Oh wow, you are both so helpful. Yes, I was just supplementing with the pucks, but primarily using bleach. I'm right on the coast, it gets very hot, and my pool is in full sun until about 4 pm. I do not have a feeder currently, I was putting a puck or two in the skimmer daily as a supplement and have had no problems with algae since I've been on BBB. My concern is that I travel in the summer and wanted to be able to have an easier system set up for my house-sitters when necessary. I will definitely follow your advice and start with lower CYA (30) because my system will build up. I don't have a ton of splash out, but a lot of evaporation. It is HOT here.

My curiosity peaked when you mentioned running your pump for 6 out of 24 hours. I've been advised (perhaps, ill-advised) that in my climate in the height of summer, I should run my pump continuously. Is that overkill? Early in the season, I don't run it continuously, but I have been in June, July, and August.

To answer Aylad's question, I feel like I am constantly having to raise my pH. But since I've only been at this pool thing a few years, I have a lot to learn. I also thought I was spending a lot of money on BBB, and then I realized what other people pay at the pool store and realized that I am NOT spending a lot of money. So perhaps it is normal. I end up adjusting (raising) the pH about every 3-4 days (and it was late in the season). I couldn't think of reasons why the pH was changing, but you guys mentioning the build of stabilizer from the trichlor makes sense. I certainly can switch to just bleach mid-season and reserve the pucks in a feeder for when I'm away intermittently.

I discovered the pool calculator online this year and was going to use that to set my values. What do you guys use?