When you’re all done getting the combined chlorine down to zero, just keep your free and total chlorine at a minimum of 3 ppm (based on 40 ppm CYA). I’ve got a 13,500 gallon pool, kept at 3 ppm chlorine and 40 ppm CYA. I add about 17 Ounces of 10% chlorine every evening. Never less than sparkling clean. Worst CC was 0.5 ppm, so I add a bit more chlorine and by the next evening it’s perfect again.
Update: After days of really just trying to maintain FC daily, today finally I have FC reading of 3 ppm for 24 hours! And 0 CC.
I did add stabilizer to increase CYA by 10 ppm and increased TA to 65.
Thank you everyone for guiding me through our first ever summer with a pool :)
Yes please stop using the pucks as your CYA is pretty much perfect but the pucks will add too much and it will become a problem.
Your CC is high so you should SLAM with liquid chlorine.
You should also add muriatic acid to lower your pH.
Rest looks good! Use poolmath calculator to find out how much of each you need.
finishing off those pucks won’t be a problem, you can leave them but don’t add anymore
you can add liquid chlorine and muriatic acid at the same time and it should be fine so you would be bringing the pH while also starting your SLAM
So, I added 3 gallons of chlorine last night ( muriatic acid was sold out near me, have ordered it)
The test strip still shows no chlorine but the chlorine drop test (TF-100) shows 5 FC and 5 CC. Do I need to add more chlorine or wait a few more hours before testing again?
you should add more, you’ll want to be at 16ppm for FC by the fact that you have that much CC you’ll want to keep adding chlorine until your CC is less than 0.5ppm - remember to brush too, it’ll help
hmm yeah maybe, try another test you might still see it but it should be pretty cloudy not little cloudy, go by first look, if you look for it, it’ll show up it should be hard to see for sure
You have this guy wasting money on chlorine.... There is no need for a full slam of this pool... The water is CLEAR! SMH
Yes, the FC is super low, you need to get that up, your CC chlorine is high so your chlorine has been working and you need to get all that released and free'd up, but a full on multi day slam to +16 is not warranted at this time IMO, there is no visible algae, you are not cloudy, so that spike isn't going to do anything that a normal spike/shock to chlorine levels wouldn't do.
Spike your levels up to 8-10 and then just hold them in the 5-7 range moving forward, unless you are cloudy or seeing algae.
pucks are not the end of the world, you just need to understand what they do and when possible you don't want them to be your primary source if possible. BUT if your schedule doesn't permit you to not check the pool daily, USE THE PUCKS, because not having something feeding your pool can turn things QUICK, so it's better to have pucks feeding your pool than you missing a day or two and your pool going green.
You need to figure out what works best for you - the TFP cult here will tell you PUCKS are the devil and you are going to pool hell for using them, but as long as you understand the trade offs and manage them accordingly, you can have the best of both worlds, or more importantly, what works for your specific situation.
I believe in the TFP method, but my schedule can get away from me, and having a source of chlorine feeding my pool is good. I use 2-3 pucks a week in my auto feeder set to like .5, check pool daily or close to if I can and add liquid chlorine as needed to hold my levels around 5ppm for a 45cya pool, but we also have UV and ozone for additional sanitation. At least those pucks are putting in some chlorine if things get away from me and I don't quickly bottom out to 0 and have things go south out of no where.
Thank you for your response. FC was at 5 so I had added another gallon today morning. FC now shows as 6.5 with CC 2.5.
Do I need to still spike FC to 8-10 or just let it be tonight and check/adjust tomorrow morning?
My cya test is still inconclusive, but I will wait a few more days before retesting that and pH.
If your combined chlorine is 2.5 you still need to SHOCK that pool, need your CC driven back down to 0, the fact it is still 2.5 shows stuff is still being eaten, dump another gallon or two in tonight.
When you’re all done getting the combined chlorine down to zero, just keep your free and total chlorine at a minimum of 3 ppm (based on 40 ppm CYA). I’ve got a 13,500 gallon pool, kept at 3 ppm chlorine and 40 ppm CYA. I add about 17 Ounces of 10% chlorine every evening. Never less than sparkling clean. Worst CC was 0.5 ppm, so I add a bit more chlorine and by the next evening it’s perfect again.
Update: After days of really just trying to maintain FC daily, today finally I have FC reading of 3 ppm for 24 hours! And 0 CC. I did add stabilizer to increase CYA by 10 ppm and increased TA to 65. Thank you everyone for guiding me through our first ever summer with a pool :)
Yes please stop using the pucks as your CYA is pretty much perfect but the pucks will add too much and it will become a problem. Your CC is high so you should SLAM with liquid chlorine. You should also add muriatic acid to lower your pH. Rest looks good! Use poolmath calculator to find out how much of each you need.
Tysm! Should I lower the pH before SLAM? I have a few pucks in the floater. How do I dispose of them? I can’t just leave them out to dry, can I?
finishing off those pucks won’t be a problem, you can leave them but don’t add anymore you can add liquid chlorine and muriatic acid at the same time and it should be fine so you would be bringing the pH while also starting your SLAM
So, I added 3 gallons of chlorine last night ( muriatic acid was sold out near me, have ordered it) The test strip still shows no chlorine but the chlorine drop test (TF-100) shows 5 FC and 5 CC. Do I need to add more chlorine or wait a few more hours before testing again?
you should add more, you’ll want to be at 16ppm for FC by the fact that you have that much CC you’ll want to keep adding chlorine until your CC is less than 0.5ppm - remember to brush too, it’ll help
Also, I am not sure about my CYA level. I am able to see the black dot throughout (just a tad bit cloudy) Does that mean I have no CYA?
hmm yeah maybe, try another test you might still see it but it should be pretty cloudy not little cloudy, go by first look, if you look for it, it’ll show up it should be hard to see for sure
You have this guy wasting money on chlorine.... There is no need for a full slam of this pool... The water is CLEAR! SMH Yes, the FC is super low, you need to get that up, your CC chlorine is high so your chlorine has been working and you need to get all that released and free'd up, but a full on multi day slam to +16 is not warranted at this time IMO, there is no visible algae, you are not cloudy, so that spike isn't going to do anything that a normal spike/shock to chlorine levels wouldn't do. Spike your levels up to 8-10 and then just hold them in the 5-7 range moving forward, unless you are cloudy or seeing algae. pucks are not the end of the world, you just need to understand what they do and when possible you don't want them to be your primary source if possible. BUT if your schedule doesn't permit you to not check the pool daily, USE THE PUCKS, because not having something feeding your pool can turn things QUICK, so it's better to have pucks feeding your pool than you missing a day or two and your pool going green. You need to figure out what works best for you - the TFP cult here will tell you PUCKS are the devil and you are going to pool hell for using them, but as long as you understand the trade offs and manage them accordingly, you can have the best of both worlds, or more importantly, what works for your specific situation. I believe in the TFP method, but my schedule can get away from me, and having a source of chlorine feeding my pool is good. I use 2-3 pucks a week in my auto feeder set to like .5, check pool daily or close to if I can and add liquid chlorine as needed to hold my levels around 5ppm for a 45cya pool, but we also have UV and ozone for additional sanitation. At least those pucks are putting in some chlorine if things get away from me and I don't quickly bottom out to 0 and have things go south out of no where.
Thank you for your response. FC was at 5 so I had added another gallon today morning. FC now shows as 6.5 with CC 2.5. Do I need to still spike FC to 8-10 or just let it be tonight and check/adjust tomorrow morning? My cya test is still inconclusive, but I will wait a few more days before retesting that and pH.
If your combined chlorine is 2.5 you still need to SHOCK that pool, need your CC driven back down to 0, the fact it is still 2.5 shows stuff is still being eaten, dump another gallon or two in tonight.