Houston, TX No-Shade Pool Owners, how much FC loss

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K

Katygreys

Gold Supporter
Mar 5, 2022
340
Katy, TX
Pool Size
18000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I’m losing 6 ppm per day. CYA is 60. Adding bleach at night to get to 11ppm; test next night, I’m at 5 ppm. Confirming I actually get to 11 after adding, so bleach is not weak. OCLT passes.

Consensus seems to be loss of 3-4 per day is normal. Can anyone in similar climate with zero shade confirm if 6 is normal?

Second question: It’s barely June. If losing 6 is indeed normal, I’ll likely lose more in July/August. Can a Hayward T-15 in my 18000 gal pool realistically keep up. Pool math says run it at 100% for 20 hrs to get 8ppm.

Please help. I posted in another thread but didn’t get much response. I’m going thru a lot of bleach per day. At this rate my bleach bill will be $130/month (a gallon a day at $4.20/gal of 12.5%).
 
Katygreys said:
Second question: It’s barely June. If losing 6 is indeed normal, I’ll likely lose more in July/August.
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Sun is at its peak on June 23 with the longest day of daylight.

July/August should be no worse then June.

Katygreys said:
Can a Hayward T-15 in my 18000 gal pool realistically keep up. Pool math says run it at 100% for 20 hrs to get 8ppm.
Click to expand...

It should do ok.
 
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I would say average of 3 man hours. Sometimes zero. I have not seen a massive correlation between bathing load and FC loss.

Doing another OCLT tonight just for kicks. FC 11.5 at 10pm.

I’d rather not rig up sail shades.
 
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Katygreys said:
FC loss overnight 0.5 ppm
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That's reassuring. For comparison's sake, my pool is completely exposed out in the country with zero shade. Blazing hot. When I was feeding her with liquid (half gallon per day), I typically required a CYA of 60-70. Now that I've been salt for a couple years, I see that if my CYA drops to 60 I lose FC very fast. I just ordered more stabilizer to get my CYA back 70 and perhaps even 80 this year. The sun is so intense for so long the water needs that protection. At least that's been my experience in the S.A. area.
 
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Texas Splash said:
That's reassuring. For comparison's sake, my pool is completely exposed out in the country with zero shade. Blazing hot. When I was feeding her with liquid (half gallon per day), I typically required a CYA of 60-70. Now that I've been salt for a couple years, I see that if my CYA drops to 60 I lose FC very fast. I just ordered more stabilizer to get my CYA back 70 and perhaps even 80 this year. The sun is so intense for so long the water needs that protection. At least that's been my experience in the S.A. area.
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Thx. Are you suggesting I bump cya from 60 to 70?

Do you recall losing 6ppm/day pre-salt at 60 CYA?
 
Katygreys said:
Thx. Are you suggesting I bump cya from 60 to 70?
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I know it's outside the TFP recommended range, but it's your call. The higher CYA does come with a slight risk if a SLAM is ever required later. You passed the OCLT so we know the sun is extremely intense over there. A little more CYA may be necessary.

Katygreys said:
Do you recall losing 6ppm/day pre-salt at 60 CYA?
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I never lost that much. I was on a steady routine of half-gallon per day - about 2.5 ppm worth of FC that I added each evening after work. Very predictable.
 
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KG, with a couple OCLTs passed, I'm now thinking along the lines of Pat. Either your particular pool just needs more CYA, or you are doing the best you can with the subjective CYA test, but it's lower than it seems. That dang googley eye, I tell YA !!! He gets us all, I promise. All smirky and laughing all the time. I'd wipe that smile..... Anywho. I'd bump the CYA another 10 and see how it goes. Maybe even. Need a 2nd 10.
 

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Hmm. I’m predictable at almost a gallon of 12.5%.

I’ve been thinking of switching to salt, but pool math says to make 6ppm I need to run at 100% for 15 hours or 60% for 24 hours. …with a Hayward T-15. This seems excessive based on what I’ve read on TFP.

So I feel like I’m missing something here.
 
Katygreys said:
I’m predictable at almost a gallon of 12.5%.
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That sure is a lot. Passing the OCLT would seem to rule-out anything organic. :scratch: The only thing I can think of is that perhaps your CYA test results it off? Maybe look at the note below just to be sure?

CYA Testing:
Proper lighting is critical for the CYA test, so you want to test for CYA outside on a bright sunny day. Use the mixing bottle to gently mix the required amounts of pool water and R-0013 reagent, let sit for 30 seconds, then gently mix again. Recommend standing outside with your back to the sun and the view tube in the shade of your body at waist level. Then, begin squirting the mixed solution into the skinny tube. Watch the black dot until it completely disappears. Once it disappears, record the CYA reading. To help the eyes and prevent staring at the dot, some people find it better to pour & view in stages. Pour some solution into the viewing tube, look away, then look back again for the dot. Repeat as necessary until you feel the dot is gone. After the first CYA test, you can pour the mixed solution from the skinny view tube back to the mixing bottle, gently shake, and do the same test a second, third, or fourth time to instill consistency in your technique, become more comfortable with the testing, and validate your own CYA reading. Finally, if you still doubt your own reading, have a friend do the test with you and compare results.
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Have you had this pool many years? Is this behavior new?

Tend to agree with Texas Splash - Chlorine either gets consumed by organics/bather load/sun... If you're passing OCLT and your bather load is nothing out of the ordinary, does seems like you're consuming more chlorine than you should. Wouldn't hurt to triple-check your CYA. I'd start by bumping it up by 10 as suggested and just track chlorine again for a week to see if demand goes down.
 
Newdude said:
KG, with a couple OCLTs passed, I'm now thinking along the lines of Pat. Either your particular pool just needs more CYA, or you are doing the best you can with the subjective CYA test, but it's lower than it seems. That dang googley eye, I tell YA !!! He gets us all, I promise. All smirky and laughing all the time. I'd wipe that smile..... Anywho. I'd bump the CYA another 10 and see how it goes. Maybe even. Need a 2nd 10.
Click to expand...
Yep. Think I’ll try that.
 
Happy to see this thread, as I was curious of the same thing.

Katy, TX - Full sun from 9-5. CYA of 60 and ~5ppm per day lose. Seems pretty crazy to me...

Also, before anyone says it. Did a SLAM 4 weeks ago to kill my algae and have OCLT of .5ppm.
 
Odd for some you folks' daily loss down here. I"m just South of you, and my pool is in the bald sun. Not a drop of shade anywhere. My CYA is now 40. I dose every morning and check every evening. I get no more then 2pmm loss per daytime.
 
Right now my SWG increases FC ~4 every day and that keeps my FC level steady. In July/August, it generates 4.5 every day to keep up with demand.
 

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