2 gal of chlorine a week?

i have the TF 100 isn't that good enough? although it takes me like an hour if i were to do the chl and ph and cya. and everything. going through all the steps and reading and measuring everything twice as i go. not exactly trouble free in my opinion. i don' t have an extra hour a day to do all these tests. how do i simplify this?
I can run the fas/dpd fc/cc test and ph test in a couple minutes- the more you do it the faster it gets.
the cya test is not a daily test, maybe every couple weeks or less unless you have exchanged water or made a cya addition.
With an algae free uncovered pool in the heat/uv of the Arizona summer you will likely lose around 3-5ppm worth of fc each day and it needs to be replenished before falling below minimum for your cya or you can end up with unsanitary conditions and algae. This is true no matter what form of chlorine you choose.
Some brand’s solid forms of chlorine contain extra ingredients such as copper that may inhibit algae growth even with fc levels that are too low but those do nothing for sanitation. Clear water doesn’t automatically equal sanitary. Not to mention the side effects of too much copper, cya, or calcium. Swcgs have become a clear winner for value per ppm of fc and ease of daily chlorination.
liquid chlorine is at present the cheapest form of manual chlorination.
I suspect your noticeably heavier fc consumption is two fold- you weren’t using enough to begin with and now algae is really chewing through it.
The SLAM Process will solve the latter part but you must also be prepared to sufficiently chlorinate once the algae is eradicated.
 
do i need to clean my cartridge filter before i start my slam?
What kind of filter (sand, cartridge, DE)? How long since you last cleaned it (or backwashed)?

It doesn't sound like you have a really bad situation yet, so you may get by without cleaning to start. There will be dead algae to filter out when you do the SLAM, so a cartridge or DE will do better if clean first. A sand generally filters a little better if a bit dirty - but if it hasn't been deep cleaned in a long time, may plug up and possibly start to blow dirty stuff back into the pool. How to Deep Clean a Sand Filter. Sand filters take longer to clear up the stuff you will stir up when brushing during the SLAM.
For any kind, you'll have to pay attention, and possibly clean it a few times during and after the SLAM. How much completely depends on how much algae there is that has to be killed.
 
The TF100 is great. It was a misunderstanding above.

You need a couple rodeos under your belt and it will be second nature quickly. I could probably get the whole suite done in 5 mins if I had to.

6 gallons at Walmart is $37 out the door for me. Yours will be close but slightly different sales tax.

There is no two ways about adding enough chlorine. There is one way. Add enough, or have algae. You need what you need no matter the method you follow.

If you use cal-hypo it jacks your calcium. If you use trichlor it jacks your CYA. Both become difficult to manage quickly with long and dry seasons by you.

It is up to you if you want to roll with an 128 ounces of prevention, or 25 lbs of cure.
ok newdude so i think im starting to understand

my FC is 3 right now,
cya is 40
cc is .5
so my slam level needs to be 16.

how much liquid chl do i add tonight to start slamming?
so i test the fas/dpd again in morn to get my FC to 16 is that right?
and maintain 16 for how long?
when do i let it maintain between 5-7? is that right?
I can run the fas/dpd fc/cc test and ph test in a couple minutes- the more you do it the faster it gets.
the cya test is not a daily test, maybe every couple weeks or less unless you have exchanged water or made a cya addition.
With an algae free uncovered pool in the heat/uv of the Arizona summer you will likely lose around 3-5ppm worth of fc each day and it needs to be replenished before falling below minimum for your cya or you can end up with unsanitary conditions and algae. This is true no matter what form of chlorine you choose.
Some brand’s solid forms of chlorine contain extra ingredients such as copper that may inhibit algae growth even with fc levels that are too low but those do nothing for sanitation. Clear water doesn’t automatically equal sanitary. Not to mention the side effects of too much copper, cya, or calcium. Swcgs have become a clear winner for value per ppm of fc and ease of daily chlorination.
liquid chlorine is at present the cheapest form of manual chlorination.
I suspect your noticeably heavier fc consumption is two fold- you weren’t using enough to begin with and now algae is really chewing through it.
The SLAM Process will solve the latter part but you must also be prepared to sufficiently chlorinate once the algae is eradicated.
ok so i did 2 gal last night. my FC is 13 right now, CC is .5. CYA is 40. slam target is 16. so is 13 not enough then? needs to be 16 or else? how long do i maintain 16 during slam?
 
If you use the PoolMath app on your phone, it will tell you how much is needed from your current level to get to your the SLAM level.
You should test and add more to get back to the level very frequently - every two hours to start. If you can't, life happens - but the process will take longer. As it progresses, you'll find it holding on its own more and more, so you can ease off on the time between tests. See the article about the 3 criteria you need to pass to consider the process done. It may take a few days (uninhabitable swamps taking weeks!) - yours sounds to be on the pretty short side. It will be safe to swim at the high CL SLAM level - nobody will notice anything different.
 
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