I was hoping to get some pat on the back-- as you can see from the article you guys sent me- with my CYA( I literally cut it in half from last year) being I should have a minimum of fc at 7 and a target of 10-12. I am at 13-16 to keep things sanitized- so I am really trying to get this right.
You’re learning & we are proud!
I just cannot wait to stop using so much bleach each time to keep the level at that 15-16 by adding daily or every other day. And I truly can't wait to just add the larger amount weekly(like I did with shock)- once everything is as close to the textbook as possible.
The deal is that the pool eats every single day - it was doing this before but you were starving it except for once a week. That’s not a good thing.
It is safe to swim with fc all the way up to slam level for your cya so you don’t have to micro dose each day so long as it never falls to minimum before the next dose. I don’t suggest only testing/dosing once a week that’s a recipe for a problem. The idea is that your testing makes you proactive before things get out of hand instead of only being reactive when the water looks bad & things have gone too far.
also, does anyone know how costly it would be to change to a saltwater pool initially? If doing this would save me all this work in the future ?- it may be worth it for me to clear my head so to speak.
You have an 11k gallon pool so we recommend at least a 25k gallon rated system. There are various factors that play into the cost of a system (rated lifespan, warranty, output etc) .
Here’s a good comparison chart.
www.discountsaltpool.com
The circupool models are a good value & several here have also been pleased with the pureline line of swg’s from inyopools. Hayward & pentair are premium choices as well.
A swg will feed your pool chlorine for you but you must still test your water regularly and make adjustments as needed.
As I said before, nothing is really set it & forget it if you want to have a healthy pool.
I agree with Kaylee, you said you want simple but you keep looking for extras to throw in/more work to do.
Dosing with liquid chlorine every 2 or 3 days to stay above minimum & keeping ph in the 7’s is pretty simple.