SWG and no chlorine or something else.

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KRommel1015

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May 16, 2011
37
New Jersey
This is my first post to this site but have had absolutely no luck with local pool stores.

My pool is 4 yrs old with a SWG. At the very end of last season (September) and for all of this one, we have had a problem with maintaining and/or producing enough chlorine. Also the SWG itself will no longer go any higher than 65%.

In the first 2 1/2 years, I had to reduce the SWG to 50% because it would produce too much chlorine. Now, I can't get it to go any higher than the 65%. We have an AquaComfort.

We have had several service calls with no answers whatsoever. I've been told everything from "the water temp is too low to generate chlorine" (we have a heater) to "phosphates and nitrates" to "you need a whole new system" to "you need to shock" (but I'm not sure where to start with shocking). HELP!!

The water chemistry doesn't seem to horrible. The water is clear. We did treat once this season for algae but now pool surfaces are clear and not slippery. We vacuum and brush once a week.

We just cleaned the cell with the water/acid mixture. And we just cleaned the DE filter with a cleaning solution for DE filters. The pool receives direct sun all day.

I have concerns about keeping enough chlorine in the water, especially with the heat predicted for this coming week. And I have two small kids. I don't want them in water that's not properly treated.


These are the latest test results from today. I have a K-2006 test kit and salt strips.
FC .5 to 1
TC 4 to 6
PH 7.6
TA 120
CH 190
CYA 80 (manual says to keep between 60-80)
Salt 3000
I've read numerous posts here about shocking and superchlorinating but I just don't know where to go with this.

Kristyn
6500 gal 12X20 IG Vinyl DE filter Heater Not sure about pump type or size. We run the filter about 8 hours/day.
 
If your test results are right, you really need to shock the pool. I'm not sure why you have hesitated but if you follow the article up in Pool School, you can get your pool sanitized.

Shock with liquid chlorine (clorox) precisely according to that article (it'll take you a few days....not just one dose) and get your water perfect and then you can address whether or not the SWG can keep up. Treat that as an entirely separate issue, however. For now shock the pool manually and maintain FC manually in the pool.
 
Welcome to the forum :wave:

As Dave said, if your numbers are correct, you really need to shock your pool,
AND maintain the shock process until you meet the three criteria that determine when you are done shocking. See red lines in my sig.

Follow the directions on how to shock your pool: pool-school/shocking_your_pool
Use bleach/liquid chlorine for shocking.

For shocking, you need to know your shock level and you learn this from the CYA/Chlorine Chart: pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock
With a CYA of 80, you shock level is about 30.

Make friends with the PoolCalculator.com and it will not only figure all your doses, it can also predict effects of adding chemicals. :eek:

Based on your test results, your pool is not safe for swimming.

It will be helpful if you add your pool and equipment specs to your sig.

If you have questions, post back in this thread and someone will be around to help.
We have lots of knowledgable members ready and willing to help.

When you get a moment, post a pic of the pool for us. :)
 
Thank you for your comments. I read everything you suggested and tried the pool calculator. Looks like I need to add about 400 oz of 6% liquid chlorine. How do I add this? all at once? Directly into the pool? How long should the pump run? And how long will it take to return to safe levels for swimming?

I have a K-2006 test kit. It's the only complex one the pool store had. Is that sufficient to do the kind of testing I will need to do fo the chlorine?

Let's say I do all this and the SWG can't keep up. What's my next course so I don't hae to go down this road...in other words, how can I keep the pool chlorinated in the meantime?

And lastly...when we started with this problem back in June (then we went away for two weeks) 2 of the pool stores told us to use a NONchlorine shock. It didn't seem to do anything to help this problem. what's the point of it then?

My water is clear so hopefully I am doing at least something right. :)

Kristyn
6500 Gallon 12X20 Inground Vinyl Pool SWG DE Filter Gas Heater (I will get specs tonight).
 
Add the bleach all at once, directly into the pool, near a return jet. You need to run your pump 24/7 during the shock process. It is difficult to predict how long the shock process will take, it's one of those "your mileage may vary" things. I would plan for a week, but it may not take that long.

That is a good kit and will work for the shock process. You'll need the R-0870, R-0871 and R-0003 chems for your shock process.

I'm betting your SWG will be fine after you go through the shock process. You have something in the water you can't see eating your chlorine faster than the SWG can keep up with. If it doesn't, just use plain bleach to keep chlorine in your pool.

The point of chemicals the pool store recommends is to make them money. ;)
 
Ok so just to confirm....I add the bleach until I reach the shock point based on the cya. Then I Keep it at the shock point? or just go until I don't lose any chlorine overnight? How does this show up on the test kit. doesn't seem to have readings that high. I'm baffled by this. seems I need "shocking for dummies". :-(
 
Shocking means you maintain the full shock level until you meet all three criteria:

1) less than .5ppm combined chlorine (CC)
2) OCLT looses 1ppm or less FC
3) water is clear (note, not necessarily perfectly sparkling perfect & glinty... but clear)


In addition to pool school, and the shocking information it contains, there are LOTS of shocking threads recently that you could peruse. It's probably the best way for you to get a feel of how it works, how long it takes, and what you have to do to get the process completed.

Your test kit, if it really is a K-2006 is exactly what you need for this. You will be using the DPD chlorine test every hour or so at first. Have you got powder in that kit or just a test block with R-0001 and R-0002 reagents? If you have those reagents, you actually have a K-2005.
 
Ok so I started the shock process last night. I waited until I got the tf100 kit so I would be sure I was using exactly what you have recommended. I initially added 400 oz of bleach. I tested every hour for four hours and added what the pool calc recommended. When I went to bed at ten. I tested and the pool was at 30ppm with which is the shock point for my cya. cc was 3.5 When I tested at 7am this morning the fc was at 7ppm and cc 3. I added 310 oz and it came back up. At noon I came home from work and it had dropped to 17. I added 170 oz. At 4 pm when I got home it had only dropped to 28 fc and 3 cc. I added 16 oz. At 530pm it was 29 fc and 2.5 cc. I added 13 oz At 700pm it was 21 fc and 2.5 cc. Each time i have added bleach the fc has gone to 30 or slightly higher. I added 121 oz and am waiting to test again. Does this sound like what's supposed to happen?

I have noticed that the water appears different. Like it's clearer and now I'm thinking it wasnt so clear to start as I thought. And last night after the initial dose something yucky came out of one of the jets that was very cloudy and brownish. Haven't seen that again. If the water is clearing where is all this "stuff" that is eating my chlorine? Also I turned on the swg very briefly ( about 2 min) to check it's reading but it still won't read any higher.

I just want to know if I am doing this correctly. I have to work and can only come home at lunch.

Thanks.
Kristyn.
 

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Sounds like you're doing everything correctly. The chlorine gets used up rapidly as it kills off algae in the water. CC of .5 or less and the overnight chlorine loss test tell you when you're about done. Don't forget to backwash the filter as needed, brush the pool, and look out for nooks and crannies like on swim ladders where algae can latch on and grow.
 
So, I tested this am and only lost 16ppm as opposed to yesterday's 23 ppm overnite. BUT the cc's are now back up to 3.5. I added another 120 oz and went off to work. I'll go home at luch. Today is gonna be bright and sunny though so I suppose I will lose a lot.

this is very frustrating. I keep telling myself it's only benn 36 hours. I just don't "see" any "chlroine eaters". Water looked good this am. And my pool actually looks really blue again, if that makes sense. *sigh*.
 
Keep going. It can take several days. 36 hours is a good start, it took a week to go through the process on my pool, then another week to completely clear the water. Yours will clear faster since you have a DE filter, but the shock process can take a long time. You are doing great, I haven't seen one comment from you about going to the pool store, needing algaecide, or any of that other nonsense that a lot of folks start asking when they are at the point you are at. Just keep doing what you are doing!

Just in case your water isn't completely clear yet, be aware it can look a milky white or blue when you are getting close to being done. That's a good sign when you get to that point!
 
KRommel1015 said:
I'm done with pool stores. Too much run around and nothing they tell me has been accurate. I could have fixed this problem last year if I'd found this site. Also, I've been reading these boards now for three weeks and I'm learning a lot.
Click to expand...
:goodjob: You got a great test kit and are gaining knowledge at a fast rate!

You already know lots more than the folks serving you at the pool store. Period.
 
KRommel1015 said:
I initially added 400 oz of bleach. I tested every hour for four hours and added what the pool calc recommended. When I went to bed at ten. I tested and the pool was at 30ppm with which is the shock point for my cya. cc was 3.5 When I tested at 7am this morning the fc was at 7ppm and cc 3. I added 310 oz and it came back up. At noon I came home from work and it had dropped to 17. I added 170 oz. At 4 pm when I got home it had only dropped to 28 fc and 3 cc. I added 16 oz. At 530pm it was 29 fc and 2.5 cc. I added 13 oz At 700pm it was 21 fc and 2.5 cc. Each time i have added bleach the fc has gone to 30 or slightly higher. I added 121 oz and am waiting to test again. Does this sound like what's supposed to happen?
Click to expand...
I'm just jumping to say, it does my heart good when someone actually gets it!
What you describe, is exactly how you should shock. Keep after it as often as you can and keep bringing it back to shock each time. :goodjob:
 
Ok so day three of "shocking". My numbers from yesterday looked better.
12pm 27 FC .5 CC 40 oz added
4pm 28 FC 1 cc 27 oz added
730pm 25 FC 2cc 67 oz added
930 28 FC 2 cc 27 oz added
And then this am
700am 28.5 FC 2 cc 20 oz added

I thought I was making progress with the cc down and then it climbed again. WHY??? However, the overnite reading was much better than the two previous nights. And the pool seems to be holding chlorine better. I'm not noticing such big drops.

The water is SPARKLY!! I'm shocked (pardon the pun) at how good it looks. Even my husband, who has been in denial about this whole thing, had to admit it was better. :-D

Also, I have not backwashed the filter. The PSI has bearly climbed. If it's up 2 I'd be surprised. And If I backwash, I will have to add water. What will that do? I DON"T want to start all over. I have brushed the pool every day. Before we started this whole thing, we actually took apart the filter, cleaned and acid washed the grids and resealed the oring and added new DE. And we cleaded th SWG cell.

So, I guess I keep going. I have used about 12 gallons of bleach so far.
 

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