Hi all, I am having some problems with the Chlorine levels in my pool as it always seems to be too low. I have a ~30K gallon pool and I thought I could shock it and then add pucks to keep the level high, but a few days after putting 4 gallons of liquid chlorine and 6 pucks, the levels are low again. Is it normal for levels to drop so quickly (it has been 90 degrees here in NY)? I've been reading the Pool School and various forums here and from what I gather using household bleach or pool store chlorine is the way to go but how much could I expect to put it in? It seems fairly cost prohibitve if I need to put in 4 gallon every few days to keep the levels up. Am I missing something? The pools looks pretty clear, could I have an algae problem and now know it? Thanks for any/all input.
Newbie attempting to go puckless
- Thread starter pisstol27
- Start date
Welcome to tfp, pisstol27 
I like you title, it is the right move. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/types_chlorine_pool
Whichever source of chlorine your put into your pool, it may cost similar. A pool as large as yours will require somewhere in the neighborhood of about a gallon of 12.5% liquid chlorine a day...depending on amount of sun, swimmers, organic debris, swimmers, etc. If you stay with pucks, It would take about 2.25 pucks per day plus the required borax to raise the ph.
Another option to consider is a Saltwater Chlorine Generator (swg) to get chlorine in your pool.
Whatever you decide, make sure you have an appropriate test kit (see link in my sig).
I like you title, it is the right move. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/types_chlorine_pool
Whichever source of chlorine your put into your pool, it may cost similar. A pool as large as yours will require somewhere in the neighborhood of about a gallon of 12.5% liquid chlorine a day...depending on amount of sun, swimmers, organic debris, swimmers, etc. If you stay with pucks, It would take about 2.25 pucks per day plus the required borax to raise the ph.
Another option to consider is a Saltwater Chlorine Generator (swg) to get chlorine in your pool.
Whatever you decide, make sure you have an appropriate test kit (see link in my sig).
Have you bothered to test your water? How do you known how much liquid bleach to put in? If so, the results might be suggestive of the problem- Do you have contaminates in there "eating up" all the chlorine? How's your CYA level? That helps you "keep" chlorine in the water and not burn it off in the sun.
Yippee (an Oyster Bay girl)
Yippee (an Oyster Bay girl)
I've had it tested at the local pool store and they have said all levels are good except for the chlorine levels. I'm a new pool owner having moved into a house with a pool, so I'm playing catch-up on how best to test and care for the pool on my own as it isn't possible for me to the get to the store during normal business hours since I don't get home until after 8:00.
pisstol27 said:
You *seriously* need to get yourself a good test kit. Around TFP folks want to see a complete run down of all the numbers, cause many water issues are dependent on being balanced. Pool store tests are notoriously inaccurate and of course what is in *your* best interest (clean water, cost savings, ease of care) isn't always what pool stores consider being in *their* best interest (sell products, minimize overhead perhaps by low paid staff and low quality water tests). Your own testing is far more reliable because you have a vested interest in getting it right! I like the TF-100 test kit along with an added salt test kit, all available from Duraleigh who posts on this site. I've tweaked my test kit box to work quickly for me so testing is fast and easy.
Its all easy and folks here are all happy to help!
Let's see... your pool is about twice the size of mine... I'll use about a quart of 12.5% per day. So you would use half a gallon per day. But if it's 6% bleach, you'd need double that, so a gallon a day. But we don't know what the CYA level is, so losses to sunlight could be higher. To test CYA, you need a proper test kit. How many is a few days? 4 gallons in 3 days doesn't sound terribly excessive. 4 in 4 sounds right.
The only way to know if you've got organics consuming your FC is by running an overnight loss test. And for that you need a proper test kit.
Head on over to Pool School and get edumacated.
You'll soon find in your reading that accurate test results are essential. And for that you need a proper test kit. Skip the article in P and just go to http://tftestkits.net and order a TF100. You might be clearing some algae, so spring for the XL option.
The only way to know if you've got organics consuming your FC is by running an overnight loss test. And for that you need a proper test kit.
Head on over to Pool School and get edumacated.
You'll soon find in your reading that accurate test results are essential. And for that you need a proper test kit. Skip the article in P and just go to http://tftestkits.net and order a TF100. You might be clearing some algae, so spring for the XL option.