3” chlorine tabs or liquid chlorine

[davidgerman]

Hello all. So glad I found you! We had a pool installed a couple of years ago and I am still learning the chemistry.

Here’s my question(s)…Are 3” chlorine tabs better or worse than liquid chlorine? I’ve had some algae growth already and have recently purchased the Taylor Water Test Kit K-2006C.

Anyway…looking forward to participating here and hearing great tips a tricks for my soon-to-be trouble free pool.

David

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

 

[Newdude]

Hey David and Welcome !!!

Are 3” chlorine tabs better or worse than liquid chlorine?

3" tabs are not sustainable long term. They add CYA which binds the chlorine, requiring more chlorine. It gets out of hand quickly. All lines on this chart are equal.




For the short term, if you need some CYA they work great for mini boosts, or when you go away on vacation.

FC/CYA Levels

Walmart should have pool essentials chlorinating liquid in the pool aisle year round by you.

 

[Texas Splash]

have recently purchased the Taylor Water Test Kit K-2006C.

That's 99% of the battle right there. Good job. I'll add a few more things:
- If you had algae before, it may still be present unless you actually did a SLAM Process and passed all 3 criteria.
- Once you pass the SLAM, your water should be cooler now and chlorine demand much less. Liquid chlorine is your friend,
- Along with increasing CYA, tabs are acidic and can pull the pH and TA too low. Liquid chlorine won't do any of that.

Enjoy!

 

[Texas Splash]

Almost forgot ..... be sure to update your signature with all of your pool and equipment info. See our sigs as examples. The link below may help.

Create Your Signature - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Bperry]

Hello all. So glad I found you! We had a pool installed a couple of years ago and I am still learning the chemistry.

Here’s my question(s)…Are 3” chlorine tabs better or worse than liquid chlorine? I’ve had some algae growth already and have recently purchased the Taylor Water Test Kit K-2006C.

Anyway…looking forward to participating here and hearing great tips a tricks for my soon-to-be trouble free pool.

David

To add a bit of detail, Chlorine tablets with anything in the name, such as blue or extra blue or copper aren’t something you want in the water at all

 

[sande005]

As a multi-decade tablet guy...

Everything above is very, very true.
Cheaper tabs have more binders in them, which can lead to very frequent plugging of some chlorinators, if you have one plumbed in.
Tabs are easy, but harder to determine "how much" depending on how you add them to the system.
Liquid CL can be much cheaper.
Again depending on your setup, lugging jugs and the frequency of testing/adding can get to be a burden - or not.

The bees knees is a Salt Water generator. Huge reduction in monitoring and chemical costs. Huge reduction in time spend messing with the pool, fighting algae, etc. If you have a variable speed pump, can also be a huge electricity cost saver.
Start learning/thinking about that upgrade.