Going through a 128 oz 10% bleach daily, is this normal?

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dmg1223

Member
Mar 9, 2020
5
Arizona
New pool owner as of just a couple of weeks ago! So thankful for this forum and all the information provided. Pool has full sun exposure AM to PM in Arizona and right now I am going through a full bottle of 10% a day to keep my FC chlorine within the correct levels. Here are my latest TF100 readings:
FC: 7 (seems like I am losing 5ppm or more daily)
CC: 0
pH: 7.6 (seems to rise quickly)
TA: 210
CH: 250
CYA: 50

I am purchasing the 10% from Lowe's, could it be that it is losing potency? Pool math generally has me adding about half a bottle, but based on the drop off in FC I am seeing daily I have been doing the full 128 oz. I did an overnight chlorine loss test last night and FC remained the same, so not losing to organics I do not think. at $3.50 a bottle, I am looking at $105 a month in just chlorine, should I just bite the bullet and go SWGC as that seems more cost effective long term? Anything else I can try or am I just stuck due to the high UV levels in the Arizona heat?

Thank you,
Dave
 
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Hey DM and Welcome !! It could be a couple of things. Many stores don’t properly store their chlorine and the pallets sit in the sunshine and degrade quickly. HD/Lowe’s or anywhere with an outdoor ‘Garden Center’ are always suspect. Other years the production dates can prove that the stuff sat on the shelf too long, but that’s almost unheard of this year.

Another possibility is that we are all at Peak demand for the season so it’s naturally higher for now. I’m using a lot in NY and you’ll use even more in AZ.

The last possibility is the start of an algae outbreak. It can sit right on the edge of the explosion where it isn’t visible but you can tell from your testing. Perform anOvernight Chlorine Loss Test anytime you have any doubts, like you just did. Got some weird looking dust ? OCLT. Is it a chemistry problem or a bad chlorine problem ? OCLT. The pool lost its TFP sparkle ? Yup. You guessed it. OCLT time. :)
 
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Welcome to TFP! :wave: One gallon of 10% in your 12.5K pool is about 8 ppm of free chlorine. Unless you are having a massive pool party everyday, that's too much loss. We typically like to see if under 4 ppm in 24 hrs. If you checked to ensure the FC made it to the level you predicted when you dosed with chlorine, then it's not the chlorine. I agree you should run an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test which will take the sun's UV our of the equation to let you know if there is some hidden algae in there somewhere.
 
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Take it from a fellow Arizonan, 50ppm CYA is too low. The sun (UV) and heat here is way more intense than anywhere else in the US. Your minimum CYA should be 60-70ppm and I bet your pool will be A LOT happier with 80ppm.

You should do the OCLT test recommended in the above posts first but, if you pass it, then you need to raise your CYA. It’s just an Arizona thing...
 
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I know you are in AZ, so it may not be an issue, but do you get a lot of debris in the pool? Such as leaves, grass, sand etc.? I ask because I have to fight this (Crape myrtles right now...boo!) and when it's extraordinarily hot, I *do* use up to 6 or 7 PPM of FC in a day. So far in two years, I haven't had an algae bloom and I do an OCLT about once every couple of weeks and haven't had issues there, either. I just assume the amount of FC I am using is because of all the organic stuff that is almost constantly in the pool. I would also add that your CYA might be a bit low causing to burn the FC a little faster.

And yes, I recently converted to a SWCG and it's been wonderful (for the whole week I have had it!) to not haul out gallons of chlorine from the stores.
 
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dmg1223 said:
New pool owner as of just a couple of weeks ago! So thankful for this forum and all the information provided. Pool has full sun exposure AM to PM in Arizona and right now I am going through a full bottle of 10% a day to keep my FC chlorine within the correct levels. Here are my latest TF100 readings:
FC: 7 (seems like I am losing 5ppm or more daily)
CC: 0
pH: 7.6 (seems to rise quickly)
TA: 210
CH: 250
CYA: 50

I am purchasing the 10% from Lowe's, could it be that it is losing potency? Pool math generally has me adding about half a bottle, but based on the drop off in FC I am seeing daily I have been doing the full 128 oz. I did an overnight chlorine loss test last night and FC remained the same, so not losing to organics I do not think. at $3.50 a bottle, I am looking at $105 a month in just chlorine, should I just bite the bullet and go SWGC as that seems more cost effective long term? Anything else I can try or am I just stuck due to the high UV levels in the Arizona heat?

Thank you,
Dave
Click to expand...
go to Frys, it's 5.99 for 2 gallons of kemtec - stored inside.
Last I checked,(this past weekend) it was 18 days old at the frys by my house on baseline and rural

Also, safeway/albertsons sometimes has it on their 5 dollar friday's
 
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JoyfulNoise said:
Take it from a fellow Arizonan, 50ppm CYA is too low. The sun (UV) and heat here is way more intense than anywhere else in the US. Your minimum CYA should be 60-70ppm and I bet your pool will be A LOT happier with 80ppm.

You should do the OCLT test recommended in the above posts first but, if you pass it, then you need to raise your CYA. It’s just an Arizona thing...
Click to expand...
i have my CYA at 30(newer fill) and only loose 3ppm per day, granite, pine trees on both the east and west of my house.
I go out of town a lot so like to keep CYA lower than 50ppm
 

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JoyfulNoise said:
Take it from a fellow Arizonan, 50ppm CYA is too low. The sun (UV) and heat here is way more intense than anywhere else in the US. Your minimum CYA should be 60-70ppm and I bet your pool will be A LOT happier with 80ppm.

You should do the OCLT test recommended in the above posts first but, if you pass it, then you need to raise your CYA. It’s just an Arizona thing...
Click to expand...
Ok, I will raise my CYA to see if that will help combat this Arizona sun! Thank you.
 
HeyEng said:
I know you are in AZ, so it may not be an issue, but do you get a lot of debris in the pool? Such as leaves, grass, sand etc.? I ask because I have to fight this (Crape myrtles right now...boo!) and when it's extraordinarily hot, I *do* use up to 6 or 7 PPM of FC in a day. So far in two years, I haven't had an algae bloom and I do an OCLT about once every couple of weeks and haven't had issues there, either. I just assume the amount of FC I am using is because of all the organic stuff that is almost constantly in the pool. I would also add that your CYA might be a bit low causing to burn the FC a little faster.

And yes, I recently converted to a SWCG and it's been wonderful (for the whole week I have had it!) to not haul out gallons of chlorine from the stores.
Click to expand...
I am sure i am getting some dirt/sand in there! No leaves or grass (artificial turf all around). Going to try bumping my CYA as recommended. Will def be doing a SWG at some point it is looking like as well!
 
I know I go through more chlorine at cya 30 than 50.
So that's my set level that works best.

At that level I go through about 1-2 gallons a week.
Pool is covered most of the time and that helps.
 
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@dmg1223 I woudl recommend going slow with yoru CYA bump, as it is an action that cant be undone easily. Maybe go 10ppm at a time. You could either add dry stabilizer, or even get a floater and some tabs until you get to a better place.

As for adding liquid, look for date codes on packages, such as today july 21, 2020 would be 20203, meaning the 203rd day of the year 2020. Look for a date code less than 30 days old., with smaller being better.
 
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I am also in Arizona and normally use 32 oz of 10% liquid CL a day. My CYA is 70. I agree with the person who mentioned that it is important as to how it has been stored. I had been buying from Walmart in the 2 pack carton but now they have eliminated the cartons and just sell individual gallon jugs which are harder to transport and store and also cost more. I switched to Home Depot because of that but last time I went there they were out of it so bought some at Lowes under the Kem Tek name. I found I needed twice the amount to maintain the FC even though date was 4 months old. I still had a carton left from HD so switched back and got my normal readings.
Since the HD have it back in stock but still about 4 months old but despite that no problems.
 

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