Initial Quesitons

[JediMasterNerd]

Hello TFP - I've been lurking around for the past 10 months or so and decided after 16 years it was time to switch from Leslie's to the TFP way! The first 7-8 years had no problems, but slowly algae became an issue. CYA was HIGH, eventually drained/refilled the pool and everything was fine for a while. Algae came back, hired a pool guy for chemicals and still had a green pool return --- though I must admit at the time I was busy and did not brush the pool as I should have. Got rid of the pool guy as the algae was still prevalent, this whole time Tri-Chlor was being used and Cal Hypo for shock (not any more!!).

Got the T-100 test kit and a couple of months back I started using the TFP approach. Tried to get as much of the chemicals as I could into line. For the most part the water looks great. I do have some very hard to get rid of algae. Most algae on the walls/floor I would just brush and it would whisk away. This algae remains even under a wire brush (though a wire brush made some of it go away, the base is still present).

Current Readings
FC: 2 CC: 0
PH: 7.5 CYA: 30
TA: 70 Cal: 600
Water temp: 78F
Outdoor Temp: 85 - 100+F

These readings are fairly stable. TA wavers between 60 and 70 and calcium wavers between 550 and 650. FC obviously changes with the ebb and flow.

Questions
1) My Calcium is obviously way too high --- but the only option listed is to drain a bunch of water. I'm in California and really don't want to drain it... The water is not cloudy, I have no calcium buildup, etc... What impact is there if I leave the calcium high? Other than draining is there another way to lower the calcium level? Will evaporation and filling be enough to being it down?

2) My CYA was lower, but I raised it using Stabilizer in a sock in the skimmer. I didn't use all of the stabilizer within the sock - I was worried about getting too high of CYA. I'm thinking I should increase CYA another 10 as FC seems to go down quickly. Can I add the sock back into the water since it wasn't depleted or since it's been dried out (about 4 weeks out of water) is it no longer good and I should use fresh stabilizer?

3) What is a typical amount of chlorine to use in a week? I'm using 12.5% HASA liquid chlorine (roughly $3.50 per gallon after coupon) and seem to use 1.5 gallons per week --- though I want to get my FC up to 3 --- so is 1.5 - 2 gallons per week a lot?

4) Any tips on removing the stubborn algae on the bottom of the pool? Just keep brushing it??

Thanks all, love the site!

J.

 

[triptyx]

1. If you manage the rest of your numbers very carefully, you can survive quite well with a high CH. I know of a few experts here that are coping with high CH values because they can't drain water either. Evaporation does not reduce CH - it doesn't go away with the evaporated water - evaporation actually increases CH, since your evaporated water leaves the existing calcium in the pool, and the new fill water adds even more calcium. The only way to reduce it is to drain off water and refill with fresh water.
2. You should be able to throw that sock right back in the skimmer.
3. Chlorine usage depends on a lot of things - swimmer load, how much sun the pool is getting, sun versus CYA levels. It's hard to say really as each pool/pool usage is different. This is something you'll figure out once you have everything in balance and have been on the TFP method for a while. Don't forget to log your readings and actions each day - I keep an Excel file to track my chemical usage and test results.
4. Algae! You'll need to SLAM. Raising FC to the correct shock level given your CYA level, then holding it at that level until the algae is gone, the water is clear, and the pool passes an OCLT (overnight chlorine loss test) is the only way to get rid of it. There are articles on SLAMing the pool, and the OCLT in pool school. Make sure before raising FC above 10 that your Ph is at 7.2.

 

[Richard320]

To expand on triptyx's excellent answers...

1) I manage (barely) with 1000 CH. 600 is a piece of cake. Just keep TA down at 60 or 70 and watch the pH closely. Use the CSI calculation at the bottom of poolmath. Stay below +.3 and scale won't form. Go below -.3 and you might soften what you have, but that's later

3) I use a quart of the same HASA stuff every day in season with a smaller pool.

4) The algae that won't go away is probably embedded in Calcium scale. All you can do is keep CSI negative and brush the snot out of it with a stainless steel brush. It'll take months to remove it, if it comes up at all. It will look worse because the water is so crystal clear that every flaw is instantly apparent. If manipulating pH and TA won't get you into the negative CSI zone, then some water replacement is called for. I use pool water on the lawn from time to time and then use what I didn;t use on irrigation to refill the pool. It's slow going. 3" from the pool is only 5%, and that isn;t much of a drop in CH. But it will keep you ahead of evaporation buildup.

 

[duraleigh]

You need chlorine in that pool!!! Algae exists in pool because the chlorine is inadequate. SLAM the pool and solve that issue above ALL others!

 

[JediMasterNerd]

Thank you all for the feedback... I appreciate all of the information. The sock will go back into the skimmer today (good to know that those chemicals didn't go to waste) and I'm glad to hear that high CH is manageable.

The pool is in the process of being SLAM'd.... Cleaned the filters and baskets out and started the SLAM at 5pm yesterday, at 7pm FC was 11 and CC 0. At 1am FC was 10 and CC 1. At 7am FC was 3 and CC was still 1 --- so something is using up the chlorine! I'll be monitoring it throughout the day and keeping the FC level up at 12.

Thanks all!

J.