New Pool Owner, looking to get started right! (CYA question)

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napkin41

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Mar 4, 2018
60
Prosper, TX
Hey all,

New pool owner here, very happy to have found this place and the wealth of knowledge that is pool school.

Our pool was completed about 6 weeks ago. I'm brushing it daily because there's still some plaster dust that comes up when I do. No biggie there.

My biggest question is about FC and CYA. Leslie's seems to have a much more lax opinion about it than TFP. Following their recommendation, I added CYA to my pool, and so now it seems that I'm sitting at 50-60 CYA. Leslie's seems ok just having FC between 2 and 4, but according to https://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock, it sounds like I really need FC at 7?

7 seems kind of high. Will CYA bleed off on it's own, or do I need to knock it down? Am I being over-sensitive to the amount of FC that is required to be effective at my level of CYA?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Leslie's seems to have a much more lax opinion about it than TFP.
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Welcome to the forum! :wave: The reason for this is that many pool stores and builders use outdated chemistry philosophy to manage water. Remember, the pool store is the same one who recommends chlorine tabs and various bags of stabilized pool chlorine products & shock that continue to push CYA (or CH) to extreme levels. In a few months, they'll give you a printout and say, "You need to drain your water." Then the cycle repeats.

You have a new pool, so start fresh with your own testing and trust in yourself. You can do it no problem. Here's some thoughts:
- Get yourself a TF-100 (link below) or Taylor K-2006C test kit. The TF-100 is a great value. I also recommend the magnetic speedstir. Home testing is priority #1.
- Stay out of the pool store unless you want muriatic acid or something simple like a specialty product. All the chemicals you need are available elsewhere for much cheaper. Get your bleach from HEB (Bravo regular) or Wal-Mart (Great Value) and you're done.
- CYA doesn't get knocked down. A small amount dissipates each month, but very little. The good news is that if your CYA is actually at 40-50 (don't trust the pool store test!), it's in a good place for summer. But take any tabs/pucks out now, and don't use anything but regular bleach for your FC. Bleach has no stabilizer (CYA) and it's easy.
- Increase your FC to about 5-7. It's safe based on the Chlorine/CYA Chart link below. Stabilizer (CYA) serves as sunscreen but also as a buffer to the chlorine. It's fine.

When you get your own test kit, make sure to add it to your signature as well so we know what you're using. Post a full set of results and we'll be glad to assist in any questions.

Hope that helps.
 
Thanks for your reply!

Sounds about right, I should have come here first. I definitely bought the mega-super-awesome-summer-blowout package at Leslie's, so now I have a ton of chlorine tabs and shock that perhaps I don't need after all.

I definitely bought the TF-100 test kit, so I will be using that in the future.

Question though, if you use nothing but chlorine bleach, is there no use for my chlorinator tower built into my system? I didn't realize you guys are all tab free! And when you say chlorine bleach, are you talking no-kidding laundry bleach?
 
now I have a ton of chlorine tabs and shock that perhaps I don't need after all.
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It's okay. They'll last for a good while if stored in a dry location away from the sun. Tabs and those bags can help at times when you know the CYA (or CH) are low, but for regular FC increasing, stick with regular bleach. :) Same goes for your in-line chlorinator. I have one as well. It's always empty. But if you ever go on vacation, it may come in handy as long as you know the CYA won't get too high from using a few pucks while you're away. As for bleach - yep. No kidding. Funny huh? It's the same thing as liquid shock - Sodium Hypochlorite. Just make sure it's regular. NO scented or splashless items unless you want a bubble bath later.

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Wow, thanks for that insight! As much as I've lurked here before posting, I feel completely surprised by that tidbit of information.

I'll definitely peruse the pool school articles, but while I have your ear, how do you calculate the amount of bleach to add to achieve a certain FC level?
 
That's where the Poolmath Calculator (link at top of page and in my sig) comes in so handy. Once you know what your FC "Target" should be based on your current CYA (that chart), then you enter the "Now" and "Goal" values on that calculator and it does the work for you. For that FC row, make sure to manually enter the correct % of bleach. Most laundry bleaches are 8.25%, but just make sure to update that field. After a while, you'll get in a routine and know how much your pool uses each day. The calculator is a little busy on the eyes at first and seem intimidating, but once you get used to it you'll always use it.

My pool's a little larger, but in the peak of our TX summers, I adjust my CYA to about 60 and my FC stays in the 7-ish range to where I use about 2-3 ppm of FC each day. That's about 1/2 gallon of bleach for me. So each evening, I verify nothing whacky has happened to my FC numbers with my trusty TF-100, and I add a 1/2 gallon of bleach.
 
half gallon of bleach. Looks like we'll be going through lots of that stuff.
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My pool's a little bigger, so you shouldn't go through as much. Winter months FC drops much slower so we save then as well. Summer is when the sun (and more swimming) tends to use-up more FC. But you'll get in a routine soon enough. :swim:
 
Napkin, you can also see if your local pool store has liquid chlorine in the yellow jugs. You put a deposit down on the jugs and just take them back to be refilled as needed.

OR you can get a SWG as seen here:

Pool School - Salt Water Chlorine Generators

I have a couple of other goodies for you as well:

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

PoolMath

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

You might have found a couple of these but I wanted to make sure to get most of the important ones to you.

Kim:kim:
 

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Haha, I'm already curious about these SWGs. And yeah, I've just started looking for cheap liquid chlorine all day. I'll have to check and see if Leslie's does the whole re-fill service.

I did find this, which you guys may or may not find humorous: Big ole drum o' chlorine
55 gallons, 12.5%, $189? Almost seems worth it to me!

But that does seem a bit extreme. I'll be looking through all these links, thanks very much folks!
 
Bulk chlorine is fine as long as you can: 1 - Trust the strength as issued; 2 - Use it in a reasonable time. Chlorine tends to lose its strength over time. That's also why when we go to the store to grab a couple bottles of bleach, we look at the Julian Date on the bottle. Today is "18063" - the 63rd day of 2018. But in your area, perhaps bulk will work fine. If not, 2-3 gallons of Bravo should last you all week.
 
Here ya go:

tanker.jpg

Maybe that will get you through the summer :roll:

Now that big ole tub of chlorine could work IF you have a cool, dark place to put it. We had one guy that went so far as to bury one. It worked out okay but I have not see him in a while to find out how it worked out long term.

Kim:kim:
 
There's always a catch... rats. Otherwise I'd ask who's offering that train car and for how much. Thanks again everyone. I pulled my tabs out even though I haven't received my TF-100 test kit yet. I'm all in. I think my current kit will be able to tell me when I hit 2ppm at least, at which point I'll use the calculator to target 7.

I feel better already!
 
Wait until you see how clear the water will be once we get you all dialed in. The fun part will be when you look out a window and wonder where all of your water went!! Then you rush out only to find it is still there but is so clear and still you could not see it! Yeah I did that one time :roll:

Kim:kim:
 
I have done my homework, and I have considered it Kim. I'm certainly considering it, but I think I'll try and become a more established member and pool owner first.

If I don't end up filling in my pool with dirt in the next few months you got yourself a deal! (;
 

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