Help me understand TFP thinking on chlorine

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nehsmit

nehsmit

0
Nov 8, 2016
40
Bridgewater, NJ
I have been reading as much as I can. When I grew up we have 20000g IG vinyl liner pool which had an automatic chlorinator. Almost no maintenance. Every 2 weeks I shocked and and dropped in some algaecide. Never had a problem. From what I read here it involves daily dosing of chlorine via bleach. Does this sound right? Wouldn't it just be easier to do what I did back in the day? So why dose daily based on daily testing? Just trying to understand and make the best decision for my pool.

Thanks in advance.
 
What about the people that cannot get that to work? The people who do that but then find failure?

What about the people that try that and end up with stained plaster from the copper in their algaecide? What is easier about trying to remove copper stains?

What about swimming in water that isn't properly sanitized? Do you consider that a problem?

There is a thing called Survivorship Bias. Imagine a person who dumped their entire life savings in to lottery tickets. Would you consider that a good idea? What about if they hit it big, would you start pulling your life savings to do the same? I would hope not, because the wrong move is the wrong move regardless of the outcome. Blindly dumping shock and algaecide in a pool is the wrong move, regardless of the outcome.

I don't know what you have been reading, but if you are missing the people who join the site every day with algae despite their own algaecide and shocking routines then you are missing the bulk of the posts on TFP...
 
No I get that. I see that. While I do appreciate your reply I'm still trying to figure out with my 3 small kids and full time job how I have the time to check and dose daily. I do have a SWG but not connected as of yet since the pool is brand new. I'm just trying to figure out time mgmt.
 
Did you grow up in NJ? What you did has a chance at working in that climate. You get rain. You have a short season and drain a lot in the winter. So, your CYA may not build up high enough to cause problems before the winter.

That ain't going to work on TX or AZ. ;)

You can do what you did and hope. Or do what you did and test fairly often to monitor the chemist. Or always know your water is safe with frequent testing.
 
jblizzle said:
Did you grow up in NJ? What you did has a chance at working I that climate. You get rain. You have a short season and drain a lot in the winter. So, your CYA may not build up high enough to cause problems before the winter.

That ain't going to work on TX or AZ. ;)
Click to expand...

True. I did grow up in NJ. Our season was literally Memorial day to Labor day. Maintenance for years and years was so simple.
 
nehsmit said:
No I get that. I see that. While I do appreciate your reply I'm still trying to figure out with my 3 small kids and full time job how I have the time to check and dose daily. I do have a SWG but not connected as of yet since the pool is brand new. I'm just trying to figure out time mgmt.
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Daily testing for chlorine takes 1 minute. Adding chlorine takes another minute. Weekly testing is maybe five minutes. (Once you get the hang of it)

Why do it this way? With just regular maintenance, it will save you a lot of money, no algaeciding, no weekly shocking, no tablets. Just bleach replaces all three of those.

If you ever have a problem that needs more than just basic maintenance, you save ridiculous amounts of money; and when I spend the money the tfp way, I know it will work.

When I bought my house with pool, I went to the pool store for a week and spent more on their chemicals than I have in the 3 years since I decided to look on the internet and found tfp. And none of them helped... Their explanation... "You're doing it wrong"

For another comparison... At my old house, and my current house we have a 450 gallon spa. Old house, used the pool store. Cost was $40 a month and had to drain and refill every 4 months. Now, I bought a $15 container of dry acid that has lasted for over a year and use an ounce of bleach a day. That's my chemical cost... Maybe $25 a year. And I only drain every 14 months.

I've never lost a day of swimming in my pool or spa due to water conditions.

So yes, there is initial cost for the test kit... But it's easily made up with skipping one trip to the pool store. And yes, it requires time every day, but it's minimal compared to what you will save with one algae bloom going back and forth to the pool store for things that are maybe not going to work. Not to mention if you get "chlorine lock" and have to drain.

And have you seen, felt, and smelled my water? My friends don't even believe that I'm using chlorine.

So that's why I do it. That's why I recommend it. And that's why I love, love, love, my tfp pool.
 
Nehal,

With a SWCG you get almost the same amount of maintenance that you get with Tabs, but you never have to "shock" on a weekly basis or ever actually... You get crystal clear water, and your pool does not smell like a public pool.

A SWCG is the best of both worlds in my opinion.

Our whole goal is to get you to test your own water so that no matter what you put in your pool you will understands why you are adding it, and what to expect.

Do you already have your IntelliFlo + SVRS installed already??? If not, I recommend that you ditch the SVRS option.. it restricts the lower speed limit and has known suction side issues. It is not that big a deal if already installed, but I wish I had known what I was getting before my pool builder installed it. The IntelliFlo itself is a great pump, you will love it..

Thanks
 
Thanks all. I really do appreciate all the fast input and feedback. I'm definitely all for DIY. I was just concerned about nights when I get home late (frequent with work) or if the weather is really bad out and u don't want to be getting soaked from a downpour. There are just going to be days when you can't dose the bleach. How does this effect the chemistries?
 
You get to know your pool, dose in the night or in the morning. I work a hard oil field job and got 66 hours last week Monday through Friday. Had a party Saturday so I boosted from 5 to 7 and tested after, 7 fc, today was only 90 and cloudy, I will lose only 1 fc which is 15 oz. I'm tired now I'll just hit it in the morning with 15 and test tomorrow night to make sure I'm at my min of 5. Easy peezy.
 

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I am also from NJ the land of pucks and sand filters. I had full intention of using bleach when I got my pool up and running. After 8 lbs of CYA it still barely registered on my kit, so I started chlorinating with pucks. I have been using pucks all summer my CYA is still under 30 and my pool is crystal clear. There may be a time when I have to switch to bleach, but starting from zero stabilizer and between backwashing and rain you can make it a long time in this part of the country if you wish. I know pucks are frowned upon on this forum, but I like to think the main lesson learned is to get a good test kit, educate yourself and take control of your pool. Find what works for you.
 
Deluca said:
I am also from NJ the land of pucks and sand filters. I had full intention of using bleach when I got my pool up and running. After 8 lbs of CYA it still barely registered on my kit, so I started chlorinating with pucks. I have been using pucks all summer my CYA is still under 30 and my pool is crystal clear. There may be a time when I have to switch to bleach, but starting from zero stabilizer and between backwashing and rain you can make it a long time in this part of the country if you wish. I know pucks are frowned upon on this forum, but I like to think the main lesson learned is to get a good test kit, educate yourself and take control of your pool. Find what works for you.
Click to expand...

D,

Pucks are not frowned on here, it is the uneducated use of pucks that is frowned on.. Sounds like you have a good handle on it and that is what TFP is all about... :p

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
 
I kept a quick log of my test results every day for a month. But once the chemicals were balanced in the first few days, the only thing I have needed to add is a single gallon of bleach each night and the pool has been absolutely perfect. So now I don't need to test as often. If I get home late, I just pour a gallon of bleach into the pool right before going to bed. Even if it was pouring rain (which hasn't actually happened) it is not a difficult task. Once you learn your pool, taking care of it is easy. Getting started and learning that the pool store gives bad advice is the hardest part.
 
With a SWG, you won't have to worry about adding chlorine daily after it is turned on. If your pool needs chlorine, all you have to do is either run the pump longer or up the percent on the SWG. Testing takes a couple of minutes - I usually do it every other day or so.

I don't know how many people are testing and dosing daily. I knew if I didn't have a SWG, I'd test and get it up to the top or little over the range and let it fall on it's own before adding more chlorine. I think we say you can swim up to shock level so going over the range isn't a big deal. At least, that's how I would manage it if I were adding liquid chlorine regularly.

I do the same with Muriatic acid. I test and when it gets up to 8 or close, I add a half gallon. I test the next day and it's usually right around 7.4 or so. I wait until it gets back up to 8 or so and plop in another 1/2 gallon. That's usually once or twice a week.
 
I also have a gaggle of small children and my wife and I both work full-time. If you can find 10 minutes in your daily schedule (likely less!) you can easily take care of a pool like this -- including emptying skimmers. And that is the cumulative amount of time it takes me to walk downstairs, get the plastic vial, walk out to the pool, clean the skimmers out, look at the pool and check for issues, get the water sample, walk back to the house, run the FC & CC titrations, check the pH, walk back to the pool to add chlorine if necessary, and come back upstairs.

After a bit you'll know how fast your pool naturally loses chlorine and how long you can go between dosings. I've learned I can go 2-3 days between dumping in more chlorine, probably more if I really felt like it but I like to make sure my pool is available for use whenever and is always sparkling clean.
 
In San Diego we have pools open all year long. I can set my SWG at the start of each month and that setting will last until the start of the next month, which I adjust for that particular month (1 minute). I test the water weekly along with some routine maintenance (20 minutes).
 
In PA, I test every other day or so, and dose based on the previous day or two's needs. ( after using THE TFP method for a couple of years. ) if I see a rainy spell coming up, I add a little extra. Sometimes I run out to the pool on my way to work and guesstimate if I'm in a hurry, then check it later in the day. I run full tests when I have the time, and use my OTO in between, since I keep my CYA around 30. If I have lots of kids swimming, I'll add a little extra when I'm done. Once you learn the ins and outs of TFP, and understand your pools sweet spots, it's not as complicated as it seems when you first start out. The key is keeping up with it.
 
SWG makes TFP a lot easier for me. Besides the initial cost you cant beat it. I opened early April and have added nothing but MA. As of my trip to Menards for MA last week I have less than $12 in my pool this season. Not sure how much Pucks, Algaecides and powdered shock cost...glad I don't and do not plan on finding out.
 
My pump is on a timer. Starts up at 4pm, I get home either 4:30 or 5:30. Test, then and add, or if no time to test will put in the day before's amount. This way its done and I don't have to worry.

I was looking at threads discussing WIFI timers. That way if any thing happened where I could not add at night, could start pump before shower in morning and add before work. Something down the road.
 
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