First year having to open the pool saltwater NJ

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6

6spdg37s

Well-known member
Jun 7, 2022
125
NJ
Pool Size
20000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Hi ,
So last year when I purchased my house pool was open from April I closed on house MDW so I just had to keep up with it you guys all helped me out on staying balanced and pool looked great all summer.

Pool is being opened may 5th , my customer owned the company and was going to show me how to open and suggest what to put in but he sold the business so they are still coming to open it they said they put 3 lbs of shock in and possibly an Algecide.

Where do I go from there new owners seem not willing to give any helpful advice and want to charge for everything.

I also need to clean my SWG before they install it ? What is the best route to go about that ? I was thinking 5 gallon bucket and the stuff

Appreciate any and all help I’ll report back numbers when it’s open
 
I've never done my cell since it is transparent and there is absolutely no build up but the cell cleaning is actually just soaking the internal parts in a cleaning solution. you shouldn't need a bucket and definitely don't use your hands to clean it in the solution. instructions should be on the cleaner you choose.

I would forget the algeacide and just start a slam if the pool is green.
 
6spdg37s said:
Pool is being opened may 5th , my customer owned the company and was going to show me how to open and suggest what to put in but he sold the business so they are still coming to open it they said they put 3 lbs of shock in and possibly an Algecide.

Where do I go from there new owners seem not willing to give any helpful advice and want to charge for everything.
Click to expand...

Algecide is not needed.

Exactly what you should do depends on the condition of the water and water temperature.

I opened my pool on Monday to clear water at 51F temperature. Got the pump running. Gave the pump 24 hours to circulate the water. Tested pH and FC. PH is high as expected and 0 FC.

I added 1/2 gallon of 31% muriatic acid, tested pH after an hour, and added the other 1/2 gallon of muriatic acid.

I also added 2 gallons of 10% liquid chlorine (shock) to raise my FC levels.

Working towards getting normal water chemistry...

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That is all you need to do it your water is clear.

6spdg37s said:
I also need to clean my SWG before they install it ? What is the best route to go about that ? I was thinking 5 gallon bucket and the stuff
Click to expand...

Only clean the SWG if it shows it needs it and then use the least damaging way as described in the link Marty gave you above.
 
I was able to hose out the SWG. They opened the pool, letting it run for 24 then will test the water and go from there. \
 
ok so ran the filter for 24 hr, vacuumed the algae style dirt to waste, then finished off regular style vacuum , now my robot is in.

I tested the water here is where I am at :

TA-80
PH-7.5
CYA-50
Salt-2000
FC- 4.5
CC - .5

I am going to play around with the calculator and re read the articles but if anyone wants to give me any advice on what to add I am open to listening

pool is roughly 20k gallons, water temp is currently 59

as far as the salt I think I need to add 5x40lb bags according to the calculator

CYA I would like to bring up a little and FC
 
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You need to also get your salt levels up so the SWG will begin to work and you can avoid having to go buy liquid chlorine or bleach. 3200 or something in that area depending on your SWG requirements. Get your other things in line before you start raising your CYA to high. Plus you might want to do an overnight chlorine loss to be sure nothing is in there before you raise CYA or your SLAM level if needed will do some damage to your wallet buying bleach or liquid chlorine.
 
Ok we are 3000 for salt with the Taylor test kit ,

Thinking I need to add another bag or 2 need to calculate after
 
I would wait to add any more salt. Give it 24-48 hours for the salt you already added. Then test and add more if needed. Avoid overshooting your salt target. The SWG should be off while the salt dissolves. You can add liquid Chlorine in the mean time. Lowes or Home Depot are probably the cheapest for a couple gallons of Chlorine
 

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SecoSteve said:
I would wait to add any more salt. Give it 24-48 hours for the salt you already added. Then test and add more if needed. Avoid overshooting your salt target. The SWG should be off while the salt dissolves. You can add liquid Chlorine in the mean time. Lowes or Home Depot are probably the cheapest for a couple gallons of Chlorine
Click to expand...
It’s been 24 hours since added I had it off and pool circulating . U think it will jump up more on its own ?
 
Your post number 8 was at 6:30pm yesterday when you said you added 4 bags. Then, today at 2pm you were gonna add more. That wasn't 24 hours. I would let it circulate until tomorrow morning and then test the salt level. It takes some time for the salt to dissolve thoroughly.
 
I added the salt at noon yesterday and retested at 130 today, the post prob didn't submit right away. sorry for any confusion
 
ok added 1 bag yesterday around 7pm, just retested now at 7pm and we are at 3200, generator seems happy as it is indicating salt level good, now we are going to be making clorine

so summary is (5) 40 lb bags of salt over a 72 hr period of time brought me up from 2000ppm to 3200ppm it also has not rained or anything during this time period I assume heavy rain could dilute the salt level down

working on getting my clorine levels up , after that my cya
 
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6spdg37s said:
ok added 1 bag yesterday around 7pm, just retested now at 7pm and we are at 3200, generator seems happy as it is indicating salt level good, now we are going to be making clorine
Click to expand...
Yes, did you do an overnight chlorine loss test? Do that before you up your cya just to be sure you don't have any algae. The reason you do that is the higher the cya which will be 70-80 for a SWG pool is if you do have algae in there an need to slam it you will have to add a much greater amount of chlorine to achieve a slam level with a high CYA.
 
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Wolfepack88 said:
Yes, did you do an overnight chlorine loss test? Do that before you up your cya just to be sure you don't have any algae. The reason you do that is the higher the cya which will be 70-80 for a SWG pool is if you do have algae in there an need to slam it you will have to add a much greater amount of chlorine to achieve a slam level with a high CYA.
Click to expand...
yep going to attempt to do that tonight but not sure with work, might have to wait till weekend when I'm home
 
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Now at least your are making chlorine which is key, as if I recall your chlorine numbers were on the little low side.
 
6spdg37s said:
I assume heavy rain could dilute the salt level down
Click to expand...
Rain does surprisingly little. Or. It does exactly proportionate as it should and everyone always overestimates the proportion.

you have an average depth of 5.1 ft thanks to your surface area, volume and maths. So give or take you have 61 inches average depth. One inch of rain, which would usually be alot at one time, will lower your salt/ cya / calcium / FC by 1/61. 3200 ppm of salt would lose 52, for example. Over time, it will add up of course, but it would take a whopper of a single storm, or even a terribly wet week to matter.

The other values which are much lower, will be nearly impossible to tell, even after several inches.
 

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