So I've been a member of this great site for almost a year now.
I've decided that I'll be running my pool in two different modes...summer mode and winter mode.
I had this idea this winter when I was pumping out 6 inches of water every few months to get my CYA down around 30 to start the new pool season in the spring.
Last year, before finding this site, I was using trichlor tabs and my CYA got to 90....drained some water and got it around 60.
From last July to a month ago, I used liq chlorine and it worked great. Tested regularly and I know what my pool needs.
In the heat of the summer last year, I was having to add at least 1/2 gallon of liq chl to my pool per day....sometimes adding the whole gallon (18,000 gallon pool)
Using the liq chlorine is great because it doesn't affect any of my other test results...CYA stays the same too...which is the best benefit.
However, it did become a little bit of a pain always going to walmart, home depot etc trying to find liquid chlorine.
Over the winter, I had to buy my liq chl from Leslies since none of the other stores carry it except for swim season. And home depot always keeps theres outside so it's not the best quality anyway.
Last month, I was down to my last box of four, 1 gallon, 12.5% liq chl bottles.
My CYA was less than 30....not much but can't accurately tell because the top of the scale is 30 on the device with the black dot at the bottom.
Sooo, I thought this was the perfect time to try my method out....trichlor tabs to get me through the summer season (now to October).
Knowing in doing this, I'd have to test my CYA much more frequently now...since it should start increasing.
What I found is that my CYA was probably too low to start with....was having trouble keeping my FC up...and that was with my inline chlorinator filled with pucks and flow dial adjusted all the way to 5.
Was only running my pump about 8 hours a day...of course could run the pump longer and this would put more chlorine/cya in my pool.
No big deal, still had those 4 bottles of liq chl ...so added a bottle here and there as needed.
Took about 3 weeks and now my CYA is between 30 and 40...and my FC is not evaporating near as fast as it was few weeks ago.
So I plan to keep using the trichlor pucks this summer season for ease of use...can order it online and have it shipped right to the house.
Plan to always keep 4 bottles of the 12.5% liq chl at the house just in case...it's cheaper that buying shock (cal - hypo) and does the same thing.
My CYA will increase all summer season...if I have to drain a few inches here and there I will.
This October/Nov when swim season is over, I'll discontinue the use of the trichlor tabs and go back to liquid chlorine.
This past Black Friday, I caught a half off deal on liq chl so I loaded up....got me through all winter long...except that last box I had.
Pool won't need near as much chlorine in the winter time so using liq chl will be my preferred method.
I'll have Nov-April to slowly drain/fill water to lower my CYA back to around 30 for the following year.
This is what works best for me and my schedule.
The best thing about this site is that I now know my pool and what to expect when using trichlor compared to liq chl.
Honestly my biggest pain in the butt is how fast my Ph increases....my backyard is very exposed to great winds....this aereation though plus pool being new, makes my Ph always increase.
In about 7 weeks, it will be one year for my pool and no algae problems yet
All I use is chlorine, muratic acid to keep my Ph down, and then Baking Soda to raise my TA back up.
Tested my city supply water and it had CH of 175...so every now and then, I have to add the calcium stuff to keep my CH above 250.
Just thought I'd share this with the site....see some are having trouble finding liq chlorine...nothing wrong with using trichlor tabs if you understand what effect it will have and what you need to do to keep your pool in check.
I've decided that I'll be running my pool in two different modes...summer mode and winter mode.
I had this idea this winter when I was pumping out 6 inches of water every few months to get my CYA down around 30 to start the new pool season in the spring.
Last year, before finding this site, I was using trichlor tabs and my CYA got to 90....drained some water and got it around 60.
From last July to a month ago, I used liq chlorine and it worked great. Tested regularly and I know what my pool needs.
In the heat of the summer last year, I was having to add at least 1/2 gallon of liq chl to my pool per day....sometimes adding the whole gallon (18,000 gallon pool)
Using the liq chlorine is great because it doesn't affect any of my other test results...CYA stays the same too...which is the best benefit.
However, it did become a little bit of a pain always going to walmart, home depot etc trying to find liquid chlorine.
Over the winter, I had to buy my liq chl from Leslies since none of the other stores carry it except for swim season. And home depot always keeps theres outside so it's not the best quality anyway.
Last month, I was down to my last box of four, 1 gallon, 12.5% liq chl bottles.
My CYA was less than 30....not much but can't accurately tell because the top of the scale is 30 on the device with the black dot at the bottom.
Sooo, I thought this was the perfect time to try my method out....trichlor tabs to get me through the summer season (now to October).
Knowing in doing this, I'd have to test my CYA much more frequently now...since it should start increasing.
What I found is that my CYA was probably too low to start with....was having trouble keeping my FC up...and that was with my inline chlorinator filled with pucks and flow dial adjusted all the way to 5.
Was only running my pump about 8 hours a day...of course could run the pump longer and this would put more chlorine/cya in my pool.
No big deal, still had those 4 bottles of liq chl ...so added a bottle here and there as needed.
Took about 3 weeks and now my CYA is between 30 and 40...and my FC is not evaporating near as fast as it was few weeks ago.
So I plan to keep using the trichlor pucks this summer season for ease of use...can order it online and have it shipped right to the house.
Plan to always keep 4 bottles of the 12.5% liq chl at the house just in case...it's cheaper that buying shock (cal - hypo) and does the same thing.
My CYA will increase all summer season...if I have to drain a few inches here and there I will.
This October/Nov when swim season is over, I'll discontinue the use of the trichlor tabs and go back to liquid chlorine.
This past Black Friday, I caught a half off deal on liq chl so I loaded up....got me through all winter long...except that last box I had.
Pool won't need near as much chlorine in the winter time so using liq chl will be my preferred method.
I'll have Nov-April to slowly drain/fill water to lower my CYA back to around 30 for the following year.
This is what works best for me and my schedule.
The best thing about this site is that I now know my pool and what to expect when using trichlor compared to liq chl.
Honestly my biggest pain in the butt is how fast my Ph increases....my backyard is very exposed to great winds....this aereation though plus pool being new, makes my Ph always increase.
In about 7 weeks, it will be one year for my pool and no algae problems yet
All I use is chlorine, muratic acid to keep my Ph down, and then Baking Soda to raise my TA back up. Tested my city supply water and it had CH of 175...so every now and then, I have to add the calcium stuff to keep my CH above 250.
Just thought I'd share this with the site....see some are having trouble finding liq chlorine...nothing wrong with using trichlor tabs if you understand what effect it will have and what you need to do to keep your pool in check.
