I have month old 14,000 gallon pool with aqua rite salt system with T9 cell. Have been running my pool 10 hours a day with the salt system at 100 percent and the chlorine level never gets higher than 1. My cya level is at 80 and it has been sunny and temperature in the 90's. Is it normal to not be able to generate anymore chlorine than that while running the pump for 10 hours? No one has swam in the pool the last 5 days.

Month old pool. Is there salt in it? What's the ppm?

Salt was tested at pool store at 3100ppm.

Welcome to TFP!

No that is not normal. There are a couple of things that might be happening. The most likely is that you have a low level algae problem. There can be enough algae to use up the chlorine but not enough to be visible or take over the pool. It is also possible that the SWG is not working correctly, though that is much less likely. Another possibility is that your chlorine test is not working correctly, though again that is much less likely.

The best thing to do is to do an overnight FC loss test, see Pool School for details. That will tell you if you have an algae problem or not.

A note... If you do the OCLT make sure to turn the SWG off. Any chlorine it puts into the pool will skew the OCLT.

Can I ask what kind of test kit you're using? Can you post a full set of test results for us?

It is just a pentair kit that tests chlorine, ph, and alkalinity. Now that u say that about algae, is it possible for algae to plug up cartridge filters. Having problems keeping the filter pressure down even after cleaning them. Pool is only little over a month old. I thought the problem was some paint that got in the pool from spraying the sundek, but I also heard algae might plug the filters. Chlorine has been a 1, ph at 7.2-7.6. Having to put about a cup of muriatic acid a day to keep ph right.

Just to let you know the pool is crystal clear.

From 8p.m. last night till 4a.m. this morning, the chlorine dropped 1 ppm. I noticed when I brushed the hot tub this morning there was some flaky looking stuff floating around. Could that be algae?

Hold your chlorine test block underwater DIRECTLY in front of the return water so that the sample you take out (put your finger over it as you remove it from the pool) should be concentrated chlorine. Do the test normally and the solution should turn orange or brown instead of yellow. report that result.

Chances are good that you need to shock the pool with liquid chlorine, we'll see.....do not expect the SWG to do this.

held the test tube over the return line and it did not turn brown or orange, just a deeper yellow than the pool is testing. It does seem like the chlorinator is doing something because bubbles come out of returns when it is on and stops when i turn it off. I shocked the pool and put the chlorinator at 50 percent. I guess I will wait a couple of days to see what happens. The water is sparkling, just hard to believe it may have algae in it.

Well, not really. Shocking a pool is a precise process that can take several days but that's for another time.

I am troubled slightly that your test didn't turn it orange or brown....it should have. While you are in a "wait and see" mode, I would suggest you brush the bottom and sides of the pool thoroughly at least once a day for a few days and see if that helps clear the pool.

Where are you located?

Is your pump variable or 2 speed?

I know I have the lowely intex swg, but mine never (even when new) turns the the solution orange/brown just very deep yellow.

Was the swg on during this period. If it was, and since you confirmed that you are a least getting deeper yellow with your test at the return, I would guess you have algae. If the swg was on read: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool

I am located in new orleans, la. The chlorinator was not on last night. It was on this morning when I tested it and I have brushed the pool everyday.

I have a single stage pump.

Okay since the swg was not on during the OCLT, that is a good sign, but what was your FC (or TC level if you do not have the FAS-DPD test) level last night?

tc went from 1 to 0 last night,

I was suspicious of that. You really did not do a OCLT since you do not know how far your chlorine would drop if there was more available. Let's bring your pool up to shock level using bleach or liquid chlorine and then do the OCLT tonight. Just turn your swg off for now. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you have as some of this can be confusing if you haven't done it before.

Ok, thanks. Do you know if algae would plug cartridge filters. I have problems with high pressure on the filter. I have cleaned them twice but pressure is about 12 psi higher than when I started the pool. They are only month old and it is pentair clean and clear 320. The sundek people did get paint in my pool, not sure if that clogged them or the possible algae has something to do with it.

I am only marginally informed about cartridges (I have one on my hot tub but have not had much trouble yet). Regardless of filter type, when clearing algae, the pressure will go up and the filter may need to be cleaned often. 5 psi rise from clean pressure is usually the guideline. What is the pressure reading right after you clean (not the pressure change)?