New pool owner, need some guidance please

[madwil]

since you have the feeder, I'd keep using it as long as you plan to use the pucks; the floater would just waste your money, IMO...
good to hear the green is gone!

[CarlD]

madwil's right: If you have a feeder, you don't need the floaters. Personally, I don't have a feeder, nor intend to get one. When I want to use pucks, $10 floaters are good enough for me. Can't see spending a couple of hundred bucks on a feeder.

[SteveInFLA]

Okay thanks madwil and Carl, that makes sense, I had read about some owners really disliking their CL200's so that's why I asked. One other question about the feeder: The control goes from 0 (off) to 8 (full on), is there a suggested setting for my size pool or is it just something I need to experiment with ? And I'm guessing I need to try to maintain 2 to 3 tabs in it ?

[BigDave]

Don't know about 0 - 8 (you will have to experiment and adjust for bright/cloudy and swimmer load) but high enough to make sure that you have adequte Free Chlorine all the time. Adequate, of course, comes from Ben's Best Guess chart and will depend on your CYA level - rising while you're using dichlor and trichlor.

Remember to stop using the chlorinator when you get your CYA where you want it.

[SteveInFLA]

Remember to stop using the chlorinator when you get your CYA where you want it.

Thanks BigDave, but what about the chlorine, how is the chlorine level maintained if the feeder is turned off ?

Also, I checked the FC tonight and it has dropped to about 2, maybe 2.5, looks like a very faint sign of green trying to start back on the white steps, should I go ahead and add some tabs into the CL200 feeder now ?

[aylad]

A better idea might be to leave the chlorinator on but supplement every other day or so with bleach when you find that the chlorine is getting too low. That will extend the amount of summertime that you're able to use the chlorinator.

What BigDave meant was that when your CYA get to where you want it, turn the chlorinator off and switch to an unstabilized form of chlorine, like cal-hypo or bleach.

Janet

[BigDave]

Steve,
I think you mat not be finished with the algae battle.
If your CYA is still around 20 (may be higher if you've been using trichlor in the feeder), Ben's Best Guess chart puts your shock level at 12 ppm Free Chlorine(FC). I understand your FC test only goes to 3 ppm - you can use the "Shot Glass" dilution method to get a (slightly less accurate) measure of your FC. In a clean vessel, rinsed with distilled water, mix one part pool water and four parts distilled water and test this mix for FC them multiply your reading by 5 to get the FC in the pool.
What I would do if I had your pool:
1) I'd be really happy 'cause I don't have a pool right now.
2) Shut off the trichlor feeder until the algae is gone.
3) Measure CYA. Use Ben's Best Guess chart(http://poolsolutions.com/gd/best-gue...e-chart.html#a) to determine shock level.
4) Measure FC.
5) Add bleach (aka liquid chlorine and sodium hypochlorite solution) to bring the FC to shock level (or slightly above). Use pool calculator (http://www.poolcalculator.com/) to estimate dosage.
6) Brush the sides and bottom and vaccum / remove all the junk possible.
7) Repeat steps 4 - 6 as often as possible (at lease twice a day) until no more than 1 ppm FC is lost overnight (measured in the evening and in the early morning).
8) Clean the filter as necessary.
9) Keep the pool at shock level one more day.
10) IF the CYA is still low, turn on the trichlor feeder then shut it off when desired CYA level is reached.
11) Every day ( with feeder on or off ):
11.1) Measure FC add bleach as necessary to keep the FC between Min and Max on Ben's Best Guess chart for the CYA Level.
11.2) Measure pH and use Borax to raise and muriatic acid to lower.

[SteveInFLA]

Great information from all of you ! A question about the bleach, the only jugs of bleach we have at the house right now are HE and I see no info on the percentage of chlorine or anything on it. What type should I get and how does the 2-1/2 gallon jug from Pinch-A-Penny @ 10.5% @ about $4.50 compare to an equal amount of the bleach you guys use (chlorine wise) ?

Thanks,

Steve

[aylad]

I use the 182 oz jug from WalMart, it's 6% and I think sells for about $2.54.
What you're using may be just fine, but I would look for an 800 number on the label and call the company to see the percentage of sodium hypochlorite (chlorine). Sometimes they can be as low as 3%. The 10.5% stuff would be a great deal if it is still 10.5 %.....but it depends on how they store it and how often they rotate stock. Higher percentages of bleach tend to degrade faster than the lower concentrations. Somewhere around here, there's a post containing a method for actually testing your bleach for percentage, I'll see if I can find it.

Edit: This thread may help you out... http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/archive...hp/t-7035.html


Janet

[BigDave]

I did a quick google search for HE and Bleach and didn't find anything that was bleach - mostly HE Laundry Detergent with Bleach Alternative. You probably don't want detergent in your pool. I made this mistake, I bought a big orange box that I thought was an economy size Arm and Hammer baking Soda. It turned out to be Arm and Hammer laundry detergent enhanced with baking soda. I put it in my pool, my pH and Alkalinity went up as I expected them to. It took me a very long time to figure out why my pool was so cloudy and smelled funny. I felt really dopey when I finally did.