Managing Chlorine and CYA Advise

[mj58595]

My situation is a little unique.. In the past I have tried to maintain chlorine levels with tabs and shock - obviously this always ends up with high CYA levels and inevitably algae blooms and such. I just recently had to do a partial drain and refill to get CYA to a manageable level, although it is still a little high at 60'ish. Started switching over to using bleach as the main way to control chlorine levels which is fine, but in the summer we typically go out of town just about every weekend for 2-3 days at a time. Obviously this creates its own set of problems when solely using liquid chlorine. I know that some recommend using tabs for special occasions like when going out of town, but when we are doing this every weekend I am just ending up using tabs all of the time....it's a never ending cycle! Any advice?

I see others in my neighborhood using pool companies to maintain their pools and they only come once a week. How are they doing it?

 

[dfwnoob]

I see others in my neighborhood using pool companies to maintain their pools and they only come once a week. How are they doing it?

Poorly.

A lot of pool maintenance services just brush the thing and dump new tabs in the feeder. Your best bet here really is a SWCG. Once it's dialed in, being gone for 2-3 days would be a total non-issue.

Welcome to TFP by the way!

 

[jeffchap]

You could bring your FC up to SLAM level just prior to leaving town and you'd be okay for 2-3 days. SLAM level for 60 ppm of CYA is 24. Most people only lose 2-3 ppm of FC per day.

 

[mj58595]

You could bring your FC up to SLAM level just prior to leaving town and you'd be okay for 2-3 days. SLAM level for 60 ppm of CYA is 24. Most people only lose 2-3 ppm of FC per day.

So basically just add about 3 gallons of bleach when we leave (16k gallon). Do you really only lose 2-3 ppm of FC per day - even at high FC levels? That might be a dumb question but it seems like in the past that anytime I bring the FC up real high it also tends to come down rather quickly, albeit most times i am bringing it up to those levels it is for some other reason like using an algaecide.

 

[AK-]

Do you really only lose 2-3 ppm of FC per day - even at high FC levels?

The rule of thumb is the higher the FC the faster you going to lose chlorine but there are many factors that will influence how much chlorine you lose per day. How much sunlight your pool get, water temp, use of cover and presence of organic matter are the biggest modifiers. A cover (solar/winter , but not mesh) help help to preserve chlorine, so do lower water temps. The more sunlight or organic matter the faster chlorine gets consumed. There are just too many variables. A pool fully exposed to sunlight on a hot climate and a CYA like yours is unlikely to lose more than 5ppm a day.

The bottom line is 3 days away should not be an issue if you FC is at slam level… just make sure to test and add chlorine as soon as possible when you get back.

 

[mj58595]

Thanks all!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

If you can cover the pool it will go a long way in holding chlorine on those weekends away.

Maddie