As a fairly new pool owner, I have been reading this forum for the past couple of years and I have certainly learned a lot from all the great posts and information, but in all honesty, I am getting great results with my pool even though I am not following the BBB method. Here is my situation and my thoughts...
We purchased the house a few years ago and the 20x40 gunite pool, built in the mid 70s, was previously opened/closed and maintained every 2 weeks by a pool company hired by the previous owners. Last year, the pool plaster was removed and a Pebbletec Fina surface was installed as well as all new equipment (heater, Quad DE filter, Pump, etc.). Though the season was a short one due to all the work that was done, the water was the best I have ever seen it. The previous filter was a sand filter and while the water was always clear and bright, it was never as nice as it is now. The only chlorination method ever used with this pool has been through the use of a Hayward chlorinator with 3" pucks. I now do the closing and opening myself.
While I would love to get one of those Stenner pumps and 15 gal container systems to feed liquid chlorine into the pool, I have to say that the pucks have been working fine since we purchased the house 3 years ago. My CYA levels seem to range from the low 40s at the beginning of the season into the mid 60s by the end of the season. If it ever climbs to high, I'll drain a bit and refill.
I also use the Lamotte ColorQ Pro 7 kit instead of the Taylor kit and my readings are repeatable and in-line with the pool store readings whenever I bring a sample in. I'm color blind, so I don't think the Taylor kit would be great for me. With the new DE filter and my readings typically FCL/TCL = 4, PH mid 7s, ALK 80-90, CH 250ish my water looks to be perfect all season long. I do add acid as needed to keep the PH in line and other chemicals as needed for alkalinity and hardness (very rarely), but the pool is sparkling...never seen it better. I'm also extremely particular about keeping the pool clean through skimming (3 times a day) and brushing weekly, and also use skimmer socks (paint filters from Home Depot) and I vacuum regularly to prevent any staining from organics sitting on the bottom.
Although the pool looks awesome, I feel like I'm breaking all the rules using a non-standard testing kit, and pucks instead of bleach. So my question to you all is, would changing to a Stenner pump system, liquid chlorine and a Taylor kit really improve my results at all?
We purchased the house a few years ago and the 20x40 gunite pool, built in the mid 70s, was previously opened/closed and maintained every 2 weeks by a pool company hired by the previous owners. Last year, the pool plaster was removed and a Pebbletec Fina surface was installed as well as all new equipment (heater, Quad DE filter, Pump, etc.). Though the season was a short one due to all the work that was done, the water was the best I have ever seen it. The previous filter was a sand filter and while the water was always clear and bright, it was never as nice as it is now. The only chlorination method ever used with this pool has been through the use of a Hayward chlorinator with 3" pucks. I now do the closing and opening myself.
While I would love to get one of those Stenner pumps and 15 gal container systems to feed liquid chlorine into the pool, I have to say that the pucks have been working fine since we purchased the house 3 years ago. My CYA levels seem to range from the low 40s at the beginning of the season into the mid 60s by the end of the season. If it ever climbs to high, I'll drain a bit and refill.
I also use the Lamotte ColorQ Pro 7 kit instead of the Taylor kit and my readings are repeatable and in-line with the pool store readings whenever I bring a sample in. I'm color blind, so I don't think the Taylor kit would be great for me. With the new DE filter and my readings typically FCL/TCL = 4, PH mid 7s, ALK 80-90, CH 250ish my water looks to be perfect all season long. I do add acid as needed to keep the PH in line and other chemicals as needed for alkalinity and hardness (very rarely), but the pool is sparkling...never seen it better. I'm also extremely particular about keeping the pool clean through skimming (3 times a day) and brushing weekly, and also use skimmer socks (paint filters from Home Depot) and I vacuum regularly to prevent any staining from organics sitting on the bottom.
Although the pool looks awesome, I feel like I'm breaking all the rules using a non-standard testing kit, and pucks instead of bleach. So my question to you all is, would changing to a Stenner pump system, liquid chlorine and a Taylor kit really improve my results at all?
:grrrr:
