Thanks for all the great info. I will review everything this weekend and see if I have any other questions. Sounds like chlorine it is. Now, I have to read the basics and figure out how it all works.
Alternative to chlorine, peroxide?
- Thread starter Cassidy336
- Start date
Ok, I finally got Round to reading the BBB stuff.
I do have a few questions - what is the best test kit? I saw Taylor TF-100 and Taylor k2006 mentioned.
We live in FL and are getting a heater so we should be able to swim year round. Is there anything I need to do differently since we won't ever be closing the pool?
We are going to do the UV light with the chlorine. According to the UV folks, we can have chlorine at about .5 which is supposed to be 50-90% lower than normal. But, someone here said using the BBB method you only have .1 free chlorine, and isn't that less? So will the UV help us use any less chlorine if we do BBB? And, if I can use less, how do I know how much less?
Are all these other chemicals - CYA specifically, very safe? I realize you guys have researched all this.
Lastly, we are leaving town for two weeks this summer. We have family who have pools and will check on the house, but not everyday. What do I do to keep things ok while I am gone?
Thanks!
I do have a few questions - what is the best test kit? I saw Taylor TF-100 and Taylor k2006 mentioned.
We live in FL and are getting a heater so we should be able to swim year round. Is there anything I need to do differently since we won't ever be closing the pool?
We are going to do the UV light with the chlorine. According to the UV folks, we can have chlorine at about .5 which is supposed to be 50-90% lower than normal. But, someone here said using the BBB method you only have .1 free chlorine, and isn't that less? So will the UV help us use any less chlorine if we do BBB? And, if I can use less, how do I know how much less?
Are all these other chemicals - CYA specifically, very safe? I realize you guys have researched all this.
Lastly, we are leaving town for two weeks this summer. We have family who have pools and will check on the house, but not everyday. What do I do to keep things ok while I am gone?
Thanks!
The TF-100 is not a "Taylor" kit although it uses Taylor reagents. It is put together and sold by the owner of this forum. Regardless of that fact, it really is the best value because you get more of the reagents you need, the customer service is great, and he offers an 18 month warranty.
I do not close either. You just continue to monitor the chemistry and adjust as needed. When the water is cold, the chlorine consumption is less, so you do not need to add as much to maintain the recommended levels.
If the pool is outside, you do not need the UV ... the sun offers it up for free. "They" will claim that you can get by with lower FC, while that might be true, why not just maintain slightly higher (although still WAY lower than public pools) FC and save money on the UV system? We see may reports of people who discover that the UV system stopped working and they have no idea for how long ... that is because it just is not needed. "They" are going to hit you with all kinds of marketing to try to make money off you ... we have no skin in the game. Your choice ... even if you buy the UV system, the levels we recommend will not really change for anything.
All the chemicals are perfectly safe in the levels you find in a well maintained pool (at the levels we recommend).
Ah vacations ... those can be a problem if you do not have someone coming over to add chlorine. If they are able to come every 2-3 days, then you should be able to have them just check the pH and FC and add some bleach/acid as required. Or to be even simpler, you will have an idea for how much FC your pool needs so you could just say "Add X# jugs of bleach every 2 days". Without helpers, the chlorine injection systems and SWG systems become the best path forward.
I do not close either. You just continue to monitor the chemistry and adjust as needed. When the water is cold, the chlorine consumption is less, so you do not need to add as much to maintain the recommended levels.
If the pool is outside, you do not need the UV ... the sun offers it up for free. "They" will claim that you can get by with lower FC, while that might be true, why not just maintain slightly higher (although still WAY lower than public pools) FC and save money on the UV system? We see may reports of people who discover that the UV system stopped working and they have no idea for how long ... that is because it just is not needed. "They" are going to hit you with all kinds of marketing to try to make money off you ... we have no skin in the game. Your choice ... even if you buy the UV system, the levels we recommend will not really change for anything.
All the chemicals are perfectly safe in the levels you find in a well maintained pool (at the levels we recommend).
Ah vacations ... those can be a problem if you do not have someone coming over to add chlorine. If they are able to come every 2-3 days, then you should be able to have them just check the pH and FC and add some bleach/acid as required. Or to be even simpler, you will have an idea for how much FC your pool needs so you could just say "Add X# jugs of bleach every 2 days". Without helpers, the chlorine injection systems and SWG systems become the best path forward.
Yes, the TF-100 or K-2006 are the only test kits we recommend. I know the UV light is unnecessary, and will not help much with chlorine consumption in an outdoor pool. Chem geek should be here soon with more details.
Again, we do not recommend UV for outdoor residential pools. It is just not needed and sometimes gives pool owners a false sense of security that their water is safe...when it might not be.Cassidy336 said:
Back to poolschool for youCassidy336 said:
As jbliz said, UV will not reduce the level of FC that we recommend here. You may be confused by the discussion of cya. Pools following our cya/FC recommendations will have far lower "active " or disinfecting chlorine level then what is typically in commercial pools, while not compromising the water safety. For example, a pool with 0 ppm cya and 0.1 ppm FC will have an "active chlorine" level of 0.05 ppm. That same pool at 50 ppm (our recommendation for cya level) and 5.5 ppm FC will have an "active chlorine" level will again be the same 0.05 ppm. Contrast that with a typical public pool that has no cya and maintains a FC level of 3 ppm (this is common), there the "active chlorine" level will be 1.0 ppm 
(20X what we recommend).All of this is in the "Deep end" post by chem geek, be careful it is awfully deep in there :-D : http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-water-chemistry-t628.html
Get multiple opinions before you make your decision, but here's mine....
If you use BBB correctly, you will understand the pool and you will get to know how it behaves. I spend 50% of my time traveling for work, and my wife takes care of the pool by pouring 48oz. of bleach in front of a return every other day. That's it. If every other day is too much while you're gone, longer stretches between doses are doable, but we can help you cross that bridge when we get to it.
Bottom line, you have to decide if you want to do the BBB route or if you want to do something else. You won't be able to do both. There are lots of pool pictures of lots of members who use it (my pool is here). It's cost effective and it's safe, otherwise we wouldn't let our spouses/kids/pets swim in our pools.
The reagents used in the test kits are exactly the same. TF-100 will be a better deal, because the kit has different sizes of different reagents, and you get more of the ones you should use more. Dollar for dollar, TF-100 is a better deal. Plus, the owners of the company are the owners of this site, and their customer service is beyond outstanding.Cassidy336 said:
I'll let someone else answer this one. I'm in the Chicago area, and I wish I could swim year round.Cassidy336 said:
For an outdoor pool, UV is ineffective. UV only sanitizes the water running through the chamber. The bulk pool water is still dirty, and the UV system can't work fast enough to clean the whole thing. It's a waste of money.Cassidy336 said:
Yes. So safe, that one never needs to bother with the Crud at the pool store and aforementioned magic water cleaner systems. Personally, I would rather use bleach, cyanuric acid, baking soda, borax, and calcium chloride from the hardware/grocery store than buy the fancy pool chemicals from the pool store. I know what's in the bags and boxes I buy from the hardware store.Cassidy336 said:
Cassidy336 said:
If you use BBB correctly, you will understand the pool and you will get to know how it behaves. I spend 50% of my time traveling for work, and my wife takes care of the pool by pouring 48oz. of bleach in front of a return every other day. That's it. If every other day is too much while you're gone, longer stretches between doses are doable, but we can help you cross that bridge when we get to it.
Bottom line, you have to decide if you want to do the BBB route or if you want to do something else. You won't be able to do both. There are lots of pool pictures of lots of members who use it (my pool is here). It's cost effective and it's safe, otherwise we wouldn't let our spouses/kids/pets swim in our pools.
Chlorine not only disinfects, but also prevents algae growth in pools. Algae on pool surfaces doesn't circulate through the UV system so does not get killed. So their claim of only needing 0.5 ppm FC would not work to prevent algae growth unless the CYA level were no higher than around 7 ppm or so which is very low. So in practice you would need to be adding chlorine very frequently throughout the day. So what they are talking about would only work with a chlorine feed system and would not be very efficient as it would use a lot of chlorine.
When we talk about the effective active chlorine level being very low when using chlorine with CYA, the CYA helps protect chlorine breakdown from sunlight. So you use less chlorine than you otherwise would. The people selling you the UV system have no understanding of the FC/CYA relationship nor the proper use of chlorine in outdoor pools and are just trying to make money selling a UV system.
When we talk about the effective active chlorine level being very low when using chlorine with CYA, the CYA helps protect chlorine breakdown from sunlight. So you use less chlorine than you otherwise would. The people selling you the UV system have no understanding of the FC/CYA relationship nor the proper use of chlorine in outdoor pools and are just trying to make money selling a UV system.