Ok so my pool is just about to be finished. I have been doing alot of reading on cleaning, chemical balance etc. This may be a dumb question, but I keep seeing to use bleach instead of chlorine. Does this mean that I do not put any tablets into my inline chlorinator?
Using bleach
- Thread starter Dollarwr
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,939
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Regular bleach and liquid pool chlorine are the same thing - sodium hypochlorite. If you do use laundry bleach, make sure it's regular/plain. Never use anything that shows scented or splashless, and avoid the Clorox brand altogether. Tabs are okay for short-term use, but you have to be careful because they add more stabilizer (CYA) than other methods. Once CYA gets too high, you're stuck and have to change water. Accurate testing wit a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C is key. Stick to the link below for more info and let us know if you have other questions.
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Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!
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Welcome fellow Houstonian. @Dollarwr
You will find if you use chlorine pucks that your CYA will rise over time. This requires you to add more chlorine to keep your pool sanitized. Refer to the FC/CYA Levels and
Most pool builders just install the inline chlorinator that uses pucks because it is simple and less cost.
If you wish to follow the TFP methodology, I would highly recommend the switch to Liquid Chlorine (LC). In the Houston are there are 2 pool stores that supply LC - Leslie's and Pinch A Penny. PaP is the better deal but you have to purchase it in a 2.5 gal container whereas Leslie's is a box (qty 4 - 1 gal bottles). There is also a commercial dealer that sells to the public NAPCO in the Spring, TX area if that is nearby. They have the lowest cost but you have to purchase 5 gals at a time.
Also suggest you do your own testing and nor rely on pool store testing. They are inconsistent and can cause you to purchase a lot of chemicals you do not need. I only use 3 items to maintain my pool - liquid chlorine, muriatic acid, and calcium. I need to add calcium occasionally because my fill water is through a water softener, therefore all calcium is removed.
Test Kits Compared
I purchased the TF-100 kit as it provided the best value for a starter kit plus I like the CYA tester in that compared to the one in the Taylor K2006 kit.
Good Luck and feel free to ask questions to keep that new pool looking crystal clear.
Also read the following since you are just finishing up the build. Hopefully your PB has also provided you some start up guidelines.
Start Up New Plaster
Start-up New Plaster - Trouble Free Pool
You will find if you use chlorine pucks that your CYA will rise over time. This requires you to add more chlorine to keep your pool sanitized. Refer to the FC/CYA Levels and
Most pool builders just install the inline chlorinator that uses pucks because it is simple and less cost.
If you wish to follow the TFP methodology, I would highly recommend the switch to Liquid Chlorine (LC). In the Houston are there are 2 pool stores that supply LC - Leslie's and Pinch A Penny. PaP is the better deal but you have to purchase it in a 2.5 gal container whereas Leslie's is a box (qty 4 - 1 gal bottles). There is also a commercial dealer that sells to the public NAPCO in the Spring, TX area if that is nearby. They have the lowest cost but you have to purchase 5 gals at a time.
Also suggest you do your own testing and nor rely on pool store testing. They are inconsistent and can cause you to purchase a lot of chemicals you do not need. I only use 3 items to maintain my pool - liquid chlorine, muriatic acid, and calcium. I need to add calcium occasionally because my fill water is through a water softener, therefore all calcium is removed.
Test Kits Compared
I purchased the TF-100 kit as it provided the best value for a starter kit plus I like the CYA tester in that compared to the one in the Taylor K2006 kit.
Good Luck and feel free to ask questions to keep that new pool looking crystal clear.
Also read the following since you are just finishing up the build. Hopefully your PB has also provided you some start up guidelines.
Start Up New Plaster
Start-up New Plaster - Trouble Free Pool
Thank ya'll for the feed back! I am glad to see the people willing to help each other out on here. HermanTX I actually live in the spring area so I might have to go check out NAPCO. I plan on doing all my own testing I have read a whole book about testing pool chemistry along with countless YouTube videos and I have been listening to a good podcast on my hour drive to work everyday. I am sure I will have tons of questions though and looking forward to all the help this site will provide.
- Dec 13, 2020
- 763
- Pool Size
- 19600
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
From reading (I'm no expert; correct me if I'm wrong), cya increase comes with trichlor tabs. There are also cal hypo tabs, which push ph up, but don't affect cya. Just saying because I've been using low dose cal hypo w/ swg off for the winter (in NC), seeing cya decrease due to rain dilution.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,656
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Cal Hypo adds calcium. That builds up in the water and can be problematic for some. It will slightly effect pH. The cal hypo tablets are only to be used in devices designed for them. DO NOT put them in a Trichlor Chlorinator device. An explosion can occur.
mmardini
Well-known member
- May 3, 2014
- 58,656
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Be very careful of many of those supposed 'experts'. They do not know the science behind pool water chemistry and many have no idea how to test pool water chemistry correctly.
So I have seen on YouTube some of those guys dont sound like they have a clue what they are talking about when it comes to pool chemistry. As far as the podcast the guy that produces it also has a book out I have read and he seems very knowledgeable when it comes to pool care and pool chemistry.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,656
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
His website recommends using Test Strips and testing 'at least' once a week. That is not a good sign.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,939
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Dollar, it's not uncommon for new members to have questions about pool chemistry and to question why TFP levels differ from pool store or generic industry standards. It boils-down to today's relevant science and the evaluation of thousands of pools in the TFP database. While there are good pool experts out there, many are misleading and don't truly understand the side effects of chemistry related to each pol type, chlorination method, etc. The PoolMath APP has been refined over many years taking into account various criteria to give residential pool owners the best chance for success. What I can say is that you can't mix TFP methodology with the pool store or various other references. They'll almost never match because they don't consider all of the chemistry and pool details TFP does.
I would encourage you to update y our signature with all of your pool and equipment info, to include the test kit you are using (i.e. TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C). Post a full set of water results if you like. We'll be happy to assist, Water in our geographical region is moderately hard, so you'll probably want to avoid Cal-Hypo. Trichlor or Dichlor tabs are fine for a short time, then once the CYA gets around 40 or so you'll want to transition solely to liquid chlorine. Now would be a good time to start looking around for places that sell liquid chlorine in your area (i.e. Walmart, Home Depot, etc).
I would encourage you to update y our signature with all of your pool and equipment info, to include the test kit you are using (i.e. TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C). Post a full set of water results if you like. We'll be happy to assist, Water in our geographical region is moderately hard, so you'll probably want to avoid Cal-Hypo. Trichlor or Dichlor tabs are fine for a short time, then once the CYA gets around 40 or so you'll want to transition solely to liquid chlorine. Now would be a good time to start looking around for places that sell liquid chlorine in your area (i.e. Walmart, Home Depot, etc).
Texas I have downloaded the pool math app to get familiar with it. I have not updated my signature because my pool is not finished, I don’t have any equipment yet. We just finished up tile work and travertine. Hopefully continue work this week! I have been reading all the pool school articles on the site I am just trying to get ahead of the game so I am not scrambling to learn chemistry after there is already water in the pool. Mknauss I was only referencing the book because I read it before finding this site, now that I have started reading articles and post on here I completely understand the concerns now.
@Dollarwr You can start your work on pool chemistry by getting the pool math app and a test kit now. Then test your fill water and record those values.
Do you have a water softener? If so, verify if your fill water is going through the water softener or not. can do this by test your fill line (or what will be used to fill your pool) and water from your sink tap.
Now you know what will go into your initial fill. Then ask the PB what chemicals will he put in on initial fill up.
You can use Pool Math to determine what the expected values for your pool water chemistry to be when filled.
All of this is good practice for when you have to monitor your chemistry on an ongoing basis.
Do you have a water softener? If so, verify if your fill water is going through the water softener or not. can do this by test your fill line (or what will be used to fill your pool) and water from your sink tap.
Now you know what will go into your initial fill. Then ask the PB what chemicals will he put in on initial fill up.
You can use Pool Math to determine what the expected values for your pool water chemistry to be when filled.
All of this is good practice for when you have to monitor your chemistry on an ongoing basis.
- Nov 30, 2019
- 858
- Pool Size
- 8500
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
As your pool is filled I strongly recommend that you take a reading on your meter before and after to get an accurate water capacity to input into PoolMath. Published pool quantity from PBs and manufacturers tends to be wildly inaccurate.
Man crazy that never crossed my mine! I will be ordering a test kit today!