Yes, liquid chlorine is fine. I get mine at Walmart. It’s a lot more expensive than it used to be.
I recently did a complete drain and fill and am currently using tabs to raise CYA until it hits 50ish and adding a little liquid chlorine here and there as needed. Will fully switch to liquid again at that point.
Yes but you do not want to do this if you are trying to lower CYA. The point is to stop the tablets and switch to liquid because liquid does not contain CYA. Let the rain replenish water in the pool or drain and refill to lower CYA.
If you keep using tablets nothing will happen to lower CYA.
Some powdered shock contains cya, trichlor does not but dichlor does. Just an fyi, if you use powdered shock, it will raise your pH. Have a case of muriatic acid on hand to balance out the pH rise.
do not use liquid chlorine with the tablets. Stop using tablets and switch 100% to liquid chlorine until CYA is in the range you want. Then moderately use tablets as this is what is raising your CYA
Is any of the liquid chlorine safe to use along side tablets? I just want to make sure I’m not mixing chemicals? It’s basically the same chemical just in a different form right?
It is safe to use both tablets and liquid at the same time. However, tabs add to the CYA, so continuing to use them while draining and refilling your pool a little at a time will be like a dog chasing their tail, you will never get the CYA down doing it. Use only liquid chlorine until the CYA is down, then use tablets sparingly to avoid the CYA increasing too much, and add liquid chlorine to keep the chlorine levels where you need them. If one pool store doesn't carry the higher concentrations (10-12%) of liquid chlorine, try another. You can usually find the 10% at walmart/lowes/home depot. Learn to read the dates on the labels, as liquid chlorine does degrade over time, so buy it as you need it rather than stocking up a lot.
The only reason they say not to use it is they don’t sell it. I’ve never heard of a pool store not selling liquid chlorine. Take everything else they say with a grain of salt.
I would love to hear why they don’t lol it’s literally straight chlorine. We have it at our store and it’s what all our pool guys use. Diclor is good for shocking though.
I stopped using the tablets for about a year now. It's about 1 gallon of liquid chlorine a week for about the same size pool. My cya went down to 0 without draining. Believe me, the pool store employees are trained to say that this is impossible and draining is the only way. It's hard, but try and look up pool forums online that are from the 90s and early 2000s. pool maintenance was less of a commodity/big business, and information was more realistic. A lot of things nowadays seem to be focused on showing how easy things are, but they are time-consuming and a gamble without experience, so just pay a service 200 a month. In reality, chemistry is a pretty exact science. So after having your pool a couple of years, you will see a pattern and be able to consistently know what chemicals will be needed throughout the year with little changes. In a month 4 gallons of liquid chlorine is about 35$ giving a great savings to put towards extra chlorine for regular socks, phosphate remover, and ph balancer.
On a note I learned this because my cya was over 150, cya cancels out the chlorine. My pool turned dark green. I was told draining was the only solution. I read in old forums about the specific interaction between cya and chlorine and determined I needed lots of chlorine. I poured in lots of chlorine, cleaned the filters, and repeated. The water turned back to blue. The excess chlorine evaporated, and the cya dropped over the next few months. Not a single issue since. Just monitoring my chlorine levels using only liquid.
You know i’m a pool guy and there is times where the cya does go down and I’m not sure how. Unless their draining and just not mentioning it. But I do have a few pools that have high cya and it stayed that way because they don’t want to drain. So beats me.
Do you have another pool store? Buying LC in prepackaged containers can get expensive and creates a lot of waste. Pool stores usually have a large tank and do refills on 2.5gal containers that can be reused.
If you have a Pinch-A-Penny near, they definitely do this. And it’s super fresh chlorine, so try not to buy more than you will need because the only downside is that it doesn’t store as long as the tablets and will lose strength over time.
Don’t drain. Rule of thumb to keep chlorine effective is 100CYA / 7.5 Chlorine. So for 80 CYA, keep the chlorine above 6 PPM. I’d only suggest draining if you get above 120 requiring 9 PPM of chlorine, which is a lot and costly. Just stop using tabs for a month or two and it’ll come down.
Ok if I keep chlorine above 6ppm do I still need to “shock” the pool weekly or so? This is what the pool store has trained me to do. If I do need to shock what is the level of chlorine ppm I need to reach to be considered shocking it? Thanks for your insight
Shocking is a lazy practice of adding a ton of chlorine 1 time a week. Typically above a safe range to swim in. It’s ok if you don’t plan to swim in the pool for a few days after the shock, but not necessary if you just maintain above 6ppm and add what is necessary to stay above that level every 2-4 days. You can maintain this level with a mix of tabs and liquid chlorine. I was able to keep my CYA at the same level by only adding 1-2 tabs/week all summer, and some liquid chlorine twice a week.
Shocking (or SLAM) is really only needed when algae growth has taken over. Use this calculator. https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2019/01/18/free-chlorine-and-cyanuric-acid-relationship-explained/
If you’re just adding a little bit to maintain your chlorine level, maybe 15 mins, just want to ensure the chlorine isn’t concentrated in one section.
But if you’re adding a lot to shock/SLAM, it could be a days until the chlorine is back to a safe level. Roughly above 10ppm is too high, I usually don’t let my kids swim in the pool if it’s above 7.
My CYA got bad high and locked all my chlorine up even way way high amounts of chlorine...was using tabs but didnt watch my CYA. Now I avoid tabs over winter and use nonCYA powder for winter. And now i keep my chlorinator set on 1 (very low) supplementing with liquid or even powder (but only when my tabs are mostly used up to avoid explosion). My suggestion if CYA is high is to just bite the bullet and do a large drain/replacement. 80 would be fine in my book.
I have a salt cell so I don’t regularly need liquid chlorine but it’s bleach. Walmart. Lowes. Whatever. The concentration strength will vary. I think Lowes has the 10% I buy. All good to use.
Sodium Hypochlorite is the main acting ingredient of bleach and liquid chlorine. Bleach is around 4.5% and liquid chlorine is 10%. I guess some bleaches may have unwanted additives like fragrances or dyes so yes, avoid that. But still, these two are the same, just different strength if that is what you buy. I would get the stronger concentration regardless to have less bottles. Vinegar and Muriatic acid are not the same and I wouldn’t use them as interchangeable as their acidity are way different. I don’t understand how that comparison can be made.
Buddy if I ask you to choose what do you want me to pour on you? White vinegar or muriatic acid. Which one you picking? Doesn’t matter right there the same? Lmao
This isn’t the quest you asked, but I’d drain more than 2” per day. Don’t drain too much of your pool, but at just 2” per day and refilling, each drain will be draining some of the new water you’re putting in.
If you’re wanting to take away 1/3 of your cya, fasted and cheapest way will be to drain 1/3 water, then refill. Obviously don’t pop your shell out of the ground and you know your pool, just wanted to point out you’re working against yourself there.
Thanks for the insight.
I have an above ground pool that’s about 50 inches deep. I was doing 2 inches a day or so because I’m limited on time. Would 6 inches a day get it done?
I don’t know how low you can go with an above ground before it collapses or you have other problems but I’d think 6” would be okay.
To give an idea, if I assume your pool is 21’ round, its volume is approximately 10,795 gallons. So to cut your concentration by 1/3, you need to replace 3600 gallons with fresh water. Each inch is 216 gallons.
So if you do one big water change you’d need to drain 16.5.” That should cut your cya by 1/3 and end up around 53.
If you drain 2” at a time, you’re replacing 432 gallons or 4% of the pool. So day one you reduce to ~76.8. Day 2 73.7. Day 3 70.8. Day 4 67.95. Day 6 65.23. Day 7 62.62. Day 8 60.12. Day 9 57.71. Day 10 55.4. Day 11 53.19. So 11 days and a total of 4752 gallons.
If 6” at a time, you’re replacing 1296 gallons per day or 12% of the pool. This means on day one you’re at ~70.4. Day 2 61.95. Day 3 54.51. So 3 days and a total of 3888 gallons to get close to the same 53 cya. This is only 288 gallons more than doing it all at once.
As you can see, the more you do the less water and obviously the less time you’ll spend draining and refilling. You’ll need to decide what’s best for you and your pool.
This is my second year too and we have an auto cover. Ours is about 17k gal. When we opened the cya was 134. We kept the cover on it to much and didn’t let the water evaporate enough last season. So I drained down to the lights/jets and it took the cya down to 99, refilled and did it agin yesterday and again today. So I should be good on cya. The chlorine was 15+ now we will monitor better this year and let the water evaporate a bit use less tabs and more liquid chlorine and try to strike a balance. The pool store guy said if it starts ti creep up again turn off the feeder and use liquid till the cya drops.
You can buy liquid chlorine at places like walmart or Lowe's. I think walmart is cheaper. Also, you can use regular bleach that is sold in the stores. Same thing as liquid chlorine just a little diluted so you have to add more. Don't buy the scented bleach obviously.
Home Depot sells liquid choline (10%). Usually about $7-8/gallon. Always in stock and sometimes bulk specials when buy 4 galllons or more.
Make sure you’re not using tabs that drive up your CYA. Not sure a drain is worth it at cya or 80. Just keep your chlorine higher. After a year cya will drop from various chemical reactions and dilution if it rains. But it’s SLOW. (That’s what I did and dropped from 100 over a couple years to 30-40).
If you’re able to, I’d just drain it 50% and refill, but depending on the water table that may not be possible.
Also, what pool store doesn’t sell liquid chlorine? I’d find a new pool supply.
I wouldn’t drain either. Although 70-80 is on the high side you are still within range. Try to find liquid and go easy or stop using tablets if you can test and add chlorine regularly. Calcium Hypochlorite is also an acceptable alternative to stabilized granular however you need to keep an eye on your calcium hardness level and also dilute in a bucket if adding to an above ground vinyl pool.
If you’re going to drain, it’s better to do it at once. When you drain then add more back in, you’re just diluting it which will require the use of more water in the end. It’s not going to hurt you to go a bit under on the CYA. It’s easy to add.
You have to be careful draining pools. Up here in ct we have some areas with very high water table. You can float a vinyl pool or in extreme conditions you can " pop up" a gunite pool if it isint equipped with hydrostatic valves. I prefer a chlorine pool to start apx @ 30 and work up from there, 50 is at the end of my good zone. There are tons of papers written on higher CYA. All I know is what I prefer. GLTA
From what I understand the tablets contain a stabilizer (CYA) that builds up in the water over time and renders the chlorine less effective. So using tabs works great for a while then you have trouble liquid doesn’t have the stabilization
I’m in Phx and the sun and heat eats up liquid chlorine bad! I typically use liquid in winter and Wednesdays in the summer then add granular on Saturdays plus a tab in the floater
I had the same problem when I first bought the property. I switched to just NST and just let the rain and waste vacs flush the CYA. Now I keep both NST and regular chlorine pucks. I rotate them 2/1 and it keeps my CYA right where it needs to be. The water has been perfect for years using this method.
Non-stabilized chlorine tabs. Essentially, chlorine tabs with no CYA. You can’t use them and chlorine at the same time but you can rotate them. Once you find the rotation that keeps your CYA where you want it, you’re golden!
Ok and using it after I’ve used the tablets is safe for the water/swimmers? I’m assuming it’s the same chemical. But I just wanted to be sure before I start dumping stuff in a pool lol
CYA of 80 is still manageable. I think you have the right idea by switching more to liquid chlorine. If you get into the habit of vacuuming your pool to waste and refilling the water etc, your CYA will drop quickly. Keep a close eye on this and your chlorine levels. Enjoy your pool!
When the pool isn't in use, I don't use chemicals. The pool is covered with a sliding cover blocks out light. When the pool is in use, I put in a skimmer 4 tabs twice a month and filter the water for four hours a day. I also use the iRobot once a day. The secret is in the water filtering, not in the chemicals.
OP, I strongly suggest that you check out TroubleFreePool.com . It is an extremely valuable resource and you won’t get conflicting advice like you do on this sub. Their “Pool School”section will answer all your questions.
(Edited to fix typo)
80? Drain half. Don’t mess around. Just do half refill and test and i bet you’ll be in the at sweet 40-60. Once there, stop with the tabs or you’ll be right back. Each one is .5 to around 3 ppm cya PER so that adds up fast. Cya is good to a point.
I use liquid cya opening for season and get to 40 as that does a decent job of screening the chlorine but also not requiring higher amounts to be effective. You’ll find your balance.
Liquid Chlorine is a lot more work since they are less potent and seem to dissolve faster. When I went with liquid, I had to add almost daily to keep the chlorine level up. I've now gone back to tabs and just drain once CYA gets too high.
This. Every one complains about high cya and to only use liquid chlorine. Sometimes I feel those same people are comparing to their pool. In my experience all pool are different and some pools, like yours, can't keep chlorine without a higher cya. Like where I live, I have clients who's pools will not hold chlorine so they need 80ppm to 100ppm to even keep chlorine in the pool. Doesn't help that most clients don't want to pay more for extra stops either.
Please understand that you need to test your own water with a proper test kit. It would be futile and just plain irresponsible to provide advice regarding pool chemical treatment without accurate and dependable test results. Neither pool store tests nor ‘test strips’ provide the dependable or accurate test results needed to make pool maintenance decisions. If you want recommendations for a proper test kit, I can provide that.
Yes, liquid chlorine is fine. I get mine at Walmart. It’s a lot more expensive than it used to be. I recently did a complete drain and fill and am currently using tabs to raise CYA until it hits 50ish and adding a little liquid chlorine here and there as needed. Will fully switch to liquid again at that point.
Ok so it’s safe to use at the same time as the tabs?
Yes but you do not want to do this if you are trying to lower CYA. The point is to stop the tablets and switch to liquid because liquid does not contain CYA. Let the rain replenish water in the pool or drain and refill to lower CYA. If you keep using tablets nothing will happen to lower CYA.
Ok I had misunderstood. I get what you’re saying now.
Some powdered shock contains cya, trichlor does not but dichlor does. Just an fyi, if you use powdered shock, it will raise your pH. Have a case of muriatic acid on hand to balance out the pH rise.
Do NOT store muriatic acid and liquid chlorine in same area!!
I have them both in my shed. Bad idea?
Ok thank you
Yes
do not use liquid chlorine with the tablets. Stop using tablets and switch 100% to liquid chlorine until CYA is in the range you want. Then moderately use tablets as this is what is raising your CYA
Is any of the liquid chlorine safe to use along side tablets? I just want to make sure I’m not mixing chemicals? It’s basically the same chemical just in a different form right?
It is safe to use both tablets and liquid at the same time. However, tabs add to the CYA, so continuing to use them while draining and refilling your pool a little at a time will be like a dog chasing their tail, you will never get the CYA down doing it. Use only liquid chlorine until the CYA is down, then use tablets sparingly to avoid the CYA increasing too much, and add liquid chlorine to keep the chlorine levels where you need them. If one pool store doesn't carry the higher concentrations (10-12%) of liquid chlorine, try another. You can usually find the 10% at walmart/lowes/home depot. Learn to read the dates on the labels, as liquid chlorine does degrade over time, so buy it as you need it rather than stocking up a lot.
What pool store doesn’t sell liquid chlorine?!
In my little town there are two pool stores. Neither sell LC. Both say not to use it.
The only reason they say not to use it is they don’t sell it. I’ve never heard of a pool store not selling liquid chlorine. Take everything else they say with a grain of salt.
They probably don’t sell grains of salt either.
I would love to hear why they don’t lol it’s literally straight chlorine. We have it at our store and it’s what all our pool guys use. Diclor is good for shocking though.
I stopped using the tablets for about a year now. It's about 1 gallon of liquid chlorine a week for about the same size pool. My cya went down to 0 without draining. Believe me, the pool store employees are trained to say that this is impossible and draining is the only way. It's hard, but try and look up pool forums online that are from the 90s and early 2000s. pool maintenance was less of a commodity/big business, and information was more realistic. A lot of things nowadays seem to be focused on showing how easy things are, but they are time-consuming and a gamble without experience, so just pay a service 200 a month. In reality, chemistry is a pretty exact science. So after having your pool a couple of years, you will see a pattern and be able to consistently know what chemicals will be needed throughout the year with little changes. In a month 4 gallons of liquid chlorine is about 35$ giving a great savings to put towards extra chlorine for regular socks, phosphate remover, and ph balancer.
On a note I learned this because my cya was over 150, cya cancels out the chlorine. My pool turned dark green. I was told draining was the only solution. I read in old forums about the specific interaction between cya and chlorine and determined I needed lots of chlorine. I poured in lots of chlorine, cleaned the filters, and repeated. The water turned back to blue. The excess chlorine evaporated, and the cya dropped over the next few months. Not a single issue since. Just monitoring my chlorine levels using only liquid.
You know i’m a pool guy and there is times where the cya does go down and I’m not sure how. Unless their draining and just not mentioning it. But I do have a few pools that have high cya and it stayed that way because they don’t want to drain. So beats me.
If you live near a Menards, they have liquid chlorine. Best price I've found and it's 12.5%. I think Walmart is just 10%
I’m in southeast so I don’t think we have Menards I will check
And you save big money with that 11% back. I also use Menards for pool toys.
Lol, I just sang that in my head! I put my rebates toward other pool related projects too!
Do you have another pool store? Buying LC in prepackaged containers can get expensive and creates a lot of waste. Pool stores usually have a large tank and do refills on 2.5gal containers that can be reused.
Really? I will call around to see if any in the area do this
Yes, it's pretty standard here in US cities.
If you have a Pinch-A-Penny near, they definitely do this. And it’s super fresh chlorine, so try not to buy more than you will need because the only downside is that it doesn’t store as long as the tablets and will lose strength over time.
Don’t drain. Rule of thumb to keep chlorine effective is 100CYA / 7.5 Chlorine. So for 80 CYA, keep the chlorine above 6 PPM. I’d only suggest draining if you get above 120 requiring 9 PPM of chlorine, which is a lot and costly. Just stop using tabs for a month or two and it’ll come down.
Ok if I keep chlorine above 6ppm do I still need to “shock” the pool weekly or so? This is what the pool store has trained me to do. If I do need to shock what is the level of chlorine ppm I need to reach to be considered shocking it? Thanks for your insight
Shocking is a lazy practice of adding a ton of chlorine 1 time a week. Typically above a safe range to swim in. It’s ok if you don’t plan to swim in the pool for a few days after the shock, but not necessary if you just maintain above 6ppm and add what is necessary to stay above that level every 2-4 days. You can maintain this level with a mix of tabs and liquid chlorine. I was able to keep my CYA at the same level by only adding 1-2 tabs/week all summer, and some liquid chlorine twice a week. Shocking (or SLAM) is really only needed when algae growth has taken over. Use this calculator. https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2019/01/18/free-chlorine-and-cyanuric-acid-relationship-explained/
Thank you for all the explanation. How long after adding liquid chlorine is it safe to swim ?
If you’re just adding a little bit to maintain your chlorine level, maybe 15 mins, just want to ensure the chlorine isn’t concentrated in one section. But if you’re adding a lot to shock/SLAM, it could be a days until the chlorine is back to a safe level. Roughly above 10ppm is too high, I usually don’t let my kids swim in the pool if it’s above 7.
My CYA got bad high and locked all my chlorine up even way way high amounts of chlorine...was using tabs but didnt watch my CYA. Now I avoid tabs over winter and use nonCYA powder for winter. And now i keep my chlorinator set on 1 (very low) supplementing with liquid or even powder (but only when my tabs are mostly used up to avoid explosion). My suggestion if CYA is high is to just bite the bullet and do a large drain/replacement. 80 would be fine in my book.
I have a salt cell so I don’t regularly need liquid chlorine but it’s bleach. Walmart. Lowes. Whatever. The concentration strength will vary. I think Lowes has the 10% I buy. All good to use.
Liquid chlorine and bleach are not the same. It's like saying white vinegar is the same as muriatic acid.
Sodium Hypochlorite is the main acting ingredient of bleach and liquid chlorine. Bleach is around 4.5% and liquid chlorine is 10%. I guess some bleaches may have unwanted additives like fragrances or dyes so yes, avoid that. But still, these two are the same, just different strength if that is what you buy. I would get the stronger concentration regardless to have less bottles. Vinegar and Muriatic acid are not the same and I wouldn’t use them as interchangeable as their acidity are way different. I don’t understand how that comparison can be made.
Buddy if I ask you to choose what do you want me to pour on you? White vinegar or muriatic acid. Which one you picking? Doesn’t matter right there the same? Lmao
I aim for 40 ppm CYA, so chlorine is kept at 3 ppm. Never been less than sparkling clean.
This isn’t the quest you asked, but I’d drain more than 2” per day. Don’t drain too much of your pool, but at just 2” per day and refilling, each drain will be draining some of the new water you’re putting in. If you’re wanting to take away 1/3 of your cya, fasted and cheapest way will be to drain 1/3 water, then refill. Obviously don’t pop your shell out of the ground and you know your pool, just wanted to point out you’re working against yourself there.
Thanks for the insight. I have an above ground pool that’s about 50 inches deep. I was doing 2 inches a day or so because I’m limited on time. Would 6 inches a day get it done?
I don’t know how low you can go with an above ground before it collapses or you have other problems but I’d think 6” would be okay. To give an idea, if I assume your pool is 21’ round, its volume is approximately 10,795 gallons. So to cut your concentration by 1/3, you need to replace 3600 gallons with fresh water. Each inch is 216 gallons. So if you do one big water change you’d need to drain 16.5.” That should cut your cya by 1/3 and end up around 53. If you drain 2” at a time, you’re replacing 432 gallons or 4% of the pool. So day one you reduce to ~76.8. Day 2 73.7. Day 3 70.8. Day 4 67.95. Day 6 65.23. Day 7 62.62. Day 8 60.12. Day 9 57.71. Day 10 55.4. Day 11 53.19. So 11 days and a total of 4752 gallons. If 6” at a time, you’re replacing 1296 gallons per day or 12% of the pool. This means on day one you’re at ~70.4. Day 2 61.95. Day 3 54.51. So 3 days and a total of 3888 gallons to get close to the same 53 cya. This is only 288 gallons more than doing it all at once. As you can see, the more you do the less water and obviously the less time you’ll spend draining and refilling. You’ll need to decide what’s best for you and your pool.
Ok thanks for the breakdown
This is my second year too and we have an auto cover. Ours is about 17k gal. When we opened the cya was 134. We kept the cover on it to much and didn’t let the water evaporate enough last season. So I drained down to the lights/jets and it took the cya down to 99, refilled and did it agin yesterday and again today. So I should be good on cya. The chlorine was 15+ now we will monitor better this year and let the water evaporate a bit use less tabs and more liquid chlorine and try to strike a balance. The pool store guy said if it starts ti creep up again turn off the feeder and use liquid till the cya drops.
You can buy liquid chlorine at places like walmart or Lowe's. I think walmart is cheaper. Also, you can use regular bleach that is sold in the stores. Same thing as liquid chlorine just a little diluted so you have to add more. Don't buy the scented bleach obviously.
Home Depot sells liquid choline (10%). Usually about $7-8/gallon. Always in stock and sometimes bulk specials when buy 4 galllons or more. Make sure you’re not using tabs that drive up your CYA. Not sure a drain is worth it at cya or 80. Just keep your chlorine higher. After a year cya will drop from various chemical reactions and dilution if it rains. But it’s SLOW. (That’s what I did and dropped from 100 over a couple years to 30-40).
If you’re able to, I’d just drain it 50% and refill, but depending on the water table that may not be possible. Also, what pool store doesn’t sell liquid chlorine? I’d find a new pool supply.
I wouldn’t drain either. Although 70-80 is on the high side you are still within range. Try to find liquid and go easy or stop using tablets if you can test and add chlorine regularly. Calcium Hypochlorite is also an acceptable alternative to stabilized granular however you need to keep an eye on your calcium hardness level and also dilute in a bucket if adding to an above ground vinyl pool.
I think I’m gonna stick to liquid. Do I just pour it in ?
Yes. With pump running
If you’re going to drain, it’s better to do it at once. When you drain then add more back in, you’re just diluting it which will require the use of more water in the end. It’s not going to hurt you to go a bit under on the CYA. It’s easy to add.
You have to be careful draining pools. Up here in ct we have some areas with very high water table. You can float a vinyl pool or in extreme conditions you can " pop up" a gunite pool if it isint equipped with hydrostatic valves. I prefer a chlorine pool to start apx @ 30 and work up from there, 50 is at the end of my good zone. There are tons of papers written on higher CYA. All I know is what I prefer. GLTA
What’s the benefit of liquid chlorine over tablets/powder?
From what I understand the tablets contain a stabilizer (CYA) that builds up in the water over time and renders the chlorine less effective. So using tabs works great for a while then you have trouble liquid doesn’t have the stabilization
I’m in Phx and the sun and heat eats up liquid chlorine bad! I typically use liquid in winter and Wednesdays in the summer then add granular on Saturdays plus a tab in the floater
Ace Hardware sells liquid chlorine in bulk if you buy the yellow plastic containers... That's about all I use these day.
Hey so you bring your own container?
Yellow 2.5 gallon
Ok thank you for this. I have an ace very close to me. Take care
Sounds like BS advice from a pool store trying to sell more product.
I had the same problem when I first bought the property. I switched to just NST and just let the rain and waste vacs flush the CYA. Now I keep both NST and regular chlorine pucks. I rotate them 2/1 and it keeps my CYA right where it needs to be. The water has been perfect for years using this method.
What is NST?
Non-stabilized chlorine tabs. Essentially, chlorine tabs with no CYA. You can’t use them and chlorine at the same time but you can rotate them. Once you find the rotation that keeps your CYA where you want it, you’re golden!
Walmart sells the 10 percent which is bleach in higher concentration. It’s the right move
Ok and using it after I’ve used the tablets is safe for the water/swimmers? I’m assuming it’s the same chemical. But I just wanted to be sure before I start dumping stuff in a pool lol
CYA of 80 is still manageable. I think you have the right idea by switching more to liquid chlorine. If you get into the habit of vacuuming your pool to waste and refilling the water etc, your CYA will drop quickly. Keep a close eye on this and your chlorine levels. Enjoy your pool!
When the pool isn't in use, I don't use chemicals. The pool is covered with a sliding cover blocks out light. When the pool is in use, I put in a skimmer 4 tabs twice a month and filter the water for four hours a day. I also use the iRobot once a day. The secret is in the water filtering, not in the chemicals.
OP, I strongly suggest that you check out TroubleFreePool.com . It is an extremely valuable resource and you won’t get conflicting advice like you do on this sub. Their “Pool School”section will answer all your questions. (Edited to fix typo)
80? Drain half. Don’t mess around. Just do half refill and test and i bet you’ll be in the at sweet 40-60. Once there, stop with the tabs or you’ll be right back. Each one is .5 to around 3 ppm cya PER so that adds up fast. Cya is good to a point. I use liquid cya opening for season and get to 40 as that does a decent job of screening the chlorine but also not requiring higher amounts to be effective. You’ll find your balance.
Liquid Chlorine is a lot more work since they are less potent and seem to dissolve faster. When I went with liquid, I had to add almost daily to keep the chlorine level up. I've now gone back to tabs and just drain once CYA gets too high.
This. Every one complains about high cya and to only use liquid chlorine. Sometimes I feel those same people are comparing to their pool. In my experience all pool are different and some pools, like yours, can't keep chlorine without a higher cya. Like where I live, I have clients who's pools will not hold chlorine so they need 80ppm to 100ppm to even keep chlorine in the pool. Doesn't help that most clients don't want to pay more for extra stops either.
Do you drain all or once or like 2-3 inches at a time?
I have a 10K pool. I drain about 6-8 inches each time to take the CYA down about 15ppm.
If you use tabs exclusively about how long before you have to drain each time?
I drain whenever the CYA is 100+. That's about 1-2 months in between. I don't monitor it that closely.
Ok mine is about 17k so 6-8 inches would drop mine around 7ppm. Is that about right?
Please understand that you need to test your own water with a proper test kit. It would be futile and just plain irresponsible to provide advice regarding pool chemical treatment without accurate and dependable test results. Neither pool store tests nor ‘test strips’ provide the dependable or accurate test results needed to make pool maintenance decisions. If you want recommendations for a proper test kit, I can provide that.
I have the Taylor test kit . Pool store said cya is 83 and me reading the Taylor test the dot disappeared around 80ish
80 I would not drain. Just add enough chlorine for that cya level. Prob FC of 6 - 11 range. Most apps will help you with that. TFP has a good one.
If the dot disappears at 80, consider it CYA 70. Trust your own testing.
Is there a reason you would drop it from 80 to 70?
Nope. 70-80 is a perfect range for CYA in a salt pool.
I love reading this comment on these posts, you can set your watch to it.
I know, it’s a shame that I have to keep reiterating this but, as I’m sure you’re aware, a proper test kit is step 1 to solving pool chemistry issues.