In need of some guidence

[hsmom]

I am wanting to switch over to BBB method but have some expensive chemicals to use first. Please guide me on how to transition over.

I have a SplashPool - 13x21x4 - sand filter - 8200 gal.

The water is absolutely gorgeous - very inviting, and I want to keep it that way. My CYA is high - 119 - so I switched over to a shock without stabilizer. I have a bucket of pucks, that have stabilizer.

Here is what I have left 23 - 1lb. pkgs of turbo shock - w/o stabilizer and the pucks w/stabilizer, mentioned above.

So can I use up the turbo shock as needed to shock my pool and use liquid bleach for daily chlorinating?

Do people who use liquid bleach, use anything in their skimmers?

When the pool is going to have a heavy swimmer load, could I use the pucks I have to keep the chlorine level high during that time? (I mean in addition to the daily liquid bleach - are these compatible?)

I was told my my local (expensive pool supply store) that I should backwash liberally throughout the summer to work the CYA down.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP. Don't use the pucks or anything with CYA. It all adds CYA very rapidly. Just store the chemicals in a cool, dry place and you can use them when you need CYA in the future.

The Turbo Shock is cal-hypo, and it is fine for chlorination as long as your calcium hardness is reasonable.

Backwashing and the subsequent water replacement will lower your CYA eventually.

 

[hsmom]

There is a puck out there with no stabilizer - HTH 3 in 1. I have used a few of them but they are very expensive because they don't last more than 1 day. There is supposed to be something in them to help with the calcium build-up - Sodium Tripolyphosphate. I don't know if that is true or not. The people at HTH - Arch Chemicals will give you different answers each time you call. These pucks designed to last a week but with my skimmer, they dissolve very quickly.

So on the liquid bleach - how about using that as a daily sanitizer, use the shock weekly - and then nothing in the skimmer? Any chemical reactions with this plan?

Do the people who use liquid bleach use anything in skimmers, or is the daily use of the bleach enough? How about using the HTH 3 in 1 during times when the pool has a lot of use, otherwise, just beach and shock? It just seems like there should be something in the skimmer when the pool is in use.

Once I use up all the ph+, ph-, ect. that I have purchased, I will start the total BBB program. I have read of it on other sites but have to say it seemed too good to be true.

I am eager to know how to incorporate the liquid bleach with chemicals I have now.

Thanks!!!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Edit....

Keep your FC levels according to the CYA chart - using bleach. If you add enough each night to raise the FC to your "target", you will have enough in there the next day to stay above your "min" which is what you want. You never want your FC to drop below the "min" or you'll get algae.

To figure out how much bleach to add each day, you get out your test kit and you test FC. Then you use the Pool Calculator to help determine the dosages.

Have you used the Pool Calculator yet? It's a very handy tool

Also, with proper FC levels, you should rarely if ever have to shock. I've shocked 5 times in over 2 years, 3 vacations and 2 winterizations.

 

[PaulR]

Don't use the pucks with stabilizer unless you're away on vacation and can't find anybody to manage the pool for you. Daily bleach is enough, no need for regular shocking. If you know there's going to be a pool party you can dose some extra bleach. If you do that there's no need to put anything in the skimmer. If it's just the family then the regular FC level should be enough.

You want to test your CH (calcium hardness) before using the turbo shock, because each pound of turbo will raise your CH by around 5. If your CH is already on the high side you should stay away from it.

CYA 119 has to be a pool store result with some sort of electronic meter. You should do your own test. When you do that, you'll need to dilute by half to get a sensible reading, then double that result to get your real CYA level.

Assuming it really is over 100, it will be hard to maintain adequate FC, and you might end up with an algae problem; when that happens, just dump and replace a bunch of water (like, half) to bring down the CYA level to something more manageable.
--paulr

 

[JasonLion]

The HTH 3 in 1 tablets also contain copper, which is definitely worth avoiding.

 

[hsmom]

I find all of this very frustrating. There isn't one single thing that can be used that doesn't have an effect on something else.

The pool calculator states that I need the FC to be between 8 and 13, that seems pretty high for a pool where the water is crystal clear. I understand that is because of high CYA but my testing only goes up to 10. What if I don't really need all that chlorine?

 

[JasonLion]

With a very high CYA level, you do need a very high FC level to prevent algae from getting started.

Have you thought about replacing some water to get your CYA level down? We don't recommend CYA levels above 80. The only practical way to lower the CYA level is to replace water.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

The HTH 3 in 1 tablets also contain copper, which is definitely worth avoiding.

Do they? I initally had that in my post but all I could find was that they are cal-hypo and the "dual action" are the ones with copper.... so I edited my post. :?:

 

[JasonLion]

Sadly, HTH decided to put copper in everything they can. Several different HTH products now contain copper. Anything from them that is dual acting, 3 in 1, 4 in 1, etc counts copper as one of it's "features".

 

[reebok]

I find all of this very frustrating. There isn't one single thing that can be used that doesn't have an effect on something else.

The pool calculator states that I need the FC to be between 8 and 13, that seems pretty high for a pool where the water is crystal clear. I understand that is because of high CYA but my testing only goes up to 10. What if I don't really need all that chlorine?

welcome to owning a pool. some people get by for a long time taking care of their pools incorrectly. some people use pool store methods that work, although they're expensive and will probably cause problems in the long run due to tab usage. if you start using this method, you do need all that chlorine or you will get algae, sooner or later. the cya isn't letting the chlorine work effectively (although a certain level of cya is necessary in outdoor pools to protect chlorine from the sun), therefore with high cya levels you need higher chlorine levels. like PaulR said, it would be great if you could get your own test result, though I don't doubt the cya is high. you're looking at draining some water if you want to keep lower chlorine levels.