Trying to get a handle on chemistry costs

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Osmigo

Well-known member
Jan 21, 2024
52
Comfort, Texas
Pool Size
8600
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Our pool should be up and "swimmable" in about a month, and I'm just trying to get a rough mental picture of our chemical costs for maintaining it after it's stabilized, just the routine, week to week maintenance. I know chlorine is pretty cheap, $4.67 a gallon at Walmart for 10% stuff. Just 11 oz. will raise the FC in this pool by 1. But I don't know about the other chemicals - how much we'll use, etc. Muriatic acid, Borax, maybe calcium increasers/reducers.

One main point: we have a well, but the pool will be filled with delivered city drinking water. Wells are going dry all over the place out here (south central Texas), and there's also the possibility of wearing out the pump. So I need to really watch the CYA because if it gets too high and I have to drain half the pool, I'll have to refill it with more delivered water ($$$). Once I get the CYA stabilized (probably by using pucks in the chlorinator at first), I'll go to liquid chlorine and watch the CYA like a hawk.

Our pool is a pretty plain rectangle with steps in one corner, nothing fancy. Just 8600 gallons. But I do want to keep the pool clear and clean 12 months a year. The data is in my signature. Can anybody give me an idea of how to budget for chemical maintenance, once it gets past startup and settles down? What will be our "big" chemical cost, and how can we minimize it? We're on fixed incomes (pension/SS) so this is a pretty important issue.

Many thanks, and I'm excited about joining the pool community!
 
Osmigo said:
Our pool should be up and "swimmable" in about a month, and I'm just trying to get a rough mental picture of our chemical costs for maintaining it after it's stabilized, just the routine, week to week maintenance. I know chlorine is pretty cheap, $4.67 a gallon at Walmart for 10% stuff. Just 11 oz. will raise the FC in this pool by 1. But I don't know about the other chemicals - how much we'll use, etc. Muriatic acid, Borax, maybe calcium increasers/reducers.

One main point: we have a well, but the pool will be filled with delivered city drinking water. Wells are going dry all over the place out here (south central Texas), and there's also the possibility of wearing out the pump. So I need to really watch the CYA because if it gets too high and I have to drain half the pool, I'll have to refill it with more delivered water ($$$). Once I get the CYA stabilized (probably by using pucks in the chlorinator at first), I'll go to liquid chlorine and watch the CYA like a hawk.

Our pool is a pretty plain rectangle with steps in one corner, nothing fancy. Just 8600 gallons. But I do want to keep the pool clear and clean 12 months a year. The data is in my signature. Can anybody give me an idea of how to budget for chemical maintenance, once it gets past startup and settles down? What will be our "big" chemical cost, and how can we minimize it? We're on fixed incomes (pension/SS) so this is a pretty important issue.

Many thanks, and I'm excited about joining the pool community!
Click to expand...
That’s just going to depend on your particular pool. We all live in different regions, different types of pools and different weather, water from the tap for fill water. A vinyl pool has a few different water requirements then a gunnite pool for example. Do you have water features or not? I know you are going to have the water brought in by a truck and are on a well, but you will have to top it off. Each pool is different. If you follow the advise here it will be as cheap as possible. In my own case, since I have a salt water generator and never any problems, I am only spending about $60.00- 100.00 a year. I only usually ever need one or two bags of CYA, around 5-6 bags of salt and one or two gallons of chlorine a year. My big expense will occur for me when my salt cell dies. Basically we can’t really say, we can just help you make your life easier and hopefully not run into any problems along the way.
 
Your biggest chemical cost will be chlorine. In the summer expect to lose 3-5FC per day. Winter in TX, I don't have a sense, maybe @HermanTX will know. You will probably AVERAGE 2ppm loss per day.
You'll get 12 FC from a gallon, 2ppm x 365 = 730FC annually. 730FC / 12FC/gallon = 60 Gallons, so $300-400 a year in Chlorine...

You might need more or less acid. That really depends on the TA of your initial and refill water. Until you get some tests on the truck water and the fill water from your house, hard to tell. Usually a gallon of Muriatic is about $10-$15. A new plaster pool will use a lot of acid for 6-18 months after being plastered.

You likely will never need Borax, pH typically rises on its own.

Calcium is not necessary in a Fiberglass pool, unless you have a grouted tile line.

Stabilizer might be $25-40 a year.
 
Last edited:
PoolStored beat me to the guess, and we were in the same guestimate range.
If you have the funds, consider getting a SWCG. The upfront is high, but the ongoing expense, as noted, is very low - even factoring that you will have to buy a new cell several years down the road.
Your pump has adjustable speeds, so you can run it 24/7 at a very low setting, and save a ton on the electric bill - which will help justify that SWCG, too! And the SWCG will keep things steady, so you avoid (maybe ever) having to spend a lot extra to fight a pool that went green on you. I fought green for almost 20 years. For two now, with the SWCG, have never thought about needing to.
 
Osmigo said:
Our pool should be up and "swimmable" in about a month, and I'm just trying to get a rough mental picture of our chemical costs for maintaining it after it's stabilized, just the routine, week to week maintenance. I know chlorine is pretty cheap, $4.67 a gallon at Walmart for 10% stuff. Just 11 oz. will raise the FC in this pool by 1. But I don't know about the other chemicals - how much we'll use, etc. Muriatic acid, Borax, maybe calcium increasers/reducers.

One main point: we have a well, but the pool will be filled with delivered city drinking water. Wells are going dry all over the place out here (south central Texas), and there's also the possibility of wearing out the pump. So I need to really watch the CYA because if it gets too high and I have to drain half the pool, I'll have to refill it with more delivered water ($$$). Once I get the CYA stabilized (probably by using pucks in the chlorinator at first), I'll go to liquid chlorine and watch the CYA like a hawk.

Our pool is a pretty plain rectangle with steps in one corner, nothing fancy. Just 8600 gallons. But I do want to keep the pool clear and clean 12 months a year. The data is in my signature. Can anybody give me an idea of how to budget for chemical maintenance, once it gets past startup and settles down? What will be our "big" chemical cost, and how can we minimize it? We're on fixed incomes (pension/SS) so this is a pretty important issue.

Many thanks, and I'm excited about joining the pool community!
Click to expand...
The beauty of the PoolMath app. I went back in time using the summary feature.
My pool is nearly 6000 gallons larger than yours so maybe just use 60-70% of the numbers below.
When I was using solely liquid chlorine I used 110 gallons in that year plus another 6 gallons of muriatic acid.
The only other chemicals were calcium chloride (76 lbs) and dry stabilizer (23lbs)
Hope this helps. Obviously the biggest demand is from May through October for LC. Tend to put more stabilizer and CH in during the early spring - especially if it is very rainy.

I moved to a saltwater chlorine generator (SWCG) because of the constant need to purchase LC and also had to organize help when we were traveling. A SWCG is basically purchasing your LC in advance for the next 4-7 years. It is an upfront cost and only will need MA, CH and CYA going forward.
There are some great SWCGs out there that many members have used from CircuPool and other companies. Please look at the following

Compare and Review Saltwater Chlorine Generator Prices and Features | DSP

www.discountsaltpool.com www.discountsaltpool.com
 
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How can I lose 3-5 FC per day, if normal level is 1-3???? Is it going to go "negative" or something? I thought CYA stabilized chlorine loss. If that's the case, it won't even go through a single full day without needing adjustment, unless I'm misunderstanding something.

Can't go the SWG route, too much $$$.

No features. This is a pretty basic, rectangular pool, just for my wife and I. 11' x 23', 3.5' to 5.5' deep, with steps in one corner. That's it. No kids, no family pool weekends, no pool parties.

This is near San Antonio, TX. Mostly clear, warm weather.

Fill water will be delivered; I don't know its chemistry, but the guy delivering it has a lot of experience with pools. The water itself will be clean, city drinking water.
 

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Osmigo said:
How can I lose 3-5 FC per day, if normal level is 1-3???? Is it going to go "negative" or something?
Click to expand...
:laughblue: EXACTLY.

Ignore any source that doesn't understand basic water chemistry, or math.

It's your choice if they ignorantly have you run an impossible level, or it's nefarious for all they have to sell you to fix your swamp. Maybe both. I dunno.
Osmigo said:
If that's the case, it won't even go through a single full day without needing adjustment, unless I'm misunderstanding something.
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Many double dose once they get a grip on things and skip the inbetween day. But yeah. The sun comes up everyday, even if its behind the clouds. It will burn off up to 5ppm each day in the peak season.

You will have among the highest daily loss, and among the longest season, being in TX.
 
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Osmigo said:
How can I lose 3-5 FC per day, if normal level is 1-3???? Is it going to go "negative" or something? I thought CYA stabilized chlorine loss. If that's the case, it won't even go through a single full day without needing adjustment, unless I'm misunderstanding something.
Click to expand...
You chlorinate based on your CYA level. Read here...Link-->FC/CYA Levels

My CYA is 80, really helps protect FC loss. I keep my FC between 9-11.

You need to follow the startup guide for your pool for first 30 days.

Our recommendation is, get the CYA in the pool, use the tool above to get the target range for FC. Let's say, you choose 50 CYA. Your target range is 6-8. Test, dose higher than range, so that when you test the next day you are in range.
 
PoolStored said:
My CYA is 80, really helps protect FC loss. I keep my FC between 9-11
Click to expand...

So you completely ignore the FC level of 1 to 3ppm, as is promulgated just about everywhere on the Planet Earth except here.....? Instead of trying to keep it "exactly right," you deliberately get it up high, then after it declines to 1 or 2, you raise it back up again....
 
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Osmigo said:
But with a FC level of 10-11, isn't there a risk of eye/skin irritation, etc.?
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Nope, because it's balanced with the CYA.

Most visitors to our pool comment on how they don't notice the chlorine smell or get eye irritation...I run my FC way higher too, usually 8-11 with 80CYA
 
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Osmigo said:
But with a FC level of 10-11, isn't there a risk of eye/skin irritation, etc.?
Click to expand...
I'm just east of you, in between San Antonio and New Braunfels. I keep my CYA around 70 at this time of year with my FC levels at 10-12 #TeamRunHot, the sun and the heat down here will burn through your CL quick, when you add swimmers to that it can drop below the mins quick.
My neighbors are constantly dealing with algae and they use tabs, my guess is their cya is off the charts from all those tabs and they must really love having astronomical water bills from all the draining and refilling every time it gets swampy. I have a SWG and its the best way to manage a pool down here.
Everyone who swims in my pool compliments my low CL since they don't have irritation or high CL smell when they get out of the water.
 
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