Recommended levels for pool with lots of leaves falling in it?

Mar 23, 2015
18
Plano, TX
My pool has 3 trees that hang over it, and as a result lots of leaves fall in. Does this increase my FC demand due to all of the organic matter? If so, should I aim for slightly higher FC levels, or just stick with the normal levels?
 
The key is to never let the FC level fall below the minimum for your CYA. Up to you to determine how high you need to shoot for each day ... you might need a little higher, but I would not think much.
 
Your minimum FC level remains the same no matter how many trees are dropping debris in. The amount of bleach needed will vary with the organic load. You'll have to discover by trial-and-error just what the demand is for your pool. If you read 3 and your minimum is 5, and you add enough bleach to get to 5 and the next day you're at 1, you need to target your minimum (5) plus your loss (4) and raise FC to 9 each day. Or whatever your particular numbers are. That depends entirely on your CYA level and your daily losses. Also remember that once people start swimming, your chlorine demand will go up.

The sooner the leaves are removed, the less chlorine is used up trying to oxidize them. But also remember that leaves caught in the skimmer and strainer baskets are still in your pool water, even if they're not on the floor of the pool, so empty them often.
 
Your minimum FC level remains the same no matter how many trees are dropping debris in. The amount of bleach needed will vary with the organic load. You'll have to discover by trial-and-error just what the demand is for your pool. If you read 3 and your minimum is 5, and you add enough bleach to get to 5 and the next day you're at 1, you need to target your minimum (5) plus your loss (4) and raise FC to 9 each day. Or whatever your particular numbers are. That depends entirely on your CYA level and your daily losses. Also remember that once people start swimming, your chlorine demand will go up.

The sooner the leaves are removed, the less chlorine is used up trying to oxidize them. But also remember that leaves caught in the skimmer and strainer baskets are still in your pool water, even if they're not on the floor of the pool, so empty them often.
This is a very important point about skimmer baskets. Not emphasized enough. Especially during SLAM
 
Ward, my pool is in the same kind of setting with all manner of debris. While it is truly trial and error, and also depends on sun and temp, I generally find that I'll use about 2 ppm daily - your mileage may vary. I generally bump up my "min." In my mind due to the debris, eg. Min 4.5 becomes 5 in my mind, so by dosing to 7 each day with a generous min. I never even cloud up.

The beauty of the test kit though, is you'll never have to wonder. Keep a little log on a notepad or your phone and you'll pretty quickly see trends and establish a baseline, assuming your cya is stable and you aren't adding any. Which in turn is the beauty of using liquid chlorine/bleach over products with cya...your target min. also remains stable and therefore more predictable. These two lynchpins of TFP are what make TFP methods trouble-free ;)
 
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.