Posted: 6/6/2005 4:11:34 PM EDT
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I bought one of those vinyl "bubba" pools for my son. I also picked up one of those pool starter kits with the chemicals and such. This morning I dumped in the recommended about of those chlorine tabs and have been checking on them periodically to see if the tabs have dissolved. They originally were about the size of a marshmallow. Ten hours later, it doesn't appear as they have gotten any smaller. What gives? |
The floater moves around the pool and dumps chlorine in different spots. They also allow you to regulate the amount of chlorine that is in there, which you should do. You also need to check the pH and a few other things. Get some test strips and play around with it 'till you get it right. I don't own a pool, but I do own a big 'ol Hot Tub. |
Because they can damage the liner or wall of your bubba pool. They can turn it white and brittle in that spot. Brittle is bad in a bubba pool.  Bob |
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They could all be dissolved and the water still low on chlorine. Hot days, lots of activity. I work on a huge pool and there has to be stabilizer or you can go thru a lot of chlorine$$. Watch the alkalinity. If it gets too low(acidic) it can burn the eyes. In small pool all theses processes happen quick. |
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Chlorine Tabs vary between manufacturers Some dissolve fast and others slow ( this can be without any labeling ) I buy Tabs that are about the size of a ping-pong ball that are labeled "Fast Dissolving" I add them every day and they dissolve within an hour or so I have some of the Hockey Puck sized ones and they take days to dissolve BTW I haven't gotten around to opening the pool yet |
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I take it that this is one of those all-in-one pools from Wally Mart or somesuch place? First of all, you need to add some chlorine stabilizer to your pool. UV light destroys free chlorine in a matter of hours. Second, of course, is to add chlorine. The quickest way to establish a chlorine residual is to add some shock - preferably one that contains Dichlor. There's only a couple of popular shocks - one being Dichlor, and the other Calcium Hypochlorite. I prefer Dichlor - it dissolves instantly and doesn't raise the water hardness. Then you've got to continually add chlorine by the way of tablets. Trichlor is the most popular chlorine product to keep the chlorine level where it needs to be. You have 1" tabs, 3" tabs, and granular. In my pool, I have an automatic chlorinator which uses 3" tablets and a valve controls how much of the chlorine is dissolved into the return flow. You can buy slow dissolving chlorine tabs from SelfChem called "Steady Sticks" and put them in your skimmer basket. They dissolve very slowly and usually 1-2 sticks will do the trick until they're dissolved. There are little floaters which take 3-4 3" tablets, and they slowly dissolve. Next is to add some algaecide. Look for a product that has 60% active ingredient with a long name of "Poly something or another". Keeping algaecide is insurance. You want to prevent algae at all costs; getting rid of algae is a much bigger hassle than keeping it out in the first place. For the chlorine to work properly, you pH has to be balanced. 7.6 or so. Add muriatic acid if too high, or pH-up if too low. Too low a pH is irritating to your skin, too high a pH and the chlorine won't work right. In order to keep the pH at a proper level, you need a certain amount of alkalinity. It'll keep the pH from bouncing around all over the place. That's about all I can think of. Get a small 5-in-1 test kit, usually about $20 at most places like Home Depot, Wal Mart or pool supply stores. Take your water in to a pool store for a (usually) free analysis. |
Listen to this man, he knows the truth. Except, Iwould just get a 6 way test kit, and try to desperatley stay awaty from a pool store. I have many years on the pool maintenance situation, give me an IM, if you have more. |