post; I am not sure read about my situation. My only real question was whether or not a floater was a valuable tool in bridging any possible gap between bleach dumpings while trying to clean a huge mess. Meaning If I do a bleach dose in the AM and another the next, if there happened to be an hour in there where my FC fell; would a floater help this at all; meaning is it a possible backup at all.
The rest is already taken care of...not being ungrateful, just hate to see you waste your time with me on things that have been aswered by yourself before.
 
Swimgirl said:
I am currently using trichlor, because I was wanting to "bump" the CYA (my TA was a little high, anyway, and my Ph runs a little high, so tri-chlor actually helps with my balance in that area.) I agree with Jason. Tri-chlor can be useful, but it is a slow way to add CYA. And if your CYA is already at a good level, it can get too high. But if you already have some CYA in the pool, but you want to raise it some, tri-chlor is a reasonable choice.
Click to expand...

I am not looking to raise CYA at this point. What my post asked was whether or not a floater was a valuable tool in bridging FC gaps during cleaning of a huge mess. Meaning if I pour bleach in the Am and again the next AM, would the floater help maintain the FC in between those dumpings.
 
In my own experience with Trichlor tabs in a floating feeder 4-5 years ago, one 3" 8-ounce tablet took about 5 days to dissolve and in 16,000 gallons would add 3.4 ppm so less than 1 ppm FC per day. Using more tablets would add more, but you can see that the dosing rate is pretty slow which is fine under normal situations, but not when algae is present or when there is any other high chlorine demand.

Products that add chlorine quickly include bleach, chlorinating liquid, Dichlor, Cal-Hypo, and lithium hypochlorite. There is also a powdered form of Trichlor that may dissolve more readily. Of course, with Dichlor and Trichlor you increase CYA and with Cal-Hypo you increase CH.

As for continual dosing in the pool when you aren't around, there is The Liquidator (with some people having issues of "white stuff" -- calcium carbonate precipitation in the output tube/valve) and there is a saltwater chlorine generator (SWG) system. One other thing some people have tried is to put an open jug/bottle of chlorine in the water upright on the bottom of the pool, but obviously it gets tricky to get the dosing rate to be accurate -- then again, for fighting algae that may not be that important. I'd be careful about doing it in a vinyl pool where concentrated chlorine settling to the bottom isn't good. One 3/4-gallon jug of 6% bleach in 16,000 gallons is 2.9 ppm FC. Having 4 jugs in a crate so they won't tip over might be OK.

Richard
 
chem geek said:
In my own experience with Trichlor tabs in a floating feeder 4-5 years ago, one 3" 8-ounce tablet took about 5 days to dissolve and in 16,000 gallons would add 3.4 ppm so less than 1 ppm FC per day. Using more tablets would add more, but you can see that the dosing rate is pretty slow which is fine under normal situations, but not when algae is present or when there is any other high chlorine demand.

Products that add chlorine quickly include bleach, chlorinating liquid, Dichlor, Cal-Hypo, and lithium hypochlorite. There is also a powdered form of Trichlor that may dissolve more readily. Of course, with Dichlor and Trichlor you increase CYA and with Cal-Hypo you increase CH.

As for continual dosing in the pool when you aren't around, there is The Liquidator (with some people having issues of "white stuff" -- calcium carbonate precipitation in the output tube/valve) and there is a saltwater chlorine generator (SWG) system. One other thing some people have tried is to put an open jug/bottle of chlorine in the water upright on the bottom of the pool, but obviously it gets tricky to get the dosing rate to be accurate -- then again, for fighting algae that may not be that important. I'd be careful about doing it in a vinyl pool where concentrated chlorine settling to the bottom isn't good. One 3/4-gallon jug of 6% bleach in 16,000 gallons is 2.9 ppm FC. Having 4 jugs in a crate so they won't tip over might be OK.

Richard
Click to expand...

Hmm the liquidator sounds interesting, thanks for that. I was asking about the floater in ADDITION to using bleach dumps, sort of a back-up plan, bridge any gaps that may occur...not as an only form of defense.
 
If you are trying to clean up a mess then you need to add unstablized chlorine on a regular basis to maintain your FC levels. A floater and trichlor will not really help.
 
waterbear said:
If you are trying to clean up a mess then you need to add unstablized chlorine on a regular basis to maintain your FC levels. A floater and trichlor will not really help.
Click to expand...

Thanks again. I have gotten this same answer several times and it isnt what I was asking...but I am pretty darn sure I need Bleach to clean a mess now :-D And I thought this was the Deep End...
 
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