I am also a newbie, and my pool 20x38 uses the tablets. I just opened it 2 days ago, took my water in to be tested and one of the items they sold was a new bucket of tablets, but everything I read here says tablets are bad. ???
Use of chlorine tabs/pucks
- Thread starter Jtwitt
- Start date
Welcome to the forum. The pucks "can" be bad. They raise your CYA level to where you can't maintain enough chlorine to overcome any algae problems you may develop. Please consider one of the two "drop based" test kits we recommend in Pool School.
Welcome!
Tablets are great if you need chlorine AND CYA AND battle with high TA and pH rise. If you don't need more CYA, then they're a terrible idea. Likewise, how much convenience did you gain if now you're messing around with borax and baking soda trying to counteract the pucks? If what I just wrote is so much gibberish, check out Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Might as well take a look at all the articles here except the SWG one. Pool School - Pool Chemistry
Lots of us use pucks when we're leaving town for a few days or the CYA has dropped a little. The good news for you is that they'll keep for years as long as you close up the bucket good and tight.
Keep on reading here. It shouldn't take long for you to find threads where someone else has been pool-stored far worse than you. Eventually, I hope you come over to our way of thinking and get your own proper test kit and stay out of the store except for obscure pieces of hardware or toys.
Hi, welcome to TFP! Its not so much that tablets are bad, but overindulging in tablet use can lead to an over-stabilized pool which requires draining and refilling to correct. It is important that you monitor the stabilizer level if you use any form of stabilized chlorine such as trichlor or dichlor. For most pools you will want to keep that level between 30-50ppm. We recommend the use of an FAS/DPD test kit such as a Taylor K2006 or a TF100 to test the water on a regular basis. For more information on pool chemistry read ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry.
If you haven't broken the seal and they'll return them, yes. If they offer store credit, buy some stabiliser (CYA) with it
Some pools seem to lose all CYA during the winter, maybe due to lack of maintenance, not sure, but the pucks are good to have around if you are out of town and/or need CYA. I would just keep them.
FYI--lack of maintenance has zero to do with CYA loss over winter in some pools. Our thinking is there is some bacteria that converts this to ammonia. 100 bucks worth of pucks is a LOT to keep on hand for just occassional summer use-------not that they'll go bad if you keep them dry. Return them if you have more pressing needs for that 100.
Tablets/ pucks vs chlorine
Everything I read here is against using the tablets and everything just uses straight liquid chlorine. Is this best? If so, how much should I use daily? Also, since I am new I took my water in to get tested and here is what they have me/ I got: 3 applications of balance pak 100 for low alkalinity (0), 1 application of lo n' ski for high ph (7), and finally 5 bags of burn out 35 foe low free chlorin3 (0.4). Insight?
Everything I read here is against using the tablets and everything just uses straight liquid chlorine. Is this best? If so, how much should I use daily? Also, since I am new I took my water in to get tested and here is what they have me/ I got: 3 applications of balance pak 100 for low alkalinity (0), 1 application of lo n' ski for high ph (7), and finally 5 bags of burn out 35 foe low free chlorin3 (0.4). Insight?
I thought that lack of maintenance may be a factor in losing CYA in winter because of this post, warning it is technical
https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/8498-Degradation-of-Cyanuric-Acid-(CYA)
https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/8498-Degradation-of-Cyanuric-Acid-(CYA)
I do know that all my CYA disappeared this winter, and so did my coworker's, and he has a salt water system. So maybe TX is hard on CYA in the winter.
Wow, you got pool stored! If you haven't opened all those things you can try to return them and get your money back and follow TFP advice.
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