Water Chemistry recommendations for a small 5000L pool?

[Defense2353]

Hi everyone, what would be the most hassle-free/efficient method to maintain chemical levels in a small pool?
I understand that with smaller pools, chemical levels can fluctuate rapidly and that the use of stabiliser/unstabilised chlorine is not necessary. Is it correct?

I was told that for a small pool I could simply use liquid chlorine at least an hour before swim time and allow it to circulate with the filter.

Thanks

 

[Brad_C]

My pool is 4 times the volume of yours, but still pretty small.
I can't imagine why you wouldn't use the standard process. Unless your pool is indoors the chlorine will fly out if you don't use stabiliser.

Mine is salt, but once stable levels are set up I don't even test it weekly. Once you get a feel for how it works it'll be a walk in the park. If you are chasing chlorine levels without stabiliser you're going to be all over the shop. If you are only chlorinating before you swim, you'll have a swamp pretty rapidly.

 

[PoolStored]

I understand that with smaller pools, chemical levels can fluctuate rapidly and that the use of stabiliser/unstabilised chlorine is not necessary. Is it correct?

This guide might help...

Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools

Smaller seasonal pools can see just as much enjoyment as their larger counterparts. In this guide we'll show you how to maintain your temporary pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[JoyfulNoise]

That sounds like advice pool stores would give and it’s absolutely wrong. An outdoor pool, no matter the size, ALWAYS needs stabilizer — not just for UV protection of the free chlorine but also to moderate the harsh effects of active/sanitizing chlorine by holding most of it in reserve.

Follow the link that @PoolStored posted. Also, good pool care always starts with one thing - getting a high quality test kit and testing your water yourself. In Australia, contact Clear Choice Labs for their test kit products.

 

[Defense2353]

My pool is 4 times the volume of yours, but still pretty small.
I can't imagine why you wouldn't use the standard process. Unless your pool is indoors the chlorine will fly out if you don't use stabiliser.

Mine is salt, but once stable levels are set up I don't even test it weekly. Once you get a feel for how it works it'll be a walk in the park. If you are chasing chlorine levels without stabiliser you're going to be all over the shop. If you are only chlorinating before you swim, you'll have a swamp pretty rapidly.

Thanks for your answer.
It's not my idea not to use the standard process, I was told I could do this for a small portable pool and I came here to ask whether it was correct or not.
I'm glad I did because it sounds like it's not the recommendation.

I dropped by another pool store and asked around about chemicals and how to maintain a small pool and they recommended this Stabilised All In One Trichlor Tablets
According to the product description, it's a tablet that contains free chlorine and stabilisers all in one. It's apparently used in a floating dispenser. Would that be a good option for me?

This guide might help...

Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools

Smaller seasonal pools can see just as much enjoyment as their larger counterparts. In this guide we'll show you how to maintain your temporary pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks I had a read and it does help. As you guessed, this is a portable pool that will probably be emptied every winter.
I'm starting to wrap my head around how it works.
I need free chlorine to sanitise the water and prevent algae to develop.
Stabilisers are like sunscreen for the chlorine to protect chlorine from degrading rapidly.

I guess the first thing I need is a testing kit.

If I understand correctly the chemicals I should be testing are pH, Free chlorine and CYA correct? So I need a testing kit that can do these 3?

 

[Mdragger88]

At a minimum you need to test fc,cc, ph & cya - with a drop based kit.
most kits that accomplish this also test for Ta which is important because you need to know that # to adjust ph if necessary.
You can use trichlor tablets until your cya is in the 30-50 range & then switch over to using liquid chlorine.
Note* It looks as if those particular tablets have copper in them which can turn nails, pool water, & blonde hair green. Not something you want.
Try to find some that say 99% trichlor without extra ingredients
or
you can just buy cya (stabilizer) separately adding 30ppm via the sock method, start using liquid chlorine right away & omit the tabs all together only using them if you must be away for vacation etc.
(This is often much simpler since tabs are acidic & can tank ph especially in a small body of water)
Here are the effects of 1oz of trichlor once dissolved in that size pool
(most 1” tabs weigh around 1-3oz, 3” tabs are generally 7-8oz)

Key takeaways-
*Always follow the FC/CYA Levels to maintain sanitary water conditions. This requires testing & adding chlorine daily.
* keep ph in the 7’s
* use PoolMath to calculate additions & it’s effects of adding tool to determine the effect of each addition on all the parameters of your water.

Pool Care Basics

 

[Defense2353]

At a minimum you need to test fc,cc, ph & cya - with a drop based kit.
most kits that accomplish this also test for Ta which is important because you need to know that # to adjust ph if necessary.
You can use trichlor tablets until your cya is in the 30-50 range & then switch over to using liquid chlorine.
Note* It looks as if those particular tablets have copper in them which can turn nails, pool water, & blonde hair green. Not something you want.
Try to find some that say 99% trichlor without extra ingredients
or
you can just buy cya (stabilizer) separately adding 30ppm via the sock method, start using liquid chlorine right away & omit the tabs all together only using them if you must be away for vacation etc.
(This is often much simpler since tabs are acidic & can tank ph especially in a small body of water)
Here are the effects of 1oz of trichlor once dissolved in that size pool
(most 1” tabs weigh around 1-3oz, 3” tabs are generally 7-8oz)
View attachment 470545
Key takeaways-
*Always follow the FC/CYA Levels to maintain sanitary water conditions. This requires testing & adding chlorine daily.
* keep ph in the 7’s
* use PoolMath to calculate additions & it’s effects of adding tool to determine the effect of each addition on all the parameters of your water.

Pool Care Basics

Thank you for your reply.
I'm trying to translate all the info you shared with me into actionable points

Option 1:
- Buy a testing kit for fc,cc, ph & cya (still looking for a suitable kit)
- Buy Liquid chlorine such as this? {productName}
- Buy stabilisers such as this? {productName}

Option 2:
- Buy a testing kit for fc,cc, ph & cya (still looking for a suitable kit)
- Buy Trichlore tablets without copper (If I can find any)

If you confirm that Option 1 steps are correct, I'm gonna buy the linked products and start using liquid chlorine right away as you said.
Once that is sorted, I can search for trichlor tablets without copper to use in the pool when I'm away.

Thanks for all the help again, it's a bit overwhelming but I'm learning something new and I'm sure that knowledge will come in handy when we eventually get a larger in-ground pool someday

 

[PoolStored]

Buy a testing kit for fc,cc, ph & cya (still looking for a suitable kit)

If you have a salt water chlorine generator, this:

Total Pool Water Testing Kit, Salt Water – Clear Choice Labs

If you are using liquid chlorine, or tablets, this:

Total Pool Water Testing Kit, Fresh Water – Clear Choice Labs

Tablets add CYA to your pool. At some point, around 50PPM, CYA will be come high enough, and you need to convert to Liquid Chlorine. Read this --> LINK ->FC/CYA Levels

 

[PoolStored]

- Buy stabilisers such as this? {productName}

Yes.

 

[Mdragger88]

Thank you for your reply.
I'm trying to translate all the info you shared with me into actionable points

Option 1:
- Buy a testing kit for fc,cc, ph & cya (still looking for a suitable kit)
- Buy Liquid chlorine such as this? {productName}
- Buy stabilisers such as this? {productName}

Option 2:
- Buy a testing kit for fc,cc, ph & cya (still looking for a suitable kit)
- Buy Trichlore tablets without copper (If I can find any)

If you confirm that Option 1 steps are correct, I'm gonna buy the linked products and start using liquid chlorine right away as you said.
Once that is sorted, I can search for trichlor tablets without copper to use in the pool when I'm away.

Thanks for all the help again, it's a bit overwhelming but I'm learning something new and I'm sure that knowledge will come in handy when we eventually get a larger in-ground pool someday

Yes, that looks great you’re a quick learner!
The other aussie’s around here can point you to more detailed info about where they find things but this may be helpful in picking up a proper kit

Pool Test Kits - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Defense2353]

Yes, that looks great you’re a quick learner!
The other aussie’s around here can point you to more detailed info about where they find things but this may be helpful in picking up a proper kit

Pool Test Kits - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Beautiful, thanks for confirming.
I bought everything, just tested the water and here's what I got:

Total hardness: 0
CYA: 0
Total Alkanility: 40
pH: 6.8
Free Chlorine: 0
Total Chlorine 0

Everything is low but I'm assuming that this is due to the fact that I haven't treated the water yet.

Anyway, I wanted to add liquid chlorine, when I use the app it asks what type of sanitizer I'm using. What does sanitizer refer to in this context? The chlorine?

I can choose between Bleach, Trichlor, Dichlor, 48%/53%/65%/70%/73% Call Hypo, Lithium Hypo, Chlorine Gas, SWG.

Which sanitizer should I pick on the app?

This is the liquid chlorine I bought for reference



Thanks

 

[Brad_C]

Zero hardness and a 40 Alk? Your tap water is spectacular!

 

[Mdragger88]

Liquid chlorine is bleach- you will need to select the strength you have (it should be on the bottle)
They are one in the same. Add 5ppm worth.
You need 30ppm of cya or the chlorine you add won’t last long
(add this to a sock & hang it infront of a return jet not touching the pool wall, massage the sock to help it dissolve)
Add enough baking soda to increase your ta to 60 & point your jets upwards to aerate the water, these two actions should allow ph to increase to the 7’s. Check ta & ph again in a little bit (an hour or so) to confirm.

 

[Defense2353]

Liquid chlorine is bleach- you will need to select the strength you have (it should be on the bottle)
They are one in the same. Add 5ppm worth.
You need 30ppm of cya or the chlorine you add won’t last long
(add this to a sock & hang it infront of a return jet not touching the pool wall, massage the sock to help it dissolve)
Add enough baking soda to increase your ta to 60 & point your jets upwards to aerate the water, these two actions should allow ph to increase to the 7’s. Check ta & ph again in a little bit (an hour or so) to confirm.

I see, that's why on the stabilizer pack it says step 1 and on the liquid chlorine step 2.
It's better to add CYA first to protect the liquid chlorine as soon as it is added to the pool.

Ok I added CYA to the pool.

For the liquid chlorine strength, on the bottle, it says 125G/L available chlorine (Cl) present as SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE.

The app is using a different unit, % of bleach chlorine. If I were to take a guess I'd say that 125G/L of chlorine would translate to 12.5% of Chlorine?

 

[PoolStored]

If I were to take a guess I'd say that 125G/L of chlorine would translate to 12.5% of Chlorine?

That is correct.

 

[Mdragger88]

I see, that's why on the stabilizer pack it says step 1 and on the liquid chlorine step 2.
It's better to add CYA first to protect the liquid chlorine as soon as it is added to the pool.

Ok I added CYA to the pool.

For the liquid chlorine strength, on the bottle, it says 125G/L available chlorine (Cl) present as SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE.

The app is using a different unit, % of bleach chlorine. If I were to take a guess I'd say that 125G/L of chlorine would translate to 12.5% of Chlorine?

You can put the cya in the sock & hang then add the liquid chlorine within in minutes or vise versa it doesn’t matter what order because it’s only a couple minutes apart. Yes, 12.5%
You then replenish fc daily to ensure you stay above minimum (within target range) for your cya level at all times. FC/CYA Levels
For now, until you test cya after 24hrs from now, assume you have the added amount of cya in the water & chlorinate accordingly .

 

[Defense2353]

That is correct.

Yes, that looks great you’re a quick learner!
The other aussie’s around here can point you to more detailed info about where they find things but this may be helpful in picking up a proper kit

Pool Test Kits - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Thank you both!
I think I'm getting there as I'm now more comfortable with the app and all the chemicals.

My levels now are:
CYA: 40
FC: 5 (was at 1.5 this morning and had to replenish to meet the minimum required as per the chlorine/CYA chart)
pH: 7
TA: 80
Total Hardness: 0

My pH is a bit low. It went up from 6.8 the first time I tested it to 7 now but recommendations suggest at least 7.2

Do I need to buy pH Buffer powder or is there another way to slightly increase pH? Also is the water safe for at these levels?

Also, I had a general question. The pool is covered when not used, the cover is supposedly made of UV-resistant PVC vinyl. Assuming the cover really prevents UV from passing through, does that mean that chlorine levels wouldn't decrease as fast as if water was directly exposed to the sun?

 

[Mdragger88]

Letting fc dip below minimum for your cya is an open invitation for algae. This is the reason for the target range (being 5-7 in your case).
Dosing to 7ppm (high target ) will leave you with plenty of wiggle room until your next dose without playing kissy face with minimum. The average residential pool can consume roughly 2-4ppm of fc per day give or take depending upon the season/bather loads etc.
Until you know your pool & can gauge fc consumption you will need to test fc & dose daily.
It is safe to swim with fc anywhere between minimum & slam level for your cya so if you need to dose higher than target range to ensure you don’t fall to low before your next test/dose you can do so. A little extra fc is no issue & harm’s nothing but going too low is asking for trouble.
Yes,
Using a cover will help reduce the fc loss from the sun.

Since your ta is 80 You can just aerate to increase ph a little more (point your jets upwards so they bubble & disturb the surface of the water).

 

[Defense2353]

Letting fc dip below minimum for your cya is an open invitation for algae. This is the reason for the target range (being 5-7 in your case).
Dosing to 7ppm (high target ) will leave you with plenty of wiggle room until your next dose without playing kissy face with minimum. The average residential pool can consume roughly 2-4ppm of fc per day give or take depending upon the season/bather loads etc.
Until you know your pool & can gauge fc consumption you will need to test fc & dose daily.
It is safe to swim with fc anywhere between minimum & slam level for your cya so if you need to dose higher than target range to ensure you don’t fall to low before your next test/dose you can do so. A little extra fc is no issue & harm’s nothing but going too low is asking for trouble.
Yes,
Using a cover will help reduce the fc loss from the sun.

Since your ta is 80 You can just aerate to increase ph a little more (point your jets upwards so they bubble & disturb the surface of the water).

Thank you for what you said about aiming for the higher range of the CYA recommended range. I did not see it that way but you're absolutely right. I was targeting the lower/mid-range but like you said it wouldn't give me any wiggle room. I was under the (wrong) impression that it could be risky to reach the high target, or I guess I was wary of exceeding the high target range but I understand what you're saying. It's more dangerous to be below than slightly above.

I will follow your advice and target 7ppm of FC today then

Ok thanks for the tip for pH, I will try that and see how it goes.

Thank you so much for sticking around and helping me, it's really appreciated.