Bleach or Liquid Chlorine?

[Richardjoslin]

Moved from here.
Good morning.

I am a new to TFP so I have been reading as much as possible. I ordered the TF-100 kit Thursday so hopefully that will be here soon and I will get all my numbers and get my pool looking good. I have baking soda and borax and have liquid chlorine from Ocean State Job Lot. Two questions.

Is the liquid chlorine from Ocean State Job Lot or Walmart brand Concentrated Bleach OK to use or is there a brand I should use?
Also, for Cyanuric Acid, what product is best to buy and easiest to put in? I again see some Aquamate Stabilizer at Ocean State Job Lot (7 lbs $24.99), but not sue if that is a good brand.

Lastly, I read the below on how to add the Stabilizer to the pool and I am a little confused. What is the most effective way to add the stabilizer? I'd rather not have to wait an hour if I use the "swirling in a bucket" method?

Thanks so much.

How Should Solid Powdered Stabilizer be Added to Pool Water?​

When using the sock method with powdered stabilizer the stabilizer can instantly cake up to a brick-like consistency once wet. Left like that, it would probably take weeks to dissolve. If you give the "brick in a sock" a good a knead with your hands, it will turn the brick back into individual grains, that would then pretty quickly dissolve through the sock and get dispersed in the pool water.[6]

As an alternative, powdered stabilizer can be added to a pool using the "swirling water in bucket" method. When water is added to powdered stabilizer in the ratio of approximately 1:4 (CYA:water) you will get the ‘clumping’ but if it is allowed to sit for about an hour it becomes a slurry. When the slurry is mixed with a larger volume of water some clumping can re-occur but the clumps are smaller and much easier to break up.[7]

 

[splashpad]

I am a new to TFP so I have been reading as much as possible. I ordered the TF-100 kit Thursday so hopefully that will be here soon and I will get all my numbers and get my pool looking good. I have baking soda and borax and have liquid chlorine from Ocean State Job Lot. Two questions.

Excellent starting point! (Welcome to TFP)

Is the liquid chlorine from Ocean State Job Lot or Walmart brand Concentrated Bleach OK to use or is there a brand I should use?

As long as the ingredients are listed (nothing but the % (6, 10 or 12.5) of sodium hypochlorite & some water), that would be fine

Also, for Cyanuric Acid, what product is best to buy and easiest to put in? I again see some Aquamate Stabilizer at Ocean State Job Lot (7 lbs $24.99), but not sue if that is a good brand.

That should be fine, but you won't need that much

Lastly, I read the below on how to add the Stabilizer to the pool and I am a little confused. What is the most effective way to add the stabilizer? I'd rather not have to wait an hour if I use the "swirling in a bucket" method?

Definitely add the stabilizer to a sock that is floated in the pool (how we do it) or hung on a pole in front of the return. Squeeze it every so often to disburse it into the water, it doesn't take very long.
Any extra after measuring out what you need, should be stored in a dry location.
CYA (stabilizer) only gets added after a large water exchange or sometimes upon opening. Except for very rare circumstances, CYA stays in the water until the water is drained.

 

[Richardjoslin]

Excellent starting point! (Welcome to TFP)


As long as the ingredients are listed (nothing but the % (6, 10 or 12.5) of sodium hypochlorite & some water), that would be fine


That should be fine, but you won't need that much


Definitely add the stabilizer to a sock that is floated in the pool (how we do it) or hung on a pole in front of the return. Squeeze it every so often to disburse it into the water, it doesn't take very long.
Any extra after measuring out what you need, should be stored in a dry location.
CYA (stabilizer) only gets added after a large water exchange or sometimes upon opening. Except for very rare circumstances, CYA stays in the water until the water is drained.

Thanks for your help. I’ll see what the TF-100 says about CYA. If I put CYA in a sock, it will float in the pool and not sink? And you’re talking about just a regular tube sock right?

Thanks again.

 

[splashpad]

Thanks for your help. I’ll see what the TF-100 says about CYA. If I put CYA in a sock, it will float in the pool and not sink? And you’re talking about just a regular tube sock right?

Thanks again.

You must provide the flotation. We use "abandoned" kiddie tub float ring toys We've used tube socks, pantyhose and the like. Anything that will hold the CYA granules, but still let you squeeze to disburse.

Further info:
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
FC/CYA Levels

 

[mknauss]

If I put CYA in a sock, it will float in the pool and not sink? And you’re talking about just a regular tube sock right?

CYA - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Richardjoslin]

You must provide the flotation. We use "abandoned" kiddie tub float ring toys We've used tube socks, pantyhose and the like. Anything that will hold the CYA granules, but still let you squeeze to disburse.

Further info:
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
FC/CYA Levels

Thank you.

 

[MITBeta]

OSJL is a great place to buy pool products.

 

[Mdragger88]

Thanks for your help. I’ll see what the TF-100 says about CYA. If I put CYA in a sock, it will float in the pool and not sink? And you’re talking about just a regular tube sock right?

Thanks again.

 

[Deb04]

I again see some Aquamate Stabilizer at Ocean State Job Lot (7 lbs $24.99), but not sue if that is a good brand.

I recommend against the Aquamate Stabilizer at Ocean State. My experience is that it’s not a very high % of CYA. My results imply that it is about 40% CYA. If you’ve already bought it, it won’t hurt to use it, but you may have to put in about twice as much as you could of a different brand. You should test before you rely on that though because it’s been about 10 years since I’ve tried it. Maybe they fixed it.

The liquid chlorine at Ocean State is great. I buy Stabilizer at WalMart Or Amazon.