Winter floater

[rgkpool]

When I opened my pool the water was crystal clear, so i either closed well (ok so the people I paid did a good job) or the 3 winter floaters I added helped my water.

What has me confused however is if using a winter floater is a good idea. I'm new to BBB so I may be off base, but I think these things are just slower dissolving trichlor. If that's the case are you just asking to have annoyingly high CYA levels in the spring? My CYA is 50, and I'm annoyed I have to add so much bleach to reach shock levels. In my mind I'd rather get more bang for my buck with a lower cya, but then again I'm sure there are downsides to that....

Secondly, when I opened my pool I did an OTO and had zero FC. So was the floater even working? It seems that the benefit of the floater is that it would add chlorine all winter. Suddenly I've realized Im not sure what I paid for last spring!!!

 

[jblizzle]

Where are you located? If the water is cold enough over the winter, the growth would be minimal.

Was there anything left in the floaters when you opened? If not, then having 0 FC would not be surprising.

You are correct though, that all the pucks you use are adding CYA ... and now you are on the high end of the recommendations. In reality though, you only have to add a lot to start the shocking process. Roughly same amount of FC would be consumed, in other words, the daily FC drop while shocking should be about the same independent of CYA (assuming not close to zero of course).

 

[Bama Rambler]

The floaters may in fact be why you opened to a clear pool. It's hard to say how much good they were doing. Do you have any previous years experience without them?

CYA level is a two edged sword. You have to have enough to regulate your daily loss but not too much to require annoyingly high levels of FC.

As JB said. It only requires a lot of bleach to get to shock level the first time then maintaining it will be about the same from then on as it would be with lower CYA. You'd use less getting there but you'd wind up using the same amount killing whatever is in the water.

Why did you need to shock if the pool was clear upon opening?

 

[rgkpool]

Where are you located? If the water is cold enough over the winter, the growth would be minimal.

Im in a boston suburb - so it certainly gets cold over the winter (though this year was very mild). Are you saying I likely do not need to even use a winter floater? I was not using BBB last year, and had a company close the pool for us. This year I plan to do it myslef using whatever the BBB recommended closing process would be.

Was there anything left in the floaters when you opened? If not, then having 0 FC would not be surprising.

Im not at home so I can not look for the exact amount - but there were defintely still pucks in the floaters. So this again leaves me wondering why I had 0 FC. UNLESS I failed to test accurately. I did an OTO with TF100 kit, and had zero color change. Im not sure how I could have messed that up! Again - Im questioning if its worth spending money on these floaters!

Do you have any previous years experience without them?

No - This is my first winter as the owner of this pool.

Why did you need to shock if the pool was clear upon opening?

I understood that if FC is zero you should shock. Is that not correct? Through the shocking process I have had 1 ppm CC so I hopefully will not have to shcok for long. I have yet to do a proper OCLT, as I do not get up with the sun. Last night I brought to 24ppm a couple hours before sunset, and measured 15ppm this AM after sunrise. With 50ppm CYA, Im hoping I can correlate that 9ppm FC loss to CC (which was either 1 or 1.5 ppm this AM from a .5 to 1 last night). Do you think I should not be shocking only based on a clear pool? Im not necesarily shocking properly at this point either - as Im only brining to shock ever 2 to 3 times per day. This weekend I will test every hour to ensure it never drops below my shock level of 20 ppm unitl I get a .5 ppm CC. Please let me know if Im going about this the right way!

Also, I started my shock process with:
PH: 7.2 - Should I have adjusted this before starting to shock? I was adviced to just start shocking in a different post.
CH: 260 - though I had a fading endpoint and will have to retest
TA: 160
CYA: 50 (though it took me a few tests before I felt confident in my test).

Thanks for the help!

 

[Richard320]

I'd chalk it up to Beginner's Luck.

If there was no algae in the water when you closed, it wouldn't take much chlorine to keep it out.

 

[jblizzle]

Finish the shocking process and then you know your good for the summer.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[rgkpool]

Here are some pictures to help:

After open:
[attachment=2:322k9x2q]photo 1.JPG[/attachment:322k9x2q]

After 1 night of DE Filter on - No chlorine added yet.
[attachment=1:322k9x2q]photo 2.JPG[/attachment:322k9x2q]

This AM after having Shock levels for 24 hrs
[attachment=0:322k9x2q]photo 3.JPG[/attachment:322k9x2q]