Pool is not generating enough chlorine

[earn]

Hello all, I hope you can steer me in the right direction. I recently switched from a chlorinator to a SWG. The problem that I am having now is that I cant seem to get enough chlorine out of the system. I installed this system back in April and I had no problems with my water balance until about 2 weeks ago. I will post below my readings. The pool has always been clear and very balanced. I spend every day ensuring that the water is correct and so when I switched to a SWG system I thought it would be easier and it has turned into a nightmare. To keep any chlorine in the pool I have resorted to putting a chlorine tab daily to keep it clear but in doing so I believe I have driven up my CYA. The most FC that I have had over the past couple of weeks has been .05 with it mostly reading 0. I have had to shock the pool and then I got algae which I have never had before. You will see from my test results what I am talking about. If somebody could help on this matter it would be greatly appreciated. I am also interested in using the BBB method so if you could help in this also it would be great. This is an awesome web site.

FC .05
PH 7.2
TA 60
CH 220
CYA 150
Salt 3100

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

HI and welcome. Yes, your CYA is too high and pucks are never recommended to boost the FC when you have an SWG. Use Liquid chlorine or bleach. The pucks have driven your PH/TA down a little too low, and your CYA is above the recommended 70/80 for an SWG. You'll need to do a partial drain and refill to lower the CYA level, and then you'll need to rebalance your other numbers.

Have you read Pool School?

 

[earn]

Thanks FPM for the feed back. I have read the pool school but I was not sure how much liquid chlorine and how far to drain down the pool.

 

[New2Me]

If this is what you have-
http://www.sunshinepool.com/ac1.html
you might be in need of bromine according to that page listed here-

PURITY requires 8 to 12 hours of operation daily. You will need 3,000 ppm of salt, and 60 to 80 ppm of stabilizer (Cyanuric acid) for proper operation. We also recommend using 3 lbs Sodium Bromide (Bromine Salt) per 10,000 gallons of pool water.

Sodium Bromide is available below or at many pool stores. Salt is available at most hardware, grocery, and pool stores. Stabilizer is available at most pool retail stores. After initial start-up, only a little Salt, Sodium Bromide, and Stabilizer are added just once or twice a year as pool water is replaced. They all stay in the water and do not dissipate once added to the water.

I'm not familiar with bromine use for SWG, so I'll let one of the experts help you. Good luck

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Thanks FPM for the feed back. I have read the pool school but I was not sure how much liquid chlorine and how far to drain down the pool.

Drain first, then recirculate, retest and see where the CYA level is, then we can help you calculate how much l.c. you will need to add. It would be safe to drain down about 1/3 and you can always repeat if necessary.

Don't add bromine, I don't think that's necessary.

 

[earn]

Thanks all, I will drain down the pool tomorrow and let you all know what my CYA is. On the other subject of Bromine, I was not sure about that either so that is why I didn't buy any. I am not sure what the Bromine would do to the pool and its not cheap.

 

[JasonLion]

Bromine is not required and is not recommended for an outdoor pool. Bromine can have some advantages for an indoor pool. Though I really only recommend bromine for a spa.

 

[earn]

Okay dropped the pool almost 6 thousands gallons and filled it back up. Got better results for CYA. Here is what I have so far.

FC - 5 I added the recommended level of bleach per the calculator
pH - 7.5 I added recommended level of baking soda
TA - 80
CH - 220
CYA - 85 Dropped a ton of water
Salt - 2900 Will add bag tonight before going to bed.

The real test will be tomorrow as this is where I am loosing my FC during the day. The sun hits my pool from 0700 to 8pm everyday. Not a bit of shade and the local temp has been in the mid 90's for the past 10 days or so. Pool temp after dropping the water is down to 80 from 93.

I am still not sure if my SWG is generating enough chlorine so I will re-check tomorrow and post results.

Thanks to everybody for their help in this.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

PH and TA are good as is. Baking soda raises TA not PH.

 

[earn]

Sorry tired. I added 1 lb 14 oz of soda ash. Been in the sun all afternoon.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Soda Ash raises PH and TA and they are both good as is....