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Labrashark

Member
May 25, 2020
14
South/Central NJ
Pool Size
20000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
CircuPool Universal40
Hello everyone!
My wife and I purchased a home this January and it has a beautiful in ground free form pool. The previous owners neglected pretty much the whole house and the pool too. So we are busy renovating the house and bringing it to the condition it deserves. I found this great forum while researching about how to maintain the pool and immediately realized that I will need to learn a lot and fast.
 
*** While I typed this a TFP expert already responded... over to you Richard!***
Shark,
Welcome to TFP! You're at the right place. We have experts in everything related to pools. What's best is we don't sell anything. Please read through the articles and watch the videos at the end of this post. Sound's like you've got a lot on your plate at the moment. So I'll try the short version here. We use a proven science-based method to do pool maintenance. It uses your own test results and dirt cheap big box store chemicals. Thousands all over the world use this method. You need a test kit for it to work. If you want to do this order a kit (we recommend two different brands) asap. As you read through the materials please ask any questions you may have.

Congrats on the new home and I hope we can help you get the pool in great shape asap. While you're at it you'll learn everything it takes so you can focus on the house.

Chris

PS Please don't take this the wrong way but we advise you stay away from pool stores. Their "free tests" can be the beginning of a very torturous road that leads back here usually after a lot of $ and a bad pool.

Test Kits Compared

 
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Thank you Richard and setsailsoon for the welcome! I am ordering the TF test kit but while it arrives I have no ideas what to do.
we had the liner replaced last week since it was in very bad shape (almost bleached, brittle and with many small rips) . Now the pool is freshly filled with water after the new liner was installed . I finished filling the pool Saturday morning and had been researching what chemicals I need and this is how I found out about the BBB method and eventually ended here at TFP. I agree about pool stores in general and I am very diy inclined so this is why this appeals to me a lot. The only chemical put in the pool so far was 3 lbs of cal-hypo shock brought by the liner installer on Saturday after they started the pump.
I don’t know how to proceed from here, should I get tablets and keep using them for some time until I get to high enough CYA levels and then switch to liquid chlorine ( aldi bleach) or what else would you advise me. Meanwhile I don’t have a test kit and haven’t addressed ph or alkalinity. I read through the ABC’s of pool care and several other articles on the site but still not sure what to do. Right now the pool is clean and water is crystal clear but I worry that I am wasting time. The easiest thing to do seems to buy a bucket of Clorox extra blue 3” tabs that seem to be everywhere and even Costco has them for a good price but I read that they could bring CYA too high. What are my options?
Thanks in advance!
 
Labrashark said:
Thank you Richard and setsailsoon for the welcome! I am ordering the TF test kit but while it arrives I have no ideas what to do.
we had the liner replaced last week since it was in very bad shape (almost bleached, brittle and with many small rips) . Now the pool is freshly filled with water after the new liner was installed . I finished filling the pool Saturday morning and had been researching what chemicals I need and this is how I found out about the BBB method and eventually ended here at TFP. I agree about pool stores in general and I am very diy inclined so this is why this appeals to me a lot. The only chemical put in the pool so far was 3 lbs of cal-hypo shock brought by the liner installer on Saturday after they started the pump.
I don’t know how to proceed from here, should I get tablets and keep using them for some time until I get to high enough CYA levels and then switch to liquid chlorine ( aldi bleach) or what else would you advise me. Meanwhile I don’t have a test kit and haven’t addressed ph or alkalinity. I read through the ABC’s of pool care and several other articles on the site but still not sure what to do. Right now the pool is clean and water is crystal clear but I worry that I am wasting time. The easiest thing to do seems to buy a bucket of Clorox extra blue 3” tabs that seem to be everywhere and even Costco has them for a good price but I read that they could bring CYA too high. What are my options?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
You don't want those Clorox Blue tablets. They are not plain trichlor -- they have copper and other stuff in them. You don't want that stuff in your pool.

Trichlor also dissolves too slowly to effectively raise your CYA. The chlorine in them will not last without a certain level of CYA and it will take a long time to build it up to that point, maybe 2 or 3 weeks. That's practically begging for algae. A 25 lb bucket of pure trichlor in your 28000 gallon pool will raise CYA by 59 and FC by 98. At typical FC consumption, a month and a half's worth of chlorination. And in that short period of time, you will already have the CYA that is pushing the upper limits. Better to add plain Cyanuric acid and have enough but not too much sooner rather than later. By the way, it's safe to add that now since you can be confident that tap water will have no CYA in it. You don't have to wait for test results.

For chlorination, bleach/pool chlorine/liquid shock/whatever name they're using for Sodium Hypochlorite is preferred. When it breaks down, it leaves nothing behind but salt water. You might be able to use Cal-hypo powder if bleach is difficult to find but that depends on the CH test results. I seem to recall people posting about Ocean State Job Lot in NJ as a good source for bleach if that makes sense to you. Until you have test results, best to stick with bleach.

Have you stumbled across the other Pool School Articles on recommended chemicals and how to chlorinate?
 
Richard320 said:
You don't want those Clorox Blue tablets. They are not plain trichlor -- they have copper and other stuff in them. You don't want that stuff in your pool.

Trichlor also dissolves too slowly to effectively raise your CYA. The chlorine in them will not last without a certain level of CYA and it will take a long time to build it up to that point, maybe 2 or 3 weeks. That's practically begging for algae. A 25 lb bucket of pure trichlor in your 28000 gallon pool will raise CYA by 59 and FC by 98. At typical FC consumption, a month and a half's worth of chlorination. And in that short period of time, you will already have the CYA that is pushing the upper limits. Better to add plain Cyanuric acid and have enough but not too much sooner rather than later. By the way, it's safe to add that now since you can be confident that tap water will have no CYA in it. You don't have to wait for test results.

For chlorination, bleach/pool chlorine/liquid shock/whatever name they're using for Sodium Hypochlorite is preferred. When it breaks down, it leaves nothing behind but salt water. You might be able to use Cal-hypo powder if bleach is difficult to find but that depends on the CH test results. I seem to recall people posting about Ocean State Job Lot in NJ as a good source for bleach if that makes sense to you. Until you have test results, best to stick with bleach.

Have you stumbled across the other Pool School Articles on recommended chemicals and how to chlorinate?
Click to expand...
Thank you for the quick response Richard!
I am reading through Pool School right now but I can’t work out how much bleach and how often should I put it in the pool. I understand that I should be pouring it slowly in front of a return jet but that is all I know for sure.
 
Pour the bleach in slowly, about a pencil size stream, in the deep in in front of a return. I like to brush the area after I pour it just to be sure it’s mixed.

You may have an Ocean State Job Lot in your area. Worth a bit of a drive if you do. Their 12.5% jugs are full gallons and are $2.99 each. The chlorine is full strength. Don’t buy your CYA there though. Theirs is junk. I get mine (HTH brand) at WalMart. Amazon also has it.
 
Deb04 said:
Pour the bleach in slowly, about a pencil size stream, in the deep in in front of a return. I like to brush the area after I pour it just to be sure it’s mixed.

You may have an Ocean State Job Lot in your area. Worth a bit of a drive if you do. Their 12.5% jugs are full gallons and are $2.99 each. The chlorine is full strength. Don’t buy your CYA there though. Theirs is junk. I get mine (HTH brand) at WalMart. Amazon also has it.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately the closest Job Lot is about 70 miles away from me, so I have to figure a different source for bleach. I read here that people use Aldi and there are 3 stores pretty close to me so I will check them out. Thank you for the Hth stabilizer, I will need to get some asap.
One question - is there use for pool shock if I use liquid chlorine? I mean cal-hypo? I ordered some dry-tek on amazon before I even knew about TFP and now I am thinking that maybe I should return it.
Thanks for all replies and help , this is a great forum!
 

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Regarding cal-hypo, it’s fine to use IF You don’t already have to much calcium in your water. I bought 24 lbs on Amazon too This spring because 1. Great price and 2. I knew finding liquid bleach would be a challenge right now. My fill water calcium is 50 and I knew my pool would open at a silly low calcium level. It was 80. I used cal-hypo to slam. Very convenient. Buy the time the CH level in the pool hit 230, the slam was over and the water has warmed up enough for the SWG to kick it. Still have some in case I need to slam later in the year, or I’ll save it for closing this year/opening next year.
 
Shark,

Looks like you're well on your way to FTP pool bliss. Even got great information on where to find chemicals in your area now. Please don't forget to get that test kit on order asap. I was right where you are about 6 years ago and followed TFP methods ever since. Gorgeous sparking pool 100% of the time and dirt cheap. About $10/month. TFP works great but you can't guess, you need your own test results from one of the recommended test kits. I got the TF 100 and I'm glad I did. It's got the lowest cost per test and I get refills every other year or so when they're on sale. Also, do get familiar with Pool Math. It will tell you how much to add based on your test results to get up into TFP recommended ranges. For CYA buy the granules (cheaper than liquid) and put enough to get to 30 ppm in a sock that you put in the skimmer. Squeeze it a couple times per day and it'll be all gone in 2 days. Then test. You want at least 30 ppm to start. Your chlorine will burn off in the hot summer sun. CYA acts like sunscreen for it and reduces how much burns off. However the more you have the more FC you need for good disinfection. Look at the CYA/FC chart. 30-50 ppm is optimum. Chlorine burns off quickly as much as 2-4 ppm per day in peak sun. But CYA lingers and only drops slightly each month. So be very careful not to exceed the range. The only way to get rid of it if you over shoot is to drain water. Many people that end up here do so because they get a green pool and they have "plenty" of chlorine. Problem is they use tablets only and they know nothing about the CYA relationship. Tablets are about half CYA.

When is your test kit coming?

Chris
 
Labrashark said:
Thank you! Just got it,awesome app! and according to it 2 gallons of 6% bleach will raise FC to 4.4ppm. But I don’t understand how often to pour that in the pool?
Click to expand...
At least initially, you'll be testing and adding bleach every day. Over a considerable period, you will learn your pool's appetites and be able to predict test results with amazing accuracy. When you're there, you just go toss the usual in and test every other or every third day. It'll become as routine and mindless as brushing your teeth before bed.
 
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Welcome, Labrashark.
I just joined the site today, but I've owned my pool for over 15 years and have been lurking around here for a while, finally did the right thing.
Anyway, for chlorine, maybe there is a Home Depot nearby? They sell HDX brand liquid chlorine at just over 3 bucks a gallon, 10% chlorine. I've been using it for a few years now, no problems. I'm sure there are cheaper options out there, but this works well for me as they are fairly close by, and I can load up a bunch at a time and not worry about it for a while.
2 pack HDX 2 gallon shock $6.86
3 pack HDX 3 gallon shock $9.98
This time of year on-line might say limited quantity, but they've had it in the store whenever I've needed it.

Good luck.
 
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Richard320 said:
At least initially, you'll be testing and adding bleach every day. Over a considerable period, you will learn your pool's appetites and be able to predict test results with amazing accuracy. When you're there, you just go toss the usual in and test every other or every third day. It'll become as routine and mindless as brushing your teeth before bed.
Click to expand...
Thank you Richard,
Slowly my I am getting an idea of what and how to do. I have learned a ton since last night just from the responses here and the articles on the site. So my plan right now is to get Clorox brand stabilizer and put 4 lbs immediately in the pool( in a sock in the skimmer) . Clorox is readily available pretty much everywhere around me so it is easy, let me know if I should not use it. Then get bleach from Home Depot, HDX brand as I just learned from the post below. Then when the test kit arrives I will deal with everything else, like alkalinity and ph.
 
danc58 said:
Welcome, Labrashark.
I just joined the site today, but I've owned my pool for over 15 years and have been lurking around here for a while, finally did the right thing.
Anyway, for chlorine, maybe there is a Home Depot nearby? They sell HDX brand liquid chlorine at just over 3 bucks a gallon, 10% chlorine. I've been using it for a few years now, no problems. I'm sure there are cheaper options out there, but this works well for me as they are fairly close by, and I can load up a bunch at a time and not worry about it for a while.
2 pack HDX 2 gallon shock $6.86
3 pack HDX 3 gallon shock $9.98
This time of year on-line might say limited quantity, but they've had it in the store whenever I've needed it.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Thank you danc58, I practically live in Home Depot, wasn’t sure if their bleach was ok though.
My local HD is 5 min from the house. What about the stabilizer they carry , is it any good?
 
Richard320 said:
Sounds like a plan Just read the labels. Chloroxpools likes to stick all kinds of other stuff in their chemicals. You want 99 or 100% pure Cyanuric Acid. It might say Isocyanuric. Same stuff.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I found a label online and it says 100% Cyanuric acid, I will double check in person . Also read here about people using it and no negative comments.
 
100% Cyanuric acid is 100% Cyanuric acid, so if it's there at HD, it should be fine. Again, I can't speak about the pricing; convenience is also a big deal to me.

FYI, I've been using their PoolTime branded stuff, and no issues with it at all. pH Up (or Plus) has been 100% Sodium Carbonate (Soda Ash) and pH Down (Minus) has been 93.2% Sodium bisulfate (Dry Acid).
That's IF you need any of that; testing will tell you that.

I've attached a few "light reading" PDFs about the different types of chlorine, especially pucks and granular. It will help you to understand and believe what these guys are saying on this site.
 

Attachments

  • Triclor Trichloro-S-Triazinetrione - July 29, 2014.pdf
    570.8 KB · Views: 1
  • Cal-Hypo Calcium Hypochlorite - July 29, 2014.pdf
    576.6 KB · Views: 0
  • Dichlor Sodium Dichloro-S-Triazinetrione June 2011.pdf
    570.4 KB · Views: 0
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