Chlorine tabs w/o CYA

[zz28zz]

Can they be had? I like the convenience of the dispenser, but don't want to get the CYA levels too high.
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[CarlD]

Sure. There are Cal-Hypo based tablets, that add calcium rather than CYA. Unfortunately they tend to dissolve rather quickly and turn to mush, unless you get the type in a plastic capsule. And you MUST NOT put them in the same feeder as Tri-chlor tabs (the ones that add CYA).

But they are, IMHO, a really lousy alternative to Tri-Chlor tabs.

[PoolDoc]

As Carl noted, cal hypo tabs don't perform as well as trichlor tabs, in a feeder. I've never tried them in a floater, so I can't say how they work.

There are some VERY expensive feeders designed for commercial installations, but they aren't very practical for residential use.

But . . . if you are looking for a 'easy' method, running a pool the way the chlorine gas 'shooters' in Arizona, California and Texas do: adjust the CYA to 100 - 150 ppm and dose weekly with 10 - 15 ppm of chlorine. They used to use various algaecides, but you if you maintain very low phosphates (PO4 < 0.1 ppm) you can accomplish the same thing. (You don't want to have to use chlorine as an anti-algae treatment when CYA > 100 ppm, since that requires FC levels as a high as 50 ppm).

[CarlD]

I put the Cal-hypo tabs in my skimmer once and in 2 hours they were mush and the skimmer was jammed up....Not a fan!

[PoolDoc]

I don't think that's typical of all CH tabs. However, you could work around that in several different ways, such as putting them in a perforated plastic bottle that's resting in the skimmer.

[CarlD]

Interesting idea, but I haven't had to mess with it in years.

[zz28zz]

How does the commercial feeder work?

I have a chlorinator sys in the well house that uses a holding tank I fill with a bleach/water mixture and a chem pump (piggy backing my well pump) that pumps it in. Wondering if I could find some 100% sodium hypochlorite somewhere and use a similar pump to meter it in. I have a RS6 controller with a spare relay I could program to do pretty much whatever.

[FormerBromineUser]

Outta my league here. Just bumping thread cause I see you're checking for responses.

[CarlD]

Bleach is sodium hypochlorite mixed with brine, which is saltwater. Strongest I know of is nominal 12.5%, which, when fresh cam test as high as 14%.

[zz28zz]

I did a bit more reading and discovered 100% sodium hypochlorite is a solid, unstable and very hard to find. Guess that's out.
Wish I could find an alternative to buying gallons and gallons of bleach every week. Seems like there would be a market for CYA-free tabs if they were available.

[FormerBromineUser]

Sure would be a market! Do you have access to fresh 12.5% at least? Even though I use very little chlorine, I use the higher concentration so I have to lug less and recycle less.

We live very close to where Champion/LC 12 is packaged and distributed so ours is usually above 12.5%. You would think they would do refillables, but don't. That would help with the recycling issue for sure!

[CarlD]

I use refillables--5 gallon carboys. I think Buckman makes and fills them, the same company that makes Polyquat 60%. I have a bunch of older gallon jugs that were filled with 12.5% originally, and I keep them to fill from the carboys.

[BigDave]

I use the 5-gallon refillables of bleach (Liquid Chlorine, sodium hypochlorite) as well - I'm pretty sure I get them at the same place as CarlD. I kept the last 5 jugs I bought and refill them for ease of handling. If you do find a cheap source for LC, be sure to pick up a spout and wrench when you but the first one.

[CarlD]

The spout is great. My FAVORITE wrench is the ChanneLock filter wrench. Works on the spout, and also on the quick connects and most fittings. I have a pair of them and abuse the heck out of them as they are the all-purpose pool wrenches!

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/th/aplus/channellock/channellock-B0009WG5SU-209-profile-lg.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0009WG5SU/scouscho-20/)

.

[zz28zz]

I'll have to look around for a bulk bleach supplier. I'm using a gallon (8.25%) every 2 to 3 days in the summer just to maintain 3-5ppm. (CYA is at 50) Shocking the pool with bleach is going to really be a pain.
Before we re-plastered, I used the fine granual dry shock. That worked OK, but I'm trying to get away from that.

I discovered re-purposing my oil filter pliers a couple of weeks ago when I couldn't find my strap wrench and needed to tighten the quick disconnect on my filter pump inlet. They really do work great!

[Watermom]

You may want to consider bumping your CYA up some. Sometimes, people who live places that are very hot and sunny find that having a little higher CYA allows them to dose with bleach less often. One of our former mods lives in NW Louisiana and deliberately keeps her CYA around 80ppm. Just something to think about. If you do decide to raise it some, go to 60 for a couple of weeks and see how that works on your pool and then go a little higher if you want. Gradual increases rather than big changes. Easy to add more CYA, hard to lower it.

By the way, if you are diligent about keeping your chlorine between the minimum and maximum levels based on your CYA, you should seldom need to shock. Pool stores and pool chemical companies tell you to shock weekly but it isn't necessary. They just want to sell more chemicals.

[zz28zz]

Temps here are starting to drop, so hopefully the chlorine demand will start dropping too.

Re-checked my CYA yesterday. That test indicated I'm closer to 40 instead of 50, so I do need to bump it up a bit. Just finished dissolving the last bit of solid CYA I had via the sock method. I have some pucks left over so I might as well use them to help bring the CYA up a bit more. Also picked-up a floating dispenser and will throw a couple of pucks in there also.
I gotta be careful about over-shooting the CYA since replacing a large amount of water is very expensive due to the house being on a low-producing well (gotta truck in water).

Pool looks great and CC levels are close to zero so I don't see a need to shock yet.
Thx for all the replies!! You guys are awesome :-)

[Watermom]

If you use the trichlor pucks, keep an eye on your pH. They are extremely acidic and will push your pH down.

[zz28zz]

If you use the trichlor pucks, keep an eye on your pH. They are extremely acidic and will push your pH down.

No problem with the pucks. I have to add a gallon of acid every 2-3 days anyway. My fill water is very hard.

[PoolDoc]

@Carl: I'd never seen those before. I linked your pick, but here are some more links, since they come in sizes:

Channellock 209 9-Inch Oil Filter and PVC Plier (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0009WG5SU/scouscho-20/)

Channellock 215 15-1/2-Inch Oil Filter and PVC Plie (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0009WG5T4/scouscho-20/)

[CarlD]

@Ben,

I have a pair of them--had them for years, just for the pool. Home Depot sells them, and Harbor Freight sells a no-name version of them as well. I didn't know they came in sizes!
I use them on the quick connects, and on the screw-on caps and spigots for the 5 gallon carboys of LC.