Balancing Pool Myself

[ejs873]

I just decided to cancel my pool service since I noticed I was paying $90 a month for about $10 worth of chemicals. I am starting this month to balance myself and was curious if my plan is correct. I watched them last summer and it seems like I need 3 things. Chlorine tabs, shock and muriatic acid. In the late fall and winter they only seem to be adding chlorine tabs so I assume when the temps go up i will need to shock once a week and add acid when the PH is high. Am i missing anything? Other than my local pool store, Leslie's, is there a better place to buy chemicals? Their prices seem ok. Thanks!

 

[JJ_Tex]

First of all welcome. You got the first step right in firing the pool guy, now we need to work on the next steps. This site is all about testing your own pool water and adding only what you need vs what the pool store is trying to sell you.

You kinda got the rest of it right. Here in NTX you will usually just have to add chlorine and muratic acid. We steer people clear from chlorine tabs and shock, since they have other chemicals that can build up and cause you problems (CYA is added and renders your chlorine useless at higher levels, Calcium causes scale). Liquid chlorine is king around here, unless you are willing to go salt. Luckily we have great sources for liquid chlorine around here including Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot. The Kroger by me even has a small pool aisle with liquid chlorine.

If you are interested, I would suggest the following:
1. Read up on the Pool School, start with the ABC's of pool chemistry: ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry - Trouble Free Pool
2. Order a quality test kit. Info on those is also in pool school, with the TF100 as the most recommended kit.
3. Ask away on any questions you may have. We are here to help you and do not make a dime off of you. You cant say that for the pool store.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP!

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ejs873]

First of all welcome. You got the first step right in firing the pool guy, now we need to work on the next steps. This site is all about testing your own pool water and adding only what you need vs what the pool store is trying to sell you.

You kinda got the rest of it right. Here in NTX you will usually just have to add chlorine and muratic acid. We steer people clear from chlorine tabs and shock, since they have other chemicals that can build up and cause you problems (CYA is added and renders your chlorine useless at higher levels, Calcium causes scale). Liquid chlorine is king around here, unless you are willing to go salt. Luckily we have great sources for liquid chlorine around here including Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot. The Kroger by me even has a small pool aisle with liquid chlorine.

If you are interested, I would suggest the following:
1. Read up on the Pool School, start with the ABC's of pool chemistry: ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry - Trouble Free Pool
2. Order a quality test kit. Info on those is also in pool school, with the TF100 as the most recommended kit.
3. Ask away on any questions you may have. We are here to help you and do not make a dime off of you. You cant say that for the pool store.

Thanks for the info! My system has an in-line chlorinator for tablets. I noticed there are "multi" tabs which I think is what you are referring to having extra chemicals (alge, stabilizer, etc). If I find the 3 inch tabs that are just chlorine would that be best? Then I would need to add "stabilizer" occasionally?

Our water here (Ellis county) is very alkaline, which is why we need so much acid, but when I watched the pool guy last summer, they usually did 1 gallon of acid, some shock and a tab or 2 for the chlorniator. Seems simple enough, and not $100 a month! Thanks again!

 

[Texas Splash]

"873", stick around with us for a while and you will open your eyes to pool water management. For example:
- Tabs are full of stabilizer. They are best for "short-term" use because they increase your CYA (stabilizer) level VERY quickly. Before you know it, you cannot maintain the proper FC/CYA balance as noted on the FC/CYA Levels to prevent algae. Don't rely on tabs of any kind. Begin looking for a good place that sells liquid chlorine for daily use such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. You can also use regular bleach as long as it's pain//regular.
- Tabs are acidic which also can lower the TA and pH. But the best product to use is muriatic acid. We always use the PoolMath APP to add the proper amount.
- While your local TA may be elevated, it may not be the most important factor to adjust. A full set of water test results from a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C kit is the best place to start.

Once you get the basics down here at TFP, water management is quite easy and much cheaper. Take some time to review the link above and all the sub-articles, and of course make sure to get a test kit ASAP. Then you can post a full set of accurate results for us and we'll be glad to help coach you through it.

 

[JJ_Tex]

If I find the 3 inch tabs that are just chlorine would that be best?

If you could invent tabs that were just chlorine, you would be a multi-millionaire. Until someone figures that out, you are stuck with tabs and powders that add CYA (dichlor and trichlor are the active ingredients in those products) or they add calcium (products contain Cal-hypo). As you pointed out there are some products that have even more added ingredients like algaecides and other cool sounding marketing things like "blue", 3 in 1, 4 in 1, etc.

As you read up in pool school, you will find that the pool guy is treating your pool in a manner than is easiest for him since he can only be there once a week, with little regard to long term effects on the pool.

 

[ejs873]

So with the liquid chlorine, during the summer are you adding it daily to keep your numbers right? And how often do you have to add stabilizer then?

Over the past 2 months I would say, my levels have remained correct with hardly any chemicals. I think the pool guy used 2 or 3 tabs in the last 8-10 weeks. I keep the chlorinator on the lowest setting so the tabs last quite awhile. I noticed the tabs are gone this morning, but the levels are still good, with a quick test strip. I just ordered a better test kit so we will see if those are accurate.

 

[Texas Splash]

So with the liquid chlorine, during the summer are you adding it daily to keep your numbers right?

Correct, that's what non-salt pools (no SWG) have to do. That's what I did for about 7 years before getting my SWG last season. Not a big deal, but yeah, jug-dumping each day. As for the stabilizer, once it's in it basically stays in. That's what makes tabs so dangerous. CYA can degrade a little each month by about 3-5 ppm, but it's very low. Once I adjust my CYA in the spring, it usually holds most of the season unless I have to change water for some reason. Even when I have to add some, it's very easy to do.

As you move forward with taking ownership of your pool, the proper test kit will be critical. You may think your numbers are good, but you would be surprised when tested with one of the kits noted above.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I just ordered a better test kit so we will see if those are accurate.

Make sure you ordered one of the recommended kits: TF-100, Taylor K-2006 or K-2006C. With few exceptions, these are the only kits that will perform the proper tests.

 

[ejs873]

Make sure you ordered one of the recommended kits: TF-100, Taylor K-2006 or K-2006C. With few exceptions, these are the only kits that will perform the proper tests.

I assume that is because they have the CYA test? After reading quite a few things on this forum, I am confused and slightly concerned that the pool service I have been using never appeared to test the CYA. They use the 3 inch tabs, shock and acid, and apparently added additional conditioner in the spring. Hopefully when I test the CYA its not off the charts. The pool is just about 9 months old and we have never had any water issues, but still concerning.

 

[JJ_Tex]

The buildup of CYA doesnt happen overnight, but it does build up as you have seen over 9 months.

At one point it will build up and generally goes like this:
- One day you notice some algae and get a pool store sample, and they sell you $100+ worth of stuff
- That stuff knocks back down the algae for a while, then it turns green again and back to the pool store.... repeat this cycle several times and hundreds/thousands of $ later...
- They tell you you have too high of CYA, old water, chlorine lock, etc and need to drain half your pool and your CYA gets back in line and repeats all over.

We like to avoid all of this by having you test your own and only adding chlorine. When you get a little further along, there are some instances where you can use pucks (I have some in my pool now since my CYA is a bit low low and I'm trying to build it up before summer), but for now pucks are evil and liquid chlorine is the way to go.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Make sure you ordered one of the recommended kits: TF-100, Taylor K-2006 or K-2006C. With few exceptions, these are the only kits that will perform the proper tests.

I assume that is because they have the CYA test?

Yes, in addition to accurate FAS-DPD chlorine and calcium hardness tests.

 

[ejs873]

Sounds good. So liquid chlorine and separate conditioner as needed. Muriatic acid for high PH, which we definitely have here. Is there a shock you use that doesn't add CYA, or do you just increase the liquid chlorine in the summer? It seems like the pool guy had to add shock almost every week last summer.

 

[mknauss]

It seems like the pool guy had to add shock almost every week last summer.

 

[ejs873]

Thanks everyone for the info. The pool guy is officially gone and my test kit is ordered. I am planning on using liquid chlorine. Is there a good guide for amounts to add? Along with stabilizer?

Thanks again!

 

[JJ_Tex]

Great news. There is a pool math app that many of us use and it even links to your profile. It will tell you your target levels and what amount to add.

For example, for an 11k pool if you want to add 3 FC, you would need to add 42 oz of 10% bleach/liquid chlorine.

I would pick up some liquid chlorine and hold off on anything else until you get your test kit. My assumption is that your CYA is already high and you might even have to drain some water to get to the right level.

Post your first test results on here and we can guide you. Normal summer maintenance should be testing for chlorine daily and likely adding chlorine daily. You will also have to use acid as your pH will drift up. My pool only needs acid weekly at most, but I know others have to add it every few days. Those should be the only regular chemicals you need.

 

[ejs873]

Awesome thanks! Would granular chlorine be better since I have high alkaline water in my area? I've read that liquid can be hard on the finish also. I will post results as soon as I get my kit!

 

[JJ_Tex]

Granular is no different than the pucks, they either have calcium or CYA added to make them solid. Liquid chlorine is what you want until you can measure your pool's calcium and CYA levels.

No need to worry about liquid chlorine being "hard on the finish", that sounds like pool store advice or old wives tales. The chlorine is the same as what you get in pucks/powder, just without the other additives to make it solid. Heck I would argue that its better for your finish since the liquid mixes with the water very quickly, powders can sink the the bottom and sit on your surface for a while until they dissolve.

 

[ejs873]

Got my test kit, now to try and make sense of all these numbers! The CYA test seems to be subjective, waiting for the black dot to disappear on the bottom of the test tube. I noticed this can change depending on the light in the room, the angle you look at it, etc. However, I did 2 tests, 1 diluted and I think i came up with about 160. The free chlorine was 9.4 and the combined chlorine was 0.4.

9.4 seems really high to me. There is no odor of chlorine at all and we have never had red eyes or burning. Any thoughts? Is 160 CYA high enough to need to drain the pool some? I really would like to avoid that but if i start getting algae then i will have no choice.

 

[ejs873]

Update. I also ordered some 7 way test strips to compare with the liquid kits. The strip says the CYA is 100 today. I let the hose run in the pool for about an hour last night just to see if that did anything but i doubt it lowered the CYA that much. I think i just need to do the liquid CYA test again in the sunlight, rather than inside, so the dot is more visible.