New pool owner with schedule problems

[akool]

Hi everyone, we are first time pool owners. Getting a 15x26 oval above ground installed now. I've gone through all of the pool school and learned a ton! Already purchased the tf-100 test kit and chemicals.Our issue is our schedules, i am a firefighter and my wife a nurse and we have two small children.
I love the idea of using bleach but I'm gone 24-48 hours at a time and my wife is usually gone 12-14 hours at a time then comes home to 2 children. There is basically no way we can test and dose bleach every single day. Is it possible to do a few times a week and still maintain a trouble free pool or would pucks be a more logical solution for us? Thanks for all your help and looking forward to being part of the community

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
You can do a hybrid.
Use the pucks for a base level. Add chlorine several times a week to keep the FC at or above target for your CYA.
The CYA will be changing. So you need to measure it weekly.
Once your CYA reaches 60 ppm, drain half the pool volume and refill.
Start over.

Or, get a SaltWater Chlorine Generator.
I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

 

[akool]

Welcome to the forum!
You can do a hybrid.
Use the pucks for a base level. Add chlorine several times a week to keep the FC at or above target for your CYA.
The CYA will be changing. So you need to measure it weekly.
Once your CYA reaches 60 ppm, drain half the pool volume and refill.
Start over.

Or, get a SaltWater Chlorine Generator.
I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

Thank you.
How quickly should I expect CYA to reach 60 doing hybrid?

 

[mknauss]

You will want to start with 30 ppm CYA using granules.
Assuming 10000 gallons (you need to check that)
Each puck will add 5.5 ppm FC and 3.3 ppm CYA.
Assume you use two pucks a week? Not sure what the erosion rate will be.
If so, that is 6.6 ppm CYA a week. So it will take 4 1/2 weeks to reach 60 ppm CYA.

So somewhere between every 4-6 weeks you will need to drain 50% and refill.

 

[CeltiaK]

Another option is a salt water chlorine generator. Once it’s dialed in, you can often check levels only 1-2 times a week. And you only need liquid chlorine to start up.

 

[BMerrill]

SWG will be your saving grace.

 

[emac]

A few years ago I bought a system that slowly added bleach to the pool over time. I cant recall the name. You would pour in a bunch of bleach and you could adjust the flow. It was a real pain and never really worked, even though it had a lifetime warranty. Hoses and valves would leak, the bleach would crystallize and clog up stuff. I scrapped it after a couple of seasons. So dont try one of those!!