Shopping list for BBB

[jrock29]

Hi just got started on this site and have been reading up on the bbb method. I have a ag 40 000 litre or 11000 gallon pool. I plan on ordering the k2006 test kit but might just get the walmart hth 6 way for now. I would like to know how much BBB i should purchase for next summer going forward. Also how much of the bbb should be applied to make incrimental changes to the ph, free chl, alk and stabilizer. Right now my stabilizer is at 0 or low. What would i use to increase it?

[PoolDoc]

Don't purchase ANYTHING for next summer -- bleach doesn't keep that long!

Read this: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?9755; your privilege status when I update your membership is dependent on that info, and I need your Pool Chart info, to answer your questions.

As far as stabilizer, the easiest way is to chlorinate with dichlor, but I'm not sure you can purchase the products we normally recommend. I will post the info below, so you can check and see. If you can find dichlor that shows 55 or 56% "available chlorine" that is the right stuff. Otherwise, if you can find 99% "cyanuric acid" that will work, too. But it's hard to dissolve -- put it in a sock and hang it in front of the return.

Ben
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+ If you need stabilizer, and have access to a Sams Club, buy their 24 pack of 1# bags of dichlor shock. Each bag will add about 7 ppm of chlorine, and about 6 ppm of stabilizer, per 10K gallons of water. Otherwise, order dichlor from Amazon:

Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs

We do NOT recommend buying dichlor locally, otherwise, at least until you are an EXPERT reader of chemical labels. The chlorinating pool chemicals sold at Walmart, Kmart, Costco, and most other local stores are diluted blends, sometimes with copper and other products with bad side-effects.

[Watermom]

Just wanted to welcome you to the Pool Forum!

[jrock29]

Thanks I did the chart again this time i had a thread number entered.

I plan on going shopping in the US today to get some pool supplies for BBB. How much Borax and Bleach should i get and where can i find dichlor? i plan on ordering the kem tek 22.5 from amazon but is there anything else i can get right now.

[PoolDoc]

+ If you can find "sodium dichloro-isocyanurate" or a product with a similar active ingredient (= contains "-dichlor-"), NO other active ingredients, and an active chlorine % of 55% or higher . . . that should be OK.

+ You live where it's cool, but still I wouldn't get more than 25 gallons of 6% household bleach. Check the %. Better to get a 6% store brand, than Clorox, unless you are VERY careful to get PLAIN Clorox Ultra.

+ I can't imagine you'd need more than 10 boxes (47 lbs) of borax, but borax WILL keep, so if you get too much, you can use it in later years. The only exception would be if you want to do the borates > 50 ppm treatment, but I'd recommend saving that till next year, when you have more experience . . . UNLESS you are planning to leave most of the water in your pool. (I'm assuming you're planning the AG weatherization common in the US North East -- draining 2/3 of your pool water.

[jrock29]

Ok Shopping list completed. Unfortunately i could not find non-clorox bleach at costco. So i got 6 jugs of clorox 6% bleach, 2 big bags of baking soda arm and hammer from costco, 5 boxes of borax, a hth 6 way test kit, some cya stabilizer from pool store, kem tek 22.5 lbs dichlor (2) pails from amazon, and the k 2006c is on order. I am new to pool maintenance and balancing since i have only had the pool since start of August 2012. I use the 6 way test kit and the dip strips to check for free cl and cya since the hth 6way does not check for that 2 times a day morning and night.

My questions:

1. Is there a guideline for daily/weekly routine for keeping my pool balanced?
2. How do i know how much of each BBB to add to increase ppm for each category?
3. How long do i need to wait for the chemicals BBB to take affect before i test again?
4. Is the Kem-tek dichlor to be used instead of my trichlor puck that i put in skimmer?

Thanks for any help guys. I would be lost without this forum.

[Watermom]

Do you have the 6-Way drops kit or only the 6-Way test strips?

[jrock29]

sorry 6 way hth dropper and also those crumby test strips too. i use the dip strip to tell my cya cause i ran out of the hth cya regent.

[PoolDoc]

In spite of the name, BBB is an approach, and not 3 chemicals.

A core element of the approach is accurate testing. In particular, it requires accurately testing CYA (stabilizer) levels, and adjusting chlorine levels accordingly. The "Best Guess" page explains how and why.

Another element is using chlorine chemical side effects beneficially. For example, when your pH is too high, and your CYA is too low, dichlor is ideal. But, if your CYA is high, and your pH is low . . . you'd better use another chlorine source.

But all this requires actually knowing what your pool water levels are. 'Guess-strips' are not very accurate, and never reliable. Pool stores are slightly more accurate, but equally unreliable. We receive almost daily reports of bogus pool store test results.

One of the facts the Pool Chart aggregate data is making clear is that, as hard as we push better test kits, we don't push them hard enough. The relationship between inadequate testing and persistent pool problems is very strong. You ask how you can know how much of each chemical to add, to get a specific ppm level. The more important question is, how do you know what you need to add?

And the answer to that question, is to use a good test kit.