Low CL

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cdadams1223

cdadams1223

Silver Supporter
May 9, 2023
203
Forney, TX
Pool Size
13000
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite Pro (T-15)
Good afternoon folks! Learned everything I know about pool care from this site and I’m so grateful and have been independently managing my pool via the TFP method.

With that said, here’s my data from today and it’s a little frustrating that my CL is low. It’s a fiberglass pool but should my CH be THAT low? The CL is the main reason I’m posting this. I run my pump at 50% from 9am to 8pm with a SWG providing the CL. No CCs noted and haven’t had them for a long time. Pool is pretty darn clear.

Thoughts?
 

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So Let’s assume your SWCG is working fine. However SWCGs are great for maintaining a FC level but can take time to actually INCREASE FC. So buy some liquid chlorine and add 5ppm of FC to your pool That will quickly raise FC and then monitor FC to see if SWCG is keeping up.
Need to increase CH and also increase TA slightly.
The most important part is the FC right now. Use LC to increase it.
 
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I have LC on hand and will do that in a bit. I was under the impression, from this site, that CH was insignificant in a fiberglass pool. My pH has been a solid 7.5 for the past 1-2 years so I’m afraid to jack it up the TA.
 
cdadams1223 said:
I was under the impression, from this site, that CH was insignificant in a fiberglass pool.
Click to expand...
It is insignificant for modern fiberglass, but many add it anyway to appease a warranty (when applicable)

Some have waterline tile and the grout needs plaster pool level CH.

Gas heater manufacturers want 200 CH.

What's the SWG runtime and % ?
 
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No waterline tile or grout needs here and no heater (wish I had one). The SWG spits out 1.47 on chlorine output. It runs 11 hrs/day at 45% with pump at 50%.
 
I remember in the summer of last year having to tone down the SWG percentage to like 10-20% because the CL always tested high.
 
cdadams1223 said:
The SWG spits out 1.47 on chlorine output. It runs 11 hrs/day at 45%
Click to expand...
Ok so that's producing 2.8 FC per day. You very well may be losing a little more than that already because Texas.


cdadams1223 said:
I remember in the summer of last year having to tone down the SWG percentage to like 10-20% because the CL always tested high.
Click to expand...
The seasonal loss is a bell curve with little daily loss at the ends and a spike in the middle.

Screenshot_20240504_164917_Chrome.jpg


Adjustments are up, up, up, up, down, down, down. There might be an occasional whoopsie week, but for the most part it follows the schedule.

If you miss an adjustment in the spring, you're under as you see now. Boost with LC, and add more runtime and/or %.

If you miss an adjustment in the fall, your FC climbs from less loss.

But you've been low so OCLT and report back.
 
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Newdude said:
Ok so that's producing 2.8 FC per day. You very well may be losing a little more than that already because Texas.



The seasonal loss is a bell curve with little daily loss at the ends and a spike in the middle.

View attachment 570146


Adjustments are up, up, up, up, down, down, down. There might be an occasional whoopsie week, but for the most part it follows the schedule.

If you miss an adjustment in the spring, you're under as you see now. Boost with LC, and add more runtime and/or %.

If you miss an adjustment in the fall, your FC climbs from less loss.

But you've been low so OCLT and report back.
Click to expand...
Last night CL was at 3.5 and this morning 2.5.
 

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Newdude said:
What were the CCs ?

It's a borderline pass so far, I prefer to pass with flying colors.
Click to expand...
Well, the chlorine just a bit ago was 1.5 and the CCs were 1.0. No bueno. I went ahead and dumped in 3.5 gallons of 10% LC to increase my CL to 28ppm. Guess I'll be a slammin' LOL! I'll report back.

Sidenote...I have an error message on my Hayward app that says "No Water Flow Flowsensor" which is odd because I have no issues with flow or prime on the system. Funny thing is I put my SWG on 'Superchlorinate' mode this morning and my CL was only 1.5?!? Something is going on with my SWG and it's less than two years old. Normally, I'll get an error that basically says to clean the SWG but not this time.
 
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@ajw22 ^^^^^^ any ideas ?

cdadams1223 said:
Something is going on with my SWG and it's less than two years old.
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The exact reason I cringe everytime someone mentions 'running a 5'. Hiccups or other problems happen and you have less than 1 day to catch it. And we all know none of us are watching out SWGs intently. Even with 2 to 3 days wiggle room, nothing says I'll catch it, but there's more chance I do.
cdadams1223 said:
Guess I'll be a slammin' LOL! I'll report back.
Click to expand...
GREAT
 
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Still in the process of the SLAM. Rain just started so hopefully it doesn’t rise above our skimmer. Not wanting to get out the sump pump and mess with this SLAM.
 
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So I’m finished it’s the SLAM as of yesterday morning. The current numbers are below. It only rained once during the slam and had to drain a little water but didn’t really my CYA was so low. pH has been at or very close to 7.5 since last year but I know I’ve heard it’s inaccurate if your CL is over a certain number. Thoughts?

1715627934164.png
 
I guess I could go ahead and add CH since it's pretty low. In reading as much as I can about LSI/CSI as well as speaking with a friend of mine who has been in the pool industry for years, even if you have a fiberglass pool with no tile line your water still needs CH to keep balance. My friend told me and I read online that the water will do what it can to balance itself, even if that means stripping off the layer of gel coat on a fiberglass pool if it's too low. Pretty interesting stuff.
 
In your situation, no need to add calcium. I suspect your fill water has calcium in it. The CH will rise as you add fill water to the pool due to evaporation.
 
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My pool has been installed for a little more than 8 years. My CH is always high because of high CH fill water. I use softened water for make up water to keep the CH under control. My pool has not had any noticeable chalking.
 
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Thanks for your help sir! I guess it wouldn't hurt though right...just to bring it up to, say, 200? Sorry I'm beating a dead horse here.
 

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