Best Method to dispense Cholrine???? High TA and Ph too!

[cabanacarl]

I am struggling to keep my Chlorine levels over 1.0 ppm, and having difficulties with TA and Ph. I currently add triclor pucks via 2 floaters (usually 2 pucks per floater) and throw at least a gallon of shock in a week. Our pool catches sun all day long so I suspect this does not help me. Our water is crystal clear. :sunny:

Here are my other numbers
Ph 7.8
TA 200 - 220 (I check about every other day)
CYA 50

Here are my questions.
1. Sans SWG or Chlorinator, how do you add chlorine. i.e. floaters, skimmers, liquid, granular, etc.... (BTW, I am not a BBB person yet, wanted to get my first season in before I convert, and based on what I'm reading, I may do it sooner than initially planned)
2. I was told by the "pool store" to add stabilizer to the skimmer baskets to "help" make the chlorine last longer, is this true? What is stabilizer and how does it work, and how much should you add?
3. If I decided to adopt just the bleach of the BBB, will that be ok? or do I need to go all the way, borax, baking soda, etc...
4. What is the best way to get ph down, I have been using ph down (from Walmart) and it doesn't seem to work, and I feel like I may even be over using, ie calls for 2 lbs, I dump 1.2 the bottle ot 3.5 lbs.
5. How do I get my TA, in check? I have looked at pool school and am adding ph down (see above) and we have a spillover that we run 14-16 hours a day so I think the water is getting plenty of aereation. Suggestions?

Lets start here and I may ask some follow-ups. Thanks in advance, I feel as if I have read answers to these questions on previous threads and cannot find my answers. And yes I do have the testing kit from TF (Duraleigh), so I am coachable.

Thank you,

CC :bowdown:

 

[JasonLion]

1) Yes, there are lots of ways of adding chlorine. Bleach has lots of advantages, but the others can be used with appropriate cautions.

2) Stabilizer is CYA, and you already have a very reasonable CYA level. Adding more would just cause problems, particularly if you keep using tablets, which also contain CYA.

3) Sure, each of the Bs works on it's own as well as together.

4) Muriatic acid is the best way to lower PH. It is also less expensive than PH Reducer.

5) Lower the PH to 7.0, wait for it to go up again, repeat.

 

[duraleigh]

CC, (those are ominous intials as you'll learn soon :-D )

Do not consider BBB as a "switchover" but rather an understanding of what affects what in your pool, how to test for it and how to adjust it.

You need to read a little more up in Pool School (ABC's of pool water chemistry, etc.) as all your answers are contained there.

I will suggest you stop using pucks immediately. YOur CYA is high enough and further use will only make it higher. Secondly, the advice from the pool store is going to confuse you. Post after post on this forum concerns conflicting info from the pool store and the advice here.....you should probably choose one or the other.

Do not put in more stabilizer...it's CYA...you've got enough.

Reread some of the very basic pool school articles and your questions will all come in to focus.

 

[waste]

I am struggling to keep my Chlorine levels over 1.0 ppm, and having difficulties with TA and Ph. I currently add triclor pucks via 2 floaters (usually 2 pucks per floater) and throw at least a gallon of shock in a week. Our pool catches sun all day long so I suspect this does not help me. Our water is crystal clear. :sunny:

Here are my other numbers
Ph 7.8
TA 200 - 220 (I check about every other day)
CYA 50

Here are my questions.
1. Sans SWG or Chlorinator, how do you add chlorine. i.e. floaters, skimmers, liquid, granular, etc.... (BTW, I am not a BBB person yet, wanted to get my first season in before I convert, and based on what I'm reading, I may do it sooner than initially planned)

You can go BBB any time by simply switching from your 'other' chem source to the one that BBB recommends (ie, use bleach instead of the pucks in the floaters)- you can automate the bleach dosing with a Liquidator available from http://www.tftestkits.com.

2. I was told by the "pool store" to add stabilizer to the skimmer baskets to "help" make the chlorine last longer, is this true? What is stabilizer and how does it work, and how much should you add?

It's true that stabilizer (aka - cyanuric acid or cya) helps keep the UV rays from breaking down the chlorine in a pool, but it also slows down the chlorine's ability to do it's job of sanitizing the pool so you need to keep more chlorine in the water at all times please give Pool School a good read and many questions will be answered
3. If I decided to adopt just the bleach of the BBB, will that be ok? or do I need to go all the way, borax, baking soda, etc...

Do it at your comfort level - all it is is a less expensive way to get the same chemicals in the water 8)
4. What is the best way to get ph down, I have been using ph down (from Walmart) and it doesn't seem to work, and I feel like I may even be over using, ie calls for 2 lbs, I dump 1.2 the bottle ot 3.5 lbs.

Muriatic Acid (~31.45%) - again, see Pool School

5. How do I get my TA, in check? I have looked at pool school and am adding ph down (see above) and we have a spillover that we run 14-16 hours a day so I think the water is getting plenty of aereation. Suggestions?

Guess what? - the answer is found in Pool School here

Lets start here and I may ask some follow-ups. Thanks in advance, I feel as if I have read answers to these questions on previous threads and cannot find my answers. And yes I do have the testing kit from TF (Duraleigh), so I am coachable.

Thank you,

CC :bowdown:

Welcome to TFP!!! (If you haven't already figured it out READ POOL SCHOOL!!!