Ready to try TFPC Method... converting from Pool Frog and need help!

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rprice6

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Jul 14, 2015
16
Monroe, NC
Hey guys,

I am new to TFPC and very interested in changing over from my Pool Frog system that came with my pool. Looking for some advice on how to get started and where to go from here. I have the TF-100 test kit and will post my current levels below. Just not sure what to do since I am coming from a Pool Frog system and steps that I need to take. Any advice would be helpful!

FC 0.5
TC 0.5
PH 7.5
TA 100
CYA 80

Thanks!
rprice6
 
Hi, and welcome to TFP!
Congratulations on making a decision that will keep your pool clean and clear and doing it inexpensively. You will love teh TF100, its the best investment you could have made for your pool.

Not much to converting really. Take out the mineral pack things from the container, and start using bleach.

Bookmark the recommended levels. This is where you want your water parmeters to be.
Pool School - Recommended Levels

Next, bookmark the FC/CYA chart. Depending on what your CYA level is, find the FC level and target that.
Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

Next, if you havent yet, learn how to use Pool Math. It will tell you how much and what to add to your pool, in order to reach your target level.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Is your pool clear now? Do you suspect you have algae?

Regarding your test results.
Your CYA is relatively high... however it can be manageable. It will just take more chlorine to reach teh recommended level. You could optionally drain about 1/3 of your water and refill the pool in order to lower the CYA.

your FC is way too low for a CYA of 80. Add bleach to get it to the recommended level.

Your pH is good and your TA is good.

I also HIGHLY recommend you read the ABCs of Water Chemistry. This will give you an insight what each water parameter is, and how chemicals effect them.
Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

hope this helps get you started.
 
if you CYA is 80, I would add enough bleach to get to a FC of 20 and do the overnight chlorine loss test. basically you raise the FC up after the sun goes down. add your chlorine, wait at least 30 minutes and then test your FC. then you retest your FC first thing in the morning before the sun comes up. if your FC loss is less than 1 and have less than 0.5 CC, you passed. you are determining if algae is present and consuming your chlorine. cant do the test during the day since the sun will burn off FC, you remove that by doing the test at night.

if you pass, great! all you need to do then is let your FC drift back down to your target level based on your CYA and you are good to go. if you fail, time for the SLAM process. even clear looking water can have algae, best to catch it early. the fact you had 0.5 FC is concerning and algae could be growing.

you might want to eventually get your CYA levels down a bit, but that's not too important unless you fail the OCLT. If you do, a partial drain/refill would be good to get your CYA levels down and make the SLAM easier (i.e. lot less bleach)
 
Have you ever considered using a SWG (salt water generator)? Since your water is clear and your cya is at 80 (the TFP recommended level with a SWG) now might be the time to install one.

If that's not something you want to do then use http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html to enter your current cya (80) and your target cya (30-50) and it will tell you how much to drain. If the pool doesn't get a lot of sun go for the low end, if sunny go higher for cya target.
 
well a new SWCG system is gonna probably be around $1400 after purchase and install, plus cost of salt. compared to probably $80 worth of water to refill after partial drain

yes, they are great and I love mine, but that's a pretty expensive go around for high CYA, but I like the way you think :)
 
Ok, so it sounds like I need to drain some of the water out of my pool to lower my CYA. Is there any issues waiting until the end of summer to do this? Can I just add more FC to accommodate for the higher CYA? So if I am reading this right I should target my FC around 9 if my CYA is 80. Is that correct? Thoughts?

- - - Updated - - -

Is there any concern with swimming in the pool the next day if the FC levels are still high?

- - - Updated - - -

DaninFLA said:
if you CYA is 80, I would add enough bleach to get to a FC of 20 and do the overnight chlorine loss test. basically you raise the FC up after the sun goes down. add your chlorine, wait at least 30 minutes and then test your FC. then you retest your FC first thing in the morning before the sun comes up. if your FC loss is less than 1 and have less than 0.5 CC, you passed. you are determining if algae is present and consuming your chlorine. cant do the test during the day since the sun will burn off FC, you remove that by doing the test at night.

if you pass, great! all you need to do then is let your FC drift back down to your target level based on your CYA and you are good to go. if you fail, time for the SLAM process. even clear looking water can have algae, best to catch it early. the fact you had 0.5 FC is concerning and algae could be growing.

you might want to eventually get your CYA levels down a bit, but that's not too important unless you fail the OCLT. If you do, a partial drain/refill would be good to get your CYA levels down and make the SLAM easier (i.e. lot less bleach)
Click to expand...

Is there any concerns with swimming the next day if the FC is still high? What is safe to swim in?
 
Hi rprice,
nothing wrong with waiting till whenever is best to get get your CYA down. It will come down on its own over the fall, winter and spring, due to overflow from rain and from backwashing and refilling the pool.

with CYA of 80, the recommended FC is 9FC and dont let it drop below 6.

It is safe to swim with FC all the way up to slam level, which is 40% of the CYA, so in your case, 32.
 
Ok, one last question (sorry for all the dumb questions)...

So I went out and inspected my pool a little closer and did find some algae in the corners. Should I just go ahead and slam it first and then keep it the FC around 9? I am correct with a slam level of 32 that I should add 9 gallons of Bleach if my current FC level is .5? Do I add all of it at once?

Thanks again everyone for welcoming me to this site and for all the help! I am finally ready to have a trouble free pool!!!
 

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rprice,
with 17820 gallons of water and FC at .5 with CYA of 80 and Target FC of 32,
add 806 ozs of 8.25% bleach. That is 6.6 jugs of 121 ozs each.

the important part about Slamming, is to MAINTAIN the FC level of 32.

Also, get your pool brush out and brush the pool. Algae forms a biofilm over it that tries to protect it. Brushing it breaks up the biofilm and exposes the algae directly to the chlorine.

You have passed the slam when,
1. Your water is clear and there are no visible signs of algae *that includes dead ones*
2. Your CC is .5 or less (1 drop of R0003 to go clear)
3. You pass the overnight chlorine loss test. Not more than 1ppm FC loss over night

EDIT: You calculated 9 gallons with Pool Math. If your Bleach is 6% strength, then 9 gallons would be correct.
The higher concentration of Sodium Hypochlorite in the bleach, the less of it is required to reach your FC level.
 
you will not regret getting rid of the frog mineral pack, I stopped using mine 5 years ago when I started using this site and no more staining or expensive mineral packs and chlorine packs....just replaced my 17 year old heater and they cut out the frog so I don't have to look at it anymore....
 
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