Well, I thought I was doing good and bought the 2010 model intex. Should I remove the copper ionizer? I think I could cap the housing. I really havn't figured out how to check the chemical levels with the strips. I always get a high ph and low clorine. I had the same problem before I got the swg. I am in Texas and it is over 100 degrees every day.

I have been running the swg 12 hrs. Per day. Is this too long or too short? The book suggested 5 to 6 hrs.

Welcome to TFP I split this post into it's own topic (no threadjacking )

The 2010 model does have a lower chlorine output, but I doubt that is your issue. I run a 2009 model on my 13,500 gal pool and only need to run it 3 hrs a day. I think your issue likely is being driven by improper water chemistry and/or organics. SWGs can not usually keep up with an algae outbreak or other organic event as well as the chlorine demand when there is no CYA (aka stabilzer) in your water.

I would suggest you read through Pool School, pick up a good testkit, such as the TF100 or Taylor K2006 and post a full set of results (FC, CC, PH, TA, CH, CYA). Once we have some water chemistry, we can point you in the right direction

What he said!

The water appears real clear. I did add stabilizer. Guess I need to order a test kit. Dang those are expensive. But I'm shure they are better than the test strips.

Sorry didn't mean to hijack the tread.
Do both of these testers work for swg pools?

Yes both the TF-100 and the K-2006 are good for a SWCG pool. The only thing you don't get that you might possibly need one day are salt tests.

Yup...what Bama said

Just remember that a salt pool is a chlorine pool. I bought salt test strips last year, but as long as the green light on the SWG is on and you do not have a high/low salt error, you can do with or without the salt strips.

The TF is a better value, however the cost is a little high, it pays for itself, not having to buy chemicals that are just not needed

Thanks for your help. Trying to get all of the correct chemical readings is driving me nuts. I just can't seem to get it right. But the pool looks great. I am going to order a TF100 tonight. I need the right tools. This is my first pool so I'm a little lost. I have been reading the Pool School but there is a lot to understand. It is a little overwhelming. Guess I'll get the hang of it in time.

Yup...that's exactly how a lot of us started...no worries...you will get the hang of it...I read pool school over and over, until I had that aha! momemt

bgnoland said "I need the right tools."

That is exactly right. Once you get the numbers where they be with your "new tools" then clear sailing with the SWG. I run my 09 model for 3 to 4 hours (wish it had a 3.5 hour setting) and all my numbers stay where they should be. Water looks and feels great. I haven't had to manually add anything to my pool in 2 months. Now if I could get it to vacuum itself without spending much money.

Me too!!! 3 hours I lose 1-2 ppm fc per week and at 4 hrs I gain 2-3ppm per week.

The test kit has been shipped. As soon as I get the numbers I will post them. I am running my 2010 model for 7 hrs. The water looks great. The strip testers say the Clorine is on the low side. I also have a cheap kit that is hard to determine the color. But it looks like the Clorine is ok. Anyway thanks for your help.

Ok I got my handy dandy TF-100 test kit. Here are my readings:

FC=10
CC=0
TC=10
PH=8.2
T/A=280
CH=240
CYA=10
Water Temp.=84 deg. F
Conditions - readings taken at 7:00 PM cst, the solar cover has been on all day, outside air temp. today was 93 deg.

Normally I do not have on the solar cover. I got a lot of trash in the pool yesterday due to high winds so I put it on. I plan on taking another reading later this week after the cover has been off all day.

Looks to me like the clorine is high. It is hard for me to accuately read on the basic kit. The PH is very high. Which is what I have been reading with the strips. The CYA looks high. I had to fill the tube all the way to the top and could still barely see the dot.

I have been running the 2010 Intex SWG for 7 hours. I just lowered it to 4hrs. Is this a good move?
So what do you suggest?

Your CYA level is low. For a SWG CYA should be around 70.

Your TA level is very high. Sometimes the test reads higher than actual. To check, you should do the TA test again, but this time wipe the tip of the dropper bottle with a damp cloth or tissue before you start and after every couple of drops.

High TA plus a SWG, especially when CYA is low, will tend to drive the PH up quickly. That could put you at risk for calcium scaling, especially if the TA level is correct.

Will do. When doing the CYA test, does the dot compete dissappear? I still could barely see it.

If the readings are correct, how do I fix it?

Also should I take off the solar blanket and test again after a day or so?

Yes, the black dot in the CYA test totally vanishes, so that there is no hint that it was ever there. When the dot does not completely vanish that means your CYA level is lower than what the test can measure. Your guess of CYA at 10 is reasonable.

The first step is to get the PH down to around 7.2, preferably with muriatic acid. Since the PH test only reads up to 8.2, your actual PH might be higher that that. After you adjust the PH, wait 30 minutes with the pump running and then test the PH again and see if you need to adjust it further. You can figure quantities using the Pool Calculator, see the link in my signature. For large PH changes it is best to use about 2/3rds the recommended amount because PH calculations are approximate and can be off for large changes. Lowering PH will also start to lower your TA.

The second thing to do is to add CYA, also called stabilizer, conditioner, and cyanuric acid. It is easy to raise CYA but tricky to lower. Because of that you should raise CYA in two or three steps. For the first round, raise CYA to around 50 or 60, wait a week, test the CYA level again and continue adjusting from there.

Guess I'll be putting in the Muratic acid. The calculator said put in 3 gallons. Guess I'll start with 1 gallon, 1 pt. at a time. Then I'll put in the Stabilizer.

Thanks for the advice.

3 gals of MA sounds like WAY too much in a 9K gal pool.

You may need 1-3 pts in total. If my math is right 3 gals would lower your PH from 8.2 to 5 And you DO NOT want that.

Yes 3 gal is too too much. In the Pool Calculator did you put the pool size in gallons in at the top?

Yes I did put the Pool size (8750 gallons) in the calculator. I might still be doing it wrong. I put in about 3qts. of MA the last 2 days. Things are looking better.
FC=8.8
CC=0
TC=8.5
pH=7.2
T/A=240
CYA=20
Water temp.=82

I put in about 1 pound of Stabilizer. I was running the Intex for 7 hrs. Now I set it for 4 hrs. since the FC is so high. I think I am finally on the right track.

One other question. My STA-RITE filter says 56 GPM. That's 3360 GPH. Could that be right?