Help with appropriate shock for vinyl in-ground

[SalemCastles]

Hi Jim,

Where about's are you and how much sunshine does the pool get per day?

[jeepers]

Hi Jim,

Where about's are you and how much sunshine does the pool get per day?

I'm in the suburbs of Philadephia, PA. Pool is on the east side of my house so it gets direct early and mid-day sun.

Ben, thanks for pointing me to the link. I have read it literally about 10 times but am still trying to get my head around the logistics of convering to a full or modified BBB regimen. I just bought a new 25 gallon tub of pucks so I'll plan to at least finish those out before I try anything drastic.

[Watermom]

A 25 gallon tub of trichlor sounds like a lot of trichlor. Keep an eye on your CYA if you use these. It will climb faster than you think.

[jeepers]

A 25 gallon tub of trichlor sounds like a lot of trichlor. Keep an eye on your CYA if you use these. It will climb faster than you think.

Sorry, meant to write 25 pound tub. I agree that a 25 gallon tub would be a boatload of trichlor.

[Watermom]

Even still, if you use more trichlor, keep an eye on your CYA level and also on your pH level.

[CarlD]

The great thing about the B-B-B method is at its simplest, it's very, very easy.
The one KEY thing is you need to be able to test properly, which is why we recommend the Taylor K-2006 or an equivalent FAS-DPD test kit (Leslies has one, so does another pool forum).
You should also have a simple OTO/pH kit, preferably one that measures chlorine to 5ppm. The Taylor K-1000 is the best and costs about $10.

You test with the OTO every day and adjust your chlorine and pH as needed (I haven't had to adjust pH in 6 weeks).

Once a week you test Free Chlorine (FC), Combined Chloramines (CC), pH, Total Alkalinity (TA), and Stabilizer/Cyanuric Acid (CYA).

If you have a concrete/shotkrete/gunite/plaster/tile pool, you test Calcium Hardness (CH) as well.
But if you have a vinyl pool you only have to test it twice a season (unless you use lots of Cal-Hypo).
And, if you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator you need to test for salt,too.

Your ideal daily level of Chlorine is determined by your weekly test of stabilizer, as well as the Best Guess Chlorine Chart (See Ben's and Watermom's sig for the link). So...my CYA level is 30ppm. Therefore my daily chlorine level should be between 3 and 6 ppm. As long as it stays in that range, or doesn't fall to far below it for long, I don't have to shock. It works out that I have had to add about 1 gallon of 6% bleach every other day for almost 20,000 gallons. Simple.

pH? As I said I haven't had to adjust it in over 6 weeks---but that's because I check it and watch it. If it gets low, I can add Borax (which adds borates and can inhibit algae), or I can aerate, which adds nothing, but raises pH. If it's high I can add Muriatic Acid or Dry Acid (the generic for Low'n'Slow)

Once a week I "worry" about mainly T/A and CYA. Since my pH has been stable at 7.6, I haven't done ANYTHING to change my unusually low T/A of 60ppm. T/A's JOB is to buffer and stabilize pH. My pH is stable, I don't mess with it.
Since I've had to add the bleach (Actually, I use Liquid Chlorine and 1/2 gallon of that is the same as one gallon of bleach) at the rate of 1 gallon every other day, I'm planning to raise CYA to 50 or 60 and maintain chlorine at the 5 to 10ppm level.

I have a vinyl pool, I never add Cal-Hypo, so, I measure my Calcium Hardness twice a season. It was at 60ppm early on and I'll probably measure it at the beginning of August, just to be sure.

If you stick with bleach, Borax, Baking soda, Muriatic Acid/Dry Acid and 100% Cyanuric acid, you don't need anything else in your pool but kids and fun.

It's very possible to work with Tri-Chlor tabs, Di-Chlor powder, Cal-Hypo, chlorinators, etc. and STILL follow the B-B-B method. You just have to know what each product does and keep an eagle eye on your daily and weekly tests. So...if I'm using Tri-Chlor tabs, I'm seeking to do 3 things: Keep a constant flow of chlorine, lower my pH, and raise my CYA level. I could do each separately, but sometimes this is more convenient.

2 caveats.
Do NOT use ANY algaecide but 60% polyquat (60% Poly....<something>... and no other active ingredients). Other algaecides do more harm than good.
HTH products are now "cocktails" of things you may not want, like "double acting tablets" that contain tri-chlor AND copper, which stains fittings and turns blonde hair green. Always check the label. The Namco chain in my area is no longer selling 100% CYA--they mix it with Soda Ash (which is far cheaper but don't tell you how much). Soda Ash raises both pH and Total Alk.

Carl

[Watermom]

Carl made a little typo. We recommend the Taylor K-2006, not the K-2005.

I also do things just a little differently than he does. I don't check my CYA weekly. After I get my CYA where I want it early in the swim season, I don't test it anymore that summer. I can do that since I don't use any forms of stabilized chlorine like trichlor pucks or dichlor powder. I only use bleach.

[SalemCastles]

I was wondering about that as well. If you know what your CYA is then just keep track of what your putting in the pool. If its 6ppm per 10ppm of chlorine you should be able to calculate based on the pucks used.

[CarlD]

Good catch, Lisa...can't believe I did that

A lot of people are leery of testing CYA so often because they quickly run out of reagent. I simply order pint bottles of the stuff from Amato, so I don't have to be parsimonious about using it.

You can estimate how much CYA you have but it's like trying to drive down the street with a compass, a stop-watch, and a map, rather than looking out the windshield.

But we all have our different styles and Jan's been making her pool run beautifully since she was a little tyke!

Carl

[Watermom]

Uhhhh ........ not Jan. That would be Lisa!