I just got my 18' ultra frame pretty much full with well water. The bottom is slippery, so I'm assuming the algae is starting to grow. My question is this. I also bought the separate salt water generator. Should I bother shocking it? Or should I go right for dumping the salt in and start the generator and see where I'm at? I ordered the TF-100 kit, but I'm not sure how long before I get it. I don't want to wait too long to get something going in it before I lose the pool to algae or something. Suggestions?
New 18' Ultra Frame up, now ready to install SWG
- Thread starter ylomnstr
- Start date
Use bleach to bring the chlorine up ASAP and add the salt too. You need to let the salt dissolve and run the pump for 24 hrs before starting the chlorine generator. It by itself won't raise the chlorine level. They will only maintain the chlorine levels once you get it to where it needs to be.
Any idea how much bleach I should add? It's just over 7000 gallons. I should do bleach over shock?
With no stabilizer (cya) in the water the chlorine is going to be burned off by the sun very quick and if there is algae starting to grow it'll go even quicker. Shock level with no cya is around 10. The pool calculator estimates you need to add 65oz of cya to get it up to 70. 96oz of bleach will get the chlorine up to around 6-7ppm. Once the test kit arrives you'll be able to better manage everything. But for now you need to always keep bleach in the pool. As I said, until the cya gets built up in the water the sun and any organics in the pool will eat the chlorine up quick.
http://www.poolcalculator.com <----- this is your best friend 
just adjust the gallons for your pool size. Under suggested goal levels select trouble free pool, swg for chlorine source, and vinyl for pool surface.
Assume the chlorine is zero and cya is zero when you input those figures. Leave ph alone for now. The calculator will tell you how much of each to add.
just adjust the gallons for your pool size. Under suggested goal levels select trouble free pool, swg for chlorine source, and vinyl for pool surface.Assume the chlorine is zero and cya is zero when you input those figures. Leave ph alone for now. The calculator will tell you how much of each to add.
Yes, slowly add the each and let the pump run to circulate. Might get just a cheapo drop test kit for the time being until the kit arrives. You can at least use that to make sure you have chlorine in the water and it doesn't drop to zero. It'll also let you know what the pH is sitting at.
Plain bleach is all you need. Just avoid the scented varieties. The concentrated stuff is fine. Most places only carry the 8.25% now anyways. There's a few who still stock the 6% but is rare
ylomnstr: I'm a couple days behind you and will be setting up my SWG in fresh new water this week. Please keep us informed with how it goes for you.
ylomnstr said:
Absolutely - especially since you're already seeing signs of algae. If you wait, and especially if you expect your SWG to produce enough chlorine to prevent an algae outbreak (it won't), you really NEED chlorine in that pool ASAP. Without enough stabilizer (CYA) in the water any chlorine you add will disappear pretty quickly so be prepared to keep adding more until you can get some CYA in there.
SWG's are fantastic for maintaining chlorine levels, but they aren't particularly good at raising the chlorine from 0, or combating an algae bloom if you develop one (the algae eats up the chlorine faster than it's generated), so it's also important to understand pool chemistry and have a grasp of how to maintain your pool without the SWG - and even when the SWG is working, you should keep enough bleach on hand to shock your pool if it becomes necessary.
I just set up our pool about a week and a half ago and I filled it, shocked it with bleach, added CYA and salt, and gave it a few days for the salt and CYA to dissolve, all while I was continuing to add bleach to the pool to keep the chlorine levels up. After 4 days or so, then I started the SWG and my chlorine levels have been holding steady for the past week... it's gone well because I didn't rush the process and I had everything set to go, I wasn't playing a game of "catch up" with the SWG.
Thanks. Just bought the bleach and a cheap test kit while I wait for the TF100. I'll add the bleach tonight and see where I'm at tomorrow.
Well I added the bleach and now the pool turned a brownish color. Since the bleach has only been in for a couple of hours, should I wait until tomorrow before I test it with the cheap kit I got? Or should I bring the water to a pool store and have them test it? Do these stores normally charge to test water?
nate81
0
ylomnstr....check this post out coffee-anyone-t62380.html
i had the same thing happen...added bleach and water turned brown, i had the pool store test for metals and i had none....24 hours later and it looks like this http://i.imgur.com/E53BCbO.jpg
I'm using well water. I had to backwash and vacuum several times, but it did the trick and amazed the Crud out of me!
i had the same thing happen...added bleach and water turned brown, i had the pool store test for metals and i had none....24 hours later and it looks like this http://i.imgur.com/E53BCbO.jpg
I'm using well water. I had to backwash and vacuum several times, but it did the trick and amazed the Crud out of me!
Thanks nate1. So you just added CYA and it cleared up? I'm thinking mine is due to iron in the well water, but I don't know.
nate81
0
From my understanding the CYA (cyanuric acid) is just a stabilizer...which basically helps protect the chlorine from the sunlight eating it up at such a fast rate.
I thought mine was due to iron as well, I went and had it tested and was told there was no iron in my water....so i bought a vacuum (the 'vacuum' that comes with the intex pools is a joke) that hooks to my sandfilter....and vacuumed all the dirt/silt on the floor...waited til it fell again, and repeated. I did have to backwash a few times, which you are not supposed to do after adding CYA...so i'll have to recheck my levels in a week and reapply i'm sure.
Other than that, the only thing i did was shock with bleach. I've been running my sand filter 24 hours a day for 3 days or so now straight.
Post some pictures!
I thought mine was due to iron as well, I went and had it tested and was told there was no iron in my water....so i bought a vacuum (the 'vacuum' that comes with the intex pools is a joke) that hooks to my sandfilter....and vacuumed all the dirt/silt on the floor...waited til it fell again, and repeated. I did have to backwash a few times, which you are not supposed to do after adding CYA...so i'll have to recheck my levels in a week and reapply i'm sure.
Other than that, the only thing i did was shock with bleach. I've been running my sand filter 24 hours a day for 3 days or so now straight.
Post some pictures!
So, I just opened up my boxes for a quick peek and inventory check. Should I even bother reading the various manuals? Specifically the SWG manual?
Here are some pictures after having the filter running overnight. First picture shows the browness/yellowness of the pool. It seems to be very clear, just colored, which I assume is iron. 2nd picture is of the cheapo test I got. Seems like my chlorine and PH are way high. I put 1 bottle of 64oz clorox bleach in yesterday before it turned this color. The bottle said it was equivalent to a 94oz bottle since it was concentrated.
So I got the water tested today, and honestly my levels were OK.....according to them. There was some iron in the test, but nothing crazy, and she said the addition of the bleach could be hiding some of the iron levels. Recommended some sort of metal out. The readings are below:
Saturation Idx 0.6
Tot. Chlorine 3.8
Free Chlorine 3.3
pH 8.7
Tot. Alkalinity 135
Tot Hardness 56
So I added about half a liter of Natural Chemistry Pool magic phosfree and about a half liter of Natural Chemistry Metal Free. The filter is running and I plan on running it overnight. Is that the proper way to add this stuff?
Saturation Idx 0.6
Tot. Chlorine 3.8
Free Chlorine 3.3
pH 8.7
Tot. Alkalinity 135
Tot Hardness 56
So I added about half a liter of Natural Chemistry Pool magic phosfree and about a half liter of Natural Chemistry Metal Free. The filter is running and I plan on running it overnight. Is that the proper way to add this stuff?
OK so I woke up this morning and my wife looked out the window around 7am and said the pool doesn't look brown anymore. I jumped out of bed and went out there and it's crystal clear! So about 12 hours after adding the metal free, it seems like i'm in the clear......for now. Thanks guys!