CYA Help AND Bleach as a chlorinator question

[aylad]

So is half gallon/day a typical chlorination method?

I'm also relatively low on CYA (it's still not all dissolved after almost a week, but I tested and it read 30, but I thought I could still barely see the dot).

I have this HTH cal hypo (shock and swim) that says it "won't overstabilize your pool". Could I use a bag of that every three days as a chlorinator when I don't have bleach? I don't have the room to store a lot of bleach.

So IF I need more CYA, do I put it in a sock in the skimmer, and how much at a time?

First of all, how much bleach you need to put in depends on your CYA level and the overall condition of your pool... i.e. if you are fighting a bloom, it will take more than it will if you have clean water that you're trying to maintain. Give us numbers for CYA, TC and CC, and that will help us tell you how much bleach to add.

You can use the cal hypo to chlorinate, but again you need to know how higher you CYA is to know how much to put in there....and CarlD has already told you that regular testing is the way to do this. You can't just dump in what you "think" it needs without either being very, very lucky or taking a huge chance on ruining your liner (and your pool water!).

When I add CYA, I usually just put it in the skimmer and let it dissolve in the skimmer. How much to add? Depends on your current CYA level (I know, I sound like a broken record) and what your target number is. Again....you have to test regularly to know how much of what your pool needs.

Janet

[Tyrone Shuz]

I tried adding CYA to the skimmer, and it bogged down my system. My CYA level was very low, and my pool is roughly 17k-18k gal.

It's 6 days now, and it's still not all dissolved, it keeps returning to my pool, but less and less each time I push it down the main drain.

I took a reading yesterday (after 5 days) and it's approx CYA = 30, maybe less. The sample got VERY cloudy, but I still thought I could see the dot just a little bit.

FC and TC = 5.5 (I added 1.4 gal of bleach today, and tested 3-4hrs later, which is enough time for my pool to turn over, or very close).

pH = 7.4
TA = 70 (gotta get some baking soda)

The water is otherwise fantastic. Have been swimming and enjoying it. Occasionally I'll see tiny hint of green in one or two spots on the wall just below the surface, but it brushes right off.

So assuming those numbers are right:

How much more CYA do I need to put in (if any) and:

How much bleach or cal hypo should I use as a chlorinator and HOW OFTEN?

[Watermom]

Try and keep your chlorine between 3-6. In a pool with 17,500 gallons, each 3 quart jug of 6% bleach will raise your cl by about 2.5 ppm. Test your water each evening and add enough bleach to get back to 5 or 6.

I would go ahead and wait a few more days before deciding whether or not to add a bit more cya. You can run it at 30 ppm. Many people do and do just fine with it at that level. I would suggest trying that first and then if you find that you are not able to keep a chlorine reading through a hot sunny day, you can always bump it up a bit to around 40.