Brand new pool owner = new to BBB method

[PoolDoc]

On the multiport, there is a clear plastic half cylinder with water in it. This piece of plastic with water has green algae in it. Is the algae in the plastic half cylinder cause for concern?

No. It's the multiport backwash sight glass, and has no contact with circulating pool water.

On hot sunny days, you could definitely lose several ppm of chlorine by noon, with CYA=25ppm or less

I have no advice on landscaping, except to avoid 'crap myrtles' like the plague -- those things poop in the pool year-round! -- Seeds, twigs, leaves, petals, etc, all year long.

[stslimited84]

No. It's the multiport backwash sight glass, and has no contact with circulating pool water.

ok good thats a relief.

On hot sunny days, you could definitely lose several ppm of chlorine by noon, with CYA=25ppm or less

I havent retested the CYA yet but with the addition of the last 3 pounds, it should be up around 40ppm. My pool gets full sun for about 9-9.5 hours a day. Is 40ppm CYA sufficient or should we go higher?

[PoolDoc]

Use the Best Guess chart to determine appropriate chlorine levels. If you use higher levels than needed, you'll have higher chlorine loss than necessary.

[stslimited84]

Use the Best Guess chart to determine appropriate chlorine levels. If you use higher levels than needed, you'll have higher chlorine loss than necessary.

I meant using a higher CYA level to slow chlorine loss; however I do realize I need to monitor the pool more until I get a better feel for the rate of chlorine usage and then go from there.

My understanding from reading on this forum is the higher the CYA level the slower the chlorine loss. On the flip side, with higher CYA levels you have to maintain a higher baseline of chlorine. Correct?

[Watermom]

Your understanding is correct.

[stslimited84]

If the free chlorine level is raised above the recommended ideal max, say to 8ppm in a pool with 30-50 ppm CYA where the recommended max is 6ppm, what happens? I imagine the excess chlorine just burns off quicker, but wanted clarification. The chlorine levels seem to drop fairly quickly during the day right now. That being said the temps (S.E. PA) are 100 degrees and the pool is in full sun for most of the day.

[PoolDoc]

When you are not having to treat a problem, you want to raise it to the normal max, and let it cycle down toward the normal minimum. Given losses to swimmers and sunlight, it's pretty much impossible to maintain a 'constant' chlorine level in the pool. What you want to avoid is having it go below the minimum. It's better to be too high than too low, because pools are not especially forgiving, and a single algae episode can consume 30 days worth of chlorine!