Please, help me understand the TFP way and why anyone would want to work on their pool daily?

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IceShadow said:
Bottom line: most people accept that their pool is going to go green, they'll spend a bunch of money to fix it with either chemicals or water replacement, and otherwise they only have to toss some pucks in the pool every now and then or pay someone to do it for them. They'd rather not think about whether the water is sanitary - so long as it's not green, they figure it's fine to swim in.

The TFP way does mean frequent testing (anywhere from daily to 2-3 times a week) and frequent additions of liquid chlorine (again daily to 2-3 times a week), though the latter can be mitigated with a SWCG if one chooses, but it means we know for sure our water is sanitary and it doesn't have a chance to go green.

Whichever you feel is best for your situation from the above is up to you.
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It also means no chlorine smell on hair, skin, and swimming clothes. And it means only needing to adjust for pH once or twice a summer.

When I used pucks my pool had that CC smell. And I was having to fight acidic water on a weekly basis.
 
Lineman7 said:
Sounds like a great time to enjoy a premium beer😀
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Indeed, and I brew my own.

The essence of TFP, which sometimes gets obscured in the details, is to STERILIZE your water 100% via a SLAM, then maintainance becomes a breeze. I feel we should emphasize this aspect more.. thats what you are doing when you SLAM... you are producing almost lab-grade sterile water, basically.
 
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BassPlayingDude said:
Indeed, and I brew my own.

The essence of TFP, which sometimes gets obscured in the details, is to STERILIZE your water 100% via a SLAM, then maintainance becomes a breeze. I feel we should emphasize this aspect more.. thats what you are doing when you SLAM... you are producing almost lab-grade sterile water, basically.
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Yup,... in a perfect world.. but its not... Birds poop in it, Gardens run off into it, swimmers slough off dead skin into it, etc etc. so there is always a influx of organic material. And where there is food there is going to algae. Keeping that lab-grade sterile environment is an unstable point of equilibrium. I look at it more like a limnology project
 
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The main reason for me adopting the TFP method was to save time messing with the pool. I looked at the total picture and quickly came to terms that spending literally 2 minutes every other day, with a beer in hand mind you, was FAR better than any other method I could find. Including the option of hiring someone else to 'care' for it, then dealing with the aftermath. It's a bonus that it also keeps the costs down by minimizing the number of 'corrective actions' one needs to apply.

So ... The TFP method is really about proper maintenance. If you could find someone in the pool business who would stop by at least 3 times a week to care for it in the same manner, would it be any less or more of a relevant method?
 
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The added bonus of the TFP method is, by testing your own water, you learn what your pool needs, plus you get to learn what each and every chemical does to your water, so there are no surprises. Even if you happen to go into a pool store for something, because you now have the knowledge, there's no way you'll fall for their hard sell on certain things. You'll just get what you know you need and be done with it, knowing that you're only adding things to your pool that it needs. (y)
 
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superuser said:
So ... The TFP method is really about proper maintenance. If you could find someone in the pool business who would stop by at least 3 times a week to care for it in the same manner, would it be any less or more of a relevant method?
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Absolutely... the key is the protocols that we follow, not who performs them. You can do it, your neighbor or daughter could do it, even a local teen could be hired to do it for you, assuming that you gave them 15 minutes of training on your care regimen and access to PoolMath and a good test kit. I personally enjoy the sense of pride that I get from knowing that my pool is as well cared for as it can be, as well as the compliments I get from people who come over to swim, and I don't trust anyone else to do the job as thoroughly and diligently as I myself do it. it's a Zen thing for me.
 
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BassPlayingDude said:
Indeed, and I brew my own.

The essence of TFP, which sometimes gets obscured in the details, is to STERILIZE your water 100% via a SLAM, then maintainance becomes a breeze. I feel we should emphasize this aspect more.. thats what you are doing when you SLAM... you are producing almost lab-grade sterile water, basically.
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Brewing my own is on my to-do list.

I'll log that info away, for when I have water in the new pool.
 
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IceShadow said:
Bottom line: most people accept that their pool is going to go green, they'll spend a bunch of money to fix it with either chemicals or water replacement, and otherwise they only have to toss some pucks in the pool every now and then or pay someone to do it for them. They'd rather not think about whether the water is sanitary - so long as it's not green, they figure it's fine to swim in.

The TFP way does mean frequent testing (anywhere from daily to 2-3 times a week) and frequent additions of liquid chlorine (again daily to 2-3 times a week), though the latter can be mitigated with a SWCG if one chooses, but it means we know for sure our water is sanitary and it doesn't have a chance to go green.

Whichever you feel is best for your situation from the above is up to you.
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So, I am learning, and you guys brought me up to speed quickly, which I am super grateful for. From what I read CYA is a big problem for year round pools, but I am a touch longer than memorial and Labor Day. My builder said he would be happy to take my money to put in a SWG, but he said if it was his pool he wouldn’t do it. Other than the staining, my pool has been crystal clear since I took over from the pool co. I also had a hard time sourcing liquid chlorine as you may recall. then I read the same article on chlorine shortage so I loaded upon HTH pucks. I don’t disagree with your methods, I am just navigating a few variables, and figuring this all out. Appreciate all your insights.
 
DeanP66 said:
The added bonus of the TFP method is, by testing your own water, you learn what your pool needs, plus you get to learn what each and every chemical does to your water, so there are no surprises. Even if you happen to go into a pool store for something, because you now have the knowledge, there's no way you'll fall for their hard sell on certain things. You'll just get what you know you need and be done with it, knowing that you're only adding things to your pool that it needs. (y)
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Yeah. That aspect has been huge. Purchased arm and hammer washing soda instead of the pool store ph plus.
 

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NextGallon said:
So, I am learning, and you guys brought me up to speed quickly, which I am super grateful for. From what I read CYA is a big problem for year round pools, but I am a touch longer than memorial and Labor Day. My builder said he would be happy to take my money to put in a SWG, but he said if it was his pool he wouldn’t do it. Other than the staining, my pool has been crystal clear since I took over from the pool co. I also had a hard time sourcing liquid chlorine as you may recall. then I read the same article on chlorine shortage so I loaded upon HTH pucks. I don’t disagree with your methods, I am just navigating a few variables, and figuring this all out. Appreciate all your insights.
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Some pools that pump out a bunch of water for closing and then refill again over the winter with snow melt and rain in fall/spring might be fine with pucks with regards to your CYA level, but I can almost guarantee they're not really as sanitary as you'd like because you aren't keep an eye on the FC levels. Bottom line is that it's your pool and you can manage it how you want to. The way it's done here, it takes all of the "maybe"s out of the equation and you can feel more certainty about your water.
 
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NextGallon said:
I don’t disagree with your methods, I am just navigating a few variables, and figuring this all out. Appreciate all your insights
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We are happy to help when you ask. I’d also like to point out that you’ve had 209 replies in this thread..... *alert*. 210 replies...... from people of all walks of life. Longtime pros and other newbs to share their similar stories.

Besides an occasional good natured ribbing, they have all been entirely helpful and kind. You can’t get much more welcoming than that.

Whenever you are ready we can have a field day with the nuts/bolts of it and make you your own pro. (y)
 
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IceShadow said:
Some pools that pump out a bunch of water for closing and then refill again over the winter with snow melt and rain in fall/spring might be fine with pucks with regards to your CYA level, but I can almost guarantee they're not really as sanitary as you'd like because you aren't keep an eye on the FC levels. Bottom line is that it's your pool and you can manage it how you want to. The way it's done here, it takes all of the "maybe"s out of the equation and you can feel more certainty about your water.
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I'm a May to Sept pool owner and the CYA still catches up to you. Might take a year or two, but when I took over my pool the CYA was ~140.
 
NextGallon said:
So, I am learning, and you guys brought me up to speed quickly, which I am super grateful for. From what I read CYA is a big problem for year round pools, but I am a touch longer than memorial and Labor Day. My builder said he would be happy to take my money to put in a SWG, but he said if it was his pool he wouldn’t do it. Other than the staining, my pool has been crystal clear since I took over from the pool co. I also had a hard time sourcing liquid chlorine as you may recall. then I read the same article on chlorine shortage so I loaded upon HTH pucks. I don’t disagree with your methods, I am just navigating a few variables, and figuring this all out. Appreciate all your insights.
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CYA is a problem how? If you run low you add more. If you are not paying attention to what's going into the pool.. anything is a problem. Just sayin'

Personally I would have opted into a SWG from the get go. I really see no downsides to it other than the upfront costs. What curious what reason the builder gave for not wanting one? Most of the reasons are based on incorrect information in my experience here.
 
NextGallon said:
From what I read CYA is a big problem for year round pools, but I am a touch longer than memorial and Labor Day.
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IceShadow said:
Some pools that pump out a bunch of water for closing and then refill again over the winter with snow melt and rain in fall/spring might be fine with pucks with regards to your CYA level, but I can almost guarantee they're not really as sanitary as you'd like because you aren't keep an eye on the FC levels. Bottom line is that it's your pool and you can manage it how you want to. The way it's done here, it takes all of the "maybe"s out of the equation and you can feel more certainty about your water.
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LoneWolfArcher said:
I'm a May to Sept pool owner and the CYA still catches up to you. Might take a year or two, but when I took over my pool the CYA was ~140.
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Let's say you've got a 12 week season, and you have an average daily FC consumption of 3ppm.

For every 3ppm of FC added, trichlor pucks will add 1.8ppm of CYA.

So your Summer looks like this:

Week......CYA Level
1...............12.6
2...............25.2
3...............37.8
4...............50.4
5...............63.0
6...............75.6
7...............88.2
8...............100.8
9...............113.4
10.............126.0
11.............138.6
12.............151.2

Now, each week your minimum FC level is going to increase. So you'll need to "shock" weekly to bring this up. As long as you don't use Dichlor shock, your CYA won't be impacted further by this. But now you're dumping in a bunch of liquid chlorine weekly anyway, instead of just a bit throughout the week.

Toward the end of the Summer, minimum FC levels are going to be harder to maintain, but you might skate through the Summer with no algae.

If you drain/fill 50% of your water as part of closing and re-opening, you start this cycle again next Summer -- but with a starting CYA of 75.6. By Summer 2 or 3 it's unavoidable that you're going to need to pre-emptively drain/fill or deal with an algae outbreak.

And unless you're closely checking these levels (so still testing), algae or no algae your water might not be "clean".

Anyway...

Typing all that hurt my brain. Dealing with all that sounds like a painful method of pool care. Mine, with no SWG, is:
  • Test FC/pH every couple days (~5 minutes)
  • Add ~32oz of liquid chlorine daily (~2 minutes)
  • Run all tests weekly (~15 minutes)
I also try to run at the higher end of the FC/CYA chart. I can skip a day and double my FC addition and it's no sweat.
 
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NextGallon said:
So, I am learning, and you guys brought me up to speed quickly, which I am super grateful for. From what I read CYA is a big problem for year round pools, but I am a touch longer than memorial and Labor Day. My builder said he would be happy to take my money to put in a SWG, but he said if it was his pool he wouldn’t do it. Other than the staining, my pool has been crystal clear since I took over from the pool co. I also had a hard time sourcing liquid chlorine as you may recall. then I read the same article on chlorine shortage so I loaded upon HTH pucks. I don’t disagree with your methods, I am just navigating a few variables, and figuring this all out. Appreciate all your insights.
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Hello. Year round pool here, and CYA is never an issue. Why? Because I don’t use pucks and I know exactly what goes into my pool.

When people are warned away from installing a SWCG, it’s rarely for a good reason.
 
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