New Owner - High Combined Chlorine and TA - Need Help Please

[mknauss]

I have a Speedstir and love it. In fact, especially the CH test, you almost have to have it. Sorry I did not recommend it.

I do not know much about an auto cover. Is there any way to unhook it from the system and get to the underside?

 

[LGL44]

CH is the calcium hardness? I thought not so important for vinyl liner pool?
Maybe I should get anyway. I find for testing FC during SLAM, since I will need close to 50 drops of 0871, at times I add 2-3 drops and may not be constantly stirring.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

Vinyl auto-covers are not easy to clean. Mine is so big I never clean it. I do brush or blow debris off it when it's dry.

To actually clean it, you have to do it in sections.

Start with the cover fully open. Close the cover just enough that you have a section sitting on top of the tile at the vault end. Hose off that section with plain water and brush it with your pool brush. If you need to use cleaner, use only non-detergent mild cleaners like diluted Simple Green or Ivory Flakes. Brush again. Flush the soap down the vault drain. Any soap you miss will end up in your pool.

Pull out another section of cover and repeat until done.

Re the SpeedStir, it's not necessary but it does speed the process. When you test as often as TFP-ers do, it is a worthy addition. My recommendation is to make sure you have enough graduated cylinders and enough magnetic beans to run all your tests without having to get up to rinse anything. For me, that means 3 of these items, for FC/CC, CH, and TA tests.

 

[mknauss]

CH is the calcium hardness? I thought not so important for vinyl liner pool?
Maybe I should get anyway. I find for testing FC during SLAM, since I will need close to 50 drops of 0871, at times I add 2-3 drops and may not be constantly stirring.

High CH is an issue. And in S California, most of the water has naturally high CH. So testing for CH is still necessary.

 

[LGL44]

Should be under 300 right? how often should I test CH?

 

[mknauss]

I would test CH monthly.

CH can get much higher, you just monitor CSI, or Calcite Saturation Index. It is important to monitor that with a SWCG. Keeping it in the range of -0.3 and 0 keeps it from getting scale build up.

 

[LGL44]

Never measured CSI, is there link/video for that?

 

[#40Fan]

When you enter all of your numbers in PoolMath, CSI will be shown at the bottom.

 

[LGL44]

Good morning. Picking up where we left off on this to make sure I’m doing what I can to normalize situation per your suggested plan... have not added chlorine in 24 hours and swg has been off. This morning FC at 12 and CC is zero. I turned pump on at 1300rpm, SWG at 100% shows flow is ok and will measure FC again in evening. Sound right?

 

[mknauss]

Sounds good!

The lower flow rate will really reduce your electric bill!!

Take care.

 

[LGL44]

Made the donation. Thanks for your great tip on lowering RPM. If I run the pump at 1300 for 12 hrs per night and SWG is able to maintain FC at 3-5 is that good enough going forward?

also, when we use heater later in Fall we often get the LO error message. Hayward told me that means low flow. Seems like only when I turn pump to ~3200rpm than the lo message goes away. Does that make sense?

 

[mknauss]

Thank you for the donation!

Keep your FC in the target level range based on CYA using the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. I suspect your FC will be too high and you will be able to reduce your pump run time or SWCG setting %. But base the changes on testing.

It is true to run a heater you must increase your pump rpm to satisfy the flow switch on the heater. If it takes ~3200 rpm, I would be surprised but it might be true. Try it at lower rpm and increase the pump speed until the heater is satisfied.

 

[LGL44]

Would be grateful if you can review and suggest plan going forward:

CYA 60 is ok with my auto cover, how often do I test?
FC target is 4, test daily?
Ph is 7.4 (7.2-7.8 is ok), test daily?
CH of 150 is Ok, test monthly?
TA is currently 170, seems high but looks like this combination gives acceptable CSI. Anything to do here? How often do I test?

Anything important that I've missed?
Many thanks again.

 

[mknauss]

CYA 60 is ok with my auto cover, how often do I test? Monthly. Or if you exchange a good amount of water with fresh water.
FC target is 4, test daily? Daily. Higher, even up to 8 ppm, is not a bad thing.
Ph is 7.4 (7.2-7.8 is ok), test daily? Daily. In the 7's is good.
CH of 150 is Ok, test monthly? Monthly
TA is currently 170, seems high but looks like this combination gives acceptable CSI. Anything to do here? How often do I test? Test weekly. Be sure to use your most recent number in Poolmath if you are going to lower pH with acid.

Looks good. Any issues, post them up!

 

[LGL44]

sorry, I know TFP recommends lowering TA by first lowering PH. Do you think I need to lower TA now or given acceptable CSI there's nothing to do?

 

[trivetman]

Subscribing to this because I want to hear the answer from the experts.

I THINK the answer is that if PH is stable and in the right range and CSI is good, don’t worry about the TA no matter how high or low. TA is basically a tool to help stabilize PH. But....I’m not one of the experts.

 

[mknauss]

trivetman is right!

TA is not a critical value except in management of CSI or if your pH is rapidly rising or crashing to the low side.

So with a stable pH, do not focus on TA.

 

[LGL44]

Great. 3 more Qs:

1. Numbers continue to look good so am running pump at 1300rpm 12 hours at night. Should I run during day too if kids are in the pool?
2. Now that SWG is on at night, when I first open the cover, there are tiny seltzer-like bubbles on pool walls. My research suggests that's from the SWG. Is this correct and is that ok?
3. During winter months when pool is used very sparingly or none at all, what's your recommended pump run times and how often do I test chemicals?

Thank you.

 

[mknauss]

No real reason to run the pump when the kids are in the pool. Stay on your schedule.

SWCG do create bubbles. Mine float to the top and disperse. I do not see any issue with bubbles on the walls.

Winter depends. I assume you keep the cover closed. The SWCG quits around 60F pool water. You will need to reduce the % setting and pump run time as summer turns to fall. I test my FC about once a week and add liquid chlorine as necessary when the SWCG is off. Mine only goes off from about mid - December to early February. I also only run my pump about every other day when the SWCG is off.

 

[LGL44]

Thank you.