Wow..such differences!

[mpkelley20]

I would add enough granular stabilizer to get to 30-40 ppm. Then use your pucks if you want to until you get to 50 ppm and then stop using the pucks and you'll be just right. That's using good testing to manage your pool water.

You could also save the pucks for when you are away and can't add bleach. Simply manage your CYA and chlorine carefully and you won't have any problems

Awesome! I bought a 4 pound container of stabilizer (HTH brand from walmart) and will add some tonight. I can't remember the dosage but I think it was 2 pounds to raise it 10ppm for 10K gallons. Think I will start with the 4 pounds which should add 10+ to my pool and test it again in a week or so. Then take it from there.

I can't seem to find it....and I have searched.....on average, how many gallons of bleach does it take in a month to maintain chlorine levels assuming water is balanced? I ran some pool calulator stuff where I put in my current FC readsing of 1 and used 4 as my goal and it said I needed about 115 ounces or so for my pool to get it there.

I guess I am missing the part where it says...how long will it stay there. I assume I am not adding 115 ounces a day. Is it always different depending on the pool? I know I need to test everyday and I can use the calculator to help me but didn;t know if there is an "average" monthly use that someone could share.

Thanks

 

[Richard320]

I guess I am missing the part where it says...how long will it stay there. I assume I am not adding 115 ounces a day. Is it always different depending on the pool? I know I need to test everyday and I can use the calculator to help me but didn;t know if there is an "average" monthly use that someone could share.

Thanks

Every pool is different. How much FC you use depends on how much use the pool gets, how much organic debris gets blown in, how much sun it gets during the day, how high the CYA level is...and probably other variables I can't think of at the moment.

Most people lose about 2 ppm/day. Most, not everyone, and that can change dramatically if there's a bunch of kids in the pool. You're just going to have to keep a log and see what your pool is like.

 

[mpkelley20]

Got it. Thanks!

The pool sits in the sun all day and there will be kids in it most of the time. Once I get my CYA in order I will begin the logging. I downloaded a pool calculator app on my phone so I can easily figure out what I need to add. Between that and my new TF-100 kit, I am feeling much more prepared!

So much for "easy" care of my pool. But at least this will prevent me from having to completely fix the results of the "easy" care when stuff starts to go wrong!

 

[Richard320]

Got it. Thanks!

The pool sits in the sun all day and there will be kids in it most of the time. Once I get my CYA in order I will begin the logging. I downloaded a pool calculator app on my phone so I can easily figure out what I need to add. Between that and my new TF-100 kit, I am feeling much more prepared!

So much for "easy" care of my pool. But at least this will prevent me from having to completely fix the results of the "easy" care when stuff starts to go wrong!

I suspect that by July, you'll know pretty much what your pool uses on a daily basis and you can dose it pretty close without even consulting the pool calculator.

 

[mpkelley20]

I did a test yesterday which was about 3 days since I added CYA. I know that it takes time to disolve fully and show up but I am getting better readings and my chlorine seems to have stabilized a bit. I am no longer going from high levels to zero levels in the course of the day. Granted, I still have some trichlor pucks in my skimmers which I plan to use until my CYA levels get to around 40ppm. After that, its all bleach from here. So my latest readings are below. water is crystal clear with the only exception being all the dirt on the floor do the construction going on around my pool with retaining walls and stuff.

FC - 3.5
CC - 0.0
PH - 7.2
TA - 120 (more like 115)
CH - 160
CYA - registering around 25 - at least the black dot is disappearing now!!

 

[mpkelley20]

So it seems like I am getting closer to my water being balanced. After adding CYA a few days ago and continuing to use the Tri-chlor pucks for the time being, myh chlorine levels reained decent for several days. Prior to this, it would burn off in a day. My curent levels are below but I have a different question

FC - 1.5
CC - 0.0
PH - 7.5
TA - 110
CH - 130
CYA - 30

The main source of shock that I had been using was calcium Hypo that I got in those little 1 pound bags. From my understanding, some people use this as their primary source of chlorine since it is basically the same thing as bleach. I know that bleach is sodium Hypo vs calcium for the shock. Since I have a vinyl pool, I believe the CH is not as important as one with gunite.

Should I continue using the bags of calcium hydo to use it up until my CH gets to within the recommneded levels per the pool calculator or just switch to bleach right now? Also, if I decdied to stock with the Cal Hypo, are there any long term issues I need to be aware of having a vinyl liner? Believe it or not, the prices of "instamt chlorine" from in the swim is not that bad compared to bleach but comes in "supposedly" easily dissolved poweder form making it easy to add.

I did buy several gallons of bleach from BJ's but it was about $3 a gallon so that seems to be the going price around my area. $3 for clorox at BJ's or $3 for Walmart brand (both are the 8.5% or so).

 

[Richard320]

Your vinyl pool doesn't care if you have low CH, but high CH can still cause scaling. So don't stockpile too much Cal-hypo! The Pool Calculator can tell you the effect each pound of it will have on your pool. Then work backwards and figure out how many pounds total you can use to raise CH and don't buy more than that.

You can use whatever source of chlorine works out cheapest. You seem to have a grasp of things, since you know to use trichlor to raise CYA along with FC. So keep tabs on the levels the way you've been doing and switch to bleach when CH and CYA get to where you want them.

BBB is not just about using liquid bleach - it's about knowing what your pool needs and adding just enough via the cheapest, easiest method, whether its pucks, powders, or liquids.

 

[mpkelley20]

Thanks! This forum has been the best thing I found in learning about pool chemistry. I found myself explaining stuff to my neighbor yesterday as he opened his pool and was dumping algaecide, Alkalinity up, and setting up his trichlor feeder for his above ground pool. He said this is what the pool store told him he needed. He laso had stuff to fight iron in the water and calcium additives among other things. And he got free test strips...

 

[anonapersona]

I suggest that you hold some of the cal-hypo in reserve for emergency shocking. You never know when you will find a dead critter in the pool, or someone vomits, or a baby poops, or a flock of ducks trash the pool. Sometimes you don't have time to run to get 10 jugs of bleach and you don't want to stock that much since it degrades over time, but 10 lbs of cal-hypo can stay in storage a long time.

And, I think you need to beware of letting cal-hypo sit on the floor of a vinyl pool.

 

[mpkelley20]

So after not having to add much chlorine the past few days as my trichlor pucks finally dissolved, I had to yesterday. My FC and TC were coming in at 0.5 and I used the pool app on my iphone which gave me the "precise" amount of bleach to add to get my FC back to target levels. I added 94oz of bleach last night so I am officially off the pucks. I ran my filter for 2 hours and then tested my water and my FC was at 3. Looking forward to seeing where it is at the end of today so I can see hoq quickly I burn through chlorine with my CYA levels still around 30. This won't be a perfect test but I suppose this will give me an idea of how much bleach I will be going through each week until the summer comes.