Trying to help with friend's pool....stumped

[TN94z]

I have a friend and their pool turned green a month or so ago. So I got them to buy the same test kit that I have. They sent me their results and I told them what to do. I had them SLAM the pool which turned out successful. Clear water and everything was fine. A couple of weeks later, the same thing happened. When I got their results, their FC was almost gone and their CYA was really low. So I told them to get the FC up and CYA up and everything was fine again. They tell me that their water clears up very soon after adding bleach in each of these scenarios.

Well, I heard from them again this week and the same thing has happened again. I looked at the test results and told them what to add. Today I heard back and they said the water wasn't green any more but it was cloudy now....can't see the bottom of the deep end. I asked for the test results are this is what I got:
FC 2 (after adding 5 gallons in 4 days)
TA 70
CYA 80
pH 7.8
salt 800 (this was after they had added 300lb). This doesn't make sense so I asked what strips she was using and they could possibly be reading them wrong.

What could the issue be? It's a salt water pool with about 30k gallons. Every time I hear from them, their FC is very low..like 0-2 usually. When this first started, they had their salt generator replaced because it wasn't working. Something is eating up their FC. Could it be algae living behind the light or something? Do you think the newly replaced SWG could be having problems still? I've told them about everything I know as far as the chemicals go. It's starting to get over my head at this point.

 

[woodyp]

1. Inadequate testing equipment
2. Salt is way too low for a SWG
3. It is not being maintained properly between all these SLAM "cycles" obviously.
4. Salt cell may be totally shot.
5. May never have been properly slammed in the first place.

 

[TN94z]

1. Inadequate testing equipment
2. Salt is way too low for a SWG
3. It is not being maintained properly between all these SLAM "cycles" obviously.
4. Salt cell may be totally shot.
5. May never have been properly slammed in the first place.

1) they have the same testing equipment I do, so that's not the issue
2) I agree but they just put 300lbs in and salt didn't change
3) I have no clue about that honestly
4) supposedly brand new that was just replaced
5) I don't know about that either. I walked them through the process via email and their test results seem to say the slam process was completed.

I'll keep digging...

 

[aussieta]

test strips can be inaccurate and difficult to interpret the colors
that is why TFP reccomends a fas-dpd test kit so you have quality test results everytime

 

[JamesW]

If the water keeps going bad, then they are not keeping the chemistry in check. They should be testing daily and maintaining the levels at the proper numbers even if they have to use supplemental chlorine such as bleach.

 

[TN94z]

test strips can be inaccurate and difficult to interpret the colors
that is why TFP reccomends a fas-dpd test kit so you have quality test results everytime

The test strips are for the salt levels not the other chemistry.

 

[bdex]

I would invest in the Taylor salt test kit if I were them. The salt strips are about as useless as the regular strips. Get the salt right, get the ph down a tad and liquid chlorine to kill what ails the water now. If that is their true salt number as soon as the slam chlorine source is gone they have no sanitation. A SWG cannot run on 800ppm. Needs to be between 3000 and 3500ppm.


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[gtemkin]

TN94z, specifically what is the brand and model of your test kit. I know you and your friend have the same one, but that doesn't make it clear what the capabilities of your test kit are. It's be very helpful if you came right out and stated what it was.

 

[chem geek]

Do they even understand that they need to set the SWG on-time percentage high enough AND the pump run time long enough to be able to generate enough chorine to keep up with losses? Are such daily losses normal (or put another way, the amount of chlorine generated given the % on-time and pump runtime large enough)?

 

[Swampwoman]

TN94z...it sounds like maybe your friend need to learn to fish rather than getting a fish from you now and then Why not invite her to the thread so she can learn what she needs to know?

Because if her salt level read 300 when it should be 3000, I'm thinking she may not have a good grasp on how chlorination is supposed to work with an swg. I think its too hard to dx remotely when there are variables you ay not know...such as can the generator even do its job without salt

 

[TN94z]

I would invest in the Taylor salt test kit if I were them. The salt strips are about as useless as the regular strips. Get the salt right, get the ph down a tad and liquid chlorine to kill what ails the water now. If that is their true salt number as soon as the slam chlorine source is gone they have no sanitation. A SWG cannot run on 800ppm. Needs to be between 3000 and 3500ppm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They have a Taylor kit. I talked them into buying one the first time they came to me with these issues. Yeah, I told them the salt level is an issue. They came to me a week ago with that same salt level and I pointed them to the pool calculator and explained how to use it. Then they added salt to the pool and said their levels were still the same. Obviously they weren't...

TN94z, specifically what is the brand and model of your test kit. I know you and your friend have the same one, but that doesn't make it clear what the capabilities of your test kit are. It's be very helpful if you came right out and stated what it was.

You are right. I should have added that initially. I have the K1000 and TF100 test kits. That is what I told them to buy.

Do they even understand that they need to set the SWG on-time percentage high enough AND the pump run time long enough to be able to generate enough chorine to keep up with losses? Are such daily losses normal (or put another way, the amount of chlorine generated given the % on-time and pump runtime large enough)?

I have tried explaining this and it seems that they understood. I also pointed them to the site to read and understand what role everything plays in the upkeep of their pool. They were relying on their pool store for everything.

TN94z...it sounds like maybe your friend need to learn to fish rather than getting a fish from you now and then Why not invite her to the thread so she can learn what she needs to know?

Because if her salt level read 300 when it should be 3000, I'm thinking she may not have a good grasp on how chlorination is supposed to work with an swg. I think its too hard to dx remotely when there are variables you ay not know...such as can the generator even do its job without salt

Very true! I have told them about the thread. I don't talk to them very often so I'm not sure if they have checked it out or not. Yeah, the remote diagnosis has just gotten to difficult now. I actually think that their SWG is not working correctly on top of them not having a handle on their chemicals. I told her the best thing to do was to go their pool installer and have them come check the SWG since it was just recently replaced. She did that and took a water sample with her. She then responded back saying that her salt level was actually 9500! I asked what strips she was using, how she was reading, etc... but I have not heard back. So, anyway, I'll just wait to hear the results of the swg testing.

Thanks guys.