Any suggestions if I am not currently in the market for a SWG? Maybe down the road, but not right now. I am sitting on 50lbs of tablets, 5 gallons of LC, 12 bags of shock from Leslie's, a bucket of dry acid from Leslie's, a gallon of MA, and a bottle of Perfect Weekly (something Leslie's sold me before I discovered TFP).
Hi from Texas
- Thread starter Maldravus
- Start date
That's the one benefit of dry chems. You can stalk them all year and pounce when it's on clearance somewhere. I buy my CYA in early January for $2 a pound when there is usually snow on the ground.
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,110
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Welcome to #TeamPoolStored.
I'd get the RJ-20 Plus.
The RJ series are BEASTS. The best part is that they have 5% increments on the output. Makes daily management easy.
Please do NOT use dry acid. It adds sulfates to the pool. Sulfates corrode any metal and concrete. Use muriatic acid.
Sorry, I meant suggestions for moving forward without a SWG. Do I continue bleeding money on LC with a 50lb bucket of tablets sitting in the garage? I just feel overwhelmed and like I continue to dump money on different products and solutions.
- May 3, 2014
- 62,368
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
You have been provided tools and knowledge. Your choice. When you run into issues, you come here with chemistry data from your test kit and ask questions. The bulk of TFPC members have learned that continuous long term use of solid forms of chlorine are not sustainable. But you are welcome to give it a try.
You can sell all the other stuff and get most of your money back. The tab bucket probably costs more now (or will soon) and you can make money by selling it between the two prices.
- Jul 17, 2019
- 4,003
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Take a deep breath, its just a pool.
You have all of the tools now and the support of TFP, now its up to you to figure out what to do next.
Choice A - Stick with TFP. Your costs will be limited to liquid chlorine, occasional jug of MA, and annual test kit refill. No real hidden costs other than that, but does require daily monitoring of your pool during the swim season.
Choice B - Go the pool store route. They handle the testing, tell you what you need, and you pay them. Simple enough and you can use your tabs and the other stuff you bought. The hidden cost will be buying stuff you don't need (you already rattled off $250+ worth of stuff they sold you that you shouldn't use) and the occasional draining of your pool (they will use terms like "chlorine lock" or "your water is old"). Hopefully we have at least educated you some to avoid these items.
The choice is yours. We all hope you go with Choice A, especially since you seem to be willing to do the work/research. I still think you are discounting the hidden costs of choice B, but its your pool and your choice.
The good news, regardless of what you choose, is that TFP will always be here for you, whether that is later today or a year from now. Good luck and keep us posted on how we can help.
What you're sitting on is sunk costs. Consider it the tax you pay for not knowing better before you spent the money. I'm still sitting on unused Leslies products (because I always bought in advance) that actually kept me with clean and clear water for 20 years. But I know better now and will not be using these products regardless of my prior success. Don't nickel and dime yourself by worrying about what you spent before. Just make sure what you spend now is smart spending. The smartest will be a SWG.
I am fine sticking out my first season with Choice A. It has worked so far. I am just thinking long term. In their defense for Choice B I will say that at least my location they don't try to sell me things. The water test is free and I just would take the results home. They were even the ones to tell me to go across the street to Walmart and buy baking soda versus their product, strangely enough. I know I am very concerned about monitoring CYA because I was taking my samples to Leslie's weekly and literally watched it climb from 0 to 60 before discovering TFP. So far the CYA test is really the only one I struggle with in terms of accuracy.
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,110
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Just chlorinate the pool. When your CYA is below your target, use pucks until you get back to target. Over time, you will use them up.
Or sell them on Marketplace as @Newdude said...
Or sell them on Marketplace as @Newdude said...
- Jul 17, 2019
- 4,003
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Ok cool. And the CYA test is the most difficult one, but you will get the hang of it. Just remember its a quick glance, if you have a staring contest with it you will always be able to see the dot.
The good news is that your CYA will be stable and not fluctuate unless you are adding CYA containing products. When I first got my pool I would do the full battery of tests every few days. The next year I knew my pool and did it every week or so. If you can keep a secret, I'm on year 5 of my pool and have done 1 CYA test this year (I'll probably do test #2 this weekend) but that will be our secret.
Gambit80
Gold Supporter
- Jun 30, 2024
- 56
- Pool Size
- 8800
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Solaxx (Saltron) Reliant / Purechlor R5
I'll chime in as I going into our second summer with our first pool. As mentioned, I did every test almost every day in July/August last year. I was even checking chlorine twice a day in the height of summer to be sure I understood all the ramifications. Had to reorder FC testing agents withing a month! As I kept reading and researching and gaining understanding, the amount of testing reduced. I know test for chloring every 3 days or so. (Probably more once summer hits hard), Full battery of tests on the weekend (I enjoy it and find it relaxing...
). CYA is once a month.
I do have a SWCG, so that does make it much easier, but one you get an understanding of how these all work together. It will be something that can be done in 5-15 minutes depending on what tests you are running.
). CYA is once a month.I do have a SWCG, so that does make it much easier, but one you get an understanding of how these all work together. It will be something that can be done in 5-15 minutes depending on what tests you are running.
Regarding the amount of daily LC additions; I realize I have not performed an OCLT yet. While my water is absolutely crystal clear and, from what I can tell from my testing, my CC is between 0-0.5ppm, I suppose I should do that tonight to see if there is anything consuming the FC. If my overnight loss is greater than 1ppm, perhaps a SLAM or shock can help with reducing the amount of daily LC additions.
Is anyone able to help me identify this white substance around the water line? Is this something caused by a chemical imbalance or hard water? I scrub daily (have not yet before I took this photo) and the act of wetting the area down usually makes it fade a bit temporarily but I think I need to address the root cause. I have attached 3 photos and the results of this mornings water test (note that LC has already been added to bring FC back to 7ppm).
Attachments
Scrape some off gently and put them on a paper towel or plate, apply the drop or two of MA somewhere safe to do so.
In the second photo you can see remnants of sticky tape / adhesive leftover from the install. I am in the process of cleaning that off. It is taking me some time because it is a manual process where I am applying Goo Gone to a paper towel and rubbing until it comes off. I then apply an organic Windex-like cleaner to a paper towel and wipe the Goo Gone off. Finally, I rinse the entire area with pool water. It is laborious but was recommended here and has been working. I just wanted to point out that I am not concerned with that part, just the white substance. Thank you!
I don't really know how to remove a sample from the sidewall to test with MA. Not sure how feasible that is.
No worries! I tried with my thumbnail but it was a bit too 'powdery' and less flake-like. So it just kinda scrubbed off and I could not collect a sample. Would calcium scaling be an issue for me with a CH of ~180? Actually, I just read this piece from the following link;
CH levels around 220-320 are recommended for fiberglass pools, to protect the gelcoat and somewhat reduce the severity of metal stains.
Calcium Scaling
Calcium scale on your pool is something we all want to avoid. With some elbow grease and a pumice stone for pools we can help you remove this eyesore.
www.troublefreepool.com
Up until just now I have been told from Leslie's and folks here to completely disregard CH as I have a fiberglass pool. Should I now be concerned that my CH is too low? It has been low since installation and I am now concerned about gelcoat compromise.
No. Modern fiberglass did away with the concerns. IMO the old recommendation should stay listed in case anyone has an older fiberglass pool.