New pool owner

[drmnjms]

No problems with the pool, water clear, pool store says Chem levels look good. I have a come of questions..... I have an auto chlorinator, it takes 3 inch tablets, how many should I put in at a time, how long should I run my pump, what does regular maintenance involve?

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[Philo]

Be prepared to for the pros to tell you 0 tablets.

 

[drmnjms]

I'm going swg next year or two, so just looking for what I need o sustain myself through maybe 2 summers.

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[Philo]

I speculate that you may be advised to use only Liquid Chlorine as the sanitizer. The problem with the tabs is the stabilizer in them accumulates to the point that any amount of chlorine will be ineffective. Result ...a cloudy green pool. The upside is that if your current stabilizer level is low enough, you could make it the 2 years. Regardless, you'll need the recommended test kit to see what's what.

 

[drmnjms]

Even with weekly shock treatments?

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[faby3003]

No problems with the pool, water clear, pool store says Chem levels look good. I have a come of questions..... I have an auto chlorinator, it takes 3 inch tablets, how many should I put in at a time, how long should I run my pump, what does regular maintenance involve?

Welcome to the forum! In order to help you, we need to have water test results from a reliable test kit (either the TF-100 or Taylor K2006C). Pool store test results are not to be trusted.

 

[Philo]

"Even with weekly shock treatments?"
Shocking should never be necessary when you get set up correctly.

 

[faby3003]

Even with weekly shock treatments?

I suggest you read https://www.troublefreepool.com/content/123-abc-of-pool-water-chemistry

If you properly maintain the free chlorine level in your pool you will never need to "shock" your pool. There are many members of this forum who have not "shocked" or SLAMed their pool in years and always have crystal clear water. Once you learn about pool water chemistry and get one of the recommended test kits taking care of your pool will be very easy.

how long should I run my pump, what does regular maintenance involve?

How long you run your pump will depend a lot of factors, but if your 1hp pump is a single speed, it will be between 4-12 hours per day. If you search the site for "pump run time" you will find many threads discussing this.

Once you have one of the recommended test kits, you will want to test your water every day for a couple of weeks while you learn about how to maintain your pool water's chemistry. After that, you will probably test every other day. Most forum members add liquid chlorine to their pool every day or every other day.

For other maintenance, you will generally brush the walls of your pool and vacuum the floor of your pool once per week. Many people have automatic pool cleaners to do this for them.

 

[ta2dwonderwoman]

and be prepared for the pool store to tell you that this is all poppycock and it is critical to shock weekly...they know not of what they speak...trust these folks and learn the tfp way, you will save time, money and frustration!

 

[jeffchap]

Lots and lots of money...

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[Sfpat]

Especially with weekly shock treatments as the "shock" also adds stabilizer - the more you shock the faster the stabilizer level rises. I switched to the TFP method (bleach) a year ago and have not "shocked" my pool since and have crystal clear water. This after 15 years of constantly fighting algae with tabs, shock, algecides, etc and lots of money. I now spend about $10/wk in bleach with the occasional gal of muratic acid.

 

[drmnjms]

Okay. I will do that. Thanx.

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[drmnjms]

So....just to clarify, I need to purchase the test kit, turn off the auto chlorinator, test the water and go from there?

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[faby3003]

Yes, that's right. I would add half a gallon a day of bleach until you get your test kit, or leave your chlorinator on until you get your test kit in order to maintain you FC level.


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[drmnjms]

Until I get the kit, how many tablets should I put in at one time?

 

[jeffchap]

None, until you have a test kit to accurately measure your CYA level. Most forms of solid chlorine add CYA, and without knowing your current level we don't want to add any more. Only use liquid chlorine, aka bleach, to raise your free chlorine (FC) level.

 

[drmnjms]

Any particular type of Muratic acid I need to use?

 

[triptyx]

31% Muriatic Acid - you can find it at most big box stores.

Be careful if going to Home Depot - they have "Pool Acid" which is only 15%, and then "Muriatic Acid" which is 31%. Choose the 31% stuff.

 

[drmnjms]

How long do I aerate the pool and how soon after I add the acid?

 

[triptyx]

Aerating the pool is done to raise the pH as part of the procedure for lowering your TA (total alkalinity).

For now, you're going to add acid to lower pH only to about 7.6 (no lower than 7.2). There is no need to aerate yet.