Constantly Having to Add Chlorine Every 2-3 Days

[fiberzap]

Hi,

I bought a house with a beautiful swimming pool last fall and I wasn't expecting how much work it is to maintain it. I have no experience with pool maintenance. I have a 20,000 gallon inground pool.

Since summer started, somehow my pool is requiring a lot more chlorine that what I used to add. I buy the liquid chlorine by the gallons from either Home Depot or Walmart and have to constantly add 2 gallons of it to my pool every 2-3 days. The reading will go up to normal yellow color on the test kit for about 2 days then it goes back to zero.

The water is clear and I add algaecide regularly as needed but the chlorine consumption is killing me. It is costing me $80-90 a month on chlorine alone! What could be the problem? Any hint or suggestion what I need to do differently? Is adding chlorine every 2-3 days something that everyone has to do anyway or is there a better alternative with different types of chlorine?

Thanks!

[Guest]

You may need cya

[chem geek]

Yes, it could be that your Cyanuric Acid (CYA) is too low. If your chlorine loss is during the day but not at night, then that indeed is the problem. Get yourself a proper test kit -- either the Taylor K-2006 or the TFTestkits TF-100.

If you are losing chlorine overnight as well (more than 1 ppm especially), then you may have nascent algae growth and need to Shock Your Pool.