New Build in Phoenix *UPDATED 9/20/13*

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Re: New Build in Phoenix *UPDATED 8/2/13*

gumby6506 said:
I figured since I am running a swg I wouldn't have much, if any, chlorine in the pool.
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Just to be sure, you do realize that the swg makes chlorine? That is their only purpose. If you had no chlorine, it would just be a matter of time before you would have algae.
 
Re: New Build in Phoenix *UPDATED 8/2/13*

Yes I understand this, and I have not added any chlorine since the swg startup, but when I go to do the weekly FC test it is less than the .5 color mark. Just wondering if the chlorine that is made when the swg is running at night does its sanitation job at night, then gets eaten up by the sun during the day? The pool hasn't turned green so Im assuming this is the reason
 
Re: New Build in Phoenix *UPDATED 8/2/13*

By allowing your FC to go that low, you are risking algae. At a cya level you 40 ppm your FC should never be allowed to go below 2 ppm. Again, getting your cya up to 70-80 ppm will help a lot...but before you do that, I would use bleach to raise your FC level up to your SLAM level (15 ppm per poolcalculator) and do a OCLT. I am guessing you have a nascent algae bloom.
 
Summer winding down, had a real hard rain a couple weeks ago that filled the pool to the top!!! Kitchen got flooded too but luckily no damage. Had to drain off a bunch of water and make some adjustments to the chemicals. still trying to get it all dialed in. Having an issue with the SWG, it doesn't seem to be producing enough chlorine. Salt levels have been around 3600-3800ppm and it is running at 80%, I cant seem to get it to run at 100%. I test a couple of times a week and it will be zero or nearly zero so I'll shock once every couple weeks to bring it back up to 2ppm. Tried bringing CYA up to 60ppm but that just seemed to make the water cloudy. The temps at that time hovered around 105 with 70-80% humidity. After the big rain and water drain, and with the temps back down to 100 with 30% humidity, the water clarity now looks normal and chlorine was at 2ppm today with CYA of 35-40. Should I try and raise CYA again or wait and see? I shocked it 6 days ago, that's the last time I added anything. pH was 7.8 and TA was 100...Hmmm
 
Gumby,
We have approximately the same size pool and same weather conditions (almost, I am in Austin), and started up I think pretty close to the same time. When we were between 100-110 during the day I was running my SWG 75% of the time. My CYA is right at 70 and I have only added bleach once since we turned the SWG on and that was before a party and I think I freaked out unnecessarily. Every party after that I haven't done anything.

My salt level is at 3300-3400. I wanted it a bit less than that....I told my builder I wanted 7 1/2 bags in and simple arithmetic was a bit beyond him but par for the course with those guys. He refused to believe how much salt was already in my tap water and I had measured how much water was in my pool which was less than their software system calculated.

My FC level has stayed right between 3 and 5. Since has it has gotten a bit cooler I have had to bump my SWG down to 50-60%. I know that you thought raising your CYA made the water cloudy, but are you sure that was the reason? With the heat/sun where we are I would thing you would need to get it a bit higher.....
 
Im not sure, I thought it might be a combination of heat and humidity making it cloudy. I might try it again now that it is cooling off, but something else had to be a factor in this...Ive read about using bleach here in the forums, cheaper than chlorine, is it more efficient though? And do you use roughly the same amount as you would chlorine, or more/less?
 
Bleach and liquid chlorine are the same thing. MY PB argued with me about that for 30 minutes. Had to break out my chemistry books! When I used bleach I got at Walmart it was at an 8.25% strength. If you are using liquid chlorine it might be at a different strength. I use the Pool calculator religiously whenever I add anything to my pool, it tells you exactly what to add and how much.

I know when I enter everything into the calculator it tells me my FC should be between 3-7. With yours lower than that, maybe some alge is forming that exhausts your FC and it stays in that perpetual cycle of using up your FC. Maybe bump it up between 3-5 and see if that helps you get it stabilized, then you can adjust from there. I have not had to add anything to my pool since a little bit of bleach on August 10 which was only about 25 oz's which I am now sure it was unnecessary and muriatic acid every day to keep my PH down.
 
gumby6506 said:
Kitchen got flooded too but luckily no damage.
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Glad to hear it is nothing serious!

gumby6506 said:
Having an issue with the SWG, it doesn't seem to be producing enough chlorine. Salt levels have been around 3600-3800ppm and it is running at 80%, I cant seem to get it to run at 100%. I test a couple of times a week and it will be zero or nearly zero so I'll shock once every couple weeks to bring it back up to 2ppm. Tried bringing CYA up to 60ppm but that just seemed to make the water cloudy. The temps at that time hovered around 105 with 70-80% humidity.
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Likely this is all related to having too low an FC level in the pool for too long. As I said, previously, you should have never allowed you pool to go below 2 ppm when you cya was at 40 ppm...ever. I would guess prior to raising your cya, you already had alage in the pool (algae can be in the water even if it is clear) and when you raised it up to 60 ppm your were in even worse shape, since at 60 ppm cya you should never let your FC drop below 3 ppm...again, ever.
gumby6506 said:
After the big rain and water drain, and with the temps back down to 100 with 30% humidity, the water clarity now looks normal and chlorine was at 2ppm today with CYA of 35-40. Should I try and raise CYA again or wait and see? I shocked it 6 days ago, that's the last time I added anything. pH was 7.8 and TA was 100...Hmmm
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I would start the SLAM process...it is a process not an event...and see where you are by doing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test (OCLT). See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool After you pass all three "end of SLAM process" criteria, then I would raise you cya up to 70-80 ppm and make sure maintain the minimum FC for whatever level of cya you end up at. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock
 
gumby6506 said:
Im not sure, I thought it might be a combination of heat and humidity making it cloudy. I might try it again now that it is cooling off, but something else had to be a factor in this...Ive read about using bleach here in the forums, cheaper than chlorine, is it more efficient though? And do you use roughly the same amount as you would chlorine, or more/less?
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The heat and humidity didn't make it cloudy. Everything you have written points to algae.

As skylar said, bleach and liquid chlorine are the same thing, just different percentages of the active ingredient (Sodium Hypochlorite).
 

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