New to BBB

FWIW, dichlor (if you can find it pure) adds 9 ppm CYA for every 10 ppm FC and, unlike trichlor pucks, dissolves very quickly. One gotcha when starting new water is the sun will strip the FC quite quickly until the CYA has built up.

Cool! That makes sense. Thanks guys.

Thanks to you good folks here, the pool appears to be in great shape. Last time I added bleach was Wed night. I'm using triclor pucks to try to increase my CYA, but I can't get it above 30 yet. After adding nothing but triclor, here are my numbers this morning:

FC: 7.5
CC: 0.5
pH: 7.4
TA: 100
CH: 325
CYA: 30

Almost identical to what I posted on the 27th. I should note that I turned the pump off for about 8 hours last night for the first time in two weeks. It kicked back on about 2 hours before I tested.

So my question today is, should I just keep going with the triclor pucks, or use something else to up the CYA without raising the FC? I assume that 7.5 FC is too high for the long term.

Thanks!

You can keep using pucks if you want til you get your CYA where you want it. Just keep an eye on your pH. Trichlor is very acidic. A chlorine reading of 7.5 won't last too long in the Texas heat in a pool with low CYA so its not a worry. Besides, you have a gunite pool and higher chlorine levels are not a problem as they could be in a liner pool.

Did you take a look at the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature yet?

Yes, I've looked at the chart, and read everything I can find on the Pool Solutions site and here on the forum. Don't I want to get the CYA up to at least 50 pretty quickly so that I don't lose all the FC during those hot sunny days? It seems like with my low CYA level that I'm going to just keep dumping in bleach or using a lot of the pucks just to keep up with the daytime losses. Won't I use less chlorine in the long run if I have a higher CYA level? Not to mention the constant testing and adding chlorine? I want to get to the position where I don't have to test every single day.

What is the position here on adding straight cyanuric acid to my pool? And what is the proper dosage and method of adding it?

Having a higher CYA does allow you to go longer between testing and adding doses of bleach. There are several here on the forum who deliberately run a higher CYA pool for this very reason.

You can definitely add straight CYA to your pool. I usually do so myself. In a pool your size, each pound of granular CYA will increase your level by about 10ppm. There are several ways to add it. One way is to just pour it slowly into the skimmer while the pump is running and then keep your pump running about 4 or 5 days after you add it to let it dissolve in your filter. But, with a cartridge filter, that might not be the best way. You might just want to put it in an old sock and hang it in front of your return jet. Every once in awhile, give the sock a squeeze to help it dissolve faster. That is probably the best way for you to add it. (The directions on some containers actually tell you to just broadcast it across the pool, but don't do that.)

Oooops! I did some searching while I was waiting for a reply and several other threads said to just put it in the skimmer, so I already added about a pound and a half. I didn't see any warnings about cartridge filter systems. What will it do to my cartridges??? Do I need to shut down and clean them off immediately?

Probably nothing but let me ask Ben about it. Sit tight.

It won't hurt your cartridges . . . but do NOT add chlorine, especially cal hypo, to the skimmer for at least a week. Longer, if you're pump is on a timer.

Okay, I don't ever put chlorine in the skimmer. I currently have trichlor tabs in the auto chlorinator, and also in a floater in the pool. The floater does tend to congregate right at the skimmer opening. Is that okay?