I'd leave the SWCG on 10% to see how it drops and if it drops quickly bring it up so you don't end up skirting with algae. I wouldn't be surprised if the SWCG stops working soon due to the water temp limit so you'd have to watch that too. With the sun angle and the temps it'll take some time but then again you had it at 100% with many hours pump time so you will definitely see it soon enough.
New house with pool and first test- Free Chlorine is ~16ppm - sheesh!
- Thread starter bertschb
- Start date
Hey Bert !! When the Ph is out of range, it’s kinda tricky as the test reads the same for all values out of range. What looks like an 8 might actually be a 9 in the instance. When you add from 8 to 7.4, you may have only dropped it to 8.6 in that scenario, which still reads as an 8 like nothing changed. So you verify and add again (maybe even a few more times) from 8 to 7.4 until the value is readable.
But, as said above, the FC has to be under 10 or it could just be a false high PH reading.
Here's the latest from my tests this afternoon:
FC - 5.5ppm <---- dropped from 16 two days ago
CC - none? <---- after adding 5 drops, liquid was still clear
pH - 8+
CYA - zero? <----Liquid was still clear
I added 1g of acid yesterday and shut the SWCG off.
FC - 5.5ppm <---- dropped from 16 two days ago
CC - none? <---- after adding 5 drops, liquid was still clear
pH - 8+
CYA - zero? <----Liquid was still clear
I added 1g of acid yesterday and shut the SWCG off.
Yup. If 5 drops is still clear, move on. The vial goes pink again after 15 seconds or so. Disregard if you notice it.
This is interesting. A 5+ drop per day is unusual this time of year unless your CYA is low. If the CYA is in range then it would likely be the start of an algae bloom, but also show some CCs…. So probably not algae. So I’ll go with low CYA or testing error. Did you use the same sample size and maths for both tests ?
I've tested CYA twice in three days and the test liquid is not cloudy. It's clear. If I understand the test correctly, that would put the CYA at close to zero. I think the measurement only goes to 10 or something (I don't have the test vial in front of me).
If there's no stabilizer (CYA) and your free chlorine is dropping 5ppm per day, you've got one day left before the water runs out of chlorine. Best to turn the SWG back on and get ~30ppm of CYA in there so you're not losing chlorine so fast.
k, I'll turn the SWCG back on. I ordered some stabilizer but maybe I need to get some locally. I'd prefer to use liquid just because it's faster and I don't have a sock for the powder.
Be careful with the liquid. It tends to settle at the bottom and so if you don't use the whole bottle at once you get unexpected CYA level. But make sure adding a whole bottle doesn't add too much. The powder stuff literally goes in a gym sock. Doesn't need to be anything fancy.
I donated a couple of sleeves from long sleeve T-shirts each year, much to my wife’s delight.
In her defense they were probably all 10 years past retirement anyway.
In her defense they were probably all 10 years past retirement anyway.
Can you recommend a stabilizer?
I changed my schedule so I'm now running the pump at 1,500rpm (so the SWCG is active) for two eight hour shifts each day. I also have a two hour cleaning schedule for my infloor cleaning system. I also set the SWCG at 20% for now. I'll continue to test the pool water daily.
Even though it's cold outside and we can't swim, I'm having a blast fiddling around with the pool. I especially like the Pentair Easy Touch remote. It's kind of a clunky old-school interface but the fact that I can change so many settings and monitor the status of the devices from my easy chair is very cool. I was going to get the Intellicenter upgrade kit but I may just use this for a while longer and see if it's "good enough".
The south phoenix Lowes has it in stock. HD s showing possibly in stock if thats closer. Walmart looks to be out. They all have their own brand or Chlorox. Just verify it says 100% on the bag and youre golden. Its in the outdoor/garden section at all 3 stores. (When available)
This is about the only chlorox brand thing thats ok. All the others have additives of some kind.
Also, the pool stores by me usually have reasonably priced CYA.
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OK, I added 7lbs of the granules by adding it to the skimmer basket net, letting it soak for a while then squeezing the skimmer net to release the cloudy mixture. Had the pump running while I was doing this. Felt pretty good about it until I looked at my MultiCyclone. Look where basically all of it ended up...
Hang it in front of a return next time and squeeze it into the pool. What you did isn’t preferable, as you added acid to your equipment. This one time probably won’t matter, you just don’t want to do it many times over the years.
What’s in there (and probably also In the filter)will work it’s way out in a week or so, Give it that long before expecting to see it and/or adding more.
Actually that looks easily openable. Siphon it out (pump turned off) and you can jumpstart getting it to the pool. It can stain the pool bottom so brush anything that doesn’t dissolve well a couple of times.
What’s in there (and probably also In the filter)will work it’s way out in a week or so, Give it that long before expecting to see it and/or adding more.
Actually that looks easily openable. Siphon it out (pump turned off) and you can jumpstart getting it to the pool. It can stain the pool bottom so brush anything that doesn’t dissolve well a couple of times.
There is no water flowing from the return. I have the pump running (1,500rpm not in cleaning mode) and the valve is split between the skimmer and main drain. Not sure how to get water flowing out of the return. I thought if the pump was running, water would come out of the return. Don't you just love newbies
BTW, I have an in-floor cleaning system if that somehow affects the return.
So is there a return that’s off ? (You’ll have a valve to adjust/open) or is there no return and only the in floor cleaners ? (Some pools use the IFCS as the return).
With no return, still suspend the sock out into the pool. With enough time to soak it will squish out the same. Being hit by a return jet speeds it along a little but no biggie.
Every last one of us was there once and remember being overwhelmed. Don’t get discouraged. Each flub cements what you read into permanent memory and even helps you connect further dots.
Like here for example. You are now well learnt to not add acid to the equipment. When the time comes for Muriatic Acid to manage your PH, you’ll instinctively know you want it added to the pool water. (Pencil sized stream, stand upwind, brush real good after as it’s heavier than water and might puddle up on the bottom).
There will be some other bumps and we got you when they happen also. Each time you level up.
With no return, still suspend the sock out into the pool. With enough time to soak it will squish out the same. Being hit by a return jet speeds it along a little but no biggie.
We do in fact.
Every last one of us was there once and remember being overwhelmed. Don’t get discouraged. Each flub cements what you read into permanent memory and even helps you connect further dots. Like here for example. You are now well learnt to not add acid to the equipment. When the time comes for Muriatic Acid to manage your PH, you’ll instinctively know you want it added to the pool water. (Pencil sized stream, stand upwind, brush real good after as it’s heavier than water and might puddle up on the bottom).
There will be some other bumps and we got you when they happen also. Each time you level up.
So is there a return that’s off ? (You’ll have a valve to adjust/open) or is there no return and only the in floor cleaners ? (Some pools use the IFCS as the return).
With no return, still suspend the sock out into the pool. With enough time to soak it will squish out the same. Being hit by a return jet speeds it along a little but no biggie.
We do in fact.
Like here for example. You are now well learnt to not add acid to the equipment. When the time comes for Muriatic Acid to manage your PH, you’ll instinctively know you want it added to the pool water. (Pencil sized stream, stand upwind, brush real good after as it’s heavier than water and might puddle up on the bottom).
There will be some other bumps and we got you when they happen also. Each time you level up.
It has a physical return but I don't see a valve for it. I'll check that again.
As for putting the stabilizer in the equipment - I watched several YT videos of guys putting the sock in the skimmer basket, letting is soak for an hour then squeezing it. That's what I did. I know you aren't supposed to just dump the granules directly into the basket. What I find amazing is as I squeezed the filter sock over a period of terminates or so, the cloudy mixture was going out of the sock. But, in looking at the MultiCyclone, it looks like the easy majority of the granules didn't dissolve at all. It looks like I have 5 pounds of granules in the MultiCyclone.
I've spent a TON of time reading about pools and watching videos so I have a good head start. But, I clearly have MUCH to learn. Like how the heck do I get the return to work??? I'll go check the valves again.
The nice thing about the in floor cleaning system is I can fire that up to mix chemicals.
Normally somebody does it and doesn’t get the expected results, we assume it’s gummed up in the filter and tell them to wait it out. The only difference is you can see yours. With easy access to it, get it out and into the pool. Or let it ride because it’s no worse than what usually happens.
Post up some pics (pool and equipment). What you think is a return may be a vacuum port. If it’s a return there should be a valve to allow more pressure to the IFCS when in use, then back to the return for better skimming. There is no automation in your signature, but if you have it, it may be controlled by actuators instead of manual valves. Or it’s an abandoned return / something else entirely.
Most of what’s out there unfortunately is sketchy at best. Like the CYA bag saying to dump the full granular into a skimmer. They couldn’t care less about long term equipment damage. Or the ‘industry’ that hasn’t updated its sanitation methods / ideals since literally the 80s. Or the pool stores using the same outdated methods as a cash cow. Keep it all here. You have 290k real world fellow pool enthusiasts to walk you through what works best. With each new member the hive grows stronger.
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The pool maintenance guy that worked on the pool before we bought the house had the valve for Skimmer/Main floor drain set to 100% skimmer (handle pointed down as seen in this photo). I changed it to 50/50 thinking the main drain needs to be open in order for the IFCS to pull stuff into the filter. Is that correct?
I checked the leaf vac and pump filter basket today. They were both pretty clean. Just a few bugs. After pouring water into the pump filter basket and putting the lid back on, I fired up the pump and opened the air valve on top of the filter. The pump ran for probably 4-5 minutes with that valve open before water started going out. I didn't expect that. Thought water would come out in a few seconds. It also took much longer for water to really start coming out of the pipe and into the pump basket. Probably a couple minutes before the pump basket filled completely with water. Pump was running at 1,500rpm.
I don't see any other valves other than what is in the picture below so I have no idea how the return works - or if it works.
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Looks to me like a vac port. It’s smooth inside like you’d shove the rubber end of the vac hose in there. Need a pic after the heater to see the return pipe.
Some folks swear theirs work awesome, and I’m happy for them. In my pool it was all I could do to get the drains to suck up whatever sand / dust cloud I was sweeping over them. And over then again. And again. And 4 more times. And ARGGGHHhH !!!! I’ll just go break out the Gol Darn vacuum.
Hold on for an IFCS person to answer that. I’m pretty sure you want more drain for cleaning and that this is the IFCS conundrum. Main drains barely suck any debris if it isn’t 6 inches away from the grates. Somewhere on the forum is a video with dyed water and it all just sits there with only the closest dye being sucked in.
Some folks swear theirs work awesome, and I’m happy for them. In my pool it was all I could do to get the drains to suck up whatever sand / dust cloud I was sweeping over them. And over then again. And again. And 4 more times. And ARGGGHHhH !!!! I’ll just go break out the Gol Darn vacuum.
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The air valve could be clogged and only letting a little air out. Or it’s half seized when open. My own lost most it’s performance and I found a few pool brush bristles lodged all up in there. The first time you are doing a deep clean, explore further. Some are removable/ replaceable and some are a permanent part of the tank lid.
Priming usually needs high 2ks.