First spring opening, just opened, but FC is high.

[Lazyman]

Opened yesterday morning but I couldn't run the pump as the water was still below the return.

I had these numbers-

FC WAS 15 yesterday, but now 13.5
CC - 0
TA 70
Borates 40 -45
Salt 2900
PH 7.45
CYA 30-35
CH 70-80

Now they're slightly different as I added salt and other stuff to adjust numbers. Today the FC was still 13.5


I've added salt, borax, CYA, MA.


The swg seems to be off now, although it was "ON" yesterday upon startup until the orp reading showed it was past the setpoint. I'm hoping it won't turn on for a while until the FC goes down to at least 6 or so.

CYA at 40 or less has shown to work on my pool. TA about 70 has also shown to work. The PH is always spot on (7.5) with the acid feed tank/system controlling it.

It's pretty impossible for my FC to hang around 2 or 3. What suggested FC level can I have with these numbers? Would 6 be too high? I doubt I can get lower than that with this system functioning properly. The pool is small and the 48 Cell is probably too large for the 7600 gallons in my pool.


My pump runs 24/7 on low speed.


I can't believe the water was clear with about 5 leaves in there when I took the cover off yesterday. Wow! BBB!!!!

Thanks for reading.

 

[coloeb]

Most people would love to see this at opening. I assume you added water and that would have reduced you FC . Was the SWG running during this time? If so turn it off untill your FC hits your target level. How many hours a day does your SWG run normally? The only thing I can think you need to check is the BBQ supplies.

 

[chrisexv6]

Yeah Im thinking this is more of a gloat thread than anything else!!!

Those numbers make it look like your pool was never even closed.

 

[Lazyman]

lol Gloat thread. Well, yeah! Nah, this is my first opening ever. I had the pool installed last summer and didn't know what to expect this year.

The swg is always physically on. It just turns itself on and off when it needs chlorine, and acid to lower ph. I keep the pump running 24hrs/day to keep water circulating. Maybe I'll change that someday, I don't know.

I added water and the FC went from 15 to 13.5, BUT during that time the swg was "on" because of the orp reading showed it needed to be on. I'm assuming that was the case because it was the initial start up. As of now, it is "off" and shows no need for chlorine production. I just don't how long it will stay off.

My concern here was if I could have an FC on a daily basis of 6+(or higher) or so, instead of 2 or 3 or whatever the chart recommendation shows for my pool? Last year I had a heck of a time getting FC down to 'normal' levels.

 

[chrisexv6]

6+ is not as high as you would think with a CYA level of 40 or so, but I would aim to make it lower maybe 5 max instead. Just seems like a waste of chlorine (although its an SWG so its not like you are adding CL by buying it). Too high over 6 might be a problem, but 6 or under probably not an issue.

Is the SWG oversized for your pool? If the SWG is basically just on or off, cutting down the run time would cut down on how much it could add to your FC levels.

Also, does it take into account 1 speed vs 2? Its almost like you should be able to tell it to work half as hard on 1 speed running for 24 hours.

 

[JasonLion]

Lazyman has an AutoPilot Total Control system that uses ORP readings to determine when the SWG should come on.

Presumably you need to turn down your ORP set point a little and see what that does to the FC level.

 

[Lazyman]

Sorry, I didn't realize there were two more replies. I thought I would get Email notifications when there were replies.

**Edit** Opened Sunday not Saturday..

Anyway, my setpoint was the same as I left it last year, so I thought it might be a good place to start. The FC has slowly been creeping down over the past few days since Saturday's turn on of the system, and it is now at FC 8. The swg has not produced anything or turned on since Saturday. That is still high, but getting there. My orp reading, however, is hovering around 699-705 range with a setpoint of (652). Still seems OK until tonight when the orp reading went up to 735.

Now I know that at night things can change and the numbers of the orp are not as important, so I'll see what happens tomorrow. I have a feeling that the orp reading won't magically go down towards the (652) setpoint when the FC levels finally hit 3, 4 or 5...

I did point the returns up out of the water, just like I did last year to make sure the orp readings are calculated properly. It does work, BUT I now think I may need to re-direct the return into the water once a day and re-direct it out of the water again at another point in the day. I really think this will make the orp readings do what they're supposed to do. I somewhat did that last year and it seemd to work, but it doesn't seem too smart of a thing to do. If I have to, I will, but it's certainly not a scientific type of fix.

Again, I instantly see a difference in terms of orp readings when pointing the return up, out of the water. So maybe doing the opposite, would be the thing to do. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case this time around. Everything seemed to work perfectly this year. I'm not sure when to start worrying about the FC being too low. Certainly not yet at 8. lol

4?

3?

Should I point the return down tonight? I didn't start worrying until the orp reading went up from 700 to 735 tonight, while Fc is still dropping. I certainly don't want to raise the setpoint up more than 652, do I? Actually, from last year's experience, I'd rather not play with the setpoint at all if I don't have to.

That's another reason I asked about having a higher than normal FC level. It seems my system is more comfortable keeping Fc high. Going too low is too pinpointed for it. Perhaps some changes to my other levels are to be made.

CYA even lower? Lower than 30? I won't start panicking yet. I was happy with this year's opening. Thanks to everyone!