Call me crazy, but...

[Anonymous]

Howdy. Two days before Memorial Day Weekend, I drained the pool completely. Kids had painted it two years earlier and did a terrible job at it... two different shades of blue, incomplete brush strokes, etc... Really didn't live up to its potential. During Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, I painted it and by 1PM, began filling it. By Memorial Day, it was about 85% filled. We have water authority supplied water, so there was never a doubt as to what was in my (now) 15,000 gallons of water.

At that point I added 6 pounds of Calcium Hypochlorite. The theory went "Well, I've gotta chlorinate it somehow, and with the Minimum 70% Available Chlorine written on the bag, it sure seems like a good deal." PH was then out of whack, but I managed before the end of that week to get everything under control and have maintained to do so since.

Also it seems that I have grown to despise CYA the more I read about it... Even though THERE IS NO CYA in my case! I know I'm not alone in this thought process. I mean, if you can't (easily) get rid of it and it could only come back to bite you, then why add it?

Daily maintenance is about 8oz. of Calcium Hypochlorite... dissolved in about 3 gallons of warm water. Generaly speaking, the FC is about 1-3 in the evening when I take readings. It seems to hold overnight - it's only the UV rays that seem to consume it.

I am willing to continue this way for the next two months. It is truly a labor of love... and I'm up to the task.

PS: After 4 weeks, the pool is still crystal clear. I will this weekend drop a quarter into the deep end and attempt to see if it's heads or tails

 

[Anonymous]

To help analzye any potential problems, I'll post this for all to see:


View attachment Pool Readings 2016.pdf

 

[pabeader]

With no CYA in there, even 3 FC is going to be harsh on suits, skin and equipment. I would recommend putting a small amount in there. Even 30ppm will have a buffering effect and even with indoor pools we recommend at least 20ppm.
Don't forget, your CH will continue to rise and will eventually force you to drain again or risk calcium scaling.

 

[Anonymous]

My readings indicate CH is on the rise. I'm still under what's recomended. I guess I could switch to Sodium Hypo but the way my mind works, while the average guy sees 8.25%, 10% and 12.5% of chlorine... I see 91%, 90% and 87.5% water in the bottle! And it pains me to buy water at those prices! Call me crazy!

 

[jagger2005]

Welcome to TFP!

Well maybe we can modify your thought process a little. Think of like this:

The manufacturers are selling you 12oz of 100% chlorine diluted in water so that you (and everyone else that touches it in the supply chain) can safely handle it. You are then going to dump that weak gallon of chlorine water into a 10,000+ gallon pool so that you and family can safely swim in it.

CYA, chlorine, and CH are all your friends when you have a pool - when they are properly balanced.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Davejavu]

Also it seems that I have grown to despise CYA the more I read about it... Even though THERE IS NO CYA in my case! I know I'm not alone in this thought process. I mean, if you can't (easily) get rid of it and it could only come back to bite you, then why add it?

I used to feel this way too. But I ended up adding it after more research. Think about CYA in a few ways. Firstly, it is a buffer for your chlorine. As a buffer, it reduces the effect of the pure chlorine. That sounds bad at first, but in reality, it has less irritation on your skin and it has less fading effect on swim suits. It's kinda like an extended release drug...it keeps the chlorine action in your pool active throughout the day, rather than releasing full potency all at once. Secondly, it's a bit like sunscreen for the chlorine in your pool. If you dump chlorine in at once, then it is all susceptible to being burned off immediately by the sun. With CYA, your chlorine will get burned off more slowly and your levels will be more consistent. In SLAM terms, the CYA helps with the M-maintain. If your are technical at all, ChemGeek has an excellent write up on the chemestry (the nerd in me loves the graphs). See it here: http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/558-Pool-Water-Chemistry?p=4121

CYA is like any chemical, a little of it has it's place and purpose. But the wrong amount (too little or too much) is not good.

 

[PAGirl]

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

 

[duraleigh]

Managing a pool without CYA can certainly be done. Your wallet will suffer, you will almost surely get algae (because you can drop to ) FC so easily) and the pool water environment is generally much harsher than if you had a CYA buffer.

TFP teaches you to understand how to manage your water and you certainly understand and do that well.

I think you are overlooking the side effects of 0 CYA and that, sooner or later, your pool will get in trouble. I hope that doesn't happen and it may not because you understand what you are doing. That said, I think you are working too hard to have a pristine pool. It's easier with CYA in your water.

 

[Anonymous]

OK... thanks all for your input. In a perfect world, where would I want my CYA to be at... 30-50 i'm thinking? I do have a 35 pound supply of Trichloro 3" pucks I have yet to introduce into the pool. I'd even bet I could compute the amount of pucks it would take to achieve 30-50 - since they're about 55% CYA. Only issue there is the amount of time it would take to get there. Inputs?

 

[pabeader]

Down at the bottom of Pool Math is a neat tool that will tell you the effects of different things you add to your pool.

 

[cowboycasey]

I would save those pucks for vacations or extended weekends away from the pool, grab 100% CYA from walmart or lowes and only take to 30 PPM, that would be perfect for your area (NY)

with CYA of 30 your FC target is 4 Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart never let it get below 2 FC

If you can find 12.5% bleach you will use less for the same level of FC in your pool

 

[Anonymous]

OK... thanks all for your assistance. You've given me some food for thought.