from salt to chlorine????

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edgerton

0
May 15, 2014
33
canada
Totally new pool owner here. from opening my pool last a couple weeks ago I have had nothing but problems. everything from the tarp having holes in it, the kreepy krauly having leaks, i had to replace the sand filter and a bunch of plumbing and now it appears as though the ECG is no longer working and i will have to replace that.
I put 120lbs of salt in it yesterday which has the pool up to 3000ppm and I set it on superchlorinate for the last 12 hours. I checked my water after coming home from work today (just with the little strips that check PH, Alk and Chlorine) and it shows that there is little to no chlorine in the pool at all. The ECG does not have any build up in it that I can see. There was some debris but I didnt think it was enough to warrant cleaning so I just put it back on.
So, with that said, if my ECG is done, to alleviate more and more costs (this season anyways) can I just chlorinate the pool like a normal chlorine pool? the guy at the pool store said I could but I really have a hard time trusting him as he didnt even know you can order parts for the kreepy krauly or that sand just gets dumped in to the pool.
Any advice that can be offered is appreciated?
Or is there cheaper options for ECG's other than the Hayward ones that are like $500.


pool is 15000 gallons. Hayward super pump, Hayward 22" sand filter, Aquacollection ECG
 
Instead of ECG we use SWG.

Just because there is no chlorine in the pool doesn't means the SWG is having a problem. If it's status lights say it is working, it probably is. If you post a complete set of water test results we can suggest how to proceed to see if there really is a problem or not.

Switching between a SWG and bleach is very easy, just stop one and start the other. The ideal TA and CYA levels are a little different, but that is easily accommodated.
 
Ok so I dont have my own test kit yet but I do hope to get one soon. But I did take my water to the local pool store and here are there results.
Free Chlorine - 0.00ppm
PH - 8.0
Hardness - 160ppm
Alkalinity - 130 ppm
CYA - 20ppm
salt - 2700ppm

So, I bought three bags of super shock to add chlorine and I also bought based on their recomendation some stabalizer to bring the cya level up. Although they said that it isnt really too bad.

Any and all help that could be offered would be so appreciated. I am totally new to all this and I really just want to go for a swim. Would it be safe to do that with those conditions? The water is perfectly clear.

Also, I havent put the solar cover on yet. Should I? Is it ok to put that on if I shock it? I have lots of noob questions.
 
You should never swim when FC is zero.

Your PH is a little high. That should be adjusted fairly soon.

Your CYA is very low for use with a SWG. We recommend CYA be between 70 and 80 with a SWG. With low CYA you lose a lot of chlorine to sunlight each day. I recommend raising CYA to around 40 right away, and then raising it further when the FC problem is resolved.

The cover will protect the chlorine from sunlight and warm the pool, but is not essential or anything. You want the cover off if your SLAMing, our superior version of shocking.

It will be far far easier if you have your own top quality test kit. The next step is really to do an overnight FC loss test, but that is only possible if you have your own FAS-DPD chlorine test kit.
 
OK thanks for the advice. But how much stabilizer do I need to add to bring it up? Do I do the stabilizer, the PH and the chlorine shock at the same time? Or is it important to do one before the other? To bring the PH down do I need the PH minus that the pool store sells or should I just use the Muriatic Acid I have on hand?
Im sorry to sound dumb but I really need the most basic of instructions for now and I truly do appreciate the help.
 
edgerton said:
Ok so I dont have my own test kit yet but I do hope to get one soon. But I did take my water to the local pool store and here are there results.
Free Chlorine - 0.00ppm
PH - 8.0
Hardness - 160ppm
Alkalinity - 130 ppm
CYA - 20ppm
salt - 2700ppm

So, I bought three bags of super shock to add chlorine and I also bought based on their recomendation some stabalizer to bring the cya level up. Although they said that it isnt really too bad.

Any and all help that could be offered would be so appreciated. I am totally new to all this and I really just want to go for a swim. Would it be safe to do that with those conditions? The water is perfectly clear.

Also, I havent put the solar cover on yet. Should I? Is it ok to put that on if I shock it? I have lots of noob questions.
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I'm astonished! If those test results are correct, some dichlor "shock" was the right stuff to add. It adds chlorine, CYA, and lowers pH. You need all three.

I'll give you the bad news now. This place has the monopoly on Taylor test kits in Canuckistan, and they charge accordingly. And even if you're close to the border, it's pretty rare to find the right K-2006 test kit in stock anywhere.
 
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I think you meant Canuckistan! lol. I already figured out that I cant order the test kit through this site which sucks... but ya, that site there has quite the mark up. So you think that by just adding a bag of shock I should be good to go?
 
edgerton said:
I think you meant Canuckistan! lol. I already figured out that I cant order the test kit through this site which sucks... but ya, that site there has quite the mark up. So you think that by just adding a bag of shock I should be good to go?
Click to expand...
Fixed the spelling.

No, I suspect you have a lot of work ahead. But the bag of shock will lower pH for you as well as boost the CYA a little and hopefully slap a bandaid on the FC situation. You might need to SLAM; there's no way to know without knowing the CC level and the results of an overnight loss test. Read the label. Is it Dichlor, Trichlor, or Calcium Hypochlorite? Either of the first two will help; the third only affects FC and CH.

The water is otherwise clear? Not cloudy or anything? Not green?
 
Given your pool volume of 15,000 gallons:

Each 1lb bag of dichlor will raise your FC by 4.4, CYA by 4, and lower the pH by 0.17.

Assuming the pool store's CYA test was correct:

Adding 3 more bags, for a total of 4, would get your FC to 18, CYA to 36 and pH to 7.33

Then you could put 48oz of granular stabilizer in an old sock, hang it in front of the return jet and let it dissolve. This will get you to around 60 ppm which is close to the recommended CYA of 70-80 for SWG pools.

Please realize however that the pool store's CYA test could be way off. It could be much higher. I've seen actual results be twice what the pool store reports.
 

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So, this morning i decided to check my pool again just with one of those little strips that check chlorine, ph and alk. This time it showed that I had 3.0 chlorine after 2 days of showing basically no chlorine. I added 120lbs of salt two days ago and brought my pool from 2100 and now showing 3100. I checked with 2 separate strips and both showed the same deal.

Now, I do plan on picking up a test kit on my way home from work today. Unfourtunatly I cant get a TF-100 unless I pay $150 bc I'm in Canada. But I will get whatever the best option I can get is.

But is this increase in chlorine overnight even actually possible or do I likely have some seriously screwed up test strips?
 
edgerton said:
Oh and to answer your question Richard, the shock I bought was calcium hypochloride. And I have not put anything in my pool yet.
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That "shock" will raise FC and CH, but do nothing for CYA and pH.

I suppose it's possible the increase in salt or the water warming up revived the saltwater generator. More likely is that the original or this morning's test strips is wrong.

It's all guesswork without accurate test results.
 
One thing I'll mention, I don't recommend using the SWG to bring your FC from zero to goal. It may work, it may not. I find it best to start the pool with bleach, then let the SWG take over from there. I wonder if this was part of your issue? Have you tried running the SWG to see if it will maintain the FC?

Test strips are notoriously inaccurate. That's why everyone is recommending the drop based test kits.
 
edgerton said:
so how much muriatic acid do i need to get my ph down from 8? My pool is actually only around 13000 gallons. I was told by a second pool store that my other chemicals wont be right until ph is right. is this true?
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No. It's not true. If you have chlorine in the water at 8, it will still be there when pH is 7.5. CYA and CH are the STDS of pool chemistry, once you have it, it's really hard to get rid of it. They'll still be there. TA will lower a little bit each time you add acid.

Learn to use poolmath. It's really easy. Just plug in your pool size and the test results in the now column and what you want in the target and it will tell you how much of what. For pH, you will also need to know TA to get an accurate dosage. Try it out. The answer will be something close to 2 cups of 31.45% acid.
 
Thats awesome. You guys are the best help a confused new pool owner could ask for. couple more questions if anyone wants to take a stab.
1. As for the SWG the little electronic panel that accompanies it (Im really not a techie... in case you havent notice) - there is a small dial on it with numbers 10 - 100. Mine was previously set at 60, is this what it should be set at? Or how do i determine where it should be set?
2. Its raining quite hard here, what sort of effect does that have on pool chemistry?

Thanks for all your answers and patience. I will have to post some pics soon of my little backyard oasis once its all up and running.

Oh and we had a swimmer tonight! My dogs were running around the back yard and one of them fell in! Glad i was there to pull him out as he is just a 3 lb puppy. He's alright though and I think he enjoyed his swim a little!
 
edgerton said:
Thats awesome. You guys are the best help a confused new pool owner could ask for. couple more questions if anyone wants to take a stab.
1. As for the SWG the little electronic panel that accompanies it (Im really not a techie... in case you havent notice) - there is a small dial on it with numbers 10 - 100. Mine was previously set at 60, is this what it should be set at? Or how do i determine where it should be set?
2. Its raining quite hard here, what sort of effect does that have on pool chemistry?

Thanks for all your answers and patience. I will have to post some pics soon of my little backyard oasis once its all up and running.

Oh and we had a swimmer tonight! My dogs were running around the back yard and one of them fell in! Glad i was there to pull him out as he is just a 3 lb puppy. He's alright though and I think he enjoyed his swim a little!
Click to expand...
That dial is the run time percentage. When the pump is running, the SWG is generating whatever percentage of the time. Think of it as the volume. You'll just have to experiment and test the chlorine to find the right setting for you. Fourth paragraph

Rainwater has very little effect on pool chemistry, unless it a massive deluge that floods streets and cause the pool to overflow. And inch or two is nothing.

Lead the dogs in via the stairs so they learn how to get out on their own. If they don't know where the stairs are, they'll panic.
 

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