Hi all:
This is my first post, but I've been reading this board religiously for the past 12 months. We are relatively new pool owners; this year, I've appointed myself full-time pool girl, both to save money and to keep on top of issues. Last summer was a series of disasters: the pool had two leaks (which took a month to detect), we had to add about 8" of well water during that time, which added a lot of iron to the water (we cornered the market on sequesterant) , our SWB cell died and our heater decided to stop working. All this, and I had to wait on our pool company for answers or analysis or attention. As a result, we spent a lot of money on a pool that we rarely used. (Upside: our sand filter has new sand, we have a new SWG cell, our heater has a new pressure switch and will get a new gas value next week, and we have no leaks this spring.)
Our pool was opened two weeks ago. Initially, the water was clear and blue. I added chlorine (dichlor) and brought the TC levels up to normal levels. (I didn't have my TK-2006 kit yet, only my Pentair Rainbow.) Water went cloudy but stayed a beautiful shade of blue. Now, the water is clearer but definitely green and there's a strong chlorine smell. After all the reading here, I know what that means. I am preparing to SLAM the pool, but I have some questions before I get started.
1. Our water is still pretty cold; in the 50s, I would guess. As a result, our SWG is off still. Does that mean I should SLAM at the level for a non-SWG pool?
2. I got my TK-2006 this afternoon and tested. Here's what I found:
FC = .2
CC = .8
CYA = 30
PH = 7.6
Given those readings, and the fact that I have some dichlor here, would anyone recommend I SLAM with the dichlor? I was surprised to find my CYA so low, since I've used several rounds of stabilized dichlor already. And I'm not too worried about my PH going high temporarily. Last summer, I added jugs of muriatic acid to lower it. Our water seems to tend toward the higher end of the PH scale naturally. (Maybe because of the SWG?)
3. This is looking ahead, but does it make sense to wait and turn on the SWG a few days after I turn on the heater? I'm in Minnesota, so the water warms very slowly without a heater, and my understanding is a SWG doesn't work effectively with cool water.
Many thanks!
This is my first post, but I've been reading this board religiously for the past 12 months. We are relatively new pool owners; this year, I've appointed myself full-time pool girl, both to save money and to keep on top of issues. Last summer was a series of disasters: the pool had two leaks (which took a month to detect), we had to add about 8" of well water during that time, which added a lot of iron to the water (we cornered the market on sequesterant) , our SWB cell died and our heater decided to stop working. All this, and I had to wait on our pool company for answers or analysis or attention. As a result, we spent a lot of money on a pool that we rarely used. (Upside: our sand filter has new sand, we have a new SWG cell, our heater has a new pressure switch and will get a new gas value next week, and we have no leaks this spring.)
Our pool was opened two weeks ago. Initially, the water was clear and blue. I added chlorine (dichlor) and brought the TC levels up to normal levels. (I didn't have my TK-2006 kit yet, only my Pentair Rainbow.) Water went cloudy but stayed a beautiful shade of blue. Now, the water is clearer but definitely green and there's a strong chlorine smell. After all the reading here, I know what that means. I am preparing to SLAM the pool, but I have some questions before I get started.
1. Our water is still pretty cold; in the 50s, I would guess. As a result, our SWG is off still. Does that mean I should SLAM at the level for a non-SWG pool?
2. I got my TK-2006 this afternoon and tested. Here's what I found:
FC = .2
CC = .8
CYA = 30
PH = 7.6
Given those readings, and the fact that I have some dichlor here, would anyone recommend I SLAM with the dichlor? I was surprised to find my CYA so low, since I've used several rounds of stabilized dichlor already. And I'm not too worried about my PH going high temporarily. Last summer, I added jugs of muriatic acid to lower it. Our water seems to tend toward the higher end of the PH scale naturally. (Maybe because of the SWG?)
3. This is looking ahead, but does it make sense to wait and turn on the SWG a few days after I turn on the heater? I'm in Minnesota, so the water warms very slowly without a heater, and my understanding is a SWG doesn't work effectively with cool water.
Many thanks!
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Are you sure it is 6%? Most bleach is now 8.25%.