Northlake, TX New Pool Build

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Thanks Brentr...

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So I just tested my FC and pH......

FC 8.5
pH 7.8

I added MA to bring down pH to 7.2 (as I know it will rise) but not sure why the FC increased other than running the SWG which is set at 50%.

Thoughts
 
ctrav said:
Thanks Brentr...

- - - Updated - - -

So I just tested my FC and pH......

FC 8.5
pH 7.8

I added MA to bring down pH to 7.2 (as I know it will rise) but not sure why the FC increased other than running the SWG which is set at 50%.

Thoughts
Click to expand...

I would speculate that the SWG may be set too high as this is the only thing that is adding FC to your pool. You will have to play with the settings like either turn down the SWG or run the SWG for less time. I personally like to do 10% increments. It is a trial thing with each pool. Personally I like an FC of 8.5 :cheers:
 
Hello folks...this will most likely be my last post to my own thread. Not going anywhere as I am following several other builds and checking other forums daily. Yep I'm addicted to TFP :) My pool has been done for awhile and my yard has been transformed so we are happy. Probably most important is I have learned to maintain my water (for the most part) and I know I can always reach out if needed.

So here are my current numbers and a few thoughts on what I have learned.
FC 7 No more bleach :) still dialing in SWG but getting the hang of it but it takes time
CC 0 Once in a blue moon I get .5 and this could be my testing fault
pH 7.8 This seems to be the best number for my pool and staying balanced.I do have to add MA once or twice a week but always less than 15oz
TA 80 I find that TA and pH have the greatest influence on my CSI! PoolMath is your friend on this so play wth the numbers to see what works best
CH 350 Works fine for me but can be as low as 250 without effecting CSI (at least this is what PM shows) could be other reasons to shoot for this number
CYA 80 Seems to work well with this number but not much difference at 70
Salt 3200 My SWG has only been on for a couple of weeks so it fluctuates between 3100-3300 and always within range so no worries
CSI 0.01 My goal is to be as close to 0 as possible and I'm quickly figuring out how to get there :)
Temp 86 To my surprise this does have an effect on CSI but not too much

I run my 2 speed pump as follows:
8am-10am high speed
10am-6pm low speed
6pm-8pm high speed
This will change as we get colder weather and I will continue to adjust as I would like to get my run time down lower.

Before I moved over to SWG my FC was targeted at 8-9 which is much higher than needed with SWG (according to CYA chart) so I turned the SWG down to 1% until my FC dropped to my new target of 6. I check my FC daily and adjust SWG down until my FC stops rising so I am at 35% for now. I do not adjust this daily and only move in 5% increments at a time.

I am still a rookie at this so any input is appreciated and I hope that at least some part of this post is helpful as no harm is ever intended. Just my thoughts here...

Big giant thanks to the TFP family for all the advice and support! Extra special thanks to Suz, Kimkats and pooldv for all the behind the scene assistance (y'all were beyond awesome)!!
 
Nice post cliff! The journey is over! Lol. I'm still hiking away on my journey.

Your project did turn out awesome! I can't wait to get my salt up and going.

Best of luck!

But i I know we will still be talking! Lol
 
You are so kind Kim and yes it is FUN...

kimkats said:
Do you see this :sun:? that is my heart smiling!The happiness shines through your post! What a wonderful journey this has been!

I am so glad you will be sticking around! It IS so much fun!

Kim:kim:
Click to expand...
 
What to do in winter questions...

Ok so what should I do for the winter here in North Texas for my pool? I have read many posts about closing the pool for the winter but I'm not so sure I need to do this. Here are my questions thus far:

Should I turn off SWG for the winter an use chlorine?
Should I drop the pH to a lower level? During the summer my new pool seemed to want to stay between 7.8 and 8 so I would let it climb to 8.2 or so and drop down to around 7.4 and let it climb with aeration.
My automation system has freeze protection and turns the pump on automatically when temps fall so that is good. My PB said to turn the water features on at a trickle when a hard freeze is expected to keep water flowing thru the pipes???

Not sure what else I should or could do so any suggestions or tips would be appreciated. Here are some of my most recent numbers:

FC 8
CC 0
pH 7.8 or could be 8 (I always have a little trouble reading the colors
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)
TA 70
CH 400
CYA 80
Salt 3300
CSI -0.14
Temp 63

Lastly I run my pump from 9am to 1pm. Is this good to ensure proper water turnover? My water is clear on current schedule...

Thanks in advance!!
 
Most SWCG will stop producing chlorine around 60F. At that time, you typically have very little FC loss. But you do need to test every few days and maintain your chemistry.

No need to drop the pH. Maintain as you have.

You can use the freeze protection. You should align it so all above ground systems have water moving when it activates.

Your pump run time is up to you. I get to 1 hour per day for my small pool. You can do yours at the time you show or you could change it to 4 am to 8 am to cover the times it might be on freeze protection. Turnover is irrelevant. You only need to run the pump to maintain the water as clean as you want it and to generate chlorine, when applicable.
See Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time

Take care.
 

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Yes, i turn off my swg and switch to bleach as soon as i get the first low salt error due to lower temp. Usually sometime after the temp drops below 70, it happened last week. The colder it gets the lower your FC consumption will be. I let FC drop to 8ish, check pH and add a jug of bleach to raise it to 12ish with CYA at 70-80.

Lower water temp lowers CSI so keep the pH up around 7.8. My pool etched the first winter due to CH around 240 in fall and 210 in spring, lowish pH and cold water.

A couple of hours on low ought to be plenty to keep the pool clean. My pool only got a skim of ice on part of the surface once or twice when temps were in the 9 to 12 range overnight. Otherwise, never a sign of ice. That is with freeze protection set to run at 1100 rpm on a variable speed pump.
 
Timely post. Love it. I was beginning to wonder the same things and was already fortunately given a heads up just to stick with bleach until my water warms up as the SWG won't be effective/work with my water temp already low.
 
Definitely no reason to "close" your pool here in Texas. I have freeze protection too and I generally run my pump from 8-10 AM to 6-8 PM in the swim season, then switch to running it overnight (coldest temps) for 6-8 hours after around Thanksgiving or so through the winter just in case something goes awry.

Don't have a SWG, but there won't be near the need obviously for chlorination as there was during the summer months. I've gone from close to a gallon a day of bleach during peak swim season to a gallon every 3-4 days in the last month or so since the water temp has fallen into the 60s. And instead of checking daily, sometimes twice a day to stay on top of things, I only check my numbers maybe twice a week now and adjust accordingly.
 

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