Cya at 50, still losing 3-5ppm fc-water clear

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3kidsAndAPool

3kidsAndAPool

Well-known member
Apr 17, 2021
129
Kentucky
Pool Size
25500
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hey guys! I’m at a loss here and was hoping you all could help. I’ve been trying this LC method for 2 years now and I can’t seem to get it right. Last year, I kept my cya between 30-40 and went through gallons and gallons of LC weekly because it dropped so much during the day. This year I have upped my cya to 50 and still can’t seem to maintain my fc. This year, after adding enough stabilizer to get my cya to 30-40, I began using pucks in the chlorinator and then adding LC in the evening. That seemed to keep everything stable and I was only losing about 1.5-2 ppm a day in fc. A couple of days ago, when cya reached 50, I stopped using pucks and I’m only using LC and it’s back to losing 3-5ppm a day in fc. Last night it was at 8ppm and this morning I’ve already lost 2 ppm. I am in direct sunlight all day long, until 6:30-7pm. Water is crystal clear. So my question is, should I up my cya to 60??? I’m scared to do so in case I get algae and have to slam, but I just don’t know what else to do. I don’t want to give up on this method!! After testing this morning, I’ve added enough LC to bring it back up to 8ppm and then put 2 pucks in the chlorinator 🤦🏻‍♀️
 
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I loose 3-4 ppm FC day with 55 CYA. Pool gets full sun. Using LC and thinking about a SWG.. because if I skip a day (or forget) my FC getting to 1-2.
 
Have you performed an OCLT just to make sure you don't have any invisible algae growing somewhere? It wouldn't hurt to be sure.

That said, 5 ppm per day is towards the upper end of what we normally see, but it's not unreasonable.

How old are those 3 kids and how often are they in the pool? Any possibility of "accidents"?

You are a good candidate for a saltwater chlorine generator. Have you considered it?
 
jeffchap said:
Have you performed an OCLT just to make sure you don't have any invisible algae growing somewhere? It wouldn't hurt to be sure.

That said, 5 ppm per day is towards the upper end of what we normally see, but it's not unreasonable.

How old are those 3 kids and how often are they in the pool? Any possibility of "accidents"?

You are a good candidate for a saltwater chlorine generator. Have you considered it?
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I have not performed an OCLT yet, just because the water is so clear, even at night by the light. That will be my next step once the pucks dissolve in a day or two.
My kids are 16, 19 and 24. While an “accident” is unlikely, I’m sure it is possible. I just wouldn’t think it would be enough to make that kind of difference.
My husband and I have discussed getting a SWG next season for sure!
 
zrtman said:
I loose 3-4 ppm FC day with 55 CYA. Pool gets full sun. Using LC and thinking about a SWG.. because if I skip a day (or forget) my FC getting to 1-2.
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We are most definitely considering a SWG for next season! I’m trying to figure out the basics before adding more things to take care of and figure out 😂 This is only our 3rd season as pool owners so I’m still a newbie!
 
A SWG will likely save you money in the long run. Take whatever you spend per year on chlorine and multiply that by 6 (you should get at least 6 years out of one, maybe more). Don't forget that chlorine isn't likely to get any cheaper.

The upfront cost for an SWG would be in the neighborhood of $2000. About half of that would be one time costs (power center, electrical installation, 20 bags of salt). Beyond that, every 6 or 7 years you might have to replace the cell. That's about $900 right now.

Besides adding and measuring salt, there's really nothing to it beyond what you're already doing today. And it's so nice to go on vacation for a couple of weeks and know that you'll come home to the pool looking just like it did when you left.
 
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jeffchap said:
A SWG will likely save you money in the long run. Take whatever you spend per year on chlorine and multiply that by 6 (you should get at least 6 years out of one, maybe more). Don't forget that chlorine isn't likely to get any cheaper.

The upfront cost for an SWG would be in the neighborhood of $2000. About half of that would be one time costs (power center, electrical installation, 20 bags of salt). Beyond that, every 6 or 7 years you might have to replace the cell. That's about $900 right now.

Besides adding and measuring salt, there's really nothing to it beyond what you're already doing today. And it's so nice to go on vacation for a couple of weeks and know that you'll come home to the pool looking just like it did when you left.
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It is something we have talked about doing since last season. I’m getting to where I can’t fully enjoy the pool because I’m so worried about the fc dropping below minimum and getting algae. So I’m out testing every 2-3 hours. The same thing happened last year as well. It seemed as though all i did last season was test fc and SLAM. It seems like no matter what I do, this dang pool won’t hold fc very well.
 
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Just run at the high end of the range for your CYA. Your target is 6-8. Run it at 9-10. You won’t notice a thing. At 10, if you lose 5, you are still above min of 4. I run mine 2 over max recommended range. Will take most of the worry away.
 
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PoolStored said:
Just run at the high end of the range for your CYA. Your target is 6-8. Run it at 9-10. You won’t notice a thing. At 10, if you lose 5, you are still above min of 4. I run mine 2 over max recommended range. Will take most of the worry away.
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+1 for going 1 or 2 ppm over high range. May target is 7-9, but I raise to 11 each night. Even if I lose 5 I’m still above minimum. And, algae doesn’t stand a chance.
 
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PoolStored said:
Just run at the high end of the range for your CYA. Your target is 6-8. Run it at 9-10. You won’t notice a thing. At 10, if you lose 5, you are still above min of 4. I run mine 2 over max recommended range. Will take most of the worry away.
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I will definitely give that a try and see how it goes!!
 
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FWIW. In AZ. My cya is 50 and I loose 0ppm overnight but 6ppm during the day. Seems my pool use to have a salt cell. Will post a thread to get help to see if I can get it going again. Also gonna up my cya to about 65, by use of pucks first as I’m going on vacation for a week soon otherwise I’ll add stabilizer when I get back to get it moving quicker. I do have a big full bucket of pucks so may just use them till the cya does come up. and see if that daytime ppm loss goes down.
 
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lucasaltic said:
@3kidsAndAPool i was curious if you ever did that OCLT or came to any other resolutions with your chlorine loss issue?
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I did do the OCLT test a few days ago and there was no loss! BUT, just brought it up to SLAM level bc I noticed it was slightly cloudy tonight by the light 😕 It does seem that I average a loss of 3.5-4.5ppm a day though. Yesterday it was cloudy outside all day and I only lost about 1.5ppm during the day, but tonight the water was cloudy..Seems like I can’t win some days 🤷🏻‍♀️
 
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