Keep the tab dispenser for flexibility. You may want to go in vacation for 2 weeks and it will be no problem to load it with tabs and forget about it. The rest of the time it will just flow empty, no problem.

You may also go into a hybrid solution as discussed where you do a Barr minimum tab setting. You do need some Cyanuric Acid in your pool, otherwise the sun will eat through your free chlorine. You just don't want too much.

Update:

Pool is sparkling this morning and all signs of algae are gone. Seems to have worked wonders!

Still no clue on the CYA level and it's something I'll keep looking into but for now we appear to be stabilized.

Thanks for all the help!

phideaux_2003 said:

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Update:

Pool is sparkling this morning and all signs of algae are gone. Seems to have worked wonders!

Still no clue on the CYA level and it's something I'll keep looking into but for now we appear to be stabilized.

Thanks for all the help!

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Good to hear. Does your pool get full sun all day. Mine does so I normally try to put a 1/4 of gallon of liquid chlorine in the pool every other day at least (without even checking chem levels).

This is why I switched to a saltwater pool
Couldn't keep cya levels in check

I recommend both. Just use a cheap tab chlorinator as youll only use it as needed. I had my pool builder install the liquid chlorinator as well.

Id strongly suggest getting your own test kit and (Taylor 2006) and run the CYA yourself. Using powder shock, and tabs will solve it temporarily and you will be back in the same situation.

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This guy is right. You 100% still have algae in your pool. Only a matter of time before it blooms again

+1 for troublefreepool.com. The site is definitely named appropriately. Been following advice from there for 10+ years and problems have been few and far between. And once I got a handle on what I was doing, maintenance has been easy.

'03ag said:

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^
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This guy is right. You 100% still have algae in your pool. Only a matter of time before it blooms again

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Yes this isn't the first time either. The pool is pushing 30 years old to my knowledge and we're thinking it due for a revamp in a year or so. Just trying to get it there, then we'll do the new one right.

+1 for TFP method. Ours is saltwater so pretty easy overall.

We test pH and FC a couple of times a week then do CYA and Calc Hardness as well 1x/wk with a few other tests occasionally. Mostly just add muriatic acid when pH gets too high but otherwise get plenty of Chlorine from the salt cell.

Phosfree to get rid of the phosphate.

Super shock. 3x your normal shock.