Is What I'm Doing OK?

[Pointyhead]

Now that I've got my pool clear and sparkly, the past two weeks have been a nightmare for me. I've had a schedule that hasn't allowed me to check my levels or add bleach for 2-3 days at a stretch. Either I've been away or it's monsoon-like showers. So, my FC will be down to 1, and I boost it back to 8, and by the 3 day, it's back in the 1 to 2 range. I boost it back to 8 and the cycle repeats itself. I don't have any algae growing, but yesterday was the first time I had a chance in a week to sweep and vac it. It's now a bit cloudy due to all the crud I stirred up. I even found a large juicy earthworm on the bottom!

This wild swing in clorine shouldn't have an adverse effect, right? Hopefully, I should be back to a normal schedule next week and can get some consistancy in my routine.

 

[coffeegoddss]

It's never a good idea to drop below your CYA's minumum FC level but sometimes it can't be helped, I guess. Try an OCLT and make sure you're not losing too much FC overnight. That'll let you know for sure if you have an algae problem lurking.

 

[Pointyhead]

It's never a good idea to drop below your CYA's minumum FC level but sometimes it can't be helped, I guess. Try an OCLT and make sure you're not losing too much FC overnight. That'll let you know for sure if you have an algae problem lurking.

Great idea. I'll try to do that tonight. Of course we have rain in the forcast....

 

[jblizzle]

Try the OCLT (boost your FC to shock level). Leave the pump on.

If you get in the situation again, you need to boost the FC high enough that it will not drop below the minimum FC for your CYA before you are back. What is your current CYA? A higher value will lower the losses due to the sun, but make the shock process more of a hassle if you develop a problem.

 

[Leebo]

Another cheap thought (swg sounds ideal for you) is a dose of algaecide. Add a dose of polyquat 60 as an insurance against algae. It won't promise you clear water....but will help a bit.

 

[Pointyhead]

I did an OCLT this morning and it was good. Although I didn't take it to a shock level, I did go to the top of my normal range per the recommendation of the pool calculator. It was 7 last night at 9 pm and 7 again this morning at 6:30. No CC.

My CYA is 60.

 

[anonapersona]

With all that rain, you may need to check your CYA level. Should it be a bit low you will then have the luxury of using trichlor tablets in an automatic feeder or a floater.

Just my experience, but I find that the tablets seem to dissolve extra slowly when I am also using bleach to keep the FC levels up as best I can when life is weird. I would calculate how many tablets your low CYA allows you to use in total, then load some portion of that total into a feeder or floater. Set it on low, maybe half of what a normal setting would be. Then try to maintain the pool with bleach same as before, testing every other day or third day and topping up the FC to what the 'calculated CYA' requires when all those tabs are dissolved.

That gives you a bit of room to breathe when life is hectic. You can't keep it up for too long for the CYA will get to your maximum eventually. Do pay attention to the TA levels before you start using trichlor, as it will drop TA by something near the amount it adds CYA. Depending on where TA is to begin with, that lowering of TA can be a good thing or a bad thing. You may even have to increase TA by 10 or 20 points if you begin at 60, 70, 80 TA. If the trichlor pushes the pool TA too low, pH is wild and can crash which damages equipment, swimmers will be affected also of course.

Note, this is not a method that most people should use. You have to pay attention to more of the interactions of the combined chemicals than if you just use bleach for FC. But, it can keep the pool more stable up until the point that you hit max CYA.

 

[Pointyhead]

Thanks! I may try that if I get more hectic situations going. I have an in-line feeder for the tablets so that would be easy to do.

I just got my TA up to 100 last week with 12 lbs of baking soda. It's now at 100. And my ph is right on at 7.5.

Last time I checked the CYA was last Thursday and it was at 55-60ish. But I should check it again. We've had a LOT of rain over the last few days. I had to drain some out Monday.

It just scares me that I the FC has been going from 1 to 7 and back to 1, over and over. I really want to keep it as consistant as I can, in spite of my schedule and the rain. I remember telling the wife that we will now have the rainiest season on record since we got the pool. I've even turned the sprinker sytem off for the past two weeks.

 

[anonapersona]

Let it set another few weeks or more before you bother testing CYA, the test is only accurate to 15+/- so you need to see a rather big swing in the result before you would want to act upon it. UI'll guess that until you have had some 15" - 20" (or some large fraction of the depth of your pool) of cumulative rain, it probably won't budge the numbers. Not days of rain, not weeks of rain, but months of rain makes a difference.

 

[Pointyhead]

I haven't been able to sweep and vac the pool as I should have this past week, and yesterday I noticed that I have algae again! Not a lot, but the water has lost it's sheen and there's pockets on the bottom and down the corners to the deep end. I grabbed the brush, and swept it since I didn't have time to do a complete vac before I had to leave. I pushed the FC back up to 18 which is my shock level. I hope I catch it in time as I have a company party at my house next Friday, and I need it sparkling again.

I had my R2D2 in the pool all week, but i guess it didn't cover every corner of the pool, and that was my downfall.

Which made me start thinking... Can I run the cleaner while I'm shocking the pool? I figure it can't hurt, and the only difference is I don' turn the main drain on when it's going about it's business. I just have to remember that it's there to augment my cleaning, not replace it.