Rookie Pool Owner needs some advice

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Thanks for the reply, pooldv! Sorry I didn’t take the time to get back sooner.
I must have miscounted the test on Tuesday when I said the FC was 29. It was 14 the night before and I added 2 gallons of 10% liquid chlorine. That would only bring it up to around 19, which makes more sense.
I decided to continue to scrub the pool and hopefully get rid of the black algae problem. There still maybe some specks on the floor of the deep end that I just couldn’t seem to get. I tried to maintain the FC above 14 all week by adding a gallon of 10% liquid chlorine each evening. I did not add anything yesterday in order to do an OCLT. The test last night was FC-11.0, CC-0.0. This morning FC-9.5, CC<0.5. I guess I failed.
What should I do? Thanks!
 
An update on my pool status:
6 Aug, pm: FC-13.5, CC-0.0, added 2.5 gallons 10% liquid chlorine, scrubbed entire pool
7 Aug, 0730: FC-23.0, CC-0.0
7 Aug, 1500: FC-18.0, CC-0.0, added 3 quarts 10% liquid chlorine, scrubbed entire pool
7 Aug, 2000: FC-18.0, CC-0.0, added 3 quarts 10% liquid chlorine
8 Aug, 0500: FC-18.0, CC-0.0, added 0.5 gallon 10% liquid chlorine
8 Aug, 1600: FC-17.0, CC-0.0, added 1.0 gallon 10% liquid chlorine, vacuum/brushed entire pool
8 Aug, 2000: FC-17.5, CC-0.0, added 1.0 gallon 10% liquid chlorine
9 Aug, 0500: FC-19.0, CC-0.0, added 0.5 gallon 10% liquid chlorine
9 Aug, 1700: FC-17.5, CC-0.0, got 0.2 inches rain
My pump has been running with the SWG is at 90% full time except about 20 minutes a day to clean pump basket.

Do I need to continue or increase chlorine input? PoolMath says shock level is 29. I don’t think I ever got it that high. The water looks very clear.
What do you recommend?
Thanks!
 
Cowboy46 said:
An update on my pool status:
6 Aug, pm: FC-13.5, CC-0.0, added 2.5 gallons 10% liquid chlorine, scrubbed entire pool
7 Aug, 0730: FC-23.0, CC-0.0
7 Aug, 1500: FC-18.0, CC-0.0, added 3 quarts 10% liquid chlorine, scrubbed entire pool
7 Aug, 2000: FC-18.0, CC-0.0, added 3 quarts 10% liquid chlorine
8 Aug, 0500: FC-18.0, CC-0.0, added 0.5 gallon 10% liquid chlorine
8 Aug, 1600: FC-17.0, CC-0.0, added 1.0 gallon 10% liquid chlorine, vacuum/brushed entire pool
8 Aug, 2000: FC-17.5, CC-0.0, added 1.0 gallon 10% liquid chlorine
9 Aug, 0500: FC-19.0, CC-0.0, added 0.5 gallon 10% liquid chlorine
9 Aug, 1700: FC-17.5, CC-0.0, got 0.2 inches rain
My pump has been running with the SWG is at 90% full time except about 20 minutes a day to clean pump basket.

Do I need to continue or increase chlorine input? PoolMath says shock level is 29. I don’t think I ever got it that high. The water looks very clear.
What do you recommend?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

turn off your SWG for the night (not the pump) and try to measure your overnight FC loss- basically check if you're passing OCLT.
 

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OCLT results:
9 Aug, 2030: FC-14.5, CC-0.0, set SWG to 0%, left pump on
10 Aug, 0500: FC-14.0, CC-0.0, SUCCESS!
I left the pump on all day and SWG at 0%.
10 Aug, 1510: FC-10.5, CC-0.0, mostly sunny all day, 78oF this morning, 99oF now

Should I set the SWG to produce? If so, how much? I mentioned at the start of this string that I had concerns about my SWG.
Should I test everything or wait for the FC to come down?

Thanks again!
 
Cowboy46 said:
OCLT results:
9 Aug, 2030: FC-14.5, CC-0.0, set SWG to 0%, left pump on
10 Aug, 0500: FC-14.0, CC-0.0, SUCCESS!
I left the pump on all day and SWG at 0%.
10 Aug, 1510: FC-10.5, CC-0.0, mostly sunny all day, 78oF this morning, 99oF now

Should I set the SWG to produce? If so, how much? I mentioned at the start of this string that I had concerns about my SWG.
Should I test everything or wait for the FC to come down?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

I'd either turn SWG on or keep FC at 9 otherwise you'll be dangerously down to min FC = 6 without SWG tomorrow.
 
I set my SWG to 90% and it runs 3 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the evening.
I tested at 1500 today and FC was only 7.5. I checked directly in front of a return jet and it also tested 7.5. The main reason I started this thread was concerns about my SWG. I replaced the cell and there are no longer any service codes, but it appears it is not producing any chlorine. Is there a good way to check if it is actually producing chlorine?
 
Cowboy46, I think I went through the same process and my conclusion was (based on TFP members' feedback), my cell was simply too small. The recommendation is 2.5-3 times the volume. I changed by cell from T-CELL-9 (up to 25k) to T-CELL-15 (a generic version which is up to 40K). The chlorine level is still lower than I want but I need to run my SWG / Pump a bit longer (currently 10 hrs but 12+ hrs). Your SWG running time is probably too low. But if you want to test your cell and still have to old one, connect the old one but don't plug in, put the new one in a bucket of water then connect, and turn on your filter / SWG.
IMG_20160730_091700.jpg
 
Cowboy46 said:
I set my SWG to 90% and it runs 3 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the evening.
I tested at 1500 today and FC was only 7.5. I checked directly in front of a return jet and it also tested 7.5. The main reason I started this thread was concerns about my SWG. I replaced the cell and there are no longer any service codes, but it appears it is not producing any chlorine. Is there a good way to check if it is actually producing chlorine?
Click to expand...

Can you set it to 100% and test? 90% means it would be off fraction of the time and you could just happen to take your sample during that time. 100% in theory should keep it running continuously.

- - - Updated - - -

hoskim said:
Cowboy46, I think I went through the same process and my conclusion was (based on TFP members' feedback), my cell was simply too small. The recommendation is 2.5-3 times the volume. I changed by cell from T-CELL-9 (up to 25k) to T-CELL-15 (a generic version which is up to 40K). The chlorine level is still lower than I want but I need to run my SWG / Pump a bit longer (currently 10 hrs but 12+ hrs). Your SWG running time is probably too low. But if you want to test your cell and still have to old one, connect the old one but don't plug in, put the new one in a bucket of water then connect, and turn on your filter / SWG.
Click to expand...

please don't do that- cell requires water flow to cool down so you can damage it placing in still water. The flow sensor in SWG system tries hard to prevent this from happening but since you trick the system into 'thinking' it has flow you're asking for trouble. Another way to check is to check consumed current by the cell- the system should have some way to provide that information. It is usually in Amps range for the working cell IIRC.
 
You can tell if it is producing by whether there are bubbles coming from a return. The bubbles are the chlorine gas.
 

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