Hayward salt and swim only make 1.5ppm FC

[amgclk65]

So I installed a Hayward salt and swim for my 10k gallon pool. I got a great deal on the unit and cell. $370 via Amazon. It's been running for 6-7 days now. I've got the unit running at 80% plus with 10hr of pump time. It's only been able to produce 1-1.5 FC . I'm kinda thinking I bought a undersized SWG. Or maybe I should have upped my FC via liquid chlorine to 6-7 and then let the SWG take over . Or maybe Algae is killing my FC. I haven't done an overnight test for chlorine drop. The water is crystal clear to me.
New pool owner here. I do have pictures of the water if you guys like to see.
my water chemistry is

FC:1-1.5 ppm
PH: 7.6
TA: 140 high I know. Plan to bring down via acid and aerating the water.
CH: 600 way high : have not tested the source water yet.
CYA: 80

 

[jblizzle]

Up the FC and try the OCLT to eliminate algae as the problem.

Also, you should have raised the FC with bleach. SWG are good at maintaining the FC and not as good at raising it from near 0.

 

[amgclk65]

Okay, I'll raise the FC to at least 3ppm and do the OCLT. If that passes. I'll get the FC in line with my CYA and see if the SWG can maintain my FC. I've got till 5-10-17 to return the Salt and Swim unit. Here's my plan. At 5:00 am I'll get liquid bleach to bring my FC to 3 or greater. The pump ends at 7am. It's set to run from 9pm to 7am. Just realized I need to shut my SWG off at night to get a accurate reading for the OCLT test to be valid.

 

[amgclk65]

CYA levels and FC

@Hawaii... my pool is at the tail end of CYA range a big issue ? I would love to be in the middle. I think it's too late in the year for me to drain and refill in Phoenix AZ right now. It's roughly 90 during the day. High 60 at night.

 

[pooldv]

I would recommend keeping your CYA at 80 all summer. 80 is noticeably better for my pool than 70.

 

[amgclk65]

@pooldv.. I'll keep it CYA at 80. Not to sure how Hawaii got CYA of 15. I never said that.
Also is the Salt and Swim rating of .96 lbs of chlorine per day sufficient for my 10,000 gallon pool ? I'm sure the rating is at max setting. Which kills the life of the cell.

 

[pooldv]

I'm not sure what he is talking about but it is not consistent with what TFP teaches. I have removed his posts from your thread.

Your SWG will have an easier time with CYA at 80 because you will lose less FC to the sun so it will need to make less FC to keep up.

 

[jblizzle]

I was going to suggest taking your FC up to 10ppm for the OCLT, although that might be a little overkill. Ideally you want the pump running overnight too and at least an hour before you test.

For your pool, running at 100% output it should generate roughly 1ppm per hour.

 

[amgclk65]

Okay.. I'll get it in the 8-10ppm range. I'll keep the pump running . Should I turn off the SWG for the OCLT test?

- - - Updated - - -

Okay.. I'll get it in the 8-10ppm range. I'll keep the pump running . Should I turn off the SWG for the OCLT test? Or factory in the 1ppm per hour when I test.

 

[jblizzle]

SWG needs to be off. I think if you get the FC above 5ppm that should be high enough.

 

[pooldv]

Turn off the SWG for the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

 

[amgclk65]

Perfect guys. Thanks for the help. I'll report back in a few days. Looking forward to determine if the salt and
swim unit is underpowered.

 

[pooldv]

1 ppm of FC per hour is more than plenty. Your pool should use 2-4 ppm per day.

 

[jblizzle]

My 1ppm hour assumed 10k pool and that the amount of chlorine you stated, almost a pound, was correct.

For reference my t15 should produce around 1.4 pounds.

 

[amgclk65]

Little update !
Looks like I've got Algea on the side walls of my pool. At 7:45 last night I had FC 7ppm. At 5:30 this morning I had FC 5ppm. I was brushing the walls this morning. It looked like clouds of dirt coming off. So I need to decide on my plan of attack. Slam the pool. Or drain, refill and clean the walls . It's going to be low 80 this weekend in Phoenix. So this may be my only chance to drain till the winter. Considering my TA and CH are high. Maybe it's better to drain. Any thoughts on my plans?

Thanks for for the input.

 

[pooldv]

I would just SLAM Process. TA can be lowered and CH at 600 is manageable.

After you SLAM Process lower your TA to 60 following this, Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity

Oh, and add your pool info to your sig so that we can better help you. More here about what to add and how to do it, Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

 

[amgclk65]

@Pooldv..
i took your advise and decide to slam the pool. Tonight I'm want to do OCLT Test. Can I do it with a high FC ? Like 30ppm as my night base value ? Or should I let it go down to 5-10ppm.

 

[pooldv]

You can do the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test at whatever FC level you are at.

 

[jblizzle]

The OCLT was originally designed to perform at the end of a SLAM at the shock FC level. So you are fine.