New Pool Owner Tired of Paying Big Pool Chemical Costs

[jblizzle]

It was stated that your got the TF100, but you did not post all the results which is leading to confusion ... namely CC (which are important if you are performing the shock process) and the CH (which if high would certainly suggest avoiding cal-hypo, which I think was mentioned earlier).

You have made a great investment with the test kit and should soon find maintenance to be much easier.

There are also some articles in Pool School about closing and opening the pool. If done right, closing when the water gets cool enough and opening before it gets too warm, you very well could enjoy a clean pool from the start next year.

 

[Butterfly]

Did you use Borax and get the pH in the low 7's? Make sure you adjust the pH when the FC is below 10.

Your new TF100 will put you in control of your pool. Doing the partial drains is tough on well water supply, but necessary to lower the CYA.

Plus, that is a large pool!

 

[lee872]

I switched to BBB last year, after years of using trichlor tabs. My CYA was 80 in August when I made the switch, and I decided not to drain since it was near the end of the season. Going to the store and toting home enough shock was a major chore, even without factoring in the cost. My CYA started going down as soon as I stopped using tabs, helped along by some significant rain fall. When I closed it was down to 50. This year when I opened, CYA was 20 after I added the first dose of bleach. I have a mesh cover, and that requires enough draining at closing to take care of it. That being said, I wouldn't want to spend an entire season dealing with the quantities of bleach you'll need just to keep a steady FC under normal conditions.

 

[birkesl]

Hey Lee-your pool and weather are very close to mine and it sounds like our situations are similar. Would you mind getting a hold of me through email to talk in more detail? [email protected]. Much appreciated.

 

[jblizzle]

Why not keep the discussion here for future reference?

 

[lee872]

I'm happy to help if I can. I've learned so much from reading other people's responses, some of which have nothing to do with my question -- so I agree with Jason about keeping it public. Plus, someone else will know more than I do and will be able to help us both. What are you wondering about?

 

[birkesl]

You mention draining your pool to winterize. how much did you drain it?

 

[smid87]

You mention draining your pool to winterize. how much did you drain it?

Most pool owners that live in cold climates like the North East drain below the skimmer and return. This ensures that no water gets out of the pool or back into the return line or skimmer line. As far as I know this is the best practice. A pool cover can save you major headache in the spring when you open your pool. I have never used those fancy TF or K kits and I consistently have clear tear free water. I DO NOT however advocate not using these kits and I will get one next year. I have survived on the Wal-Mart 6 way kit for years, but not without some issues I feel these kits would have helped recognize sooner and solve quicker. Basically, when it is green shock it till it ain't, then shock it some more. Test the PH and Chlorine daily and when the chlorine drops to the .5-1 shock again. wait 30 minutes and swim away. I know this is not the tight chemical awareness way many would want, but it has worked for me for many years!!! Not many will get the same results as I did. I should also mention that I take frequent advantage of the free water tests our local pool stores offer. In return I will occasionally buy something from them as a thank you for performing the tests.

BUY THE TEST KIT I will be. If not this year (due to out of control chemical or Algae issues), then next year when I would have bought a new 6 way kit anyways.

 

[smid87]

OK--so I bought the TF100 test kit and put my results into the pool calculator.
Results:
FC-0.5
PH-6.8
TA-50
CYA-90

The suggestions say to add about 5 gallons of bleach, 2 gallons of borax, 2.6 gallons of baking soda, and no suggestions for CYA for some reason. Does all of this seem right or am I missing something here? The pool supply store told me I had high phosphates still and that I should continue to treat for them. The strange thing is that I have very clear water--looks and smells great. I'm eating up about 3-3 inch chlorine tablets every 3-4 days which seems like a lot. Suggestions/further input??

The Pool Calculator does tell you how much water to replace to reach your desired CYA Level. FSAG, I entered 90 to start and 40 as the target and it told me I needed to drain 56% water and refill with CYA 0 water. To lower CYA you replace 56% of the water with new water

 

[duraleigh]

I should also mention that I take frequent advantage of the free water tests our local pool stores offer.

Unfortunately, as you read more and more stories from members here, you will discover those tests are invariably worth exactly what you paid for them. Unfortunately again, I am being very serious.

 

[Isaac-1]

What dave said is sad, but true, about the only thing worse than pool store free testing is pool store advice.

Last Saturday while I was waiting for my wife to get done at the hair salon, I went into the pool store across the street (small chain store with about half a dozen locations, the majority of their floor space is devoted to hot tubs, patio furniture, etc. While walking by the counter I overheard a conversation between an employee and a customer:

Customer came in to get results from the water sample, store uses an automated test machine,

Pool store employee, tells customer that they need stabilizer, calcium hardness increaser, and pH Up

Customer says that last two times she has been in the store had told her the Calcium Hardness was too high and she needed to drain water to lower it, which she had not done yet.

Pool store employee says she ran the test twice and this is what the customer needs

Then the sad point, the customer went ahead and bought the suggested chemicals.

As we all know around here CH can only be lowered by water replacement, so did the pool store get it wrong before, or wrong now? Note they did not tell the customer to bring back another sample later instead they sold her more CH increaser knowing they had previously told her to drain water because CH was too high.

Ike

 

[techguy]

I have found it is very difficult to go into a pool store and not listen to the silliness they profess the homeowner needs. It makes me want to pull the HO outside and send them to the Wal-Mart for bleach and this webiste for knowledge.

 

[smid87]

I should also mention that I take frequent advantage of the free water tests our local pool stores offer.

Unfortunately, as you read more and more stories from members here, you will discover those tests are invariably worth exactly what you paid for them. Unfortunately again, I am being very serious.

I take them at their value. I usually use them to verify my findings. I did not know about these better tests until recently. Also, my local pool store is a rare case. I have had them tell me not to buy chemicals or to use less than what their computerized system reported. For this year $68 is out of my budget. I am considering the TF50 as I have a pretty accurate PH tester plus that is less critical for an exact measurement.

 

[birkesl]

I did the overnight chlorine test and did not lose chlorine. My FC is 0.5 and CC is 1.5. So, the idea is to stop using trichlor hockey puck tabs altogether using this system, correct? So, would I then not use the chlorinator for anything using this system? I suppose I could at least use it when we go on vacation, correct? I would just stay on top of testing the pool in order to know when to add liquid chlorine/bleach? I found liquid chlorine at Menards for the same price as bleach at Walmart and at about a 4% more concentration (4$ per bottle). My pool looks great, ph is rising, and alkalinity is rising. Everything is heading in the right direction--my plan is to slowly drain water a little at a time this year and then start from scratch (50% pool drain) to start next year out right. I'm feeling more and more in control of my pool every day this year since stumbling on this website. Thanks, everyone.

 

[jblizzle]

You need to review Pool School.

What is your CYA?

Your FC is WAY too low (the OCLT is usually done at shock level) and your CC is > 0.5 ... both of these indicate a need to start/continue the shock process.

 

[lee872]

You mention draining your pool to winterize. how much did you drain it?

My returns are very low, about 20" from the top of the pool. I drain below them to close, and then add back a few inches to 16 - 17" from the top. That is still below the skimmer, but above the return. No problems doing that yet.

 

[fredder9]

I just got on this site a couple weeks back for my 12 year old inground pool and it has NEVER looked better and I am a believer in the methods I learned in Pool School - and anxious to see how the year plays out.
Maybe you're overwhelmed...but the simple guidance is that you need to follow the shock process until you achieve three things (in this order, in my opinion): 1) clear water; 2) CC<=0.5; 3) Pass OCLT (overnight chlorine loss test).
My CYA is 50, so I chose not to drain any but QUIT using dichlor and used only liquid chlorine. I followed the recommended shock levels, and I kept it at those levels (sometimes testing every two hours, sometimes just 3 or 4 times a day) until I met the 3 criteria to stop shocking. It took about 9 days My CC=10 and FC=0 when I started, and pool store wanted to sell me all kinds of crazy stuff - had a rough end to my year last year combined with LoopLoc cover so I'm sure that is why!. Was using 16 gallons of chlorine a day for a few days when I started then it started to decrease....now I'm using less than 3/4 gallon to maintain. In the last 24 hours including most of a sunny day, I lost just 1.5ppm FC.

Happily disconnected my Hayward chlorinator (I think I replaced it 3 times in 10 years anyway), back to the days of pouring in liquid chlorine like when I was a kid.

I bought the TFT100 test kit with magnetic stirrer option and that made everything much easier. Learned that strips go bad...learned that old reagents cause bad readings...learned that all pool stores disagree with each others test results!

Just commit and do it!! But...make sure to get an accurate read on CYA and I would do the partial drain before starting shock process if you're really higher than 60 or 70 (just based on how much more chlorine it will take).

 

[birkesl]

Am I correct in understanding that the trichlor pucks screw up the CYA in pools? Is that the main issue with them? From what I'm understanding via this website they can be replaced by liquid bleach. Is all this correct? Just trying to make sense of everything I'm learning. . . .

 

[Smykowski]

Trichlor pucks add CYA, and at the same time they lower pH and raise FC. They aren't inherently bad, it's just that they are expensive and simultanteously affect 3 parameters (and will indirectly affect a 4th). Bleach accomplishes the same objective (increase FC) much more simply and does it for less money.

 

[357]

birkesl, tri-chlor adds CYA and chlorine. Since the only way to remove CYA is to replace water, you need to stop using tri-chlor pucks/powder because your CYA levels are already too high. Given this very high level you'll have to use crazy amounts of liquid chlorine (bleach) to keep your pool from going into full algae bloom. It's not impossible, but will be much more costly and labor intensive. The recommendation to drain half and refill doesn't sound fun but it may be cheaper and easier in the long run. It's still fairly early in summer so you're better off pulling the trigger now if you're going to do it.