Expensive to keep using liquid Chlorine

[IronMike]

I took the advice from the forum to drain 80% of my pool water last July because of my high CYA (>100). Since then, I have been using the Taylor’s K-2006C test kit, liquid Chlorine and Muriatic Acid to balance the water chemistry and have stopped using Chlorine tablets. In this summer, I found myself adding one gallon of liquid Chlorine (~$5) almost every other day. Even that, my FC is still not at the ideal level. Below are my test results last Saturday and my level of FC throughout the week.

7/17 (tested a couple hours after 1gal of liquid Chlorine added)
FC 8
PH 8
TA 175
CH 575
CYA 35

7/18 - FC 2

7/19 - (added 1gal of liquid Chlorine)

7/20 - FC 2.5

7/21 - (added 1gal of liquid Chlorine)

7/22 - FC 2.5

7/23 - (added 1gal of liquid Chlorine)

Since I’m a new pool owner 2.5 years ago, this is my first year stop using Chlorine tablet, it has been quite expensive buying liquid Chlorine (almost $10 for 2 gallons) this summer. I’m just wondering if this is what everyone in the forum goes through or if there is something I can do better (and CHEAPER) to raise and maintain my FC level. Since I still have a brand new bucket of 50 lbs Chlorine tablet and my CYA has dropped from 60 to now 35, I’m wondering if it’s a good idea to use liquid Chlorine and tablet interchangeably based on my CYA level or even both at the same time during summer. I have also been using Muriatic Acid trying to lower my PH to 7.4-7.6. The PH of my tap water is 8, and I also need to fill my pool with tap water twice a week because of evaporation.

I live in California, and temperature has been mid 90s throughout the summer. My pool is also under direct sunlight with filter running 11 hours every day (8am-7pm). I also recently cleaned my filter cartridges a few weeks ago. Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks!

Michael

 

[mknauss]

You should keep your CYA near 50. Use some of the trichlor to raise your CYA. Monitor pH as the trichlor is acidic.

 

[rgoldberg01]

I’m also in Brentwood and get my liquid chlorine at Walmart. It’s about $3.50 a gallon for 10%. it always seems to be within a few weeks of production. Ace on Brentwood Blvd. has 12.5% but you have to buy 4 gallons at a time and there is a deposit for the jugs. I also don’t like how they have it sitting out back in the sun all day. I have used the ace chlorine a few times and I don’t think it is worth it. The pool math doesn’t add up and I always use more then what it says to get the results is want. I dont have to do that with the chlorine from Walmart.
My cya is also around 30 and I am using more chlorine then what I would like this time of year. I’m using far less then you are but I have a solar cover I use daily which helps a lot with evaporation and chemical loss.
I have been looking for 5 or 10 lbs bucket of chlorine pucks to boost my cya levels but haven’t been able to find any.

 

[nick.simpson19]

I buy my liquid chlorine from Walmart at $3.50ish a gallon if they don’t have it I’ll buy regular bleach.

I tend to use liquid chlorine all year accept Israel’s crazy hot summer months then I start using the pucks because I can’t keep
On top of it.

I just monitor my CYA if it starts to raise again I’ll switch over to liquid chlorine to let it drop back down with rainfall etc (in Alabama so we have no shortage of rain)

My advice would be to use pucks monitor CYA if it starts getting to 60/70 then switch back to liquid chlorine.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

IronMike, how big in gallons is your pool? Obviously bigger pools require more chemicals. Have you considered a SWG?

 

[wireform]

Ironmike
I would suggest you do a OCLT to be sure the FC can do its job. It may have been too low too often and maybe early in an algae bloom just not rearing its ugly head yet. If the all clear come through raise the CYA and keep at target for the given CYA.

 

[HermanTX]

So you have learned the trade off of using pucks that increase your CYA over time and then only way to resolve it is to drain and refill. If water is not expensive then that works for some people.

The next step is to move to liquid chlorine which many of us have done to stop the increase in CYA but you have to lug the LC jugs around. I have not compared price of LC to pucks, but I do know that pucks have increased in price recently (at least in the south). You can expect in the summer to use more LC because of the UV burnoff of it plus you are only at 30-40 CYA and if you move up to 50 CYA then that burnoff may decline a little.

The next step would be to go a SWCG that generates it own chlorine. The big $$ impact is the cost upfront - somewhere between $1000 and $2500 depending on the model and size of SWCG you get. But then no more need for daily additions of LC or pucks. However note that a SWCG will turn off somewhere around 50F degrees (varies by model type) so you will need to use LC or pucks during that time if that situation applies to you. You will need to continue to add MC to keep pH in range.

Hope this provide some insight. It is something we all have gone through especially if you have only done pucks in the past.