Trying to Maintain after SLAM

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Martinmartin

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Apr 29, 2015
22
MD
I successfully SLAM'd the pool last week.

On night 1 of the SLAM, FC went from 14 to 3.5. On night 2, it went from 34 to 33.5, which was a success.

I left the SWG off for ~3 days in order to allow the FC to drop. Once it was ~8-14 (I can't remember exactly), I turned the SWG back on at 60%. Pump runs from 10am-4pm.

Checked water tonight and FC is down to 1.5-2. SWG is brand new - Hayward T Cell 15 for up to 45k gal pools (mine is 20k gallons).

Did a full water test tonight:
ph 7.2
fc 1.5-2
cc 0-.5
cya 55 (i'm not too confident in this #)
ch 225
ta 90
salt 3200

So I think my FC shouldn't be so low, right? Especially after it was 30+ a few days ago. I'm thinking either my T Cell isn't working - hard to believe as it's brand new and I'm not getting any errors. Or maybe my CYA is too low and I need to add stabilizer? We had torrential downpours in the past few days - not sure if that's relevant.

Is there a way to test if the T Cell is producing chlorine? I'm thinking I'll test FC after sundown, leave the pump on all night with the T Cell at 100% and then check again in the morning?

In the meantime, I'll take some water to the pool store to see if they measure a similarly low CYA and I'll pick up some stabilizer. And something to bring calcium hardness up.

Would very much appreciate any guidance. I just got the test kit recently and this if my first shot at trying to maintain the water properly on my own.

Thank you in advance.
 
First, is the T-cell all lit up like normal, with no warning lights on?
Second, do you see bubbling in the chamber?
Third, rinse a clear pitcher or something and submerge it upside down in front of the return jet while the generator is bubbling. Then turn it to face the return flow and let it fill from the stream. Let it flush good. Then haul it up and test the FC level there. If it's higher than the pool as a whole, the generator is working.
 
Hi Richard,

Thanks for the suggestions.

The T Cell doesn't have any lights on it, but the Hayward Panel has no errors and it says "Generating Sanitizer"

Unless I'm confused, the Hayward T Cell doesn't have a chamber that's visible (to check for bubbling). Maybe I'm missing something?

Good idea on testing the water from the return. I will try that.

If my CYA really is 55, could that explain the low FC?

Thanks again.
 
Tested again tonight after work. Pump was off, so I couldn't test the water coming out of the returns, but will try that this weekend if things still aren't right.

FC up slightly to 2.5
CC 0
CYA 55-60

I increased the pump schedule by 2 hours. Will see if that makes a difference.

Also, my pool has 2 skimmers and 2 main drains (that are plumbed together). I recently got a "The Pool Cleaner" that goes into 1 of the skimmers. In order to get the suction up, I turned off the main drains. That means water is only coming to the pump through the pool cleaner and 1 of the skimmers. Is it possible that the volume of water going through the pump is greatly reduced and therefore not enough water is going through the SWG in order to get enough chlorine in the pool?

The rain from the past few days brought the water higher than it's ever been since I've had the pool (3 seasons). Also wondering if that could have eaten up FC?

I'm looking for a steady FC level of 4.0, right?

Thanks again.
 
No, it isn't a water flow issue, if you have a water flow problem the pump will make cavitation noises and you will know it. Yes, looking for FC of 4 maybe even 5 right now to be on the safe side. Under 3 is bad and can allow algae to grow. If the SWG can't keep 4 or 5 then add some bleach.
 
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