This feels like such a basic question, but help me out. Our pool builder installs Frogs on all of their pools. I understand everyone in here is against them. How do you regulate chlorine if you don't have something like a Frog? Do you just dump small amounts of liquid chlorine into the pool on a regular basis? Do you install some other system into your plumbing that releases small amounts of chlorine at a time? I've seen things that float around the pool, releasing chlorine. What would my long term solution be if I were to get rid of the Frog next year?
How to Regulate Chlorine
- Thread starter kawisser
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,086
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Yes. Adding liquid chlorine manually or installing a Salt Water Generator. SWGs are more & more popular today, but adding a little liquid chlorine each day is easy & reliable as well. Either way, no mineral or CYA side effects like other products.
- Jul 17, 2019
- 4,078
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Since Pat answered your question, I have to ask:
Is the pool finished and the Frog system installed, or are you in the construction phase?
Assuming it is already installed, the mineral side of that is adding metals to your pool which can cause long term harm. I would consider removing it ASAP.
If it is not yet installed, tell your pool builder you do not want that on YOUR pool. That would be like remodeling your kitchen and having the contractor tell you what kind of fridge and oven you are getting.
Is the pool finished and the Frog system installed, or are you in the construction phase?
Assuming it is already installed, the mineral side of that is adding metals to your pool which can cause long term harm. I would consider removing it ASAP.
If it is not yet installed, tell your pool builder you do not want that on YOUR pool. That would be like remodeling your kitchen and having the contractor tell you what kind of fridge and oven you are getting.
There is no regulation of chlorine. The UV from the sun burns off 2 to 4 ppm a day across the season, with less in the early/late season, and more in the peak season.
Period.
Unless you get rid of the sun, you will have to replenish the FC burned off by it.
Period.
Any system that claims you will need less chlorine is spinning a bold faced lie. The irony with UV systems is that they burn off some FC also, ensuring you need MORE chlorone than you would have, while also touting that you'll need less. (The residential UV units are risky dink and consume much less than the sun, but technically it's still regulat UV loss, plus more UV loss from the device)
All these systems, and the industry in general for that matter, are fixated on algae control. They bark up the wrong tree because in a balanced and sanitary pool, there's no algae to deplete your FC. If your pool is unsanitary with active algae blooms going on, then yes, the systems will likely kill some algae, needing less chlorine to do so, but that still doesn't alter the 2 to 4 ppm lost to the sun. So instead of 4 + 4, maybe you need 4 + 2. Their claims you only need 1 or 2 ppm total per day because their of system are again entirely ignorant and/or bold faced lies.
One can make up their own mind whether the industry method creates many problems to solve with expensive cures on purpose for financial gain, or if their method does so and they are ignorant to the root of the problem and helping with said expensive cures/devices generously out if the kindness of their hearts. Maybe they're truly altruistic and also just idiots. Who am I to know ?
Truth : maintain a sanitary pool and you'll only need to replenish the FC lost to the sun, because your average residential bather load and environmental debris is a slim percentage of that, that you'll rarely even notice.
Move the pool indoors and you'll barely use any FC, pretty much solely from bather load. There is UV indoors and also things blowing in the pool, but it's exponentially less.
Mineral systems that help your algae problem by adding metals to stain you pool is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. *AND* You still need the same chlorine as a healthy pool, so why not just maintain a healthy pool that doesnt need algae control?
If you want easier than manually dosing chlorine everyday, a stenner type pump system will do so for you. You still have to source and lug the jugs, but you fill a 5 gallon (?) tank and the system doses as you tell it to, removing the daily chore.
Or get a SWG to produce FC for you, with no lugging, and it will add it daily as you tell it to, removing both chores.
It's already installed. As an immediate solution, could I not just remove the mineral and chlorine containers from the Frog? It would just pass through the system untouched by minerals and chlorine packs? I could clean up the plumbing later?
Is liquid chlorine the same thing as "shock" but in smaller amounts?
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,109
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Yes - you would then need to chlorinate your pool manually.
Shock is a verb (to raise fc to shock/slam level) not a product persay. You can raise your free chlorine to shock/slam level with any chlorine product you wish so long as you’re ok with the effects it has on each parameter.
There are simply different types of chlorine & they all add different things to the water.
We only recommend using liquid chlorine for daily chlorination because of what it doesn’t add to the water.
Liquid chlorine adds chlorine and a little salt & is ph neutral once added to the water.
Cal hypo pucks or powder add chlorine, salt & calcium
The chlorine gets used up daily but the calcium remains & builds up.
(too much calcium causes scaling problems)
Trichlor pucks/packs or powder add chlorine, cya, salt & is acidic
Dichlor adds chlorine, cya, salt & is acidic.
The chlorine gets used up daily but the cya remains & builds.
Too much cya makes it hard to maintain appropriate fc levels.
FC/CYA Levels
Here’s what each product’s effects looks like in your pool volume - hope this helps
