Under PB Control/Phosphate Remover

[CMS_Sprint]

So we're a 6 weeks in from first adding water to our refinished pool. I have been following the PB instructions to the letter to make sure that there are no warranty issues with our pebble finish. The PB has been out to inspect and has taken periodic samples and I took a sample to the PB to make sure everything was OK.

Pool Builder test results/recommendations were:
-Solids 5000+
-No Metals
-Alkalinity 50 (recommended to add 10# Sodium Bicarbonate)
-Ph 7.0
-Cya 120
-Ca 300
-FC 2.0
-Salt 4800
-Phosphate 1000 (recommended add 16oz Phosphate Remover)
I added the recommended chemicals to the pool and will run the filter for 24 hours

A few other facts:
-Water Temp is in the mid 70's.
-The pump run cycle is for 8 hours at the moment.
-Since it's a new pebble pool, the PH can rise quite quickly, I had added 4 cups of Muriatic acid the night before as PH was 7.6, thus the slightly low reading.
-I had my SWG at 70% where it normally was and my test strips showed 10% CL and 8%FC so I turned it down a little, it's now back to 70% as I like FC at 3% for FL sunshine. I realize that the T3 cell doesn't meet the 2-3x recommendations of TFP-when it fails it will put become a T15.
-Test strips showed 0 Cya
-I ordered a TF100 kit yesterday as my confidence in those strips is now 0%! I will using the TF100 and pool calc on TFP from this point forward...(i know I know! )
-SWG cell is reading 3800 (it was cleaned 2 weeks ago, and is <12 months old)


I have read all the posts about phosphate removers here and now how the TFP community feels about them, but I felt that I should "play along" with PB to ensure that we are compliant with their wishes.

So here are my questions:
-Is there there really anything wrong with using the Phosphate remover? The city water here is quite high apparently, so just using it to get things into check initially will be OK.
-How often would you drop off a sample with the PB, or would just keeping good records at home be sufficient if there's a problem?
-Why does my SWG display vary so much from their test results?

Thanks!

 

[Leebo]

First and foremost..........WELCOME TO TFP!!

-Is there there really anything wrong with using the Phosphate remover? The city water here is quite high apparently, so just using it to get things into check initially will be OK.

Phosphate removers can in extreme cases cause a bit of clouding right after adding if the phosphates were high however this should clear up about a few hours of running the filter. Other than that the only negative of adding is the additional cost. Seeing you've already bought the remover.....you'll be fine. At the levels you have listed I'd be shocked if you see the phosphates increase much over the year so that bottle you already have will likely last into next year.

-How often would you drop off a sample with the PB, or would just keeping good records at home be sufficient if there's a problem?

I'd toss this question to your builder as they're in charge of the warranty. Most here never use pool stores/builders for testing as the results frequently are wrong. Instead the majority of TFP users use their own FAS/DPD (like the TF-100 you ordered) test kit and maintain their own records. You can use the PoolMath App for iOS/Android to help track your tests if any problem occurs however I would double check with the builder that they're OK for warranty reasons.

-Why does my SWG display vary so much from their test results?

I cannot answer this for sure as I don't have a SWG. I'll let others chime in here.


Again, welcome to the forum and if we can assist in any way, just ask!!
Thanks![/QUOTE]

 

[mknauss]

The SWCG salt measurement is +/-400 ppm. You do not state what test was used to get the 4800 ppm but if a strip, that is, at best, +/-500 ppm.

If the SWCG is operating and generating chlorine, then it is happy, and that is all that matters. My IC40 is always really close to what I add in salt after a drain/refill. Since I never have water loss from my pool other than evaporation, my salt level stays very level. In Florida, I would imagine you may get enough rain to overflow the pool and thus your salt reading will be variable. So getting a proper test kit would be advised. See TFTestkits.net for a K1766.

Take care.

- - - Updated - - -

Also - you have a very small SWCG for your pool volume. Be prepared to run it 18 hours or more per day during the summer. When it fails be sure to replace it with a T15.

Take care.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

This is 6 weeks on a fresh fill of water and your CYA is already at 120ppm ???

Someone has added waaaaay too much dichlor shock or trichlor tablets.....for an SWG you don’t want your CYA to be higher than 90ppm with 70-90ppm being an optimal range.

How are you testing your water? You need to get your own test kit and start taking care of the chemistry yourself (regardless of whether or not you’re required to have testing done by the PB). Otherwise your chemistry levels are going to be all over the place and you’ll have a hard time keeping algae away.

 

[CMS_Sprint]

- - - Updated - - -
Also - you have a very small SWCG for your pool volume. Be prepared to run it 18 hours or more per day during the summer. When it fails be sure to replace it with a T15.

Take care.

I've had the same SWG for 5 years now, and in the summer I run it at 70% for 10 hours a day and it keeps it at 3% pretty nicely. I do use the "Super Chlorinate" feature once a week in the summer and it stays on track. It will definitely be a T15 when this one gives up the ghost...

Thanks for the help.

- - - Updated - - -

This is 6 weeks on a fresh fill of water and your CYA is already at 120ppm ???

Someone has added waaaaay too much dichlor shock or trichlor tablets.....for an SWG you don’t want your CYA to be higher than 90ppm with 70-90ppm being an optimal range.

How are you testing your water? You need to get your own test kit and start taking care of the chemistry yourself (regardless of whether or not you’re required to have testing done by the PB). Otherwise your chemistry levels are going to be all over the place and you’ll have a hard time keeping algae away.

When my test strips showed none, I added 2# to get it up a little, and I'm guessing that was what put us over. That's on me. If I have to drain some water off to get it back to the right range, I'm happy to do that. Just want to get all the other numbers perfect before I do so.

Yep, totally over test strips!