Pool Floater

[ConnieAR918]

Going on vacation for 2 weeks and no one to tend to my inground 15,000 gallon Chlorine pool. Will shock it the evening before we leave with Dichlor. We don't use Cal-Hypo. I have to shock every 9 days and I'm concerned about what an extra 5 days without doing so will do to my pool water. Will be running the pump 8 hours a day but won't be running the Polaris. Have an inline Chlorinator with Trichlor tablets that I'm always wary of since it tends to leak slightly but leave it at the lowest setting. I bought a floater last year with 1 separate individual Trichlor tablet just to have but never used before. Should I be using the floater while I'm away at a very low setting to ensure I return to good water and if so, should it be a Trichlor tablet that's used? Will it be too much chlorine at the beginning? Or should I set the chlorinator to a higher setting higher?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[Mdragger88]

Connie,
Assuming your cya level can stand the increase, We generally recommend loading up a floater with trichlor pucks & also raising free chlorine to slam level for your cya with liquid chlorine before you go on vacation. & if possible have someone come add some liquid chlorine at some point during your absence when skimmer baskets are checked.
See—> FC/CYA Levels
It is safe for swimmers, equipment & surfaces for the fc level to be anywhere between minimum and slam level for your cya.
What is your current cya level? I suspect it is quite high if you’re solely using trichlor for daily chlorination and prescribing to regular “shocks” with dichlor as they both add substantial amounts of cya to your water which doesn’t leave without exchanging water. For this reason we suggest reserving trichlor for vacations and using liquid chlorine or a saltwater chlorine generator for daily chlorination.
If the proper fc/cya ratio is maintained at all times you shouldn’t need scheduled “shocks”.
Have a look @
Pool Care Basics