chlorine levels
- Thread starter gjconn
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!
Chlorination occurs on high or on low, so the answer is to check your chlorine level everyday and adjust your run time as needed. Be very careful with tablets as you can quickly get excessive CYA levels with them. Half a season is usually more than enough to run into problematic levels.
Chlorination occurs on high or on low, so the answer is to check your chlorine level everyday and adjust your run time as needed. Be very careful with tablets as you can quickly get excessive CYA levels with them. Half a season is usually more than enough to run into problematic levels.
I understand about the cya levels that you guys harp on on this site and new to owning a pool so due take it into consideration. We just filled the pool a week ago after a three month build process but chlorine seems to be low. All other chem levels are good just some what chlorine levels. Am I wrong in saying when at the higher speed of vs pump that more water flows through chlorinater putting out more chlorine?
For an erosion type feeder, yes. The faster your are putting water through, the quicker the tabs will dissolve. Most units have a dial as well that can increase flow through the unit. What are we talking about for a low chlorine? If your are keeping up with the chlorine demand then all is well. You can always bump it up with a powdered or liquid chlorine and then let the tabs maintain without adding more cya than you have to.
It's hard to answer your question because very few of us use tablets in a chlorinator. The vast majority of us dose manually with liquid bleach, or automated with a salt water generator or some type of automatic bleach dispensing system (peristaltic pump).
In general, yes higher flow from either pump setting or chlorinator setting will result in faster tablet dissolve times.
In general, yes higher flow from either pump setting or chlorinator setting will result in faster tablet dissolve times.
Perfect! That does answer my question. The chlorinater does have a dail 1-5 to increase if needed. Would you be able to tell me on a average how long someone would have the setting set to have the pump on high to Increase levels? Example right now my polaris runs a total of four hours in a 24 he period , 2 hrs in the a.m. and 2 hrs in the p.m. That is the only time it is running on higher speed. Obviously this is not long enough to put enough chlorine in the pool. So I do understand about using liquid chlorine to subsidize or increase the level and let the tabs do the maintaining , but how long should I increase my higher pump speed time to bring the levels to norm?
That's true about the powder provided you know what your pool Calcium level is. Using Cal-Hypo can increase the CH to a higher than desired level. Using Dichlor Powder will increase Cya, so that has to be considered as well.
Liquid to subsidize and tabs to maintain is certainly an option, but again, most of us don't use tabs exclusively. Long term tab use will usually lead to problems down the road.
Remember that chlorine is consumable. Even in a perfectly clean pool, chlorine must be continually replenished.
Pump run time and FC levels are (in general) two different situations. Most people can get away with 4-6 hour run time. I personally am around 7-8 hours. Users with 2 speed pumps will run on a very low setting most of the day and kick it up to high only if a high flow rate is required for vacuuming, water features, etc. The exception to the above is for people with SWGs, which rely on flow rate to generate chlorine. However, in those situations, people seem to strive for the lowest RPM setting that will make the SWG happy, and adjust the % to get the required FC (so, pump run time is determined first, and they back into SWG setting).
I'm sorry to be giving so much info in generalities, but again, most of us either don't use the chlorinators, or completely remove them from our systems. More info can be found in Pool School (link in the upper right corner of every page).
I understand on this site you guys push to not use or recommend not to use the tabs due to cya levels increasing and causing issues down the road. You guys have been great about getting to my question of increasing my run time at a higher speed to increase chlorine levels, thx. Was also hoping others would read this and give input as to how long they run vs pump at the higher speeds. I know there are mannnnyyyyyy different ways to achieve results and different things work for different people in all different situations. That is why this forum is so useful.
The time is completely different for every pool and different for the same pool at different times of year.
The usual approach is to determine your pump run time separately, and then adjust the dial on the chlorinator until you get the desired chlorine level. In any case there is no way to figure out the correct dial setting (or pump run time if you are using that) other than trying it out and seeing what happens. The correct setting will also vary through the pool season as the water temperature, amount of sunlight, and CYA level vary.
The usual approach is to determine your pump run time separately, and then adjust the dial on the chlorinator until you get the desired chlorine level. In any case there is no way to figure out the correct dial setting (or pump run time if you are using that) other than trying it out and seeing what happens. The correct setting will also vary through the pool season as the water temperature, amount of sunlight, and CYA level vary.
Jason thx so much for that info, as I see that is what I will have to do till if can get a good feel for it. Again, being new to all this the more info and input I can get is more than welcome. Keep it coming!!
Dave the kit that was given to me via the builder is a simple test kit which does not show cya. it is a kit that tests the basic chlorine, ph, alk and acid demand. but chlorine levels should be in the 2-3 ppm if i am correct. Again they just started up the pool last week so I am sure the cya is not an issue at this time. I do plan on getting a better kit soon.
The kit given has chlorine, ph , alkalinity and acid demand. This kit shows the colors that should be and the range you should be at, no cya . So then I would not know what my desired level of chlorine would be but as long as the color shade says I am good then chlorine level is good
The color is showing there's X amount of chlorine in the water. You need to know if it's the right amount of chlorine for the CYA level. If you don't keep the FC level in range for the CYA level your going to have problems with algae outbreaks.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock. ?
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock. ?
With no CYA in the pool, the sun will destroy the chlorine very fast, like hours. And once you get CYA in the water, then you need to maintain higher FC levels, but actually will add less each day.
You should seriously get one of the recommended test kits or you are working in the dark.
You should seriously get one of the recommended test kits or you are working in the dark.
No, not really. "but as long as the color shade says I am good then chlorine level is good" is only even remotely true if CYA is fairly low.
Perhaps you could purchase a better test kit (by far the best option), or take a sample to a pool store and get them to measure the CYA level (a good short term option), of if you know everything that has been added to the pool since it was filled you could try to figure out what the CYA level might be (hit or miss but better than nothing).
Perhaps you could purchase a better test kit (by far the best option), or take a sample to a pool store and get them to measure the CYA level (a good short term option), of if you know everything that has been added to the pool since it was filled you could try to figure out what the CYA level might be (hit or miss but better than nothing).
Totally agree on getting different kit and will do that. It's been6days since the pool was filled and should be going to the Pool store this weekend to get new kit that will show cya along with the other readings.
The pool store will likely not have the kit with everything you need. If they do, it will be a Taylor K-2006. They may say K-2005 has everything, but it won't. The best deal on the market is a TF 100 kit. It has the same Taylor reagents as the K 2006, but more of the ones you'll run out of most quickly.
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