Starting resurfaced pool

My pool just got resurfaced with pebble sheen and a measure at the water meter during fill up showed it is 14,000 gallons.

I've been following national plasterers council instructions as per directions provided by pebble sheen installer.

After 4 days, I have ph at 7.9, Total Alkalinity at 70, Calcium Hardness at 160 and a SI of 0.1.

Instructions call for TA to be 80. Should I raise my TA with baking soda to 80 before lowering ph with prediluted muriatic acid? Instructions call for pump running 24/7 for 7/10 days which aerates the water and it seems raises ph every day...

Help!

Tonight I added ~2 lbs of Baking Soda to try raising total alkalinity by 10ppm to 80ppm.

I will retest tomorrow morning with the Taylor kit I ordered through Ben's store. I hope to be doing the right thing by raising TA before trying to lower pH. Just hope pre-diluled muriatic acid will do the trick for lowering pH tomorrow without killing TA.

Once this is in order, I am supposed to add chlorine then CYA and I surely hope delaying the chlorine does not result in some algae.

Kidney

If you don't have any chlorine in there, I wouldn't wait to add some or you may end up with a green pool to deal with!

Thanks Watermom!

Yes no chlorine yet. I thought of adding 9 cups of undiluted bleach (the max recommended by NPC right now) but knowing my pH is high at 8.0+ and seeing the little book that came with my K2006C says bleach is high pH, I thought I might add to my high pH/low TA issue and decided to add Baking Soda to address my lowish TA of 70.

This (rainy) morning:
Ph 8.0+ (max on K2006C)
TA 90
CH 160
Water temp: 82°F
FC 0
CYA 0
(Non SWCG pool.)

Should I wait for dusk to add my 9 cups of liquid 8.25% bleach or do it during the day today? When can I and should I add diluted muriatic acid to lower pH?

Revisiting pebble tech's warranty card, it reads "Do not chlorinate your pool until water is filtered and pH and alkalinity are acceptable. Chlorine is highly reactive and can cause metals or minerals to precipitate (cloud water, scale and/or stain)." As I know chlorine would dissipate quite fast added mid day, I first added 22.4 fl oz of muriatic acid to lower pH, which I assume will also lower TA.

I hope when I retest in late afternoon that TA will be no lower than 80 and pH at most 7.6: I can then add chlorine (using 8.25% bleach) at dusk. Tomorrow I can add cyanuric acid to the 25ppm that my installer recommended.

I will update. Hopefully I do not have to keep adjusting TA then pH for too long. I suspect running my filtration system continuously at full speed (as per installer's directions) aerates the water and increases pH: this should stop once I reach 7 days after fill up this Wednesday and drastically lower the speed of my variable speed pump.

Advice welcome!

Ok, 5 hours after adding muriatic acid:

pH = 7.5
TA = 90
CH = 160
Water temp = 83F
SI ~ -0.17

I realize these will likely change but for now I should be ready to add chlorine at dusk today and CYA tomorrow morning. Still not sure I should simply use 8.25% bleach or another type of chlorine (as bleach is high pH and I don't want pH to shoot back up).

Since I am planning to use the BBB method and will adjust daily, I don't think I need that much CYA. I was going to follow the 25ppm recommended by my installer however I have no idea how much CYA to add except for Leslie's recommending 3.5 pounds for my 14K-gallon pool: should I use a different dose the first time?

I forgot I have 4 trichlor chlorine tabs I could use in my old floater to get things started with chlorine and CYA at dusk. Should I bother to use them or should I just start using bleach and CYA?

Sorry to be slow to reply. I've been out running errands all day. (Even Watermom has a life outside of this forum! ;))

Bleach is not going to affect your pH much. However, since you need chlorine, are fighting high pH and need CYA, a good choice for you would be to use dichlor. It will add the needed things and the acidity of it will lower your pH some. You actually might benefit from using our Super Simple Startup Recipe since this a new fill. Info about that can be found at this link: http://pool9.net/ssr/ (It is appropriate for any freshly filled pool -- not just Intex.)

I think you are going to find that a CYA of 25 is too low. It is simply too hard to keep chlorine in a pool at that level especially on hot sunny days and in Texas, you're going to have plenty of them. I would suggest at least 40-50 as a target.

If you decide that you don't want to use the 'recipe' but instead are going to use bleach and add CYA separately, every pound of stabilizer will add 10ppm of CYA. Also, in your pool, each quart of 8.25% bleach will add about 1.5ppm of chlorine and each 121-oz jug will add about 5.6ppm. Use those as a reference as you are figuring out how much to add.

Hope this helps.

I fully understand the need to run errands Watermom ;-) No need to be sorry, and thank you for your help!

I am on day 5 following fill up so I am not sure I still qualify as a fresh fill and can use the Super Simple Startup Recipe. Dichlor sounds great and it looks like I could also use Leslie's Chlor Brite Granular (99% sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione, right?) as I don't have a Sam's Club membership. Amazon would take too long to deliver. Leslie's is closed now so I think I will go ahead at dusk today and add 2 quarts of 8.25% bleach to remain in line with what the NPC instructions my installer provided suggest. I can get CYA tomorrow or start using dichlor tabs. Once I reach a sufficient CYA level, what do I do: start using bleach only?

As for CYA level, I used to have high readings by using trichlor tablets but I also had to empty the pool a couple of times to get things back on track. So I have no experience running lower levels (50 is low compared to what I was used to) and I don't know how fast FC disappears at that level. I was looking at 25ppm CYA only at first but was contemplating running at 30 after I found http://www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/healt...f/Cyanuric.pdf. This PDF states the CDC found CYA levels above 30ppm diminished "chlorine’s ability to inactivate the chlorine-resistant protozoan, cryptosporidium". Not sure the CDC still has this recommendation or not. This was a 2007 study...

Have you only used bleach thus far? If you have not yet added any CYA, you could still follow the SS Recipe. It is just a simple way to build up CYA using Dichlor while adding chlorine. (Does the Leslie's Dichlor say 55 or 56% chlorine? If so, then it is fine to use.) (By the way, dichlor is granular, not tabs.)

You are right that if you do decide to use dichlor, when you get your CYA to the level you want, then you just switch to using bleach so your CYA doesn't get too high.
If you follow the chlorine levels in the chart at this link, your pool will be properly sanitized and will also keep algae at bay. http://pool9.net/cl-cya/

As far as Amazon goes, have you ever heard of Amazon Prime? For $99 per year, you get free shipping on products they stock and also delivery within two days. If you shop a lot at Amazon, you'll get your money's worth. I know I save way more on the free shipping costs in a year than my $99.

Couple of quick points:

1. If the your finish product company wants you to wait on the chlorine find, and add, some polyquat ASAP: http://pool9.net/polyquat/ I'd recommend ordering a quart from Amazon, but then seeing if you can find some locally, sooner. You do NOT want your pool to turn green. Just save whatever polyquat you don't use -- it lasts indefinitely -- and use it to 'keep' your pool when you go on vacation.

2. Kent Williams' article on CYA frankly pi##'s me off. It's about time I wrote a rebuttal entitled something like "Kent William's Cyanuric Acid theories: merely ignorant or actually fraudulent?". His background is as an employee for Stranco, who made very expensive, very high-end commercial pool chemistry controllers. The problem is, these controllers work very badly on pools with CYA present. Many years ago, I talked with an Arizona parks and rec director who was FURIOUS at having bought a number of those units for $10,000's . . . only to discover that they wouldn't work on his outdoor stabilized pools.

The "Benefactor or Bomb" article reflects earlier efforts by Stranco to get rid of stabilizer in commercial pools, NOT because it was bad for those pools, but because it was bad for their product. By blaming CYA, they could deflect blame from their over-priced and under-functioning controllers.

The fact is, without CYA, it's almost impossible to keep commercial pools safe. With clear water under full sun most large modern pools, with side wall inlets, do not have adequate circulation to make sure the interior areas of the pools remain chlorinated when there's a heavy bather load. Ironically, many old pools built in the 60's and earlier, have floor inlets scattered around the pool that made it practical, if not very efficient, to keep unstabilized pools sanitary.

Anyhow, the "CYA, B or B" article is based on a misunderstanding of CYA chemistry -- but since the purpose of those theories was apparently to protect Stranco controller sales, why bother with getting the chemistry right?

Watermom: I added 2 quarts of 8.25% bleach at dusk tonight only. No CYA yet. (I am really curious to do my first FC test tomorrow morning and see what it reads....). I have so far followed the National Plasterers Council start up card at https://npc.memberclicks.net/assets/...nt-rev3.09.pdf as per my Pebble Tech installer's instructions. This start up card asks to "adjust Cyanuric acid levels to 30 to 50 ppm based on the primary sanitizer of the pool". Dichlor is not excluded but before your post I was planning tomorrow to raise CYA to 30 at the least in one row (not sure if that's allowed by the Leslie's conditioner. i.e 100% CYA, I was going to use). My installer recommended 25ppm in anticipation that its clients will use trichlor tablets and do not need high initial levels of CYA (but I don't plan on using trichlor). Also I don't know if Leslie's Chlor Brite is 55-56% available chlorine: does that mean that if it is not 55-56% (i.e. dihydrate I assume) but 62-63% (anhydrous), I should not use Leslie's product? (BTW, I know about Amazon Prime, I just haven't used this service yet.)

PoolDoc:
1. Pebble Tech just say not to chlorinate water that has not been filtered and is not within acceptable ranges for pH and TA. As my water has been filtered and is within acceptable ranges (with pH fluctuating some but in range today), I added bleach. As I mentioned above the National Plasterers Council directions I follow ask for chlorine to be added 3 days after fill. As I now have some chlorine in the pool and will be able to decide this Tuesday morning whether to keep using bleach and added CYA or more simply dichlor (assuming Leslie's is 55-56% AC), I do not think I need to add polyquat, correct? (Today and since day 1, the pool was sparkling clear.) Would you have a link to a page discussing using polyquat (or other techniques) when going on vacation?
2. Thank you for shiming in on the reference to Kent William's article. That did seem really contrary to common wisdom but what about the CDC's findings regarding diminished "chlorine’s ability to inactivate the chlorine-resistant protozoan, cryptosporidium": should we worry about this at all? (I must admit I haven't done any research yet about protozoan cryptosporidium but it does remind me of a parasite some people suffer from after bathing in local water reservoirs but I may be wrong...)

Let me express my gratitude for your very helpful answers!!!

Adding CYA reduces the percentage of chlorine that is active at any given time. That's bad, if you try to follow the 1 - 3 ppm recommended levels . . . but we don't!

In fact your target chlorine level should be 5 - 10% of your CYA level. If you operate that way, you'll have a fairly constant amount of ACTIVE chlorine present.

BUT, there's a huge advantage to higher levels of CYA *if* you follow our cl-cya chart: http://pool9.net/cl-cya/ . You can have FAR more chlorine in reserve, ready to almost instantly replace the ACTIVE chlorine, if it gets used up.

This morning at 9:45am on a bright sunny Texan day:

TC 0.1 (using K1000), FC 0.8 (using K2006C after adding a lot of powder), CC 0.2
pH 7.8 (or 7.9)
TA 80
CH 160
Water temp 79
SI 0.05

Not sure I am doing the right thing yet with the FC/CC test in the K2006C. Very hard to read at these low levels.

pH is back up, TA is perfect: should I add dichlor and wait 3 to 5 hours before retesting in the hope pH dropped, or more drastically lower pH with muriatic acid or even raise TA with baking soda then lower pH with muriatic? I discovered http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/lowe...p-by-step.html after having followed my installer's instructions to lower TA (initially reading 120) but now my pH is bouncing around and TA is in range but no longer high so not sure I can or should follow directions at this link.

I will make a run to Leslie's to get dichlor if it is 55-56% available chlorine. Should I use bleach and CYA if the dichlor I found is 62-63% available chlorine?

PoolDoc: the best guess chart is great, your rule "your target chlorine level should be 5 - 10% of your CYA level" is even easier to remember! Thank you!

Watermom: regarding the Super Simple Startup Recipe, I assume I skip adding "borax in equal quantities as dichlor" since my pH is so high, correct?

Dichlor in the 55% - 62% available chlorine range is fine; there are 2 'flavors': hydrated and anhydrous. The anhydrous 'flavor' has a bit more chlorine per pound.

Regarding your TA, you'll probably need to add BOTH acid and baking soda.

Judge your use of Borax based on your pH readings.

Things are looking better!

Yesterday morning pool was looking bluer after adding the bleach but TC was low, I added a bit less than 2lb of baking soda to raise my TA then several hours after that after noon added a dose of muriatic acid to lower my pH. In the evening around 9pm, once water had had plenty of time to recirculate with pH and TA in range, I added 2/3 of a pound of dichlor based on my understanding of what is needed for the 14k gallons I have without exceeding the upper limit of what the NPC recommends. 4 hours later, TC had raised a little (0.5) nowhere near the 3ppm I was expecting. Around 1am, I added the same quantity of dichlor again.

This morning around 8:45am:
FC 1.6
CC 0.4
pH 7.3
TA 80
CH 160
Water temp 80
SI -0.45

Tonight I will add another dose of dichlor 55% AC and so on every evening until I run out of the six 1lb bags I got. That should add a tad more than 30ppm of CYA total (if I calculated that right), which should show on the K2006C CYA test. Hopefully by then I get a feeling of how FC/CC last under current conditions, can add some more CYA and switch over to using bleach.

Questions:
1/ Once CYA rises, should I cease measuring TA and measure Carbonate Alkalinity instead?
2/ How much salt/sodium can I expect to add to the pool by recurrently topping off with bleach?
3/ I have a DE filter and a heater for the hot tub that are both parts of the pool system: I hope dichlor then bleach are ok for use with those, are they?

A) 7lbs of dichlor should get you right up to 30.

1) Does it matter? CYA will affect measured TA consistently. You will raise it if your pH is unstable - you will determine the best level. The CYA component factors out when comparing new TA reading to old, why bother doing the calculation?
2) A little, maybe 10ppm salt in a jug of bleach.
3) Just fine - no differrent than any other source of chlorine.

Thank you BigDave!

A) Good! At least my calculations are not off ;-)

1) I see. It's just that the NPC asks for CA not TA to be measured once the pool is started and recommends CA be kept between 80 and 120ppm.

2) Does that little amount of salt translate into huge amounts over several years? I'm not really sure how to calculate this and don't know if I should bother but I sure wouldn't want to see metals rusting around the pool... I just hope this isn't a bad tradeoff vs using Trichlor and having CYA steadily increasing over the years which in my case and in the past led to algae (as I assume chlorine levels couldn't keep up with high CYA) and to having to empty the pool at least partially. CYA does not evaporate right?

3) Great. I was wondering as I saw the post about running pools at high pH where dichlor is a source of chlorine never to be used. However I don't think I could easily run my pool at high pH since I have a heater that would perhaps (?) suffer from this.

+ All forms of chlorine add salt, because -OCl (free chlorine) => O2^ + -Cl (salt) . Bleach adds somewhat more, because it contains free salt, in addition to the chlorine.

+ CYA does not evaporate. It is readily biodegraded however, whenever 'slime' (algae + bacteria) layers form in the pool.

+ Heaters are one place where the SI index actually does matter. You can use the LSI calculator, here, but remember you must use the water temperature at the INSIDE SURFACE of the heat exchanger. A reasonable estimate is the heater effluent temp + 20 degrees F.

So, if your pool is 75 and the heater effluent is 85, you'd use 105 as the calculation temp. Taking your reported figures, and assuming a TDS of 500 ppm for a freshly filled pool, your POOL has an LSI of -0.26, but your HEATER would have an LSI of 0.1

Great info PoolDoc!

2) So with all forms of chlorine adding some salt, no need to worry about rust with bleach then ;-) Re CYA biodegrading, I will keep an eye on it anyway and can add as needed. I just don't expect much loss if maintenance of FC level prevents slime.

3) To evaluate the LSI, I have so far used the watergram wheel in the K2006C kit *and* the water temp provided on the display of my Hayward H400FDN heater. I wonder what this temp really corresponds to now that you're mentioning this. I believe it is really close to what the temp is in the pool. Based on your explanation, I understand I only need to adjust the temp reading at the heater by +20 when it runs. I will take a look at the LSI calculator.

Re vacation/away time, I found a procedure about this on the Super Simple Startup Recipe page that does use polyquat. I guess this is what you were referring to. Interesting.

Re protozoan cryptosporidium, I found the procedure apparently from the CDC to fight it at this link: http://www.floridahealth.gov/healthy...ponse_reco.pdf

2) You could take it that way, but it's not what I meant. ;)

3) The LSI value that matters, with respect to your heater, is the LSI of the water 1/32" of an inch away from the interior of your heat exchanger pipes . . . and yes, THAT water will be at a higher temp than your pool water.

4) I'm working a vacation page. Polyquat can be a helpful tool with any approach. Basically, your options (which can be combined) are: use a feeder, use a floater, use an SWCG, use polyquat, maintain borates > 60 ppm, maintain phosphates < 100 ppB, follow HiC2 (high CYA + high chlorine) and raise FC > 30 ppm before leaving, cover your pool.

The crypto guideline has been updated since I last saw it. It was amusing to see how closely it aligns with what I tell guards: "It's not the nice t##d that will make everyone sick; it's the disappearing brown cloud!". Then, I usually 'share' with them information about a black bear's first meal after hibernation. S-)

PoolDoc:

2) Not sure I understood you. Do I need to worry about the salt that bleach adds and/or disappearing CYA?

4) I'll be glad to read your vacation page. Hope I don't miss it especially since I'd like to learn about borates and phosphates. That Phosfree product at Leslie's really has me wondering what benefit it could have....

5) I have CC and its level could rise. How do I get rid of it? increase TC 3 to 4 times my FC reading or in some other way?

If there are more current guidelines re crypto, it would be great to know even if there are no bears in sight here 8-D

Actually, the BEST way to manage the risk of crypto in YOUR pool is to keep anyone who's feeling a bit loosey-goosey S-) out of the pool. Instead, send them to the bathroom with a magazine and a bottle of loperamide (plug-em up) pills. :puzzle:

Over the past week or so, I have used seven 1lb bags of dichlor and things are looking pretty sweet around here. Chemicals are in balance but I have a question.

My CYA is now in the neighborhood of 30ppm and my TC at 3ppm (or 4) after I add dichlor at dusk stays there until the morning and drops to 1ppm after a long day of Texas sun.

Can I expect TC to drop less if I raise my CYA to 40ppm as Watermom recommended and even less if I raise it to 50ppm? (Right now with CYA at 30ppm, I believe I would need to add ~6 cups of 8.25% liquid bleach every day to bring TC back to 3ppm at dusk on an ongoing basis and it would obviously be great to have to use less bleach.)

As CYA increases, so does the half-life of chlorine in the pool. With CYA = 0, the half-life in clear shallow water is as little as 15 minutes!

However, the effective life of chlorine seems to go up as CYA increases, even when you maintain a constant available unstabilized chlorine fraction. For example, a pool with CYA = 20 pm and FC = 1 ppm has approximately the same available unstabilized chlorine as a pool with CYA = 200 ppm and FC = 10 ppm. But reportedly it takes MORE chlorine to maintain the first pool at 1 ppm, than it does the second pool at 10 ppm, assuming equal gallons, loads, sunlight, etc.

That's really something I need to experiment with.

Ok PoolDoc, so I should go up to the max recommended 50ppm CYA and expect to see chlorine last longer while initially having to use more to bring FC level not back to 3 but to 5ppm i.e. 10% of CYA level as per your target range earlier in this thread (which also happens to be the max recommended by the National Swimming Pool Foundation CPO Handbook Water Chemistry Guidelines I saw page 44 in the little guide that came with my K2006C).

I then hope the 5% FC bottom target (2.5ppm) is reached at least 2 days later this summer or more than 2 days when the sun is less of a fixture the rest of the year. At today's bleach prices (min 2.2c/oz in my area), there is a strong incentive to make it last as long as possible as it is more expensive than using trichlor tabs (was ~$99 a year though I was not necessarily on top of chlorine levels as I plan to be now and my CYA levels often went through the roof meaning algae).

Please ignore the CPO guidelines -- the info here is *much* more up-to-date. Chem_Geek, who started here in 2000 or 2001, has repeatedly tried --without much success -- to get the NSPF (behind the CPO) and the NSF to update their standards to reflect the work of Obrien (1972, I think) and Wojitowisc (circa 2000) and his own extensive analysis published here, on his personal home page, and elsewhere. (Wojitowisc' journal article in the JPSI was what gave me the confidence to publish my own observations in the first Cl-CYA page, which I called the "Best Guess Chart".

At this point in time, I'm pretty confident that Chem_Geek knows more about pool chemistry, from an comprehensive analytical view, than anyone else in the world. (Ernest Blatchley at Purdue is doing great work, but doesn't know about pools overall.) Add to that 10,000's of pool owners confirming not only my Best Guess chart, but Chem_Geek's analysis . . . and the CPO and NSPF are decidedly 'behind the times'.

But, given the fact that 'doing it right' would cost the pool industry literally $100,000,000's per year, their incentive to 'fix' things is small! ;)

Ben:

Very willing to learn based on updated info!!!

1/ "Wojitowisc' journal article in the JPSI" seems to be what I found at jspsi.poolhelp.com/ARTICLES/JSPSI_V5N1_pp20-38.pdf and the table on chlorine is indeed informative though not very legible. Your best guess chart reads much easier ;-) Any pointer to "Obrien (1972, I think) and Wojitowisc (circa 2000) and his own extensive analysis published here" (I could not find this)?

2/ Do you or Chem_Geek have a page summarizing updated recommendations kind of like what is on that page 44 of the Taylor guide but updated?

Thank you!

Simpler:

When everything is fine, no algae is present, and the bather load is light, FC = 5% of CYA (0.05 x CYA ppm = FC ppm target).

Under heavier load, 10%

With green algae, 15% - 20% or -- long term -- to remove black algae.

Mustard algae, 25% - 50%

With borates > 60 ppm, and especially, with phosphates < 125 ppb (0.125 ppm), the algae treatment levels can be lowered.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kidney

which also happens to be the max recommended by the National Swimming Pool Foundation CPO Handbook Water Chemistry Guidelines I saw page 44 in the little guide that came with my K2006C

---

The FC that is 5% of the CYA level works well for saltwater chlorine generator pools, but isn't high enough for non-salt pools dosed with chlorine such as bleach or chlorinating liquid, where the minimum FC is around 7.5% of the CYA level (this level is pretty consistent with Ben's Best Guess chart). I don't know if the higher salt levels are the reason or the more continuous dosing (I don't think that's it because peristaltic pumps seem to need the higher level). Also, these targets are for the worst case with plenty of algae nutrients, BUT the pool is still expected to have good circulation so that these minimums are maintained pretty much everywhere in the pool. And this isn't perfect, but seems to have a failure rate of less than 1 in 5000 pools which is pretty darn good. It also is for green and black algae -- yellow/mustard algae needs higher chlorine levels to prevent from growing so it's best to eradicate it if possible (or use other means such as a phosphate remover).

The maximum 4 ppm FC often quoted in the industry comes from the EPA drinking water limit. It doesn't make any sense for pools since 1) you aren't drinking the water (at least not 2 liters per day of it which is what the EPA assumes for their drinking water standard) and 2) with CYA in the water the active chlorine level is very low (not relevant for drinking, but relevant for oxidation rates of swimsuits, skin and hair). In fact, quite a few states ignore the EPA limit in their state codes for commercial/public pools. Florida has a 10 ppm FC maximum, Texas has an 8 ppm FC maximum and New York has a 5 ppm FC maximum all exceeding the EPA limit (New York also bans CYA in any commercial/public pools -- an over-reaction due to past Crypto outbreaks).

When figuring in comparative pricing, don't forget that with Trichlor you also had to add pH Up or Alkalinity Up to maintain pH and TA. When you factor that in, bleach or chlorinating liquid is not necessarily more expensive and in some places it's less. Also, you may be able to get chlorinating liquid for less -- your 2.2 cents per fluid ounce for what I presume to be 8.25% bleach is roughly equivalent to $4.27 per gallon for 12.5% chlorinating liquid. Mine costs around $3.95 per gallon though I just used a coupon today which was effectively for 25% off (1 gallon free when getting a case of 4 gallons). One gallon of 12.5% chlorinating liquid adds 12.5 ppm FC to 10,000 gallons (because the % is usually in Trade % which is a volume %, not weight %). It takes 18.24 ounces weight of Trichlor for the same amount of chlorine and to restore the TA (technically the carbonate alkalinity since the TA rises from increasing CYA) requires 13.8 ounces of pH Up (sodium carbonate or Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda) assuming carbon dioxide outgassing raises the pH the rest of the way. As shown here, 25 pounds of Trichlor from a reasonably priced brand (GLB is usually one of the least expensive) is $91.14 so 18.24 ounces would be $4.16 just for the Trichlor. As shown here, 8 pounds of pH Up is $16.10 so 13.8 ounces would be $1.74. Even if you were to get the grocery store equivalent which is Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda at Walmart for $3.24 for 55 ounces so 13.8 ounces would be $0.81. I don't see how your bleach is more expensive than Trichlor (unless it's only 6% and not 8.25%).

Since you mentioned the CPO Handbook, if you get that book or take the course I suggest you look at Certified Pool Operator (CPO) training -- What is not taught. The course and book are quite good, but there are some things that aren't stated and a very few that aren't quite right so that post fills in those details.

Finally, regarding the protozoan oocyst Cryptosporidium parvum, as Ben wrote it's easy to avoid by not having anyone with diarrhea use your pool. Also, with regard to CYA, it IS possible to super-chlorinate but it can be impractical when the CYA is high. To get the equivalent of 10 ppm FC with no CYA you need to raise the FC to roughly 10 ppm higher than the CYA level. Instead, it would be easier to just add some sodium chlorite to the pool to produce chlorine dioxide which can kill off the Crypto overnight in 12 hours. That shouldn't be necessary in residential pools, but would be an emergency remediation for commercial/public pools.