Chemical Balance on covered pool

[skijunkie]

So I am a relatively new owner of a small covered pool. I have read the pool school multiple times and keep a printed copy near my TFT-100 test kit. I have not had much trouble at all adjusting chemicals thanks to this site and the pool calculator.

My question is if I should adjust my chemical targets based on having my pool covered 100% of the time unless I am actually in the pool. (The only exception is leaving it uncovered at night in the summer to lower the temperature of the water).

Here are my current numbers:
FC: 3.5
CC: 0
TC: 3.5
TA: 100-110
CYA: 40-50
pH: 7.5
CH: 210-220 (just added another 8oz to raise it more last night, my target is 250)
Salt: 3100
Temp: 86

My main question is about CYA. Because my pool is so small and it is covered all the time my FC can rise very easily and it takes a while to drop back down. I have found that 15% is too high a setting on my turbo cell 15. I run it between 8-10% normally (9 hour pump run time a day).

Do I still need to raise my CYA up to 70-80 when the water gets only limited sun?

Also, I have been repeatedly lowering my pH to 7.0-7.2 with muriatic acid and letting it drift up with very little success in lowering my TA. Am I doing something wrong in my attempts to lower TA?

What about my other numbers? Should I run a lower FC since my pool is covered most of the time?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[JasonLion]

Using a SWG with a pool that is covered all of the time is problematic. Chlorine usage will vary dramatically depending on how much you use the pool, instead of being more or less constant because of sunlight. That can lead to wild variations in the FC level if you aren't paying enough attention and adjusting the percentage setting based on how much you use the pool.

Yes, it is reasonable to lower the CYA level to 30 to 50 if you are going to keep the pool covered nearly all the time, and reduce the FC target level correspondingly. With CYA at 50 and a SWG, FC should be between 2 and 4.

Keep in mind that covered pools are prone to having CC problems. If CC gets to be an issue you will want to open the cover occasionally while it is sunny to help burn off the CC.