Thinkly said:
I guess my assumption here could have been wrong, but I have had several encounters here where I was "encouraged" to do away with said tabs. Not that it really matters but I think my assumption was somewhat based in experiences here.
Understandably so because we do have a lot of post talking about how to deal with out of control CYA levels; in most cases the CYA went wild as a result of using trichlor/dichlor pucks or granules exclusively. As was mentioned early on in this thread, this WILL get a pool in trouble and then prompts the questions of how to reduce CYA.
I have a lot of splash-out and replace at least 1/3 of my pool's volume in a season. Once I learned about the relationship of chlorine and stabilizer and especially, once I started testing the water with a good kit, I became much more confident in managing my pool. I learned how my pool reacts and responds to a variety of environmental influences: pollen and leaves, agricultural dust/lime/fertilizer, heavy rains, sulfur in the fill water, daily use by three large dogs, and that knowledge has allowed me to use a combination of liquid chlorine and trichlor pucks responsibly.
I buy 12% (or so) liquid chlorine in 3 gallon carboys from the pool store and go through about 10 gallons in our five months season. That comes to approximately $50 in chlorine plus maybe 20 pucks during that same time. Don't know what they cost, I haven't bought any in some time. I've never added borax but do put in baking soda now and then as well as a little muriatic acid. Overall, my guess is I spend less than $80
per year on pool chemicals using a combination of BBB and pucks. You just can't do it that low if you're using strictly pucks and/or granular tri- or dichlor.
My filter runs 6 hours during the night and for one hour after the dogs have been in the pool. I backwash at the beginning of the season, once or twice during, and at the end when we close. Other than one year when I had to leave the pool unattended and unfiltered for a month I have never had an algae problem, cloudy water or anything else negative.
BBB is "trouble free" because it's inexpensive, the materials are commonly available at grocery stores, it allows the homeowner to take control of her/his pool instead of being at the mercy of a pool service or pool store, and it's easy to understand and practice. BBB reduces the mystique of pool maintenance to kitchen chemistry. Anybody can do it.