Leaving Pool for Vacation, 6 days.

[ppietr22]

Hello there! New member here and I just completed the SLAM process last week.

Leaving my pool for 6 days for a vacation, and am wondering if this is the proper strategy to keep FC up while I am away:

*Put back trichlor pucks/floater back into pool (removed them as my CYA is at 50)
*Raise FC to shock level of 24ppm night before leaving with liquid chlorine.

My current pool chems with the Taylor 2006 kit are:

pH: 7.2
FC: 7
TA: 70
CYA: 50

Thoughts?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

What type of pool?

Please create your signature with details of your pool and equipment.

 

[ppietr22]

Its a 15k Gallon Pebble Tec Pool with Cartridge filters.

Passing OCLT and CC is .5 or less

 

[Newdude]

Hey P !!
What has your daily FC loss been lately ?

Slam of 20 FC probably won’t make it 6 days. Do you have a friend or neighbor who can be taught to test FC (seriously you could teach a monkey to do it in 2 minutes) and add back to SLaM mid trip ? It’s 2021 and you could FaceTime them to ‘be there’ with them.

Putting the pucks back in would raise your CYA closer to 60 (which would round up to 60) and might make you need to drain 15% or so to put it back to 50.

 

[ppietr22]

Thanks Newdude. I guess I could involve my neighbor, however don't really want to bother him.

Im losing about 1ppm or less FC overnight currently.

 

[ajw22]

He is in Dallas. CYA of 60 will degrade back to 50 in a month or two with his high water temp.

I am more concerned with the acid in the tabs taking his pH and TA too low when starting at 7.2. If he doesn't have a heater then not a big problem for a week.

Don't overlaod the floater with tabs for a week.

 

[Newdude]

Thanks Newdude. I guess I could involve my neighbor, however don't really want to bother him

A 12 pack for 10 minutes of his time will be good for both of you.

And again, you can literally be there with pool math open to walk him through it.

Im losing about 1ppm or less FC overnight currently

If it was dark the whole time you’d lose next to nothing with healthy water. It’s the daytime that eats the FC.

 

[ppietr22]

No heater as that broke in the TX February cold spell.

Should I up the pH proactively then to say 7.8 to counteract the pucks lowering pH?

How many pucks would you recommend so as to not overload it? 2?

 

[ajw22]

Should I up the pH proactively then to say 7.8 to counteract the pucks lowering pH?

No. Without a heater it is not a big deal if your pH drops a bit in a week.

How many pucks would you recommend so as to not overload it? 2?

Different brand pucks dissolve at different rates.

While I can tell you that an 8 oz trichlor puck will raise FC by 3.7 ppm, raise CYA by 2.2 and lower pH by 0.2. We don't know how quickly it will dissolve and get into your water.

Let's assume the sun consumes 3 ppm of FC a day and you start with 20 ppm of FC. For 6 days away you need about 18 ppm of FC. You have a 13 ppm reserve between 20 you start with and your 7 ppm target. So 2 or 3 8 oz tablets will cover the difference if they dissolve over the 6 days.

 

[Sunnydaze]

I found that my pool consumed more chlorine when levels were much higher. I left for 3 days and ran FC up to 20 before i left. My pool normally consumes around 3ppm per day. In those 3 days, it consumed 14ppm. About 4.5ppm per day. Once i was back and i began maintaining normal levels, the pool went back to consuming 3ppm. I believe i read chlorine loss is a percentage of your FC and higher levels mean more loss?

Based on what i learned from that 3 day trip, if i need to leave for a full week in the summer, I'd increase chlorine to 24 which is my SLAM level and add 2 pucks in a floater and hope for the best.

 

[Newdude]

I believe i read chlorine loss is a percentage of your FC and higher levels mean more loss?

Yes. Something to that effect. The lone reason against running hot.

Some folks see it as a waste of chlorine as some of the extra burning off is not helpful. Others see it as collateral damage for the safety net it provides.

 

[BoringDamo]

Thanks Newdude. I guess I could involve my neighbor, however don't really want to bother him.

Im losing about 1ppm or less FC overnight currently.

Can you get him to just pop over and pour a pre-measured amount?
I.e if you know you lose 3ppm per day, from a 20 start, get him to put 9ppm worth in after 3d. It might not be completely accurate but should keep you above minimum easily for the 6d then just rebalance when you are back.
“Hey neighbour, would you mind pouring this bottle of stuff into my pool on Monday. It will only take 5 mins tops and you’ll get a 6 pack in return”