Chlorine float?

[Guest]

I have a "new old" 20000 gallon pool to deal with, and don't know much about it. Can a chlorine floater (holds 6 tabs, and set fully open) by itself keep the PPM up? So far, using it after shocking, the chlorine level is never above .5, and usually less. Do I need to use a different method, or is something else wrong?

Also, what do you think of using an offline chlorinator instead? Looks like it's easy to install.

Thanks...

Gary

[chem geek]

The floater would normally be able to keep up with chlorine, but your chlorine demand may be higher because either 1) you have little or no Cyanuric Acid (CYA aka stabilizer or conditioner) in the water and your chlorine is getting broken down by sunlight faster than the tabs can dissolve or 2) you have too much CYA in the water so there is nascent algae growth that is using up chlorine faster than the tabs can release it and faster than chlorine can kill the algae. Read the Pool School for more info on how to properly maintain your pool. Get a good test kit as well -- either the Taylor K-2006 or the TF-100.

If you use only stabilized chlorine, then the CYA level will likely build up over time and can do so quickly depending on the amount of water dilution you have in your pool.