Information overload

[Baluga]

There’s so much info coming at new pool owners. I went with the frog which I may not do again next year but this year while I’m learning (and because the installers put it in) I’m keeping it. But that doesn’t mean that I have to go low with my FC or CYA does it?
Also so much rain today. I bought a bottle of regular household bleach. I was gonna pour half in (6,500 gallons) just because the water had been sitting for a week (was waiting on electrician) and the frog just started working yesterday. I’ll pour it in front of the jet.
Any reason not to?
Also I bought the Taylor test kit k1004 but it doesn't seem to have a CYA test. Is there a trick to that or do I have to buy a new Taylor test kit. (2006 I think)

 

[Flying Tivo]

No splash chlorine has additives which we dont like on our pools. The frog cartridge has metals wich we also dont like and can stain your new pool. All the taylor reagents can be sold separately so buy what you need. Follow Pool Care Basics and you will be fine.

 

[Mdragger88]

the frog is a trichlor dispenser & a metals dispenser
Neither of which we recommend.
Trichlor adds cya along with the chlorine- the chlorine is consumed daily but the cya doesn’t leave. It just continues to build up until water is exchanged.
Its not long before its hard to follow the proper FC/CYA Levels & stay algae free.
Trichlor is also acidic and will lower ph which may sound good until you’re on the ph/ta merry go round.
Its best & simpler to test & add just what the pool needs separately instead of using products that do multiple things/change multiple parameters.

Your k1004 is incomplete.
It is missing:
- the fas/dpd test (measures fc & cc accurately up to 50ppm)
- The cya test
- the ch test

All these tests can be purchased separately at tftestkits.net & other online retailers.
Or are available in the Taylor k2006c or tf100/pro kits that we recommend.

As mentioned above - you want to use plain, unscented, unadulterated liquid chlorine/sodium hypochlorite - not splashless, or cloromax/fabric protection etc.
This is often best found in the pool section as dedicated pool chlorinating liquid which is a higher concentration as well so you don’t need as much.
Use PoolMath for calculating all additions

 

[Deb04]

In CT, you probably have an Ocean State Job Lot near you. They have 12.5% liquid pool shock for $5.99/gallon which is bleach, but at least twice as strong as the stuff in the detergent aisle. It's always fresh. There may be cheaper alternatives near you, but it's what I use when I need liquid chlorine bc it's quite convenient for me. Many get liquid chlorine at Walmart in the pool aisle.

 

[Baluga]

In CT, you probably have an Ocean State Job Lot near you. They have 12.5% liquid pool shock for $5.99/gallon which is bleach, but at least twice as strong as the stuff in the detergent aisle. It's always fresh. There may be cheaper alternatives near you, but it's what I use when I need liquid chlorine bc it's quite convenient for me. Many get liquid chlorine at Walmart in the pool aisle.

Thank you! I go into Walmart knowing what I want and then stand in the pool section and get completely overwhelmed and leave. Today I at least went over and just grabbed a bottle of regular bleach. But right now because of my frog my Cl level is at the highest on the tester so I think I may just leave it be for now.

 

[Baluga]

No splash chlorine has additives which we dont like on our pools. The frog cartridge has metals wich we also dont like and can stain your new pool. All the taylor reagents can be sold separately so buy what you need. Follow Pool Care Basics and you will

 

[Baluga]

the frog is a trichlor dispenser & a metals dispenser
Neither of which we recommend.
Trichlor adds cya along with the chlorine- the chlorine is consumed daily but the cya doesn’t leave. It just continues to build up until water is exchanged.
Its not long before its hard to follow the proper FC/CYA Levels & stay algae free.
Trichlor is also acidic and will lower ph which may sound good until you’re on the ph/ta merry go round.
Its best & simpler to test & add just what the pool needs separately instead of using products that do multiple things/change multiple parameters.

Your k1004 is incomplete.
It is missing:
- the fas/dpd test (measures fc & cc accurately up to 50ppm)
- The cya test
- the ch test

All these tests can be purchased separately at tftestkits.net & other online retailers.
Or are available in the Taylor k2006c or tf100/pro kits that we recommend.

As mentioned above - you want to use plain, unscented, unadulterated liquid chlorine/sodium hypochlorite - not splashless, or cloromax/fabric protection etc.
This is often best found in the pool section as dedicated pool chlorinating liquid which is a higher concentration as well so you don’t need as much.
Use PoolMath for calculating all additions

So I’m confused, I thought from what I read I need to know my cya (reason I realized i have the wrong test kit) because I need to add the right level of cya. (Which I’ll be honest I didn’t see anything in the Walmart pool section that said cya so that just adds to my confusion). I swear I have read and reread the pool abcs over and over but once you get to the store it’s all very overwhelming.

 

[Mdragger88]

So I’m confused, I thought from what I read I need to know my cya (reason I realized i have the wrong test kit) because I need to add the right level of cya. (Which I’ll be honest I didn’t see anything in the Walmart pool section that said cya so that just adds to my confusion). I swear I have read and reread the pool abcs over and over but once you get to the store it’s all very overwhelming.

You’re correct you do need some cya (stabilizer) as it is sunscreen for chlorine.
However, too much is not a good thing.
As your cya level increases so does your necessary free chlorine level required to keep the pool sanitary. Ideally you want 30-50 ppm cya in a manually chlorinated pool.

Usually at Walmart they carry clorox brand cya/stabilizer - looks like this

Your frog chlorine pack will add both fc & cya but it is hard to gauge how much of each it will add to your water. Every day the cya will increase a little but the chlorine it added will be consumed so it does make it hard to follow the chart I posted above properly.
Without 30 ppm cya any fc added will be consumed pretty quickly by the sun.
So its best to use granular cya/stabilizer to get to 30ppm, chlorinate with liquid chlorine & forgo the magic cartridge that may or may not add what you need when you need it.
Trichlor dispensers are best reserved for vacations or short times away.

 

[Sunny Blues]

So I’m confused, I thought from what I read I need to know my cya (reason I realized i have the wrong test kit) because I need to add the right level of cya. (Which I’ll be honest I didn’t see anything in the Walmart pool section that said cya so that just adds to my confusion). I swear I have read and reread the pool abcs over and over but once you get to the store it’s all very overwhelming.

It IS confusing at first. I remember that when I started. It took me a long time to understand what to look for.

CYA is sometimes called “stabilizer”. Look for the ingredients and it should only have cyanuric acid as the active ingredient. We sometimes get the granular Clorox brand at Walmart, but this year it was cheaper to buy from Amazon Prime. Got it the next day too.

Don’t get bleach from the laundry aisles. You want straight liquid bleach for pools, sometimes called “pool shock” but verify the only active ingredient is sodium hypochlorite and that there is no other “special” thing on the label, like cloromax, splashless, improved, yada yada. All that is not good for your water. Usually Walmart has a 10% liquid chlorine in the pool section, like Pool Essentials chlorinating liquid or something like that.

P.S. we run our CYA higher at about 50-60. It’s 60 this year. It may require a higher target range for our chlorine but we find that we lose it slower and have to add it less often than when we maintain CYA at 30. So I’m not entirely convinced it’s that much more expensive to run it higher at our levels. It certainly is less laborious at 50-60 imho. You’re not always chasing the chlorine every day.

Once you’re setup and operating with good balanced water, consider adding more stabilizer to bring yourself to 50ppm.

 

[Sunny Blues]

It also just occurred to me that there really is extreme information overload at pool stores or in the pool sections, and I bet it’s intentional. If you start to feel that it’s just too much to wrap your head around (and it is if you’re using pool store/pool service
chemicals,) well then it only works in their favor. They want you to give up and call in the specialists to take care of it for you. But the truth is, once you learn about balanced water here, you only need 2-3 things usually, cheap, easy, simple, stress free. There is some learning up front but it pays off big time. Your pocket book will thank you and your sanity. It is not that complex at all.

 

[Baluga]

You’re correct you do need some cya (stabilizer) as it is sunscreen for chlorine.
However, too much is not a good thing.
As your cya level increases so does your necessary free chlorine level required to keep the pool sanitary. Ideally you want 30-50 ppm cya in a manually chlorinated pool.
View attachment 571279
Usually at Walmart they carry clorox brand cya/stabilizer - looks like this
View attachment 571280
Your frog chlorine pack will add both fc & cya but it is hard to gauge how much of each it will add to your water. Every day the cya will increase a little but the chlorine it added will be consumed so it does make it hard to follow the chart I posted above properly.
Without 30 ppm cya any fc added will be consumed pretty quickly by the sun.
So its best to use granular cya/stabilizer to get to 30ppm, chlorinate with liquid chlorine & forgo the magic cartridge that may or may not add what you need when you need it.
Trichlor dispensers are best reserved for vacations or short times away.

Thanks so much!! And especially for the pictures!! I’m a visual learner!!!

 

[Baluga]

It IS confusing at first. I remember that when I started. It took me a long time to understand what to look for.

CYA is sometimes called “stabilizer”. Look for the ingredients and it should only have cyanuric acid as the active ingredient. We sometimes get the granular Clorox brand at Walmart, but this year it was cheaper to buy from Amazon Prime. Got it the next day too.

Don’t get bleach from the laundry aisles. You want straight liquid bleach for pools, sometimes called “pool shock” but verify the only active ingredient is sodium hypochlorite and that there is no other “special” thing on the label, like cloromax, splashless, improved, yada yada. All that is not good for your water. Usually Walmart has a 10% liquid chlorine in the pool section, like Pool Essentials chlorinating liquid or something like that.

P.S. we run our CYA higher at about 50-60. It’s 60 this year. It may require a higher target range for our chlorine but we find that we lose it slower and have to add it less often than when we maintain CYA at 30. So I’m not entirely convinced it’s that much more expensive to run it higher at our levels. It certainly is less laborious at 50-60 imho. You’re not always chasing the chlorine every day.

Once you’re setup and operating with good balanced water, consider adding more stabilizer to bring yourself to 50ppm.

Thanks so much for explaining all that!!!

 

[98valkyrie]

Thanks so much for explaining all that!!!

This group is the best!! I too am a new pool owner, having acquired mine when we bought it house last Oct. I knew nothing about pool maintenance and like you, was overwhelmed with all the information. The previous owner left us with a plethora of pool additives and told me “get several buckets of 3” tabs “, which I dutifully did.
After reading here and attending Pool School over the winter, I am much more confident in my abilities to maintain my pool. I have the TFPro test kit. It takes a couple times to get used the process, but easy peasy now!
I have only had to add liquid chlorine and fine baking soda for the ph.
Trust the process and lean on the experts here, they are more than willing to help.

 

[Baluga]

New pool owner, 6,500 with two speed aqua pro cartridge filter that’s on a timer running 7am-11am and 4pm-10pm
5/19/2024 -CL:5 Br:10 PH:6.8 Alk:30ppm CYA:0
I’ve been testing for two weeks, I already had the frog installed so my goal was to just use it but get to ideal numbers TFP suggests and then probably ditch it. BUT for two weeks all my Taylor kit is showing is high chlorine. (First few days I had the dial on the frog turned up high) but still why is nothing else showing up. Isn’t there a lot of stuff in the mineral pack? It seems like I’m having the opposite problem most people have. My chlorine is bright purple on the test but nothing else is coming up.
I have been adding some Clorox 2 in 1 which was supposed to balance the PH and Alk but so far all it’s done is brought the Alk to 30. Which I am grateful for since it’s been 0 up until now.
I did also buy the clorox CYA stabilizer but figured I would get the ph and alk set before I did that because chlorine is consistently high. I do still have the solar cover on because I’m in ct and it’s nothing but cold and rainy here.
Thoughts??