New to forum, questions about chlorine

[budysr]

Hello to all. This looks like a great forum and I am glad I found you guys! I am a new pool owner(since June) and am trying to learn as much as I can about my new toy. I have a 24ft. round AGP with a sand filter. We started out with a copper based treatment(pristine blue) as this was basically what my pool company recommended. I haven't really had any water quality issues thus far with pristine but after researching online and in this forum I have become a little leary of potential problems with it. It does also appear that over time, the product could be a bit more expensive than chlorine(I don't know this for sure). I have had to shock my pool once a week with a chlorine shock to help the pristine out(the liner starts to get a little bit of a slimy feel after about a week). My girlfriend and I both have also gotten ear infections since we got this pool and neither of us have ever had an ear infection from swimming before. What I am really wanting to know is...how do I switch to chlorine, or should I? The prisine HAS kept algae from growing and my water is very clear. I have read alot of threads here on the forum and learned alot about chlorine and the #'s. If/when I switch to chlorine exclusively, how would I do that? Would I need an automatic chlorinator(I don't want to lug a bunch of bleach jugs around). What is the easiest way to use chlorine other than with the Salt system? I have asked a bunch of questions so I'll stop for now but I do have a bunch more questions :-D
Much thanks

 

[JasonLion]

Switching is easy, just stop using the PristineBlue and start using chlorine. Two things that would be good to do but are not required are to have the copper level tested. If it is 0.3 or above you will need to add a sequesterant. The other is that it would be a good idea to shock your pool at first just to make sure you kill off anything that might be living in the water right now.

PrisitneBlue is a copper/silver system. Such systems have very slow kill times for harmful bacteria and modern recommendations are to only use them in combination with chlorine. I figure that if you are using chlorine anyway you might as well only use chlorine.

At first you can probably use trichlor pucks as a chlorine source. You will probably need the CYA they provide. Long term they will cause problems unless you replace water frequently since the CYA will continue to build up and that will cause problems. Bleach and salt systems are the only chlorine sources that don't add things you don't want to the water. Bleach can be a pain to carry around and salt systems require an initial capital investment, so every approach has tradeoffs. Around here people are split about 60/40 between bleach and salt systems.

 

[MikeInTN]

If you do decide to switch to chlorine only but don't want to go the salt route, there's a product called the Liquidator that a couple of forum members have tried and are singing it's praises. You fill the main tank part of the way with chlorine, and then add water on top (creating a binary system), and the system automatically feeds chlorine into your returns. You still have to lug bleach to fill the tank when needed, but this system would keep you from having to manually add chlorine every day.

 

[budysr]

thanks for the replies guys. After further research, it appears that the liquid chlorine option might be my best bet long term. As I make the switch from the copper to chlorine, do I need to add some CYA stabilizer for the chlorine to work properly? I tested my CYA this afternoon and show a zero reading. I am still on the copper product though for at least another week till those levels drop down. I also tested the FC level today just to see if I had any(added 24oz. of 10% bleach yesterday) and I show a zero reading on that one too :?: maybe because of the lack of CYA?

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Your FC can definitely drop to 0 in a day if you do not have any CYA. You can use pucks to chlorinate for a while to get your CYA up, or simply buy some CYA/stabilizer and add it.
If you go the non-puck route, remember that CYA takes up to a week to dissolve. Many here put it in a sock and wither tie it onto the ladder or put it in the skimmer basket. If you dump it directly into the skimmer, you should not backwash for a week.
Use less than you calculate is needed, as it is easy to add more, but not so easy to remove if you overshoot your mark!
Even with CYA, you will need to test and add bleach/liquid chlorine on a daily basis, preferably in the evening.

 

[JasonLion]

Chlorine will all go away in the presence of sunlight fairly quickly if you don't have any CYA. You can go ahead and start bringing the CYA up to somewhere around 30-50 right now. CYA can take up to a week to disolve, so if you add it to the skimmer don't backwash for a week and don't bother testing for a week. Also keep in mind that it is much more difficult to lower the level than it is to raise it, so add a bit less than you think you need.

 

[budysr]

Jason, do you think its safe for me to add some CYA now even though the copper algacide is still present in the water? I don't know if I should worry about CYA and copper together in the water? Is 30-50 about ideal for CYA level, or should it be higher(assuming I am on a liquid chlorine routine)

 

[JasonLion]

The CYA won't interact with the current system at all. It is mildly acidic, so it might lower your PH slightly when added, but that is the most effect it will have.

CYA of 30 to 50 is the default recommendation. That is fine for any form of chlorine in most situations. If you have extreme amounts of direct sunlight, mostly arid climates with no trees or other shade and very few clouds, then you might want to go higher.

 

[budysr]

Thanks again Jason. I appreciate your help. One other thing that you mentioned was the use of a sequestriant. Will my copper levels eventually go away or do you think I need to do something about that before completely diving into chlorine? (no pun intended) 8)

 

[JasonLion]

Over time your copper level will go down. Water gets splashed out if nothing else, and you can end up replacing water for several other reasons. The fill water is unlikely to have any copper in it, so over time the copper level will go down.

If your copper levels are too high there is some chance of staining if the PH gets too high or you shock the pool. You can either test the copper level now, or keep a eye out for staining and add sequesterant if you see any. The sequesterant will bind to the copper and keep it from staining and will usually lift off fresh stains. Chances are this won't be an issue at all, but you never know.