I've got low CYA and a bucket o' pucks...do I use them or return them?

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queenofchlorine

queenofchlorine

Member
Feb 23, 2022
17
Phoenix, AZ
Pool Size
12700
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
My pool has been filled for less than three weeks and, before digging into the forums here, I had planned on sanitizing with tri-chlor tabs. My PB and the guy at the pool store said it's the easiest way to go and basically what everyone else does who manages their own pool. So I bought the biggest bucket they had and went on my way.

Well, I don't want CYA or calcium building up over time, so I'm going with liquid chlorine. Which I guess is just bleach right? My question for you guys is this...

My CYA is currently less than 30 (it's coming in at 24 when tested at Leslie's). I just shocked the pool at their recommendation and am waiting for the chlorine levels to come down (won't do that again). Since I have 35 lbs of tri-chlor tabs, should I just use them to bring the CYA up and then make the switch to bleach? Or should I return them and make the switch now? Maybe I use them until the CYA reaches 30, switch to liquid and keep the rest to use when we're on vacation?

Tested yesterday:
FC - 6
TC - 6
pH - 7.4
TA - 100
CH - 260
CYA - < 30
 
queenofchlorine said:
I'm going with liquid chlorine. Which I guess is just bleach right?
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As long as the bleach is regular/plain, not splashless/scented, and not Clorox brand, they are basically the same. Pool chlorine is just a stronger % than laundry bleach.

You can save the tabs. Make sure the container is sealed well and you can use them if you are away from home for a few days. As for the current CYA being low, I would add 10 ppm worth of granular stabilizer in a sock (sock-soaking method) to increase the CYA to at least 30 now rather than waiting. Re-test in a day or so to confirm. Tabs are also acidic and can pull the pH down a bit and your pH doesn't need to go any lower.

Welcome to TFP! :wave:
 
Your Highness, the pool store gets CYA particularly wrong so trust your own test and let us know what it says. :)

You can't read between the 10s like the brain thinks it can. The scale is logarithmic and halfway isn't a .5. So just use the 10s and call it when the dot isn't there at an instant glance. Don't stare or you'll see it either way.

Also, a 20 or under is questionablenat best with our feeble brains. If you aren't clearly at 30, add 10 like Pat suggested above and try again a few days later.
 
Texas Splash said:
You can save the tabs. Make sure the container is sealed well and you can use them if you are away from home for a few days.
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Do they go bad? I'm pretty sure there are 70 tabs in that bucket worth about $200. Is there a chance they would be less effective after being stored very long? My garage gets particularly hot in the summer...well over 100 F most days.
 
If stored cool and dry they last darn near forever. They'd also sell like hot cakes on FB marketplace / CL / offerup and get you most, if not all of your money back. They will be in short supply soon and folks will pay full price just to get them.
 
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queenofchlorine said:
Do they go bad?
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Not really. They should last years if the container is sealed well.

Do pucks go bad?

Do the chlorine pucks go bad like bleach loses its effectiveness after awhile? I was wondering how long my bucket of pucks is good for. I bought them before I discovered this forum and wondering if I should just give them away. I use them once in a blue moon for a boost if I will be out for a...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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I have a tub of tabs bought in late 2018. The tabs are individually sealed in plastic wrap, and the top of the tub is a screw top. Before I switched from liquid chlorine to SWCG, I would use them whenever CYA got low, as an easy way to get FC and CYA up at the same time. I still might. My water temp lately has been below the 52 degree minimum for the SWCG to come on, and the CYA has been in the 60-70 range (70 being the recommended minimum for my setup). I use a tab floater when I want to use them. That way it's easy to stop--compared to the built in "feeder".

My final point. Those tabs are over three years old, yet when I open one of the sealed bags, I'm blasted with chlorine smell. So you could keep them, and if not in individually sealed bags, you could get a package of ziplock sandwich bags and seal each tab inside the outer container, or you could put a few each in heavy ziplock freezer bags. In my case the outer container is in the garage, and there is absolutely never even a faint chlorine odor in the garage or in the immediate area of the tub, even when the doors have been closed over a weekend in the summer. Or if nervous about that you could keep the tub outside. It doesn't get very hot in Phoenix in summer, does it? :)
 
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Welcome to the forum!
Here in the desert, you will want to install a SaltWater Chlorine Generator very soon. You will very quickly tire of buying, hauling, and adding nearly a gallon of 10% liquid chlorine EVERY DAY from mid April to mid October.
 

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queenofchlorine said:
ah geez...what did I get myself into?!
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New username still available if you hurry

Screenshot_20220223-164829_Chrome.jpg

I could bore you to TEARS with how beneficial a SWG and how easy it makes everything. TEARS I tell ya !!!! But it's all too cliche'. So I challenge you to go try and take someone's away.

Protip. Never bring a knife to an SWG fight, cuz It's gonna be ugly.
 
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