New to this method

[wazoo]

I have been using the TFP method all year and I cannot say that it has not worked. My pool has been crystal clear all summer. But I do have a question:
Maybe I am doing this wrong but I seem to be adding lots and lots of bleach. Not to mention I have had to slam it 3 times this summer which takes me anywhere from 10-15 gallons.
BTW - We have had an unusuall wet summer which I think explains one reason for extra slamming. Or I am open to ideas. It never got out of hand but I knew an algae bloom was starting so I would just slam it.
Bottom line is I think I have spent more on bleach this summer than I would have if I had run my pool the old i.e. chlorine tabs

Is that my fault? Or is that the way it is? Am I doing it right?

Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this. Thanks in advance.

 

[Mr Bruce]

Lots of questions:

- How are you testing?
- How often do you test and add bleach?
- How much do you normally add? Target FC, i.e.
- In the hottest heat of summer with lots of swimmers, what was your FC loss per day?
- What's your CYA?
- How often does your pump/filter run?

The answer will be the same, there were times when the chlorine level dropped too low to stop algae. But WHY it dropped to low can be answered with some troubleshooting!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I have been using the TFP method all year and I cannot say that it has not worked.

My 8th Grade english grammar teacher is rolling over in her grave with that double-negative

I will say this - TFP does work, but manual chlorination is probably the hardest way to go about doing it. If you have a life that allows you easy access to your pool all day long, then manual chlorination works fine. For those that don't, it requires a degree of attentiveness that can make pool ownership tedious. If you're using the appropriate amount of FC for your CYA levels, then you're doing it right. A normal pool with no algae or other issues will consume about 2-4ppm per day, sometimes 5ppm/day is normal in areas with lots of high heat and humidity. In even a moderate sized pool, that much FC can easily equate to some sizable fraction of a gallon of bleach each day. SO it tends to feel like a lot because you have to roll into Walmart every couple of days and leave with a pallet full of Clorox...not to mention the ugly stares you get from people thinking you're running some kind of secret meth lab.

If that's how you're feeling, then you might want to switch to an automated method such as a salt water chlorine generator OR a Stenner liquid chlorine injection pump. Your pool's FC level will also be much more stable if you can automate dosing throughout the day rather than doing one big dose all at once.

 

[wazoo]

I test every couple of days
I seem to add bleach at least every other day trying to keep it between 1 and 3 ppm
I normally add at least a gallon but usually a gallon.5 and sometimes as much as 3 gallons to give me some time to not have to add. 8%
I would lose FC of 2-5 per day sometimes more
CYA is about 50
Pump runs 24/7

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Touche.....I could have worded that better.

I agree - I am looking to get out of the manual chlorination business. It was a total pain this summer.

I am considering going back to tabs but I will also check on the injection pump. Is that something that I could install? How do those work?

 

[Mr Bruce]

You skipped the "How are you testing" question

If those are your numbers and not the pool store, that's an easy one. Minimum FC for a CYA of 50 is 4. Minimum! Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

 

[Isaac-1]

I think worrisome point here is that you said you have had to SLAM 3 times this summer, why? Many members on here go years between having to SLAM, and then it is usually caused by extreme weather, equipment failure, etc.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Touche.....I could have worded that better.

I agree - I am looking to get out of the manual chlorination business. It was a total pain this summer.

I am considering going back to tabs but I will also check on the injection pump. Is that something that I could install? How do those work?

I'm not an English major, I just play one on TV....

We have an entire sub-forum dedicated to Stenner Pumps and The Liquidator, check it out. It's definitely a DIY job and the full install runs around $300-$500 depending on how fancy you get.

Tabs are an option, but they are a lousy one because, along with managing chlorine levels, you have to actively manage CYA levels too. And the only way to do that is to dump water. In some areas of the country, that's cost prohibitive.

 

[harleysilo]

That's a deep pool you have there how many gallons are we talking about here? If you noticed one day that the water didn't look as perfect as it normally does, perhaps you dived down with some goggles and noticed you couldn't quite see the other walls wrinkles like you normally could, is that when you assumed you had an algae bloom starting? Or did you test (OCLT) or notice a lack of chlorine during your normal testing? I would agree that would signal to me the very beginning of an algae outbreak. You did the right thing to SLAM. How long did your SLAM's take? I can't imagine it taking more than 2 days. If you catch it that early again you could try just bumping your chlorine level up some and seeing what happens. But the answer to how the bloom started is simple, lack of chlorine. I highly recommend a SWG, i couldn't imagine daily dosing of chlorine on top of all the other stuff I have to do, they can be a pain to get dialed in.

I grew up in East TN, and that was a TERRIBLE game Thursday night. Is water cheap where you are? You could totally use pucks and just drain and refill periodically throughout the season, shouldn't cost you much of anything. The key to a TFP is knowledge and understanding the relationship between all of the pool chemicals, sounds like you've studied up on most of that.

 

[wazoo]

You skipped the "How are you testing" question

If those are your numbers and not the pool store, that's an easy one. Minimum FC for a CYA of 50 is 4. Minimum! Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

Taylor Kit

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A tad cloudy twice and then the other was mustard algae...I could see it on the floor. Again - not terrible but I have had a pool long enough to know when things are starting to turn.
I could usually slam in a day.5
I have a well with which I can fill my pool if needed so water only costs me what it costs to run my well pump
The Vols were lucky to get out of there alive - maybe it woke em up :^)

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So does that mean there are basically only three options for introducing chlorine to my pool?
1 - tabs
2 - manual i.e. bleach
3 - injector

All three of those have their downside for sure .....I guess it will come down to which one I like the least

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It is possible that I was too quick to slam......if I noticed algae I would slam it. Which is kind of what I read on here I thought. In other words - once you see algae the only way to completely get rid of it is to slam it...

 

[pooldv]

Another option is saltwater chlorine generator.

More here, Pool School - How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[Mr Bruce]

There is also SWG, as JoyfulNoise mentioned.

No matter the method of adding chlorine, you must be above the minimum in this chart at all times Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart Otherwise you can't really call it "TFP method".

 

[Griswald]

"I seem to add bleach at least every other day trying to keep it between 1 and 3 ppm"
"CYA is about 50"

Well, there's your problem...with a CYA level of 50 you need to be at a minimum of 4 ppm and I'd shoot for 6 minimum.