Temporary trichlor question....

Jump to latest Follow Reply
thefloatqueen

thefloatqueen

Bronze Supporter
Dec 24, 2018
1,292
Columbus, Ohio
Pool Size
7500
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi everyone! If my CYA is 40 (just BARELY over 40...a couple lines above the 40 mark lol), how many trichlor pucks can I get away with using until my liquid chlorine arrives in less than a week? I really do NOT want to increase my CYA much. They are the 3” (8 oz.) ones. I have two individual ones and a 3” floater to use temporarily. I know it’s a rip-off but I only plan on putting them in the floater for about a week. Do you think I could get away with just using one or is that not enough? I only have half a gallon of 6% bleach left and our stores are completely wiped out so I’m saving that for after the heavy rain we have coming in a couple days. I also have Dichlor granules but I know that has even more CYA than trichlor. Any advice? My 12.5% liquid chlorine should be arriving in about 5 to 6 days. FC is currently 5 ppm and it’s going to be fully sunny and warm today and tomorrow! Ahhhh! Thanks in advance!!

Today’s Numbers
FC: 5.0
CC: 0.0
pH: 7.7
TA: 80
CYA: 40
Water Temperature: 55 degrees Fahrenheit as of 9 AM. It will likely hit 60 or slightly higher today and tomorrow.1F44389E-A909-4009-B124-56D3FB5B1852.jpeg
 
Last edited:
mknauss said:
Use your app. Effects of Adding Chemicals.
Click to expand...

Will do! Do you think they will even fully dissolve in the floater in 6 days? I haven’t used pucks since I had a smaller “Easy Set” Intex inflatable ring pool that held about 2000 gallons (before I discovered TFP, obviously lol). I included a photo of one of the individual pucks above.
 
Last edited:
I used a floater in my pool + 4 pucks in the winter since my swcg was turned off and I had little to no CYA (new build). The pucks would last about a month before they fully dissolved.
 
  • Like
Reactions: thefloatqueen
The pucks will dissolve very slowly in cold water. Tie the floater near the return so you have some water flow past it. That will help dissolve them.

If you buy pucks in the future, do not get those. Get plain trichlor ones. Hard to say what other things those have. They have some kind of clarifier (glue) and something else not listed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: thefloatqueen
mknauss said:
The pucks will dissolve very slowly in cold water. Tie the floater near the return so you have some water flow past it. That will help dissolve them.

If you buy pucks in the future, do not get those. Get plain trichlor ones. Hard to say what other things those have. They have some kind of clarifier (glue) and something else not listed.
Click to expand...
Gotcha! Those were the only ones available individually wrapped. They didn’t have the 99% trichlor ones I usually see. If I wanted those, I would’ve had to buy larger quantities and I only need something to get by for about 6 days until the liquid chlorine arrives.
 
One or two of them is OK. Just do not buy more.

Dichlor is fine. Though you do not need FC right now. Test every other day or so and add when needed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: thefloatqueen
I get a 5# bucket of plain pucks at Home Depot or Lowes. They are individually wrapped. I use them when I go on extended trips to add acid to our pool.
 
  • Like
Reactions: thefloatqueen

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
JamesW said:
Those tabs in the picture contain zinc (listed on the label), which is a metal that can eventually cause stains.
Click to expand...
That was my concern. I would only be using one or two at most in my floater for 5-6 days. I’m hoping just throwing one in there will be sufficient (it says one puck treats up to 10,000 gallons....my pool is 7,000).
 
JamesW said:
Any metal is best avoided. I don't know too much about zinc. I suspect that a small amount probably wouldn't be a big problem, but I would always avoid metal as much as possible.
Click to expand...
Thanks, James! To stay on the safe side, I may just use dichlor and keep a close eye on my CYA levels. Hopefully all the rain headed our way will dilute the unintentionally added CYA a little bit.
 
I too bought
CLOROX POOL&SPA XTRA BLUE 3 INCH LONG LASTING CHLORINATING TABLETS
to chlorinate while waiting to get bleach. Costco has sporadic supplies and I have not found any in several weeks.
I placed 2 pucks in the skimmer and noted zero chlorine and CH for several days. PH was high. Made a makeshift floater using a bleach bottle with holes in the bottom suspended from a blow up toy. Yesterday I finally placed 3 new pucks in the skimmer plus into the floater. This morning I have CL 5+ CH 100 PH 7.1.

Pool water temp is still around 70. Not quite swimming yet.
 

Attachments

  • chlorine tabs floater.jpg
    chlorine tabs floater.jpg
    447.4 KB · Views: 5
FYI, went to Costco today and got a case of their latest version "Performance Bleach" It is now 7.55 % sodium hypochlorite and 92.45% other ingredients. Same old 2015 SDS info.
And, BTW, price is now $2 higher. This is in Antioch, CA
 
That is news to me. They started selling this Cloromax over a year ago. Looking at the label, I see no mention of use in pools. It has worked ok for me all this time but if I can't use it, it will be difficult to find chlorine without the other ingredients. An industrial supply store did not return my call for retail sale.
 
Cloromax is a polymer additive. We emailed with Clorox when they started adding it and they said do not use in pools. But if you are fine with it, great. Polymer can plug primarily a cartridge filter and also end up as a scum line on the water line tile and in the skimmer.

Home Depot, Walmart, Lowes all carry liquid chlorine. 10%.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply