Borax and CYA
- Thread starter mraiteri123
- Start date
So this below from an article about benefits from swg isn't true??? My guess is that Less eye burning comes from salt at the level from swg is closer to the salt in eye tears.
One of the first advantages of saltwater swimming pools is the level of comfort you experience. Salt is softer on your skin than chlorine. Also, chlorine has the tendency to cause red eyes, itchy skin, and discolored hair. If you use plan to use your saltwater swimming pool on a regular basis, you won't have to suffer any of those symptoms of chlorine.
Chemicals
Another advantage of saltwater swimming pools is the lowered use of chemicals. People who own saltwater pools don't have to store and handle toxic chemicals on a regular basis. This means that a saltwater swimming pool is more environmentally safe. You also won't have to suffer the odor of chlorine anymore.
You see all the articles and ads for SWG states this as if the chlorine is different in SWG. I know it isn't becasue I understand it is sodium chloride split and reformed. I understand that. So Again-- what would you recommend is ideal for a pool with very little usage in water climate like SC ( 82-88 F water T ) summer time. And how much FC is too much. I am just trying to get this through my think head. What would you recommend for
FC
CYA
Borate
TA
Hardness
PH
That's all I need to know and I will get there.
One of the first advantages of saltwater swimming pools is the level of comfort you experience. Salt is softer on your skin than chlorine. Also, chlorine has the tendency to cause red eyes, itchy skin, and discolored hair. If you use plan to use your saltwater swimming pool on a regular basis, you won't have to suffer any of those symptoms of chlorine.
Chemicals
Another advantage of saltwater swimming pools is the lowered use of chemicals. People who own saltwater pools don't have to store and handle toxic chemicals on a regular basis. This means that a saltwater swimming pool is more environmentally safe. You also won't have to suffer the odor of chlorine anymore.
You see all the articles and ads for SWG states this as if the chlorine is different in SWG. I know it isn't becasue I understand it is sodium chloride split and reformed. I understand that. So Again-- what would you recommend is ideal for a pool with very little usage in water climate like SC ( 82-88 F water T ) summer time. And how much FC is too much. I am just trying to get this through my think head. What would you recommend for
FC
CYA
Borate
TA
Hardness
PH
That's all I need to know and I will get there.
Also, how can you have an algae free pool using just algeside--it would all fall to the bottom.
pool-school/recommended_levels
Plaster pool with SWG:
FC 3-5
pH 7.5-7.8
TA 60-80
CH 250-350
CYA 70-80
Borates not needed, Optional 30-50
Plaster pool with SWG:
FC 3-5
pH 7.5-7.8
TA 60-80
CH 250-350
CYA 70-80
Borates not needed, Optional 30-50
All the marketing for SWGs is very suspect and often make it sound like it make the pool maintenance free and cost less ... neither is actually true. You still need to test the ensure proper chemistry, the SWG will cause the pH to rise, and thus require MORE acid use for adjustment, and once you factor in the cell replacement cost it ends up costing about the same as bleach in the long run.
As you can see in the CYA/FC chart, for the same CYA, with a SWG you can in fact maintain a lower FC level than if you were just using bleach. This is due to a couple reasons like the environment in the cell, presence of salt, etc.
What I think much of the marketing also does is compare a private SWG pool to a public/unstabilized pool. The active chlorine level is WAY lower once the stabilizer is added for the SWG. But if a non-SWG pool with stabilizer is maintained properly in the recommended ranges, most people would not be able to tell a difference regarding the "harshness" of the chlorine.
Also, the "odor" is from the CC which indicate a pool that does not have enough chlorine in the water. In a balanced pool, there is not smell.
To your last point, you CAN NOT have an algae free pool only using algaecide.
You have seen our recommended levels. Repeatedly asking is not going to change the answer.
As you can see in the CYA/FC chart, for the same CYA, with a SWG you can in fact maintain a lower FC level than if you were just using bleach. This is due to a couple reasons like the environment in the cell, presence of salt, etc.
What I think much of the marketing also does is compare a private SWG pool to a public/unstabilized pool. The active chlorine level is WAY lower once the stabilizer is added for the SWG. But if a non-SWG pool with stabilizer is maintained properly in the recommended ranges, most people would not be able to tell a difference regarding the "harshness" of the chlorine.
Also, the "odor" is from the CC which indicate a pool that does not have enough chlorine in the water. In a balanced pool, there is not smell.
To your last point, you CAN NOT have an algae free pool only using algaecide.
You have seen our recommended levels. Repeatedly asking is not going to change the answer.
That was not my point and I agree. Just that one anwser I got was "just because you have no algae does not mean your pool is sanatized. He could have been adding algaecide." My comment was that the one I had in florida maintained 3500 ppm and the chlorine test kits would show no chlorine in the pool. My question is how is that possible. the test kit never turned yellow--I was told by the pool guy that with swg you will have very low chlorine levels. I know even the charts shows it will be lower but not any-- I agree with you-it should not be possible with water at 85 degrees--it was a new kit with the basics 5 drops of 1 and it normally turns yellow fast if you have chlorine--there by my confusion.
So you want to know how it is possible that with a SWG running you never had a FC reading?
Could be that the CYA was too low and burning off the FC and/or there was low level growth in the water consuming the FC as fast as the SWG made it.
Both of these should have required intervention to ensure the FC was maintained at a proper level ... either adding more CYA and/or increasing SWG output and/or going through the SLAM process to kill everything.
Is your question how was the water clear with no registered FC?
Likely a lot of luck. Maybe low phosphate levels, using algaecides, etc. You are measuring that there was no chlorine in the bulk of the water, but as the water passes through the SWG cell, chlorine is made and possibly consumed before it could build up in the pool.
You can certainly have no algae and the pool not properly sanitized. If the FC was just enough to keep the algae at bay, the pool may stay clear, but there would be no residual FC in water to protect people from person to person transmission of bacteria/virus/etc ... thus the pool is not sanitized.
Could be that the CYA was too low and burning off the FC and/or there was low level growth in the water consuming the FC as fast as the SWG made it.
Both of these should have required intervention to ensure the FC was maintained at a proper level ... either adding more CYA and/or increasing SWG output and/or going through the SLAM process to kill everything.
Is your question how was the water clear with no registered FC?
Likely a lot of luck. Maybe low phosphate levels, using algaecides, etc. You are measuring that there was no chlorine in the bulk of the water, but as the water passes through the SWG cell, chlorine is made and possibly consumed before it could build up in the pool.
You can certainly have no algae and the pool not properly sanitized. If the FC was just enough to keep the algae at bay, the pool may stay clear, but there would be no residual FC in water to protect people from person to person transmission of bacteria/virus/etc ... thus the pool is not sanitized.
OK Thanks all for all the help-- I have beat this subject to death. You see I have owned a chlorine pool for 25 years and never took the time to think about the chemistry--even though I am a Graduate of Georgia Tech; and we were forced to take a lot of chemistry. I just kept it simple. I kept the chlorine high and the PH and Total A in check. When i converted the pool to SWG, I am retired became more interested and wanted the pool to be as cler as possible plus I wanted to understand more and was getting all differenet kind of stories form the various pool companies until I happened on to your site. Thanks again! It does seem that the brorates and the salt water both make the water a lot more comfortable.
mraiteri123, I am new here also and just had to SLAM my swim spa. I can tell you that clear water is only one of the results you are looking for. You have to keep SLAMming the pool until you achieve all three of the criteria...clear water, CC less than .5 AND overnight chlorine loss is less than 1ppm. The water in my spa (which is only 1425 gals) cleared up in a day or so, but I had to continue the SLAM process for several more days before I met all three criteria. Also, cleaning the filters often helps a lot and needs to be done during the SLAM. It took a total of about a week in my swim spa (but every situation is different so you can't really gauge by how long someone else's SLAM took). It was well worth it once it was done.