Skidood

I can't disagree with that. I will admit the only measurement I havent worried about yet is CC. I will get a couple tests done at the pool stores maybe this week, but will wait for a little while before spending the money on a good test kit, seeing as how I just blew $$$$$ on an RC airplane. Now stop arguing with me.

OK, I hope you were just trying to be funny, mister. I would like to get a good test kit and probably fairly soon, but right now, why would I be concerned about excessive chloramine or high TC when I am marvelling at how the pool and our skin has virtually no chlorine smell? (with FC at 4-5) Also I get the water tested at the pool store and TC results have not been an issue although it was CYA, TA, and pH I was mostly interested in. The last test I had done came back with FC and TC both at 4 PPM being equal, as shown on the computer printout, which made me think they didn't actually test the TC.

Well, I would like to get a new test kit, but since our pool doesnt leave us smelling like chlorine anymore, I'm not overly concerned with total chlorine readings right now. I noticed more of a residual skin smell when I was using the tri-chlor pucks. Since our CYA level is perfect, I will use household bleach for the rest of the season.

OK sniff test #2....liquid sodium hypo shock product smelled the same or slightly less than regular household bleach....the fact that it's twice as strong (10.8%) didnt seem to matter. Guess my sniffer isnt too sensitive...which I guess proves what my wife says about how I can sleep soundly while regularly and unknowingly producing noxious odours in the bed, while she has to run to the living room in disgust. FC vs. CC....using brand new test strips my FC is around 4 today, and my TC or CC cant be measured because I have given up on my test kit..(the one where you add drops of orthotolidine) I dont know how old this test kit is, as it came with the house...Maybe I need to get a new botttle of orthotolidine seeing as how whenever I try to use it, the resulting color change is a dark yellow, way off the comparison chart RIGHT AWAY..strange, I even get the dark yellow result immediately even when adding one drop instead of 4.

I detected no smell straight from the conainer. Also, on a fairly recent test, I have found that CC was running about 5 PPM above FC. Just for fun I will do another CC test today. Also will be picking up a few jugs of laundry bleach and one more jug of the pool sodium hypo shock with no smell.

Based on the label, I needed to add 14.6 litres to superchlorinate a pool our size. Using the pool calculator, the product would have to have been 10% strength, I forgot what is said on the label. I will probably buy another jug and re-visit this (do another sniff test) as I swear we noticed zero bleachy smell on our skin after being in 7 PPM or from the product itself. And it said sodium hypochlorite on the label, I just dont know why it didnt smell like anything, yet worked fine. Having said that, it looks like I will save money by buying regular bleach, I found it sold for 1.99 for 5 litres of ultra bleach (at least Im pretty sure it said Ultra bleach) at the local Price Chopper (grocery store)

I didnt check FC levels after adding. I was out of town and didnt check it until 2 days later. It was till close to 10 ppm. When I added though I did dilute the few drops that was left in the bottom of the jug and poured it on a test strip which immedialtely turned dark purple as it should have. Why do you ask?

OK thanks...Javex and Chlorox have a noticeable bleachy smell, yet this liquid sodium hypo I shocked with had no smell whatsoever which I prefer...this is why I keep saying unscented....am I imagining things or is it possible to buy cheap bleach which doesnt smell like Chlorox or Javex? The stuff I bought at Home Hardware was 7 bucks for 5 litres and was labelled as a shock product which could also be used for daily chlorination...but it's too pricey.

Thanks to info from chemgeek and troublefreepools.com , I am considering using unscented household bleach instead of tri-chlor pucks for daily chlorination. I will keep an eye on CYA and add tri-chlor if needed. BUT is it really cheaper to use household bleach? According to the pool calculator, our pool need 4.4 litres of bleach to bring the FC level up by 2 ppm...a 5 litre jug of unscented bleach costs around 4-6 bucks, does it not? Adding 2 trichlor pucks will do the same thing which I doubt costs that much...thoughts? I'm in Ontario, where's a good place to buy cheap unscented bleach? Thanks!

Thanks Richard CYA is at 40 ppm. Your reply was great and full of good info.

I think the slopes will be excessive, I drew it out on graph paper...the only real concern in my mind is kids running into trouble. Our slope is around 30 degress and have already had a kid slip into water that was too deep for "his liking" after only 2 months of pool usage (we are new pool owners)

Hi Folks I have been using tri-chlor pucks for routine sanitization and two days ago, I shocked with liquid sodium hypochlorite. My questions are: Is it OK to do his? Does it take longer for the FC readings to get back to normal after the shock using sodium hypo? Is there any evidence that swimming for short periods with the FC stilll up at 5-8 PPM is bad for you? Thanks in advance for the wisdom !! Andy PS My wife says her skin feels better, softer and less dry after swimming after I added the sodium hypo, why would this be? (the FC level was still up at 7 PPM) and there is no chlorine smell.....maybe we should just start using it instead of the tri-chlor....thoughts?

Our yard slopes about 3 feet down when going across the width of the pool area....end to end is about the same ...there is a 3 foot high 45 degree soil embankment around the deck edge on the lower side and lower end...no retaining wall.....if you are OK with using some extra square footage around the pool for the embankment, you could consider going without the retaining wall...but have fun mowing the grass on the embankment.

Hi there...my inground pool had a lot of good-sized worms in it when we bought the house last fall, and I think I see more this spring. Where the heck are the worms coming from? The pool does not leak, has a concrete deck area, seems strange to me.

To vacuum the pool you connect the hose to the vac head and the other end into the suction hole in the skimmer. Your sweeping idea is incorrect. I plan to set the filter to backwash when I vacuum if there is a ton of crap at the bottom. I will need to add water to the pool to compensate for the water loss when I do it this way, but I dont want worms in my filter. I can't advise you on the second hole in the skimmer, Im also a bit of a newbie and have yet to figure that one out. But I truly doubt it goes to the main drain. I also think its possible the main drain was not connectred to the pump.