Trying to Get Water in Balance

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HowardL

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Apr 19, 2011
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Last year was my first summer living in a home with a SWG pool. After applying BBB the prior year in a more traditional pool I just loved the lower workload, and I must admit after the first few tests all kept coming back solid, I pretty much adopted a "set it and forget it" management plan. Then I totally neglected things over the late Fall and Winter.

Last weekend I started the process of undoing my neglect and getting things ready to go for this year. I cleaned my cartridge filter, replaced a pressure gauge, cleared the pump impeller and resealed the pump, and adjusted my salt levels. Then I discovered after acid washing that my 5yr old salt cell was giving up the ghost so I ordered a replacement, which should arrive today.

In an effort to get the water as ready as possible, I did my first comprehensive water tests of the season (first in about 9 months really). Here are my results.

Salt = 3640ppm
FC = 0
pH = 7.2
CYA = 0
TA = 60
CH = 200

My big question is what, exactly, do I need to do?

I plugged the numbers into the Pool Calculator and understand that I need to put about 156oz of 6% bleach in to get the water up to a 3 on my FC, although I'm thinking I might need to go higher to start. I'm OK with that since I understand the chlorine side of things.

But that's pretty much the extent of my real understanding. I don't think I've ever had a low pH before, so instead of adding acid (which I'm used to) not sure what to do. Pool calculator talks about washing soda or borax.

I'm definitely in uncharted waters here. My same personal level of ignorance exists with respect to calcium chloride (for CH) and stabilizer for CYA. I'm not even sure where to get this stuff (pool store? hardware store?).

If any of you have some helpful hints or suggestions on the most pressing things to attend to, please let me know. I can assure you that your advice will be well appreciated. Thanks.
Howard
 
Add the bleach to the water and get some CYA in the water also.

You can buy CYA or aka stabilizer at the hardware store or pool store. It comes in liquid, which is more expensive, or in granular form. Look for something that is 99% CYA, some places sell 50% stuff for just as much as the pure stuff.

When I add the granular CYA to my water, I put it in a soccer sock and hang it over a return. It can take up to a week to show up on a test, but you dose the chlorine levels to how much CYA you put in the water. To start, I would put in enough CYA to bring your pool up to 50 ppm. It is much easier to add more CYA than to remove it if you put in too much. Use the pool calculator to get the amount you need.

Your other values are fine for now but might need some tweaking once your cell starts working. I would run the FC up higher, 7-10 ppm and run an OCLT to verify that nothing is growing in the pool tonight.
 
Your pH and TA are currently fine. The pH will start to rise once the SWG is going again.

You need to get the CYA added and maintain the FC with bleach until your SWG is functional.

CYA= cyanuric acid= stabilizer= conditioner can be found at pool store or Wal-Mart.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 
One last question: Do I have to wait a week for the CYA stabilizer to dissolve before I put the new salt cell in, or can I safely start it up now? I'll get FC to 10 via bleach, but looking forguidance if I need to keep the bleach going for a week.. Thanks.

You guys are the best. Thanks for all the help, and for making a confusing topic easy for a less experienced pool owner. Thanks.
Howard
 
One other question to ask....
What does your water look like?? If its been at 0FC for an extended period of time, and the water isn't sparkling starting the shock process may be best while waiting for the new cell. If that's the case, raise your CYA up around 30 and shock away.
 
Howard,

I just read a post on here the other day that said any time the FC drops to 0 you should shock the pool. It is my understanding that you can have algae that is not readily visible. Perform the OCLT and make sure nothing is growing and consuming chlorine. Better to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand. And get that CYA up. I have mine at 70 which is recommended for a SWCG pool.

Good luck and happy swimming!

David
 

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I'd go woth David's plan. Bring your cya up to around 30 and raise your FC level to 13. Preform the overnight test. I'd also keep the pump running 24/7 until the pool is sparkling clean. Just make sure to turn off the SWG while doing the OCLT. :)
 
OK, I added the suggested bleach/CYA and waited a week for the water to fully reflect the changes. Filter is running 24/7 and pool water looks good. Here's the current data as of this morning:
Water temp: 67 degrees
Salt = 3640ppm per strip
FC = 7
CC = 0
pH = 7.7
CYA = 70
TA = 70
CH = 200

Based on the Pool Calculator it seems to me that the only thing I need to do now is add some calcium chloride or calcium chloride dihydrate to raise my CH a bit.

Calcium chloride / dihydrate: What is it and where do I get it? Pool store / Hardware/ Big Box Lowes or Home Depot?

Am I looking at things the right way? I have a troubling habit of misreading the Pool Calculator. Thanks.

Howard
 
The CH is just slightly low, but will rise due to evaporation. If you keep the pH on the high end of recommended you should be fine.

Note the CSI at the bottom of the calculator.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 
NOW, take a look at that SW cell and see if it really is working now.

I think that cold water can shut them off. Also, when CYA is 0 they can work all day and night and you may never see FC as it is gone too fast once the sun hits the pool, or any algae consumes it.
 
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