New Plaster Pool - No chlorine

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W

williamkart

Member
May 24, 2024
7
florida
Hi everyone. Finished the build on my in ground pebble pool and spa about four weeks ago. Pool builder did the startup, added salt, and maintained for the first few weeks after start up. I’ve since taken over and have gotten most elements of the water chemistry balanced (the startup was basically just salt and acid, nothing else.) I’ve tested free chlorine multiple times and always get zero. The startup guy came out and told me that my pool was full of phosphates. He treated with Orenda phosphate remover, but I’m still getting zero chlorine. I know the community here says phosphates are irrelevant, but I was following his guidance.

Any ideas? Everything else seems to be mostly balanced. Jandy Truclear SWG with aqualink. I even bumped up the SWG output to 100% and am still getting zero.

Water is crystal clear.

FC - 0
PH - 7.7
TA - 110 (has since been decreasing, started at 160)
CYA - 70
CH - 350
Salt - 3300
Water Temp - 68F
 
Last edited:
Welcome to TFP.

Begin by getting your FC up using liquid chlorine to 8-10.

Then do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test and see if you have algae consuming the chlorine. Chances are you need to follow the SLAM Process.

How are you testing you chlorine with the K-2005 test kit? You need the FAS/DPD chlorine test. Read Pool Test Kits - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

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williamkart said:
Hi everyone. Finished the build on my in ground pebble pool and spa about four weeks ago. Pool builder did the startup, added salt, and maintained for the first few weeks after start up. I’ve since taken over and have gotten most elements of the water chemistry balanced (the startup was basically just salt and acid, nothing else.) I’ve tested free chlorine multiple times and always get zero. The startup guy came out and told me that my pool was full of phosphates. He treated with Orenda phosphate remover, but I’m still getting zero chlorine. I know the community here says phosphates are irrelevant, but I was following his guidance.

Any ideas? Everything else seems to be mostly balanced. Jandy Truclear SWG with aqualink. I even bumped up the SWG output to 100% and am still getting zero.

Water is crystal clear.

FC - 0
PH - 7.7
TA - 110 (has since been decreasing, started at 160)
CYA - 70
CH - 350
Salt - 3300
Water Temp - 68F
Click to expand...
Are you sure they added salt as part of the startup? Usually that’s a no-no for the first 30 days after new plaster/pebble.
 
w,

Welcome to TFP! I would echo Allen's post. At zero FC you are asking for trouble. Get some liquid chlorine and get the FC up. Only two things can be the cause of your problem. Algae that you can't see yet or your swg isn't working (not likely for a new pool). Sounds to me you're gonna need to read up on the SLAM for after you do the OCLT but the nice thing about TFP is there's no guessing. Do the test and you'll know. Also, if you ever need to SLAM (all of us do sooner or later) you're gonna need a FAS/DPD chlorine test. It goes way above 10 ppm and that's needed for a SLAM.

I hope this helps and again welcome aboard!

Chris
 

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1.8 FC each day is likely not enough in your area. Raise the FC to target using Liquid chlorine and set the SWCG so it produces at least 3 ppm FC per day.
 
w,

We've been getting unusually cool weather last few weeks and that's likely helped you to avoid a cloudy or greenish pool with the low FC. Once you complete the OCLT and SLAM if needed you're going to need to set the swg. Here's what I've done based on several experts here for a smooth transition from liquid chlorine. Establish a min level of FC slightly higher than target. Then set your swg to produce 3 ppm and stop adding liquid chlorine. Test daily and then make small adjustments every other day so your FC is cycling between target and slightly above. This way you'll never get to min. or below. Once you stabilize at this range you can tweak every 2 days or so but you should be set within a week or two. Don't "chase FC" to hold it constant. It'll drive you nuts. FC demand cycles with a number of factors including use and weather. Your swg meets the TFP recommendation for chlorine production because it's rated for 2x the pool size. However, there are no established standards for this. So quite a few brands will produce more chlorine than your unit for the same pool size rating. Don't let the fact you'll see others with lower settings drive you nuts either. Focus on settings that get your FC cycle in the right range for your CYA level. I found that once I found the right settings I could adjust run time a couple times per year and only adjust % power every year or two as cell production declined. Keep your other test results within TFP recommendations and your cell will last a long time as well.

As you can see already you'll get a lot of great advice here from experts that have been doing this for years and are truly expert in one or many facets of pool operation/design/construction/technologies. And one of the best things about TFP is we sell nothing so our advice is never conflicted. I started here in 2015 and many of the people that helped me get started like @kimkats @ajw22 @Jimrahbe @mknauss are still here. I just got done with my 2nd pool and I'm still using my TF 100 test kit that's been upgraded for salt and had reagents replaced every two years when they're on sale.

Again, welcome and good luck with your pool!

Chris
 
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setsailsoon said:
w,

We've been getting unusually cool weather last few weeks and that's likely helped you to avoid a cloudy or greenish pool with the low FC. Once you complete the OCLT and SLAM if needed you're going to need to set the swg. Here's what I've done based on several experts here for a smooth transition from liquid chlorine. Establish a min level of FC slightly higher than target. Then set your swg to produce 3 ppm and stop adding liquid chlorine. Test daily and then make small adjustments every other day so your FC is cycling between target and slightly above. This way you'll never get to min. or below. Once you stabilize at this range you can tweak every 2 days or so but you should be set within a week or two. Don't "chase FC" to hold it constant. It'll drive you nuts. FC demand cycles with a number of factors including use and weather. Your swg meets the TFP recommendation for chlorine production because it's rated for 2x the pool size. However, there are no established standards for this. So quite a few brands will produce more chlorine than your unit for the same pool size rating. Don't let the fact you'll see others with lower settings drive you nuts either. Focus on settings that get your FC cycle in the right range for your CYA level. I found that once I found the right settings I could adjust run time a couple times per year and only adjust % power every year or two as cell production declined. Keep your other test results within TFP recommendations and your cell will last a long time as well.

As you can see already you'll get a lot of great advice here from experts that have been doing this for years and are truly expert in one or many facets of pool operation/design/construction/technologies. And one of the best things about TFP is we sell nothing so our advice is never conflicted. I started here in 2015 and many of the people that helped me get started like @kimkats @ajw22 @Jimrahbe @mknauss are still here. I just got done with my 2nd pool and I'm still using my TF 100 test kit that's been upgraded for salt and had reagents replaced every two years when they're on sale.

Again, welcome and good luck with your pool!

Chris
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! This is super helpful. I was concerned about the correct SWG setting, so I will certainly follow your advice above.
 
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