New to this Pool thing - eager but overwhelmed

Jump to latest Follow Reply
A

ashley79

0
Apr 12, 2016
23
tampa, fl
Hi All

I am looking for some direction. I've been a pool-owner for about 2 weeks. Done a lot of research so far so I know what I need to do, just need some help on getting there. I also have a few peripheral qs. My test kits will be here later this week, so I'm at the mercy of my local PAP. They've tested my water twice in the last week, most recently last night, after I added 2 qts of acid Sunday morning. 2 bags of salt were added on 4/5/16. Please let me know if I'm missing anything and thanks to anyone who takes the time to look this over and gives an opinion.

I have an IG concrete pool. For some reason it's listed as 13k gallon with PAP but after some measuring, I believe it's closer to 15-19k. Depth is pretty hard to accurately measure, so that's the variance for my numbers. The water is crystal clear and has been since we first saw the house back in Feb. It gets a lot of direct sunlight most of the day even though it's caged. It has a small <600 gallon hot tub adjoined. All equipment is in really good shape (visually).

All equip is Hayward
navigator pro - brand new
C48L2N134B1 super pump
star clear plus filter - cartridge size is 125
aqua rite SWG - cell size is T9 - cell is brand new
200k btu heater - propane (spa only)
water restriction is 2 days per week

FC - no clue
TC - 3.0
PH - 7.6
TA - 100
CH - 250
CYA - 70
salt - 3500, same as the SWG reads


I know that my TA and CH are high, I just need specific instructions on lowering. The chems are blowing my mind.

The pump runs from 9am-5pm. The Navigator runs that whole time. Is this correct or should I limit this and just let the skimmer run? Skimmer valve is half closed. What kind of maintenance should I do be doing to the Nav?

Do I need to do any additional scrubbing besides walls and tiles?

Can I trust the salt reading on the SWG or the drop test, when I get it?

I turned pump off when I cleaned the pump basket, but it still gurgled until I put the lid back and turned it back on. What did I do wrong?

Is it ok to let out excess air from the cartridge when I happen to be over there?

How often should I check my chems once my kits arrive?

Please let me know if any pics are needed.

Thanks again and I'm sure I'll have more qs soon.
 
ashley79 said:
Hi All

I am looking for some direction. I've been a pool-owner for about 2 weeks. Done a lot of research so far so I know what I need to do, just need some help on getting there. I also have a few peripheral qs. My test kits will be here later this week, so I'm at the mercy of my local PAP. They've tested my water twice in the last week, most recently last night, after I added 2 qts of acid Sunday morning. 2 bags of salt were added on 4/5/16. Please let me know if I'm missing anything and thanks to anyone who takes the time to look this over and gives an opinion.

I have an IG concrete pool. For some reason it's listed as 13k gallon with PAP but after some measuring, I believe it's closer to 15-19k. Depth is pretty hard to accurately measure, so that's the variance for my numbers. The water is crystal clear and has been since we first saw the house back in Feb. It gets a lot of direct sunlight most of the day even though it's caged. It has a small <600 gallon hot tub adjoined. All equipment is in really good shape (visually).

All equip is Hayward
navigator pro - brand new
C48L2N134B1 super pump
star clear plus filter - cartridge size is 125
aqua rite SWG - cell size is T9 - cell is brand new
200k btu heater - propane (spa only)
water restriction is 2 days per week

FC - no clue
TC - 3.0
PH - 7.6
TA - 100
CH - 250
CYA - 70
salt - 3500, same as the SWG reads


I know that my TA and CH are high, I just need specific instructions on lowering. The chems are blowing my mind.
Click to expand...
Why? Those numbers are pretty good for someone who is working blind. TA will slowly go down as you keep pH in line. CH will slowly climb through evaporation and refilling, but it's nowhere near the point you should panic. Not even close.
The pump runs from 9am-5pm. The Navigator runs that whole time. Is this correct or should I limit this and just let the skimmer run? Skimmer valve is half closed. What kind of maintenance should I do be doing to the Nav?
Click to expand...
I don't know anything about automatic cleaners. Can't help with that. The pump run time might be excessive, but if you reduce pump time, you'll have to increase SWG% Once you have a test kit in hand it will be easy to figure that out. There's an article in Pool School that explains Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time
Do I need to do any additional scrubbing besides walls and tiles?
Click to expand...
Skimmer throat.
Can I trust the salt reading on the SWG or the drop test, when I get it?
Click to expand...
Yes. As long as the SWG is happy, you're happy.
I turned pump off when I cleaned the pump basket, but it still gurgled until I put the lid back and turned it back on. What did I do wrong?
Click to expand...
Nothing. Mine does that, too. Just bleed the air out once it gets going again.
Is it ok to let out excess air from the cartridge when I happen to be over there?
Click to expand...
Yes. But if you're constantly getting air in the filter, you have a suction side air leak. There's an article in pool school about it.
How often should I check my chems once my kits arrive?
Click to expand...
FC & pH daily. The others less frequently. Again, pool school has an article titled Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule
Please let me know if any pics are needed.

Thanks again and I'm sure I'll have more qs soon.
Click to expand...
It'll all make more sense once you have the test kit in your mitts and you start doing.
 
Welcome to TFP, you are doing great, you found us :) Richard has you going there and in a few weeks it will all come together, the test kit will help so much..
 
Thanks very much for all of the info and greetings!

I think I'll wait until my kits arrive to begin experimenting with the pump run time. Is it just a game of lowering slowly, say an hour at at time, and seeing how it impacts the chems and salt? How long would it take for me to see effects of this on the chems? A few days?

I've read some more posts on the robot, and I think I'm going to dial that back considerably, perhaps once a week or so, to extend it's life.

Is it ever normal for any air to be in the cartridge? Or does any amount of air mean there's a leak? The current pressure is 20. Is that normal?

Thanks again.
 
Hi Ashley. I think what you'll find with your pump and run time is that it directly effects FC production. For many SWG users, the longer the pump runs, the more FC is produced. Aside from that, you want the pump to operate long enough to where you feel your pool receives adequate surface movement and skimming action to push floating debris to the skimmer. Inevitably some things will sink, but you get the idea. This page may help: Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time.

Air in the filter housing? A little is not uncommon. You might open the air relief and purge that air from time to time. What we are more concerned with is the pump's strainer basket (with the clear lid). If you were to have a suction side air leak, then you may see a lot of air in that pump basket. Of course we never want the water level in that basket to drop very low or even worse go completely dry. So always watch that when you out to the equipment pad.

As for normal pressure ... at some point you'll need to clean the filter(s). When you do, you'll see the psi lower to what we call a baseline or starting point (low). From there, you watch, and when the needle increases by 25% (or if you happened to notice very slow flow from your return jets), then it's time to clean again. Make sense?

Hope that helps. Glad you found us here at TFP. :wave:
 
Salt tests are only accurate +/- about 300-400 ppm. Salt test are just used to get you in the ballpark. The only real important thing is if the SWG is happy and making chlorine and trying not to go way over on the salt level.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply