CYA Help AND Bleach as a chlorinator question

[Tyrone Shuz]

DE IG vinyl ~18,000 gal? 16 x 32 (3.5 to 8.5 ft)

OK, I bogged down my pump by following the aqua-chem instructions by adding it slowly to the skimmer. I got in there with my hand (pump bucket) and pushed it all through. Great. Of course it keeps coming back into the pool, and I keep either vacuuming it through the skimmer or brushing it down the main drain.

I needed a good bit of CYA as I had somewhat of a water accident, losing about 4" of water! (What a mess!)

I'm really not this big a goof. I learned a ton here in '01 and haven't needed much help the last few years.

WHAT IS THE BEST METHOD FOR ADDING CYA? I don't think I could get 3 lbs in a sock w/o interfering with the flow into the skimmer. Do I do a little at a time?

SECOND QUESTION: this all started because I'm out of pucks. How do I use bleach as a chlorinator? A few cups/day into the skimmer? Or a gallon midweek between shocks?

[CarlD]

The best way is to change your approach. Start by incorporating water testing into your routine. THAT is what tells you best what to do when.

Everything else is just a guess, like: With your size pool if you add a half-gallon of bleach every other day you probably will be fine--but that depends on where your CYA lands.

I add bleach right into the skimmer. When we go away, I have someone dump a gallon into the skimmer every other day and it's always fine, even after two weeks.

But testing is the key. Even if all you get is the WalMart HTH 5-way drop test kit you'll be ahead of the game.

Test for chlorine and pH everyday, test for Total Alkalinity and CYA once a week. But most importantly, ADJUST your pool chemistry based on your test results. We have lots of info here all over the site on this.

[hoffmans]

CarlD-
How many gallons is your pool?

Thanks
~Hoffmans

[Tyrone Shuz]

OK, I should have mentioned that I needed a new test kit. I have a PS 232 and a PS 233 and the DPD powder is questionable at best.

It seems "Ben" has disappeared, but I found another site with a test kit, but I won't have it for a few more days.

I could tell I was losing chlorine fast just by the occasional spot of green.

So is half gallon/day a typical chlorination method?

I'm also relatively low on CYA (it's still not all dissolved after almost a week, but I tested and it read 30, but I thought I could still barely see the dot).

I have this HTH cal hypo (shock and swim) that says it "won't overstabilize your pool". Could I use a bag of that every three days as a chlorinator when I don't have bleach? I don't have the room to store a lot of bleach.

So IF I need more CYA, do I put it in a sock in the skimmer, and how much at a time?

[doggie]

Yes, use a sock in the skimmer. I dangled mine and held it in place with the skimmer cover and it didn't get in the way of anything. As far as how much, just add to the sock until you think it's full enough. You can always add more after it's dissolved. :)

[aylad]

So is half gallon/day a typical chlorination method?

I'm also relatively low on CYA (it's still not all dissolved after almost a week, but I tested and it read 30, but I thought I could still barely see the dot).

I have this HTH cal hypo (shock and swim) that says it "won't overstabilize your pool". Could I use a bag of that every three days as a chlorinator when I don't have bleach? I don't have the room to store a lot of bleach.

So IF I need more CYA, do I put it in a sock in the skimmer, and how much at a time?

First of all, how much bleach you need to put in depends on your CYA level and the overall condition of your pool... i.e. if you are fighting a bloom, it will take more than it will if you have clean water that you're trying to maintain. Give us numbers for CYA, TC and CC, and that will help us tell you how much bleach to add.

You can use the cal hypo to chlorinate, but again you need to know how higher you CYA is to know how much to put in there....and CarlD has already told you that regular testing is the way to do this. You can't just dump in what you "think" it needs without either being very, very lucky or taking a huge chance on ruining your liner (and your pool water!).

When I add CYA, I usually just put it in the skimmer and let it dissolve in the skimmer. How much to add? Depends on your current CYA level (I know, I sound like a broken record) and what your target number is. Again....you have to test regularly to know how much of what your pool needs.

Janet

[aylad]

. As far as how much, just add to the sock until you think it's full enough. You can always add more after it's dissolved. :)

The problem with this theory is that you can always add more, but you can't reduce it once it's in the water without draining. In my opinion, this is a BAD way to add chemicals!

Janet

[doggie]

The problem with this theory is that you can always add more, but you can't reduce it once it's in the water without draining. In my opinion, this is a BAD way to add chemicals!

Janet

I didn't mean to just haul off and add any amount. I assumed he was going to determine how much stabilizer was needed. So THEN add amounts from THAT to the sock and let it dissolve. That's actually a fine way to do it.

[CarlD]

CarlD-
How many gallons is your pool?

Thanks
~Hoffmans

Approximately 19,200, but I use 20,000 for ease of computations...since the difference is less than 5% it doesn't really matter.

[Tyrone Shuz]

I tried adding CYA to the skimmer, and it bogged down my system. My CYA level was very low, and my pool is roughly 17k-18k gal.

It's 6 days now, and it's still not all dissolved, it keeps returning to my pool, but less and less each time I push it down the main drain.

I took a reading yesterday (after 5 days) and it's approx CYA = 30, maybe less. The sample got VERY cloudy, but I still thought I could see the dot just a little bit.

FC and TC = 5.5 (I added 1.4 gal of bleach today, and tested 3-4hrs later, which is enough time for my pool to turn over, or very close).

pH = 7.4
TA = 70 (gotta get some baking soda)

The water is otherwise fantastic. Have been swimming and enjoying it. Occasionally I'll see tiny hint of green in one or two spots on the wall just below the surface, but it brushes right off.

So assuming those numbers are right:

How much more CYA do I need to put in (if any) and:

How much bleach or cal hypo should I use as a chlorinator and HOW OFTEN?

[Watermom]

Try and keep your chlorine between 3-6. In a pool with 17,500 gallons, each 3 quart jug of 6% bleach will raise your cl by about 2.5 ppm. Test your water each evening and add enough bleach to get back to 5 or 6.

I would go ahead and wait a few more days before deciding whether or not to add a bit more cya. You can run it at 30 ppm. Many people do and do just fine with it at that level. I would suggest trying that first and then if you find that you are not able to keep a chlorine reading through a hot sunny day, you can always bump it up a bit to around 40.