New to the Pool

[PoolDoc]

Curious as to how much you think the BBB system would cost me for a year?

It depends on how you do it, and also on how much it takes to clear up your pool, so I can't answer. I can tell you how much it would probably cost if *I* did it. All local prices are for Chattanooga, TN, and do not include tax

Purchases:

40# of PoolBrand trichlor tabs @ Sams Club => $90
50# of PoolBrand dichlor granular @ Sams Club => $106
20 boxes of 20 Mule Team borax @ Walmart => 67.60
6 gallons of muriatic acid @ Lowes => $41.88
HTH 6-way kit at Walmart => ~$23.00 (K-1000 @ Amazon if 6-way not available)

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K-2006C @ Amazon => ~$85
Lamotte borate test strips => ~$15
Kem-Tek floating chlorinator @ Amazon => ~$10

Process:

1. Add dichlor @ 4 cups per dose daily as needed; maintain chlorine in DARK yellow zone (HTH 6-way)
2. Add borax, slowly to the skimmer, 4 boxes every other day, followed by 1 gallon of muratic added to the pool.
3. Adjust pH in between to 7.2 - 7.8. Add 1/4 gallon of muriatic to lower; 1/2 box borax to raise. Do not add next dose till pH is in range.
4. Continue with borax till 16 boxes have been added.
5. Continue with dichlor, till algae is gone. Test pH & chlorine daily with K-1000 or HTH 6-way.
6. Once algae is gone, do a full test with K 2006 and borate strips.
7. Adjust pH to 7.6 - 7.8 with borax.
8. Place floater in pool, filled with trichlor tabs.
9. When you get ready to leave for a few days, add dichlor to take your pool into the shock range. (Best Guess chart)
10. As the season continues, your CYA level will climb. This will mean you have to run higher levels of free chlorine but ALSO that your pool will 'last' longer without attention.
11. With a 120 day season, I'd guess you'll use all the 3/4 trichlor and 1/2 of the dichlor by season end. (Depends on how much algae you've got)

Following this prescription, your season cost would be about $450 -- which is the cost above, plus some additional borax to maintain pH. If you can't get the trichlor at Sams, do NOT buy it at Lowes or Walmart or Costco; they are selling Aqua Chem or Pool Time or other BioLab versions of BLENDED trichlor. The plain trichlor & dichlor is available from Amazon at about $3.00/lb, instead of $2 at Sams.

I'd also recommend a set of safety glasses & nitrile gloves. Gloves are available at Sams; really good safety glasses are available at Walmart in the form of shooting glasses. But this is Georgia, and they may not be available in Massachusetts -- you may have to go to Lowes, instead. )

Keep in mind that your cost next year -- if you don't drain and refill -- may be as little as $100 for trichlor, $20 for testkit refills, and $30 for borax, or $150 for the season.

Assuming a 120 day season, your chlorine use ONCE THE ALGAE IS GONE, should be 2 ppm / day or less. That translates into ~40# of trichlor. So, separate the remaining dichlor into two sets of doubled kitchen bags. Put 1/2 in each. Seal one bag tightly and return to bucket. Then put the 2nd bag in, but leave it open. Do the same with the trichlor.

Both materials deteriorate some, when damp. It doesn't use up that much chlorine, but it does make them NASTY to work with the second year. Try VERY HARD to NOT drip water or sweat into the buckets. You'll probably have to work with the remainders next spring!

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Testkits @ Amazon links (try to get Walmart HTH 6-way instead of K-1000:

Taylor K-2006 -- OR -- Taylor K-2006C
Lamotte Borate strips
Taylor K-1000

Chemicals & Floater @ Amazon (try to get Sams "PoolBrand" first)

Kem-Tek Dichlor 22.5#
Kem-Tek 3" Trichlor 35#
Kem-Tek 879 Pool Floating Tablet Dispenser Pool and Spa Accessories

[BigDave]

Ben, I think in step 3 you meant to use the muriatic to lower the pH and the Borax to raise it.

[Watermom]

Fixed!

[PoolDoc]

Thanks! Obviously, my fingers weren't keeping up with brain, and just took off on auto-pilot . . . borax . . . phenol . . . K-2006 . . . . . . .