a few unrelated questions

[twd000]

as the temperature rises, I have been chasing my chlorine level the last month. Every time I think I am using enough, I get down to 1-2 ppm and need to bump up the bleach input. Yesterday I overcompensated a bit and got to 7 ppm (I seem to be burning 2 ppm/day so it won't last long). This high level caused my pH to go up from 7.8 to 8.0. Should I correct it with muriatic acid, or just let the pH level fall naturally with the chlorine level?

My local newspaper had an article about alternative sanitizing systems. One they mentioned was UV rays, which sounds like it reduced the required chlorine level to kill pathogens. Does this really work?

Another thing they mentioned was "crab shells" (SeaKlear Mighty Pods) for water clarity. Does this product work? My water is cloudy (still getting filtration and chemicals dialed in; first year pool-owner). I plan to try borates later in the year once I get the basic chemistry under control.

 

[elwood58]

UV is a nice to have versus have to have. It cannot replace chlorine, as no sanitation can occur when the pump is not running. Most affordable UV systems could not even keep up with pump running 7X24.

Mighty Pods are a way to pick your pocket without getting arrested. They are a great idea for small spa use, but a focus on basic pool chemical levels make them a waste of money for pools.

 

[257WbyMag]

UV is provided by sunlight free of charge. This is why we typically don't recommend UV systems for the average home swimming pool which is typically much cleaner and safer to swim in than any public or community pool. The exception to this would be if your pool was an indoor pool. If this is case, then a UV system would be quite beneficial.

 

[Isaac-1]

UV even in a indoor pool actually increases your chlorine consumption, but what it does do is help break down CC

 

[twd000]

good points on the UV

as far as the fine dust on the bottom, and general cloudiness, if those don't go away after a few more weeks of normal BBB chemistry, what should my next step be? Borates? I was hoping the chitosan stuff would clump up some of the fine dust and allow it to get sucked into the filter

 

[Isaac-1]

Can you post a full set of test result so we can get a better idea of what may be going on.

 

[Richard320]

as the temperature rises, I have been chasing my chlorine level the last month. Every time I think I am using enough, I get down to 1-2 ppm and need to bump up the bleach input. Yesterday I overcompensated a bit and got to 7 ppm (I seem to be burning 2 ppm/day so it won't last long). This high level caused my pH to go up from 7.8 to 8.0. Should I correct it with muriatic acid, or just let the pH level fall naturally with the chlorine level?

My local newspaper had an article about alternative sanitizing systems. One they mentioned was UV rays, which sounds like it reduced the required chlorine level to kill pathogens. Does this really work?

Another thing they mentioned was "crab shells" (SeaKlear Mighty Pods) for water clarity. Does this product work? My water is cloudy (still getting filtration and chemicals dialed in; first year pool-owner). I plan to try borates later in the year once I get the basic chemistry under control.

It sounds like maybe something is trying to get started in your pool. If you have the FAS-DPD test, you could measure the CC and that would probably tell us what's going on. The other option is the overnight loss test.

 

[twd000]

well a couple days ago I had 1 ppm of CC so I have kept FC around 5-7 since then. Currently have the CC down to 0 (sample does not turn pink after 5 drops of R-0003).

I am still consuming ~3ppm/day FC. It is 103 F here and the pool gets full desert sun for 14 hrs/day. This is my first year of pool ownership and I am surprised at the FC consumption rate. Is this to be expected? Also do most people have to add bleach every day, or can they time it to only add every other day? I'm assuming the plot of chlorine consumption would look something like a sawtooth wave, where it drops off throughout the day and steadies out at night. So I guess it would make sense to add bleach at dusk rather than at dawn?

temp 86F
pH 7.7
FC 5
CC 0
alkalinity 110
CH 240
CYA 55

thinking about bumping up my CYA even further with a single trichlor puck in a floater so I can go 2 days between bleach applications

 

[Richard320]

3 ppm/day sounds reasonable for your location and temperature and sun. An overnight loss test will tell you for sure if something's in there.

I am outside a lot smoking, so it's no big deal for me to go slop some bleach in while I'm out there.

 

[twd000]

Are we talking Marlboros or pulled pork? I've got a weber smokey mountain right next to my pool. I'm out there at least once a day doing something.

 

[Chateau Fuss]

I'm new to this as well, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

I'm in Vegas and my pool also gets full sun all day. I use ~2ppm/day of FC, not more than 1ppm overnight. I've been adding a half gallon of 10% liquid chlorine every day based on my 35K gallon pool.

 

[Smykowski]

With that kind of sun and heat, you may benefit from raising the cya a bit. HOWEVER, you have to be extremely diligent about your min FC level, because clearing a problem would be next to impossible if you were to ever need to shock.